Sunny Bonfire Night

The RAF Akrotiri Bonfire Night only lasted 2 hours but was an excellent night with brilliant toffee apples and candy floss and a DJ who seemed to be obsessed with Wham!!!!

It was weird to attend a Bonfire and not have to wear a coat and scarf and want a cold drink instead of tea. Novenber and still no coat weather.

Funniest moment of the evening was when me, Pob, Jenny and Charlie were queuing to get the bus back. Me and Pob thought it was the wrong queue and suggested we move, Jenny and Charlie chose not to. First bus that turned up pulled up right in front of me and Pob. Jenny looked pissed when we saw her after, but it was funny.

Triathlon Training - First week

• First session, Wednesday evening with Tri Club coach. He wants to see how I swim front crawl, this should be funny. Remember I use to do swimming club when I was young. Well backstroke was always my favourite so I have a reasonable backstroke going on. Breaststroke is not bad, could be better, could be faster. Front crawl - appalling. I am all over the place and absolutely can't put my head under the water and do the breathing thing that is kinda vital to front crawl. Well at least I warned him, and at least I am not the only one in the beginners coaching lane.

• This man works miracles, in one lesson I am swimming in the correct posture (which feels completely different to what I was doing before) and I swim over 3/4 of a length doing the head under the water thing. Amazing. By the end of the lesson I realise I have never swam like that, I want to cry I hurt so much, and so tired, and actually feel like I am going to be sick. Next day my upper arms and stomach muscles hurt sooooo much. Ouch. The coach emails me a training programme and tells me I need to do 3 sessions a week.

• Second session, the following Monday I go to the pool for lane swimming armed with my goggles, orange juice/water mixture and training plan. I do the warm up thing, upper arms start to hurt immediately, the head under the water thing is hard and hurts. I won't give up though, it's only my 2nd session I will persevere. Especially when the life guard comes over to me and says how when she saw me at the Tri Clube last week she was 'thrilled to see a normal person there rather than all these athletic types'. I think she was trying to be nice and supportive!!!!! I'll show her I'll be almost an athletic type soon enough. I carry on with the drill session and manage to do most of my lengths the proper way only having to stop to catch my breath a couple of times. I am impressing myself here, working hard and can see the improvement for myself. Then doom. I think I have overdone, pushed myslef too hard. I am actually nearly sick. I skip the next section and do my cool down and leave. Slightly disappointed I couldn't do the whole thing but I did go solid for 45 minutes and it's probably best not to be sick in the water. Am completely shattered and want to go to bed by 1930. Legs and upper arms hurt. Back in the pool Wednesday.

• Wednesday - rained off. Thunderstorms mean the semi enclosed pool closes early.
• Thursday - ditto. Boo to storms when you want to swim.

Triathlon Here I Come - beware some of the pics may make you feel sick (they do me)

I have decided to start triathlon training for several reasons. 1 - to lose the last bit of weight and get my body shape back. 2 - to get fit. 3 - to achieve something sporty again. When I was in junior school I was a really sporty kid, I was on the school netball team, rounders team and swimming team and outside of school I did swimming club and karate but somewhere along the way it all fell flat. I was a chubby pre-teen only losing weight when i became vegetarian at 14. In the February (when I went veggie) I was a size 16 and by the Christmas I was a size 10. It stayed that way until about 16/27 thanks to swimming, yoga, the gym and 6 shifts a week in a nightclub. Then disaster. The migraines I had suffered from since I was a kid got steadily much, much worse, until it got to the point that they were a daily occurence.

During this time it was so bad that I couldn't go to the gym and the do the exercise I had been and I guess my eating habits also suffered and I put on a stone. Eventually the doctor put me on preventative medication called Pizotifen. It worked - great. But it also has a listed side effect of weight gain, 1st month = 1 stone, 2nd, 3rd and 4th months 1/2 stone each. That is 2 and 1/2 stone in only 4 months, plus the previous stone. I wasn't the only one who suffered at the hands of Pizotifen, lots of people had the weight gain problem; I Googled it. So there I am 3 and 1/2 stone heavier and several dress sizes bigger. At first I don't care because I am just so happy that my head is not in constant agony, but then the weight becomes the main problem. It's not just the size you are, it's the loss of confidence, it's the comments from people who are supposed to care about you but seem to be missing the sensitivity gene, the completely demoralising act of having to buy clothes in a bigger size, the extra pressure on your body and how it's not so easy to do things as it used to be, the humilation of being described on a mystery customer report as having a 'heavy build'. Time to start losing the weight and get back to normal.

