Seaside Sparkles

This has just been one of those weeks. I can’t really sugar coat it, because sometimes in life there are weeks which are just a bit meh and this was one of them. It was a perfect storm of so many little things which just became overwhelming and then some really rubbish weather. Fortunately after an unsettling, busy week I did finish last night with a lovely dinner out with friends, it was very much needed.

New nails. A colleague recommended a new nail bar and I popped in for some new acrylics as a test before the big holiday nails! I’m very happy, it was a lovely salon and I look forward to returning next month.

A Vinted find. I found a gorgeous Boden dress on Vinted this week at a really good price. It’s arrived and is top quality and looks beautiful on. I love a Vinted find.

Oh William. I was curious to read an Elizabeth Stroud novel as she has been recommended. However it wasn’t one that I was particularly taken by, the characters irritated me but then again that could just be my time in life as ..

Hot flushes. I’ve really been hit by menopause symptoms lately and I’m sure this week my mood has been worsened by poor sleep due to night sweats, such an odd experience. There’s also the constant changes in temperature, my body is so confused.

Rescue Remedy. I have found myself dipping into my RR pastilles this week, keen to use anything that could help maintain some equilibrium in my life.

I’m relieved it’s a quiet week coming up, hopefully it’ll help me feel a little more in control and the sunshine is due to return which always puts me in a good mood.

It’s been a funny old week, a bank holiday and a national commemoration for the 80th anniversary of VE Day, but not on the same day which seemed a tad confusing. As I was at work in the 8th May, the day passed me by somewhat although I caught up on national events on the news.

My VE commemoration came in a couple of events this week. Our parkrun had a simple display and the beacon which had been lit on VE Day was on the course. On Sunday my son who is in the cadets did an event at the local (ish) air field. It was poignant to see my son in his RAF cadet uniform and remembering the old photos of my gramps who served in the RAF during World War 2. It was a time to think, reflect and remember, although sadly the lessons of the war seem lost in today’s society.

I enjoyed a little visit to the air field arriving early to pick up my son. It’s somewhere I’ve been going for over 25 years as it’s always been ideally situated as a stop on car journeys to our parents. A quarter of a century ago it was a little hut with tea and amazing home made cakes. Now it is quite unrecognisable with a very fancy new building and cafe. I’ve heard that it’s now owned by Guy Richie so it looks like he’s been investing in his new venture.

My focus on my running continued with two long runs on Monday and Sunday. After Monday’s run, I decided it was time to train for an event and in a moment of madness/ clarity I signed up for a half marathon in October. I’ve never done an autumn half but I hope that I’ll get my long runs done during the summer holidays.

When scrolling on Instagram this week I came across this quote from David Bowie,

Ageing is an extraordinary process where you become the person you always should have been.

It was a quote which just seemed so pertinent to life at present and I loved it.

Finally I love fresh flowers in my house and I bought these beautiful smelling stocks to go in my new vase . I liked the deep colour and the smell just sings of spring.

It’s been a scorcher of a week, the hottest Mayday on record and the gorgeous weather is continuing into this bank holiday weekend. I am in my favourite outfit today, shorts and tshirt with a honourable mention to my new flip flops from Oofos. I love this brand and have just bought a new pair as I wore out my old ones, they are so comfortable. As it’s cooling a little, I also have a well loved hoodie to complete the cosy vibes.

With the amazing weather, my class and I have been out lots this week, continuing our quest to find mermaid tails around the county. I do consider myself to be so lucky to be able to be on a beach on a sunny Thursday afternoon for my job. Honestly, special needs teaching is the best.

It has been a busy week. On Monday night I had to forgo my gym session to attend an AGM for my son’s cadets. As AGMs go, it was a good one, clear information and rationale, volunteers for all key positions and done within an hour. As I waited for my son to finish, I had a beautiful walk along the quay, an evening well spent.

On Friday, I was at a youth development match with my son. At our football club, there is a complex points system so it’s worth going to women’s and development matches for the bonus points. I actually really like these games, you see the raw talent and there’s a very relaxed atmosphere. It was even better in the sunshine this week. As another brucie bonus, my son had the choice of restaurant and asked for a Toby’s for tea. When we got there I did a quick check of my app to discover there was a £6 offer on a carvery. Good results all round, a victory at the football and a tasty dinner at a great price.

This week I was browsing Instagram and saw a print, Dancing Queen, that I loved and really sang to me. I did the thing of leaving it 24 hours to see if I still wanted it and it was a resounding yes, I could t stop thinking about it so I treated myself. I picked up a frame yesterday and after a rearrangement of my photos around the house, it now has pride of place on my bureau. I am so delighted and taken by the print.

