Holidays....

Well, there comes a time in every hard-working teacher's year when their thoughts turn to their next holiday. With an emphasis on my 40 things, my mind turned to 'what', 'when' and 'where' and also 'how'. How was I going to fit everything in and still be able to pay my mortgage?!?

So, currently booked are:

Norway for February 2015 - with the hope of viewing the Northern Lights, and possibly husky sledding too!

Oman for April 2015 - Wild camping on the beaches and a trip to a turtle reserve.

This will take my count up to 39 countries, so just one more to go until I reach the magical 40!  But then with Jerusalem on my list I might just challenge myself further and visit another 10 to make 50. you never know!

5 years smoke free...

Well, this post will be one that I update and maintain over the next few years.

So, where do I start? Since the age of 16 I have smoked. I have see-sawed from being an occasional social smoker to someone who, when things got me down, would drop everything to go to the corner shop for booze and fags! I have a huge tendency to disappoint myself through my smoking behaviours, my 'all or nothing' tendencies and my inability to stick to various quit plans I have set up over the years. Even being a PE teacher, a role model (hopefully) for my students, did not do much to curb my addiction to cigarettes.

So far I have tried quitting cold turkey. This usually goes tits up after a few drinks with some good friends. I have invested in gum and lozenges which worked to some extent, until I realised that the physical hand to mouth action was what I craved.

So, after a holiday in Cuba this year I invested in a vapouriser, some low-percentage nicotine liquid and some replacement clearonomisers. The water vapour flavoured with mint, with just that small amount of nicotine was enough. It would become my new crutch until I could wean myself off of it completely.

So, key dates....

Last cigarette: 8th August 2014 (just the one!)

Last use of Vapouriser: 1st November 2014

Get more tattoos

Tattoos are addictive. Fact. This is a fact confirmed by numerous friends and now me!

My first tattoo came about after about 8 years of planning. The smallish butterfly on my lower back (to the side, not a tramp stamp) did not hurt, took 15 minutes and healed in 10 days. Therefore getting another took very little thought or consideration.

As a Christian, I wanted a meaningful quote and to have it tattooed in Hebrew, the original Biblical language. I chose Joshua 1:9 - 'Be strong and courageous....' and got a Jewish friend to translate the first sentence from this.

The tattoo itself hurt. Tattooing over ribs is not a brilliant idea! But on a positive note, it only took 15 mins!

 

10 days later, it is almost healed! 

Now, my thought was to have another when I began this blog however I am concerned that one more will lead to 10 more!  After the impulsiveness of this one, I shall be thinking my next one through a little more and ensuring that it remains something that I definitely want, and also doesn't lead to another 10 instead of the one!

Microdermabrasion experience

So many new beauty treatments have emerged in recent years. They both interest me and always draw me into trying the latest fad! Being a regular at my local beauty salon for waxing, facials and pedicures I was keen to see if my skin could be improved through microdermabrasion.

As a teenager and young adult I suffered horrendously with both acne and eczema to such an extent that I was given lotions and potions and medication for one which I then had to stop taking because it worsened the other! Luckily I found a patient gp who sorted me out. The acne had all but disappeared by the time I started by job as a teacher, however even now I have flare ups but thank goodness for concealer and a decent foundation! My eczema still troubles me to this day but with dietary changes and more relaxation activities I am able to control it.

Both ailments have left me with skin which is both dry and flaky and oily and shiny. I have patches of skin where my pores look like craters and this is only worsened with a couple of layers of make up! So.... would stripping the top layer of skin help with my pore problem and my oily/dry skin?

The process was strange - I could describe it as a small hoover, sucking up the small flakes of skin left behind after being rubbed gently with sandpaper! Both actions occurred together however, and the machine was quiet and the process was quick and painless. It left me with a slightly red, but smooth face.   I was instructed to use a high factor suncream for the next few days and booked by second appointment.

So far, 3 days later, I am impressed. My skin does feel smoother and looks brighter but whether it was worth the money is debatable!

