Huskys and the Northern Lights

Well, talk about killing two birds with one stone! I booked a trip with a close friend to Norway, Tromso to be exact, to see the Northern Lights and go Husky Sledding.

The Northern Lights are never guaranteed to be seen. It depends on the weather, the magnetic something or other, or God, whichever theory of how they are formed you believe. So, when booking with a company we chose to book a bus tour, safe in the knowledge that we would have a warm bus, cookies and hot chocolate to help us see through the night is the lights chose not to appear!

After a 3am wake up and the day travelling, we struggled to keep our eyes open for the 6pm-1.30am tour!  But glad that we did, as after a stop and an hour wait they finally appeared, dancing through the sky - green, red and purple - disappearing over the hills and trees as they went. Pleased that I had brought my DSLR camera and new tripod as this meant I could capture them in their full glory!

Then the following day we were lucky enough to see the lights again, this time with the husky sledding excursion combined!

Taking it in turns to steer and sit on the sled, we covered 12km with the team of 5 dogs pulling us along.

 And then we finished the night with soup, fresh bread and hot chocolate in a traditional Norwegian hut.

Quite possibly two of the best experiences of my life!

Go up the Shard

31st January 2015  - I went up the Shard.

Taking a very dear friend of mine, Michael, we booked tickets for 6.30pm knowing that it would be dark and London would be lit up by street lights, traffic headlights and attraction lights.

At £24.95 per ticket the Shard is not a cheap London attraction, however for that price you get awesome views and the possibility of remaining up there to savour these for as long as you like.

First we had to go through airport-like security screening, removing jackets and belt and having our belongings scanned. Then it was time for a cheesy photo which would later be superimposed onto various Shard backgrounds!  Finally we made it to to the first lift of two. Approx 20 seconds and we were at floor 33, a short walk and another 20 seconds and we were at level 69 - a fact not lost on Micheal's dirty mind! The first viewing area had glass walls completely surrounding all 4 sides. It was quite unnerving and on several occasions I had to reach out and touch the glass 'just to check'! Up a few flights of stairs and level 72 was the highest viewing platform, open to the elements with the spikey shape of the shard visible above you if you tipped your head back. Yes it had glass walls, but level 72 had no ceiling, and with the wind howling and the bitter cold air we didn't remain here long!

In total we spent about an hour up the shard. Was it worth the money - yes. Would I go up again - probably not. In the dark we could see the London Eye, Tower Bridge, the river and St Paul's.  During the day you may be able to identify much more.

 Prior to our visit I took this view of the Shard from the other side of the river

 Bridges crossing the Thames

 Toilets looked out through glass windows floor to ceiling at various views of London!

 Tower Bridge

Open to the elements above - level 73

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.