There was more internet browsing and whilst on Vinted, I saw a dress that I had regretted not buying last year in River Island. I had looked on the store website and shops after not buying it and couldn’t find it so it seemed like fate to discover it in my feed at a very good price. Amazingly I ordered it on Friday and it arrived the next day. It fits perfectly and looks lovely. I can’t wait to wear it this summer on our Italian travels.

I finished this week on a real high with a PB at my local parkrun, which is notorious for being a very challenging course. My previous PB there was 3 years and 95 runs ago. Since the start of the year, and my health and fitness journey, I’ve been reducing my time each week and was hoping it would happen. I actually felt so good and that it did reflect all my work this year. I also think I’ve got more in me to reduce it a little more too..

I’m looking forward to the bank holiday tomorrow, in which I intend to run a 10k and then relax and potter my favourite type of day.

This is an excellent half term, only 5 weeks long of which 2 are 4 day weeks. When you add in a DofE camp, lots of special events and a more outdoor curriculum, I’m a big fan of the summer term. We had a nice lazy day for Easter Monday, as I wasn’t able to go to the gym, I went for an early morning run and pleasantly surprised myself with the distance I ran and how comfortable I felt. As I’m unable to make the gym this Monday again, I repeated the long run with an extra mile on Sunday. After my run, which wasn’t comparable to 26.2, I watched the London marathon, one of my favourite races of the year and was amused to see my dad’s name on the leading British runners. I did text him the photo and a little jokey message but he didn’t read the names on the screen so it was a bit lost on him… Marathon Sunday is always so emotional and inspiring it makes you in awe at how brilliant people are.

As the boys were at football on Sunday, we popped over to the garden centre on Saturday afternoon for a few things. Gardening is not my thing but fortunately my husband loves it. My job is to simply sit in it and admire the flowers. The bonus of a trip to the garden centre is that has a great cafe, gardens and gift and farm shops so it’s not a bad way to while away a couple of hours. I did replace an indoor plant, which I had managed to keep alive for a few years until a rather enthusiastic watering killed it off (not guilty) I picked up a book a few weeks ago too so fingers crossed I can cultivate my little indoor garden. I do like to have plants indoors, they give a sense of wellbeing.

Although this hasn’t been the best of weather the weekend saw a change, typically post parkrun, and it’s been lovely to take time outside. On Sunday afternoon, I sat in the sunshine with my book, it’s always the simple pleasures which are the best.

Earlier in the week, on the rainy Bank holiday afternoon, I enjoyed playing on AI. After having fun with family photos, I asked it to adapt a photo of our home into a Beatrix Potter inspired photo. I like the result although the kitchen extension appears to be missing, perhaps it’s showing me what the house would have looked like in Potter’s lifetime.

Finally back at work and we made good progress on the mermaid tail hunt, finding four. It’s a fun activity and our display board is filling up with our photos. I’m really interested to see how many we manage to collect in the next half term.

Whilst next week js a 5 day working week, when you have a long weekend to look forward to it always feel a little more light and fun. I have a few busy nights so will be grateful for an extra long lie.

This has been such a busy Easter holiday that very unusually for me, I did not decorate the house and whilst I did a roast for Easter Sunday dinner, today, it was not one of my special menus. We only had a few days at home after Cornwall before we spent some time in Bristol with family to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday.

The week started with a few days at home. After a long drive home on Saturday, Sunday was a day for unpacking, laundry and booking our next holiday. As soon as we had unpacked it seemed to be time for packing again. I do feel that I have mastered the art of packing but it’s an art my husband and son need to learn. I had one neat weekend bag with all I needed, they shared a huge holiday bag and still needed more room. We are flying out to Rome to start our summer holiday and the boys will need to carefully pack to be in the weight luggage limit. I’ve been tracking the ideal capsule wardrobe on Pinterest and have started my planning.

On Monday night, I took my son to football ( a win ) and tracked down the first mermaid tail in an art trail raising funds for the local children’s hospice. It’ll be my little challenge in the coming weeks, I also managed to find one when shopping on Saturday.

On Tuesday the boys returned to the stadium for more football, the development squad whilst I stayed at home for a plumber to fit a new cylinder. It was one of those odd days, I couldn’t do much as it was a big job and as the cupboard is at the top of the stairs I was restricted to down stairs and then there were times with no water or electricity and a lot of noise. The plumber was fantastic, so helpful and tidy and it was a good job to tick off. As I knew I was likely to be in all day, I did an early run along a windy seafront. I did enjoy the Dr Seuss inspired beach hut.

On Wednesday we headed to Bristol to celebrate my father-in-law’s 93rd birthday and spent a few days with him. It is a gentle pace with him now, so a quiet few days. On his birthday we were joined by other members of the family for lunch. It was great to see everyone and my son certainly benefited in Easter eggs.