I join the gym, I go swimming, I do Body Balance, Body Attack, Body Combat and diet. Nothing works, it won't shift, with all the dieting and exercising I am doing I should look like Victoria Beckham, instead I look like Michelle McManus. Despair. I give up, eat as much choclate and crisps as I want and reduce the exercise, doing just enough to keep me from feeling like a couch potato.

About a year after I started taking Pizotifen it stops working, migraines come back. No point in taking it if it doesn't work, so switch to a different medication. 6 weeks later I am 1 and 1/2 stone lighter and have gone down 1 to 2 dress sizes. After trying a few different kinds I finally find a medication that works and has no side effects but with all my fundraising for my Raleigh trip to Borneo I don't do the exercise to lose the rest of the weight. 14 weeks in Borneo and I lose another stone so when I move to Cyprus in Jan 09 I have lost the medication weight but am still carrying the orignal stone gained. THE CYPRUS STONE. No one warned me, only after I had gained The Cyprus Stone did people start talking about it's existance. So now I am 2 stone heavier than I should be in my fantastic new life in the sun. I join Slimming World and it starts to come off, I go down 1/2 a stone then get stuck, I spend a few months bouncing up and down the 1/2 stone but the weight won't go any lower, and not only that, I feel ill, all the time. I am so tired that my social life suffers as I have no energy to go out and am relying on chocolate and caffeine to get my through the working day. Something is very wrong here. A blood test at the docs reveals a Vit B12 deficiency, easily rectifed and within weeks I am feeling much better and have bundles more energy. So, long story I grant you, but now you are up to date, Oct 09 and 1 stone and 5 lbs over what I used to be. Time for action. The Cyprus/RAF base life is very sport orientated and very outdoorsy. I don't want to join one of the many teams out here, netball, hockey, football, rugby, volleyball, basketball as I am not physically competitive at all. Put me on a quiz team and I want to win. Put me in front of a Connect 4 board and I want to win. Put me on a sports team and I couldn't care less, I am a just play for fun person. So what can I do that will get me really fit but doesn't have a whole team of people relying on me to 1-be any good, and 2-care! Yay for Triathlon. Triathlon, as the name suggests is an event with 3 discipines. Start off with a sea swim, then a road cycle and finally a road run. Swimming I love so all good there. Cycling I haven't done since an accident when I was 14 and spent a week in a wheelchair. And finally running. My nemesis. I have tried before several times and even did 2 5k charity run/walks but I just can't conquer it. This time I shall. Now I know what you are thinking, Triathlons are competitive races. Well, yes and no. Of course I want to do the best I can but I don't care if I come last everytime I do one as long as I can finish and improve. So I talk to the Triathlon club (K1) coach, explain how crap I am and commit myself to start the swimming coaching, I warn him I have absolutely no front crawl technique and he promises to fix me. The season is about to close and restarts in April by which time I shoudl be in a position to do the Try-a-Tri and take it from there. Stay tuned to see how I get on with my training.

Yes it's been too long, I'm rubbish. But here I am again ready to blog.

Top Tip

When you and some friends are going to Nicosia for the day and are planning to cross over the border to the Turkish side for lunch, don't all 3 of you forget your passports. Forntunately it was all 3 of us so it was funny and we realised before we got to the passport contorl crossing point so we didn't look stupid. So we had lunch on the Greek side, went to Ikea and listened to the Les Mis soundtrack all the way home. Good Day.

Sorry Sorry

have not updated lately as I had a visit from my Dad and now I can't get online from my laptop. I will try to get updated on Tues with all the latest news.

