And then she said...: January 2007

SWIM UPDATE

I had a very funny training session on the weekend - my friend Naomi (in the red cap!!) is a bit of a waterpolo star so she came along to give me some "pointers" on my "technique". Funny how you can swim a certain way for nearly 30 years and then learn a few different things !! The best bit was trying to time myself doing 50 metres - I started off doing it in 1:30 (Naomi does it in 45!!!) but by the next session I could do it in 1:00 so that is good. I don't think I'll be swimming the whole hour at that pace but it is good to beat some personal challenges along the way...I also got my very first leg cramp on the weekend - it was rather painful, but at the same time it made me feel like a proper athlete !!!

The fundraising has been going really well so far, it's very touching the response we've had from all different sorts of people, some who I haven't been in touch with for a while, but still their generosity has been amazing. On Lib & Ian's site - we've just reached the £500 mark and on Rosie and mine's - we're up to £380....and that's not counting all the other cash/cheque/online donations or any of the Australian money !!! So I'm really hoping we'll break the £1000 mark soon....

It's all getting very exciting now, but I'm also getting a little nervous for some reason. It's one thing to do all this training and fundraising but I've only just started to realise in the last couple of days the true significance of what we are doing and how the money we raise can really help families in similiar situations to us.

And at the heart of it of course is the very important fact that this is to honour Kieran's memory...

xx

xxx

The Week So Far...

Well it's only Thursday but the last week have been very busy....

I FINALLY completed three major projects (the sort of things you wake up at 3am in the morning and feel sick about not having done)

1) Last Friday I did the final sound mix for the Freemasons documentary...
2) Last Saturday I delievered the final version of my friends Wedding Film (they got married last March so I just made it before their 1st anniversary !!)
3) And last night (at approximately 114am) I finally finished my tax !!

I also:
* had a lovely visit from my old friend Renee and her husband Mike
* Swam twice
* Did military fitness (and actually got through it with only stopping once!)
* Helped Daniela move house
* Dog sat for my mate for 15 minutes (that was long enough but more on the adventures of Alfred the Pug soon)
* Went for a long walk
* Had a session with my life coach
* Went out to dinner twice
* Roasted my first ever chicken and vegetables for another dinner guest
* I’m sure I must have slept at some point too !!

Yesterday morning I was delighted to wake up to a beautiful white blanket of snow covering Brixton !! I was more excited than a small child running down the stairs on Christmas Day to discover what gifts Santa had left for her ! The really embarrassing thing (which will be easier to explain once I upload the photos) is that I had no idea that it had snowed, I just thought it was a bit colder than normal.

I guess the fact that I found it rather difficult to get the toothpaste out of its tube should have been a good indication that perhaps the temperature had dropped below zero !!

The New Regime...

Some of you know this story, some don't, but basically I got told off by a German doctor who told me I have to lose weight because my cholestrol and blood pressure are both high. I'm not sure if it was his thick German accent that did it, but he successfully scared me rather alot and I haven't had takeaway, soft drinks, chocolate or crisps since then and that was nearly 2 months ago !!

He also recommended I see a nutrionist so I spent a very funny 2 hours with this hippy lady where I was either crying or trying to control my laughter as she held both my hands, earnestly looked deep in my eyes and said "you can do this, 2007 is going to be your year". Who knows, she might be right. I've been following lots of her tips, it's just when she thinks I need to spend £50 on "supplements" that I tend to get a little annoyed...

The doctor also said that I should do some exercise so besides the Netball team I have taken up a few new sports. I used to be quite sporty in my day (like 10 years ago!) and I'm quite enjoying getting back into it all. So besides the swimming, my mate Elizabeth and I are playing tennis every week and a couple of weeks before Christmas she even managed to drag me along to BMF with her. BMF (for those down under) is the new craze over here and it basicallly stands for British Milirtary Fitness. It's pretty much as it says on the tin, British Military guys making you fit !!

It was about 10 minutes into the first session that I realised that I actually have never jogged, like ever, in my entire life, let alone done press ups or sit ups or funny jumping star things. I tried as hard as I could and somehow manged to get through the hour with only stopping a couple times. Having a scary looking bloke in army fatigues yelling at you in the early hours of the morning is surprisingly good motivation. The fact that it had been raining solidly for a couple of days meant that the common was basically just mud. I left literally covered head to toe and front to back in mud, my shoes, my trackies, my shirt and even my hair !! But the feeling of accomplishment afterwards was like nothing I've ever felt, so I went back and back and back and it's been 2 months and I'm going back bright and early tomorrow morning...

My flatmate Rosie and I have also started going to Yoga with this very sweet lady called Karina. I'm not very good at Yoga so she has been kindly helping me out by pushing me in directions I didn't know possible. With sirens and random bible bashes yelling outside the window - Brixton isn't the most relaxing suburb to be doing activities like Yoga but I guess I'm sorta used to that. The funniest part of the class is that the teacher doesn't quite know her left from her right so that often results in half the class moving one way, and the rest of the class the other...

Either way - it's been a fullfilling (but very painful) few months....but ultimately I've quite enjoyed the adrenalin rush and I'm hoping to continue all of these sports for the immediate future...stay tuned...

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2006 when...

1.You accidentally enter your password on the microwave
2.You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3.You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4.You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5.Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6.You pull up in your own driveway and use your mobile phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7.Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8.Leaving the house without your mobile phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10.You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.
11.You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12.You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13.Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14.You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15.You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

The Training Has Commenced....

