To go with the new moon, a new look to the website.
Actually, Steve recently updated his site which looks really cool and I got website envy. He helped me to look for a new site image and this is the result.
With the new upgrade to WordPress it makes it a lot easier for me to edit the site and upload the header picture without having to bug Steve all the time.
So what do you think? A bit snazzier? Easier to read?
Now I can change the header more frequently too. I know it is supposed to rotate pictures itself but haven’t figured out how to do this yet. Might still need to bug Steve for a bit longer with help on that.
P.s. Gemma – now the subscription should be working!
P.p.s HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAZ!
Category: General Musings
The moon is full…
and the freaks are out. Seriously – full moon and the freakish behaviour begins. If the moons gravitational pull can push and pull our tides do you think it could have an affect on our psyche as well?
Run update
You may have noticed that I have been a bit quiet on the run updates of late. I have still been keeping up with it but really progress was stagnant for a while. Then the weather turned ugly which put an end to the evening run, but we are now back on track with a few bright, sun shiny days.
So my update…last week I managed for the very first time….a whole lap without stopping!!! Woo hoo. Ok, so the next day I couldn’t repeat the performance but hey I was still on a high. That was last week.
This evening went even better. This time I managed not 1, not 2 but 3 laps (6 kilometres!!!!) without stopping! Can’t tell you how pleased I am with myself at the moment. That has to be the first time EVER in my life. Sad – but true.
3 laps, 6 kilometres, 52 minutes.
Sun finally comes to Bristol
We have a long weekend. Unfortuately Steve has to work and it happens to coincide with a sunny weekend. I am sitting ontop Brandon Hill admiring the view of Bristol and the fields beyond.
Happy Birthday Ashton
It’s days like these that you realise it sucks to be living so far away from family.
My little nephews are growing at a ridiculous rate and I haven’t even met Ashton in person yet.
Just tried to ring you guys but got the dreaded answer machine. Love to you all and big cuddles to Emerson and Ashton. Love Aunty Carleen & Uncle Steve xox
NDAC – National Diving and Activity Centre
I mentioned in the last post that we had to get back to Bristol after the Exmoor marathon as we had something else lined up for Sunday.
We have been looking into getting our diving tickets. Yes, I realise how bizarre that is after 10 years in a stunningly warm location such as Australia. Where as now in Britain we will have to get our tickets whilst rugged up in drysuits as I seriously don’t think we will survive the water temperatures here.
We went out for the day and provided surface support during a diving lesson to get an idea as to what we could expect. With a day full of sunshine it was the perfect time to have a look. We have been to the dive location before which is an old quarry. They have placed all sorts of obstacles in the water (such as buses, planes, motorbikes, cargo containers etc) and the depth range is to 80 metres!
Anyway, here are the pics.
May Bank Holiday
Exercise is quite high on our agenda at the moment. With the days finally getting longer it is a great opportunity to get outside after work and just enjoy what is left of the day.
With that in mind we have been running, walking and recently went mountain bike riding.
I admit I was hoping for a rather sedate, forest rambling, flower filled, nature lovers bike course. Yeah right like that was going to happen! No we went for the full on, mud covered, slippery tree root, low hanging branch, surprise drop off style course! To be honest looking back at the photos now, it seems rather sedate although it didn’t feel like it at the time.
After getting over my strong desire to keep my white shoes clean (yes I have issues), I really enjoyed it. Surprisingly, I only encountered one near miss of the Tree Vs Face category. Nevertheless we will be going back again!
Once we had finally completed the ride which took about 1.5 hours, we headed back to the car park to investigate some more rides. This time we did take the sedate family trail but, not surprisingly, it just didn’t have the wow factor after the last experience. It did however have a really cool downhill section which we took on at a cracking speed. Yee hah!!!!! A good three hours of bike riding later we headed to the pub for a well deserved steak sandwich.
Run baby run
I am into my second week of running with Steve. With Steve’s last semi coming up which is going to be a killer he has been running to work everyday. This means I pick him up after work and seeing as we drive by a large local park we might as do another run at night. Not that my run pace is very inspiring for Steve but more so that he is a great motivator for getting me moving. Also, I must say that my calling it a “run” at this stage is also rather misguided.
My first week was more of a nana shuffle, this week was looking marginally better. It is only a 1 mile loop of the park but I did start out at once around taking around 21 minutes (yes, I know, incredibly crap!). By the fourth run I was doing 2 loops around the park and averaging 17 minutes. Yesterday was my 7th time and I did a PB of 15.02. OK, so the next lap after this was 16.35 but hey I can see a definite improvement!
So in short at this stage it looks like this:
1st run: 1 lap, 2.1km’s, 21 minutes
2nd run: 1 lap (not much better)
4th run: 2 laps, 4.2km’s, 34 minutes
7th run: 2 laps, 4.2km’s, 31.3 minutes
Best Coffee – Bristol
After nearly 2 years here it has taken us a VERY long time to find the haunts that we like. The key things on the list are a decent cinema complex, coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend activities. Sadly, unlike Sydney, where you could throw your shoe and easily hit a great coffee, meal, activity or view, these fairly simple items are very hard to come by.
With that in mind I thought I might try and save any other poor saps that move to Bristol from wasting good money and taste buds on such things.
Coffee: by far the best place for a coffee is the Baristas Coffee Collective, 29 Victoria Street, Bristol. Near Bristol Bridge. Professionally made, excellent consistency in quality, perfect extraction time and creamy stretched milk. I am salivating thinking about it. Yum! The price is great at only 1.60 for a regular sized latte (they call it small but it is a good “morning” cup size of coffee). The only downside is trying to get a time when they regularly open in the morning. It would seem the owner is a bit lax, but hey, I’m willing to wait, sitting outside his front door, camped out with my pennies in hand!
Anaphylaxis
Last night was the first meeting I attended at a St Johns Ambulance local unit. I would like to take up some volunteer work that requires contact with interesting people, situations and environments. Having never really done much volunteer work besides Rock Solid I wasn’t sure what to expect. Lasting just over an hour we had a talk on anaphylaxis, how to identify the symptoms of anaphylactic shock and how to administer an epinephrine pen auto-injector. Really fascinating material.
I need to continue going for another 5-6 weeks to gauge if it is a unit I wish to join and then this is followed up by an interview with me, CRB (Criminal Reference Bureau) check, referrals from people who have known me and then first aid training before you are allowed anywhere near a shift. Very interesting night and I am keen to go again.