My Top 10 Movie Quotes

1. 'I offered him my body once, he settled for a pizza' - The Jazz Singer
2. 'How'd you get so tough?' 'I married a fighter' - Rocky 3
3. 'You had me at dicks fuck assholes' - Team America
4. 'My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the armies of the North, general of the Felix legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next' - Gladiator
5. 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn' - Gone With The Wind
6. 'I truly believe that happiness is possible, even when you're 33 and have a bottom the size of 2 bowling balls' - Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason
7. 'Oh, sod a dog. I've made the wrong decision haven't I?' - Notting Hill
8. 'Honestly, if you're not willing to sound stupid you don't deserve to be in love' - A Lot Like Love
9. 'I don't care how liberated this world becomes - a man will always be judged by the ammount of alcohol he can consume - and a woman will always be impressed, whether she likes it or not' - Cocktail
10. 'You have no power over me' - Labyrinth

I Pity The Fool

I love Truflle Shuffle and buy fab retro T-Shirts from there. My fave recent purchase however is a mug. Not just any mug, a Clubber Lang 'I Pity The Fool' mug.

Love it, Rocky 3 is my fave movie ever it has all the best bits about Rocky in it.

• It's the one where Mickey dies
• Rocky and Apollo become friends
• It is the Eye Of The Tiger movie
• It has the beach running scene
• Adrian gets tough
• Mr T is in it

Let's face it, Rocky rocks

http://www.truffleshuffle.co.uk/store/

Thats better

Have gone for a less pink more sophisicated look. I like it

My Big Fat Greek Body

Ok I had done so well losing loads of the weight I put on over the last few years. Then after only 10 weeks in Cyprus one whole stone on. I blame the olivey oily food entirely! So I have now joined Slimming World and in the first week lost 3 1/2 lbs, second week I stayed the same and considering what I ate over Easter I was amazed. So far, so good. Will keep you posted.

Laughs at Limassol Castle

As most of the girls have gone back to the UK for Easter there is only me and Helen around so we decided to do some more of the tourist stuff, so after a little light (very light on the purse heavy in the bag) shopping at the fruit/veg market we went to nearby Limassol Castle.

As soon as we walked in we could see the signs saying ‘No cameras’ so we had to be a bit sneaky to get some snaps for Facebook.

Kuriousities in Kourion and Kolossi

Yesterday me and my friend Helen visited Kourion Archaeological Site and Kolossi Castle in an attempt to get some culture and not waste a Bank Holiday off work.

Kourion is a massive site full of Greek and Roman ruins, mosaics and an impressive amphitheatre. It was originally built in the 2nd Century B.C. and some of the B.C. parts still stand like the Public Baths which were built in 50 B.C.

It was a beautiful site to walk round, (even if I did get sunburn for my troubles) and you could imagine the site at it’s former glory looking like scenery from the movie Troy whilst walking round the House of Achilles, the Gladiators House and an area dedicated to Nymphs with columns and mosaic picture floors.

The Ampitheatre is currently used for musical and dramatic shows and seats 3500 people but I thought with it’s gorgeous sea views and old stone that it would be an amazing place to get married, though obviously there would be slightly fewer than 3500 guests.

Kolossi Castle is just down the road from where I live, I drive past it a lot and so after 3 months of driving past yesterday I went in. the orginal castle was built in 1210 and the castle that stands now was rebuilt in 1454 and has played host to the Knights Templars and King Richard I of England. Oh, and they used to make sugar there.

Cosmic Ordering a Man

Most people by now should have at least heard of Cosmic Ordering even if they don‘t know what it is, there are countless books on the subject and countless public figures pay tribute to it‘s magical powers. You just ask the universe for what you want and it will get it for you, that’s the theory. It can be as small as ’someone will buy me a cup of coffee today’ or as big as ’I want a husband’. Obviously it is not as simple as that though, nothing ever is, the trick to it is that you have to believe 100% that it will happen. That’s the problem, how many of us have 100% faith in something. Personally speaking this is my problem, ask me if I 100% believe in God and spirituality and I will answer Yes in a heartbeat; ask me if I 100% believe that there is someone out there who will completely adore me and want to marry me and spend his whole life with me then I have to be honest and answer No, I would like to believe it but I don‘t, not 100%.