Give Blood

So after a busy 5 weeks of summer holidays including travelling around Cuba, decorating my flat and lots of shopping, the August bank holiday came around. Having registered on the Blood donor website a while back (http://www.blood.co.uk), it occurred to me that with this day off (an extra day off for most, but not for me) I should do something useful to help others rather than lie in bed until lunchtime or sprawl on the sofa watching rubbish tv. The aforementioned website allows you to search for donor sessions by place, date, time....you name it. So by popping in today's date it told me there were 4 possible places to donate blood on bank holiday Monday.

15 mins later I was showered and dressed and preparing to drive to Ickenham, near Uxbridge. Following the website's instructions I ate breakfast and took with me a large bottle of water in the car.

The village hall was easy to find. There were a number of people there donating blood, from 18 year old boys to an older couple. Many were first timers like me!

A simple questionnaire highlighted that I was a concern - recent travel, vaccinations, piercings and tattoos within the last year meant that I had to have my blood earmarked for extra tests! The results of these will be through within 3 weeks if there is a problem with my donation. So then I had my iron/Hb levels checked through a simple pin prick of the finger. Following this I was led to a reclining chair, my left arm numbed and cleaned and the needle inserted. It didn't hurt. At all. 7 minutes later I was done. Once in the whole process I heard beeping from the donation machine - this was due to me ceasing to move my hand to keep the blood flowing! - but once I resumed the fist clenching all was OK.

For the rest of the day I rested as instructed. No, sorry, read that as - went shopping, played with the cat, cleaned the bathroom..... even went to fulfill another one of my list things of getting another tattoo, however this was scuppered due to dizziness when laying on the bed. Embarrassed and a little bit gutted, I went home! But another day I will get it finished!

Now that I've done it once I will do it again. I am actually gutted that I didn't have the courage to donate 10 years ago. If you want to do something to help others, only take an hour of your time and will make you feel good about yourself give blood. One day you, I or anyone we know may need blood.

Fly first/business class

Well, this one was a total surprise! After the most fabulous trip to Cuba I was happily minding my own business, eating a final cheese and ham sandwich and waiting for the boarding queue to go down for our flight from Havana to Madrid.

Then, out of the blue I heard 'Could Miss Michelle Claxton please make herself known at gate 9'. Now, being an organised and punctual person I wondered what on earth it could be! Knowing friends who had heard their names called out over the tannoy whilst they were late and  still sitting on the loo, and others who have a tendency to leave their passport in Duty Free, all sorts of things went through my mind. But alas, it was a free upgrade to business class. I have to state now that I had not showered for 12 hours, was dressed in cut off jeans and a vest, with hair that needed a wash and walking sandals. It was obvious that I was not chosen for an upgrade due to my smart appearance!

So, without a single hesitation I boarded the plane, only to see the rest of the group walking past me in my luxurious business class seat a few minutes later.

So, bonuses of Business Class:

1) a massively wide chair (though with the quantity of food and drink provided this is most needed for frequent BC travellers)

2) a chair that almost reclines to 180 degrees. Though after 16 days of travelling anything past 90 is a bonus.

3) The food. Photos are below

4) The drinks. Free cocktails and alcoholic drinks throughout the flight.

5) No screaming kids. No, actually make that one screaming kid, though as I was tired I slept through the shrieks!

Stand under a waterfall

Cuba. The land of rum, music, cars....and waterfalls.





Now, when I wrote my list I imagined standing under something like this:

And yes, I did get very close. But being the rainy season our guide deemed it too slippery to stand under or swim in the small pool at the bottom. So, on our walk back to the hacienda in Cuba's mountains, we stopped at this pool which had a small waterfall so not only did I stand under one, I swam under it, jumped in from it and actually enjoyed it far more than I would have done having a cold shower from the waterfall above!

So, another thing ticked off, though should I ever get another chance to go waterfall swimming I will!

Write a blog....

Well, here goes!

Years ago I began a blog, mainly because it was the thing to do, the new craze, the moving on of the current technological and information sharing era and also because friends have them. For all of two weeks it lasted! So, over the next 5 years I shall blog about how my 40before40 list is progressing. I aim to learn about blogs, how to include links, add photos and videos and also how to publicise it, if only amongst my closest friends.