Although I had hoped to have a few days driving free, I needed to take my son shopping on Saturday for some essentials and to pick up a few orders. I popped into Boots to print off some photos from our Cornish holiday and am already displaying them on my bureau. I also picked up a full length mirror, something missing from our house since we did some decorating and recycled the wardrobes with the mirrors. I’m quite relieved at this as checking your appearance in a window reflection is not really the best way to check your look!

After a fortnight of family fun and seeing all our extended family, it’s been nice to have a very quiet Easter. I did refill the Easter tin with sweet nibbles but this was my only real seasonal nod. This is just a temporary pause on celebrating Easter because of a busy holiday, all my decorations, menus, treats and more will return in 2026.

So again, I’m catching up with my blog. The last two weeks of the term were very busy with life and not much to record. As the Finding Nemo cartoon above shows I just kept fully focused on writing reports over a weekend and a number of evenings. I love teaching special needs but the amount of report writing / evidence commentary is intense and dominates my life for the final fortnight of each term.

I am really focused on my wellbeing this year and even in this busy time I have made sure that I found time for daily walks and the gym. I have always detested the treadmill and avoided it. However since joining my local gym I have taken tentative steps to use it more and think I may actually be enjoying it. I can’t believe I do a 30 minute session on it each time. The training videos do help to motivate and challenge. I really like the instructor in the video so cheerful and motivating without being OTT.

In this period I have also read two books Piglet and Yellow Face. Both left me wanting more answers at the end, Piglet especially, what did her fiancé do? Both were good reads but not on my to be recommended read lists.

Also on this timeline was Mothers day, my early flowers lasted remarkably well and only had to be thrown away the day before we went on holiday so had nearly 2 week’s vase life. If I had them on the correct date, I would only have got to enjoy them for 5 days. On Mothers day I got a handmade card from my football mad son. It was done with great care and although it had a footballer on it, he is significant. His name is Antoine Semenyo and he is my favourite player, the photo in Bristol City colours is a lovely nod to my old team.

The last week was a crazy mix of two nights out on mum duties including watching a football match, our team lost, which meant a 12.00am bedtime and I was still up for the gym at 5.45am, not quite sure who this person is sometimes. There was also holiday packing and organisation and the fun events of the final week of term. Our holiday is much needed.

After a quiet week, filled with late work nights, I was wondering what I could have as my 5 things this week. However with the weekend comes the opportunity to get out and have fun. In a weekend of spring sunshine, I spent lots of time outside, everyone needs to feel the sunshine on your face.

1. Adolescence. This is the must watch series on Netflix and like many other people we watched it this week, one episode a night. It’s so good and so frightening on the effects of social media on our young people. A heartbreaking story so brilliantly done.
2. The Wedding People. In total contrast to Adolescence, this audiobook on my commute was funny and heartwarming, a five star read. The setting is a hotel on the beach, so it seemed fitting to listen to the final chapters whilst walking today along the beach. It’s the sort of book which is simply, life affirming. It also had a brilliant and correct ending.
3. A beach walk. Today the boys were off to watch the football and I had a free day. The sun was so warm that I really wanted to get out and enjoy it. Rather than go to our local beach, a mere 100 or so metres from our front door, I chose to go to the next beach along as I could walk for a longer distance and enjoy the contrast of the heathers, sands and dunes. It was a delightful way to spend my morning. I made the half way point the National Trust visitor centre and shop and unexpectedly bought myself a beautiful pair of earrings and necklace. I had no intention of buying anything but the stock in the shop was so pretty. I also enjoyed a little sit down on the sand, with my drink and snack, who have I become being that organised on my trips? It was a pretty perfect moment looking out to sea and appreciating the scene. It did bring back lockdown memories, as we had a few trips to this beach during the lockdown and I remember how quiet and still it was. Today marks 5 years since Lockdown was announced so I think this news story triggered the memories. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
4. Mother’s Day flowers. Yesterday we were in ‘big’ town for a few jobs and whilst the boys did an errand, I popped into the supermarket and as is typical in spring bought my favourite £1 daffodils. My husband questioned why I had bought flowers when it was Mother’s Day the next day. I was a little confused as firstly he would never begrudge me a few flowers and as I said to him Mother’s Day isn’t till next Sunday. The look on his face was priceless as it turns out that he was convinced it was this weekend and whilst I was out at parkrun, he and my son had gone to town to get flowers for Sunday. Fortunately we all saw the humour in the mistake and I received my flowers this morning. I love that we’ll never forget these Mother’s Day flowers!
5. Duolingo 100. I started my Italian in December as we hope to go to Italy this year and my streak went to 100 this week. That little owl is always popping up to remind me and as annoying as it is, I haven’t missed a day yet!

Similar to this week, it’s a quiet week but then building up to a very important football game next weekend. I think football will dominate our conversations at dinner this week and I’m already getting nervous and it’s a week away!