I really need to get past this obstacle though as I know that Cosmic Ordering works, and can work fast, often within hours. I have tried it on many occasions on small things and big things and it just works (getting a new job; someone providing you with a free car on loan just when you need one most; or just someone telling you your hair looks nice) but it does have to be something you really need and believe will happen. So if I can really believe the perfect man for me is out there and I ask for him it will happen. Well not quite that simple either, when it comes to asking for the perfect man you can’t just say ‘I want my perfect man’ you have to list the qualities that you want in a partner so that you are really clear and focussed on what you want. Another snag is that you can’t ask for a specific man as this is selfish and goes against the universe apparently, so unfortunately however much I ask for him, Gerard Butler still can’t be mine.

There must be something to it as there seems to be more and more women these days talking about how they got their man by Cosmic Ordering him, telling the universe what they want in a man and asking the universe to bring him to them. Celebrities talk in interviews of how they did this and that it worked, indeed one of my closest friends did it, then joined an online dating agency and the very first guy she met was it, they have been together for over 2 years and live together (although she does complain that she forgot to ask for someone who wasn‘t afraid of spiders).

As spiritual and open-minded as I am (and I am) I have ask myself, can writing a list of all things you want in a partner and then sending it out into the universe really work, or is it a sign of true loneliness and desperation. Well I have been single for quite a while and whilst I don’t consider myself lonely or desperate in the slightest I do want someone to love me and someone for me to love so while there are things I am still reluctant to try in the man hunt arena I am willing to give this a go and allow myself to really believe it will happen. Here then is my list, with no one in particular in mind, I promise.

Cosmic Ordering Man List What He Should Be Like In No Particular Order

• Physically attractive to me (sorry but it’s important)
• Ambitious but not ruthless
• Knows the importance of family and friends
• Genuinely thoughtful, kind and generous whilst retaining masculinity (i.e. not wimpy and needy)
• Is passionate about things and life and people in all the ways you can be passionate
• Works to help people and make a difference to the world (in some way at least if not through his job)
• Wants children
• Has faith whilst not necessarily religion
• Has a bad boy twinkle in his eye that makes him manly and rugged and just that bit more yummy
• Is independent
• Is not afraid to take a risk
• Wants to make the most out of life
• Has adventure in his life
• Is articulate and intelligent
• Has shoulders and arms that can just wrap around me and make me feel safe
• Gives me butterflies when I look at him
• Can sing and move (doesn't have to be great at it but it's the sexiest thing ever to me)
• Is not afraid of spiders

How He Is With Me

• Appreciates my need for independence and freedom
• Is not afraid to let me get to know the real him and show some vulnerability
• Supports and encourages me in whatever is important to me and in times of need
• Won’t try to restrict me or limit me
• Won’t try to control me
• Does not think I’m weird for liking cats even if he doesn’t like them himself
• Looks after me and makes me feel cared for and protected without being smothered
• Tells me how great I am lots
• Makes me feel special and important emotionally
• Makes me feel like a goddess physically
• Will make every effort required to snag me and be with me

It’s this or just writing out the lyrics to Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out For A Hero, either’s fine.

Universe, if you can hear me this is what I want, now please find him and send him, I’ll be in Southern Cyprus quite close to Limassol and I‘m on Facebook.

We Won!! Quick Let's Run!!

I joined the quiz team at my new work partly as a way to get to know some of my new colleagues and partly because I just love quizzes. I have a vast databank of useless knowledge, if you want to know anything about celebrities, 80s or 90s music, movies or literature then I’m your girl. My knowledge is legendary. On a recent expedition to Borneo we had a quiz night and one of the girls on my team went out to buy the prizes, she bought a prize that she wanted because she knew our team would win because I was on it. That’s confidence. Well obviously we did win and she got her prize and I spent the rest of the expedition being called ‘the girl who knows everything’.

But I digress.