Rosie and I went down to the local pool today to commence our swimming training. After a slightly confusing start (they've moved around the changing rooms since we last went over a year ago!!) we found the pool and started to train. I was trying to mix it up a bit by doing a bit of freestyle (they call it front crawl over here !??!), a bit of of breaststroke, one length of backstroke and about 21/2 metres of butterfly...I think I might just keep it very straight forward for the actual swim....

It was quite nice actually because there is a Gospel Hall next door and you could just about make out the singing (amongst the splashing sounds, of course).

Stay tuned for the next installment...

Sue's Special SANDS Swimathon (try saying that 3 times quickly!!)

I've decided to get those New Year Resolutions off to a good start by doing a charity swim in memory of my nephew Kieran on the 3rd February.

It involves swimming as many laps of the pool as you can in an hour. I am raising money for Lib's local SANDS group which has been an amazing source of support over the last 5 months. Lib & Ian will be doing the swim in The Lakes, Dunk & Tash in Australia and Ian's brother are doing it in Scotland and Canada. I got the London leg !!

If you would like to make a donation towards this cause you can either just give me the money directly or if it's easier via credit card - we've set up this website too...

http://www.justgiving.com/kieranhughes

Whether it's pounds or dollars or yen or euros - it's all going towards a great cause and I hope it will be able to help other families deal with their loss.

I'm off to start training - I'll keep you updated with my progress...

thanks,
Sue
xx

PUSSY GALORE

My sidekick from the James Bond Party has become a bit of a character around the office. We have named her Pussy Galore and she's been getting up to all sorts of trouble...

Relaxing with a nice glass of champers...

Taken hostage...(it's ok, she managed to talk herself out of this one...)

Being aware of horses...

Learning how to drive...she looks terrified !!

She lives on top of my computer at work now...she hasn't quite accepted that Christmas is over...

THE MYSTERIOUS BOX

I began packing my suitcase for Christmas journey at about 2am on the Friday night when I got home from another Christmas gathering...randomly throwing in various articles of clothing, lots of DVD's and books, presents for everyone, a toothbrush and all of the cards and presents friends and family had sent me from all over the world. I caught the train to Penrith and was met at the station by Lib & Ian. It was only when I got in the car that I realised I had a little extra present that I had forgotten about but my mind went back to an email Dunk had sent me. Somthing about "10 kg" and "heavy" and "don't overpack" came to mind. Too late now...

So Libby, Ian, my 10 kg present and I set off. We stopped a lovely services on the way and had some lunch and then continued up the relatively quiet motorway. I lasted about 3 minutes before I started poking my box - I was trying to tear away the plastic covering, desperate to see what was inside, but under the ever watchful eye of Ian in the rear view mirror, I had no luck !! My mind was reeling.....what could it be? why is it so heavy? can I eat it? do I wear it?

It was a whole 2 more days until I was allowed to open it. I was beside myself with excitement . It really brought back the whole excitement of Christmas for me, the way I used to sleep with one eye open on Christmas eve waiting for "Santa" to come into my room, take the cookies and milk and leave me some presents....It helped having a 13 year old around !! We agreed to meet back at the house at 6am to open the present...

It was a sleepless night as I tossed and turned, wondering what could be in my mysterious box, unfortunately that also meant that I didn't sleep much so I was greeted by a rather unhappy 13 year old when I rocked up around 930!!! But finally, I was faced with the moment of truth...

Can you tell what it is yet?

It's a stepping machine !!!! It was certainly the sweetest, most unique, and the heaviest christmas present I have ever received. I got on straight away and we all took turns to give it a go. It was only when I was packing up to leave that i realised that i had to somehow get this new addition back to London with me !!

The Hughes Men came to the rescue with a intricate design involving plastic bags, rope and even a special padded handle....

Here I am - all packed up and ready to go....suitcase, backpack (with laptop and external hard drive), handbag, extra shopping bags containing the 2 pairs of shoes, 4 tops, 1 coat and about 15 pairs of socks I had bought and finally, the box....

I made it on to the train, just, and only with the help of Ian...it was only when I got back to London that I saw this sign. Apparently the train offer a luggage service !!!

Oh well...maybe next year...

Where's Libby?

Can you spot her?

Ian's niece and nephew moved from Scotland to Canada about 5 years ago. When I first met them, they were wee children with thick Scottish accents - now they are true Canadian teenagers with Canadian accents and interests too !

Ian took Lib and I on a bit of a tour on the way back to the Lakes...this is his old school...

this is his old house near Bridge of Allen...

The jigsaw - one of Ian's presents from Marg & peter - hours to make...

....and only minutes to take apart !

Jenny is captured by the infrared cameras as she tries to steal a piece of turkey...

CHRISTMAS PART 3

Mike showing off his new xmas present from me - a sheep shaped table size vaccuum cleaner for crumbs !

He got a little overexited and started helping himself to the quality chocolates...

Ian's amazing discovery of the jelly fish coffee leaves...

The Brothers...

The wives...

Sue tries to start a new McGregor tradition on the Hughes kids !

Megan and her boys...

The whole gang...

A tree...

CHRISTMAS PART 2

Gareth & Ian with their matching Christmas hats...

Ian's parents - Mike & Megan, preparing to light the pud...

This is where Ian's parents live...

There wasn't any room in the end so I stayed next door at the neighbours (which also happened to be a 4 star hotel !!)

Caitlan and her "Aunty Outlaw Sue" ( we couldn't quite work out our relationship if my sister was married to her father's *BROTHER, so we just made up our own !)

* correction - thanks Mum !!

CHRISTMAS PART 1

I spent a very lovely Christmas up in Scotland with Libby & Ian and pretty much Ian's entire family....here is a run down...

Libby excitedly opening her present from Aunty Marg whilst Ian and Mike watch on - what is it? a bird ? a plane? no ! it's a plate warmer...