It would be too easy to just cross off this challenge, but in order for it to be challenging I shall aim to maintain the blog for 5 years and shall update this post with my new learning and challenges along the way.

1 almost down, 39 to go!

Doing the sums...

After publishing my blog I realised that I had better actually check how many countries I had visited!

Criteria for visiting a country:

Either at least 1 overnight stay or a long layover where I have managed to visit the major tourist attractions. Just changing planes in the airport does not count!

So.....

Andorra
Australia
Austria
Balearic islands
Belgium
Bolivia
Bulgaria
Canary islands
Cambodia
Channel islands

Costa Rica
Cuba 

Denmark
Egypt
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Holland
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Jordan

Mexico
Morocco

Nepal

Northern Ireland
Norway
Oman
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Scotland
Serbia
Slovenia

Sweden
Switzerland
Tanzania
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
USA
Vietnam
Wales
Zambia

As of August 2014: 37 and counting!
As of February 2015: 38 and counting!
As of April 2015: 39 and almost there!
As of August 2015: 40. Done!

As of August 2016: 41....

As of September 2017: 45....

As of October 2017: 46....

A link to my travel map

40 before 40: A change of direction or the direction to change?

Like many of my previous, often mad, different and weird ideas, this blog came about after a conversation at a pub. With a friendship group containing many friends in their mid to late 30s I often find myself contemplating different areas of my life as I approach 40. Whether or not I am lucky enough to find my lifelong partner, or indeed am blessed with a child or two, there are still things that I yearn to do. These achievements, experiences and adventures are things that I am loathe to title my bucket list as the connotations of kicking one do not sit easily with me at a time when I keep convincing myself and others that we are 'in our prime'!  So, what follows I have entitled 40before40. Forty 'things' that I want to do and experience, forty events that I would like to see happen over the next 5 years.  As things get completed I shall be updating and blogging about them, sharing my thoughts on my journey and, best of all, crossing them off my list!

I would like to say 'wish me luck' but instead I ask that you support me, help me, accompany me on anything that you might also wish to do and most of all think about joining me on a similar journey towards fulfilling your dreams.

Before I am 40 I want to...

1. Go in a hot air balloon
2. Get two more tattoos – a quote on my ribs and flowers on my stomach. I have a dear friend who is helping to design these.
3. Go husky sledding
4. Snowboard down a blue run without falling!
5. Try microdermabrasion  - to see if it is as good as others say!
6. Go busking and make enough money for a meal - bearing in mind I am tone deaf, this one could be tricky!
7. Wild camp and watch the sunrise
8. Visit Jerusalem as it is one place that features so prominently in my religion.
9. Go rally driving
10. Do the three peaks challenge
11. Camp at a festival
12. Zip wire in Snowdonia
13. See the Northern Lights
14. Stand under a waterfall
15. Feed a penguin
16. Do a triathlon
17. Give blood - something I always mean to do but have never got round to it.
18. Try mushrooms ;)
19. Camp in a tipi
20. Go up the shard.
21. Sit in a hot tub, looking out at snowy mountains whilst drinking cocktails!
22. Go to Vegas
23. Create a piece of artwork that I am proud to have on display in my house
24. Visit a psychic - a definite skeptic, I just want to see what happens!
25. Go zorbing
26. Write a blog
27. Eat at Dans le Noir - a massive challenge for me, the World's fussiest eater.
28. Fly first/business class - even better if I get an upgrade!
29. Visit Venice
30. Buy a DSLR camera and learn how to use it
31. Learn to knit - and actually produce something useful!
32. Go punting
33. Drive a jet ski
34. Cycle in the Velodrome at the Olympic Park
35. See baby turtles on a golden sand beach
36. See a film at the rooftop cinema
37. Visit the Great Wall of China
38. Visit Auschwitz
39. Gatecrash an extravagant wedding
40. Have visited 40 countries by the time I’m 40 - currently on 36, 37, 38, 39 I believe, so achievable in 5 years!

And one additional one that is not a 'fun' one, but a necessity!

41.  To not smoke another cigarette from summer 2014 onwards -  especially when out drinking or stressed at work. 5 years smoke-free is certainly achievable if I stick at it from now :)

Let the challenge begin!