I kept my knowledge a secret from my new colleagues, I didn’t want to brag, and they had no confidence that we would do well at the quiz it was just a bit of fun,. If I told and we did badly I would look a fool. And then it started, the theme of the quiz, 2008, rounds included; Picture round of celebs in the news in 2008

Famous couples that got together, married or broke up in 2008 Movies from 2008 Music from 2008 Celebrity deaths from 2008 TV from 2008

Wow, this quiz was made for me, I shone. Every round only made my colleagues more and more impressed with me. Who knows the name of Ryan Reynolds new wife? Who knows what British game show host died last year? Who knows the name of the movie starring Katherine Heigl about bridesmaid dresses? Who knows the name of Jade Goody’s boyfriend? I DO, I DO, I DO.

We were the only team from outside the organising unit and throughout the night the organisers kept teasing about how we couldn’t be allowed to win. After every round the scores were totted up and we were only behind by a few points the whole way through 10 rounds. After the final 11th round (about 3 hours later) the scores were announced and we were declared the winners. We had done the sums and thought surely that’s not right, surely we came second. People groaned that the outsiders won but nobody protested. Then it happened, we were handed the prize money (50 euros between 5 of us) and a trophy, great we thought, we’ll take that.

As soon as the divided up money was in our pockets and we accepted the trophy we started hearing the dreaded words - RECOUNT. The team that we thought had actually won were asking for a recount. The 5 of us looked at each other and had a telepathic moment when we all conveyed to each other the words ‘LET’S GO’. We scarpered with the money and trophy while we were still the official winning team and while the actual winning team (who had been a bit too cocky all night in my opinion) were harassing the organisers to recount the scores.

We knew we hadn’t won. They knew we hadn’t won (we actually came second by 1 ½ points). We refused to give the trophy and money back because it was just so much funnier that way.

Next month is the rematch and I have a feeling claws will be sharpened.

As they say in the cheerleader movies ‘Bring it on’, ‘Oh, it’s brung’.

My 25 Random Things About Me

Everyone else is doing it so why not

1. My biggest fear is being eaten by a shark but I still watch Jaws whenever it is on TV
2. My most favourite movies ever are ‘Rocky III’ and ‘The Slipper and the Rose’
3. The smell and taste of wine and champagne make me want to vomit
4. I spent one year working for the Council Tax office trying to track down people who were trying to avoid old bills
5. I have lived in the south, middle and north of the UK
6. I was once asked out by an Aston Villa player and said yes just because he was famous
7. If I never find love I will be a crazy spinster cat lady and be perfectly happy
8. I went to a police line up after witnessing a mugging and found it inappropriately amusing
9. My favourite song is ‘Beyond the Sea’ by Bobby Darin
10. When I was a kid I hated the nickname She-ra but now love it
11. I have fainted 5 times, in church on Christmas Day, in the Doctors Surgery, at the top of the stairs at home, on the escalators in the Pavillions in Brum and in a pub at my brothers gig
12. The thing I despise the most is Bananas, can’t stand the look, smell, texture or taste of them
13. My Ally McBeal style ‘theme songs’ that make me feel good are ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and ‘What a Feeling’
14. I spent New Years Eve 1999/2000 dressed as Marilyn Monroe
15. After years of working in bars I have met countless celebrities, my favourite is Hunter from Gladiators
16. I just love love love musicals, could spend the whole day watching them
17. Every time my Mom says ‘tek’ instead of ‘take’ my whole body cringes
18. I can play ‘Colours of Day’ on the recorder flawlessly
19. I think Elvis Presley and Neil Diamond have the sexiest voices ever
20. On separate occasions 2 friends have told me that if they could look like anyone in the world they would look like me and I still don’t know what to say to that
21. It took me 7 years to get a tattoo
22. The Priest at my first primary school told my Mom he thought I would become a Nun because I loved Mass so much
23. The only part of my body I like is my green eyes
24. My first memory is the day my brother Mark was born, I was 2 ½
25. I never wanted to travel to Asia to ‘find myself’ but I did

Sisters say the nicest, truest things

I was watching a movie with my sister over Christmas, The Holiday, a nice Christmassy movie for some QT with the sis during my brief visit back to the UK and she, in her 13-going-on-20-year-old way told me that the character played by Kate Winslet is me. She repeated this over and over and found it endlessly amusing. Whenever Kate’s character would get excited or cry my sister would laugh and say ‘that’s so you’. And this is why apparently - fair skin, blonde hair, excitable and emotional (that being crying).

After brooding on this for several weeks I still can’t decide how I feel about it. My sister knows me very, very well and would only have said it if she meant so it seems that must be what I am like.

Yes, the character has some charms, she bounces back, she has the strength to change her unhappy life, she believes in love and happy endings (and gets one). They are all things I would like to be like.

However, she also tried to kill herself by sticking her head in her oven and was pathetically in love with a man who strung her along for years and didn‘t love her back. I hereby vow to never do either of those things.

Have you ever been likened to a character or had someone nail your personality with one sentence and completely blow your mind with it? It’s a revelation but not exactly a pleasant experience.

Let's start with Hello and Why

I’m a bit late to blogging I know, but I only just now feel that it will be good for me to do it. So why now, well 2008 (Jan to August anyway) was without doubt the worst year of my life. Personally and professionally it was just shit, if it could go wrong it did, and boy did it. It nearly destroyed me. Oh yeah, I also started the year newly 30 and heavier than I had ever been by about 2st.

The only thing that got me through the first half of the year was knowing that I was going to be spending mid Sep to mid Dec on a charity expedition in Malaysian Borneo with Raleigh. I had worked hard to get on the programme and I was very, very excited about it and what I could get out of it. Not only would it physically remove me from the problems back home but it would give me time to focus on me and sort through some of the clutter in my head.

By about July it was very clear to me that when I returned from Borneo I wouldn’t be able to continue in my current job, the situation had become untenable and most importantly I was bored and needed a new big challenge and dramatic change of lifestyle. Fate clearly decided that I was right and helped me out big time by securing me a new job (only 2 weeks before I flew out to Borneo) on the sunny southern Cyprus coastline that would be ready and waiting for me to start in Jan 09.

So September finally came and I spent 17 long hours travelling to Borneo and had my first big adventure in life. I met some amazing people who will hopefully be in my life forever, saw amazing things like villages and communities, the mountains, the jungle, the most stunning beaches in the world and monkeys in the wild. And I did amazing things like trekked through and slept in the jungle in hammocks (even got my very own jungle injury), swam in rivers, got attacked by hundreds of mosquitoes at once and managed to avoid Dengue Fever, sang karaoke for the first time and got to genuinely help people and make a difference to some lives. It was very cool indeed. What was most amazing about it was how it changed me and challenged me in the ways I didn’t expect. Dealing with difficult and changing group dynamics, living with and dealing with other peoples deep seated issues and dramas that affected the whole house, coping with my own crap health issues and trying to get on with people that, quite frankly, I just didn’t like. The most unexpected and challenging thing for me was having the character traits I don’t like abut myself mirrored back at me by other people. This was VERY unnerving and caused me to do a lot of soul searching. I had no option but to accept that I had some of these traits that were just awful to witness in other people and was determined to cast these aside and start again when I got to Cyprus. I was determined to get back to the old me of my early to mid twenties that I used to like, that used to not let life affect her so much. Obviously I know I will never be the same as my early twenties, every experience I have had since then has left it’s mark but my aim now is to not let it scar me too deeply and to get everything out of life that I want and, God damn it, that I deserve. I didn’t leave Borneo with everything being magically fixed, that’s a work in progress (I actually left still a physical and emotional mess); but I left knowing what needed to change, and that’s what was most important. That and a handful of really, really good friends. So this is why I’m a blogger now, so I can record what I wanted to happen and change and remind myself of that when times get tough (which they surely will) and just get down in writing how I am feeling about certain things, events and issues. I’m in Cyprus now, am getting to grips with my new job (which is exactly the challenge I need), my new lifestyle (which still needs some tweaking) and new mindset (which is pretty good at the moment). I have started to make friends, I have got a cat (a grey and white cutie called Ally) and I like the people I work with (which is a relief), so, so far so good. Now is the time to put the changes into practice, the scary bit. Wish me luck