do 43 new things

Hearing my baby’s heartbeat for the first time has to be one of the best new things I’ve ever done!

Several nights ago our local football club held a race night. Since we are on the committee, we felt we should go and we were glad we did as it was a lot of fun! The video clips were absolutely ancient but there was a good atmosphere, despite a very poor turnout. Unfortunately we barely raised any money, but everyone there enjoyed themselves. It was nice that the betting was only 50p a time and £2 to own a horse as it kept it fun. Despite winning one or two, we both still ended up out of pocket by the end! A good night though and we’d like to do another one sometime.

I have never been pregnant before so this is definitely a new thing I am doing (and my favourite one so far!)

I just realised that the whole rollercoaster journey of IVF I’ve been on recently is actually a new thing! It’s been gruelling, both emotionally and physically, but hopefully it’ll be worth it.

We’ve had a backgammon set for ages which used to belong to me husband’s grandad, but we’ve never played it as it has a piece missing. Recently I managed to get a little travel version of the game which we took with us on holiday this week and learnt how to play. It’s a great game! So far we’ve played it four times and I’ve won three of them!

Last weekend we were camping in Cornwall and the stars were so visible, mainly due to the lack of light pollution. I’d never seen a shooting star before, but I was lucky enough to see three within about ten minutes! Each one was really exciting! We could also see Jupiter (according to my husband so I’m not sure about that one!), loads of different constellations and the Milky Way. It was incredible!

This morning some friends of ours had their son blessed during a service at an evangelical church, and we went along, not really sure how it would differ to a traditional church service. As it turned out, it was much more enjoyable! The songs were almost like pop songs rather than warbly old hymns and there was a proper band and singer rather than some old duffer on an organ, so the singing was definitely more upbeat and fun! The pastor’s words were insightful and interesting, and it was nice that the congregation were involved in the service. It definitely struck a chord with me and is something I’d be interested in looking into further as it really matched my idea of what church should be like – relaxed, friendly and non-intimidating.

I’ve been a fan of Post Secret but had never sent a card myself – until now! I actually feel a little better that I’ve ‘shared’ my secret, even if it doesn’t get published.

My Dad’s had a wheelchair since he had a stroke a year and a half ago and quite often if we go out anywhere I’ll push him in it as it’s not a self-propelling one. The other day though we were at the seaside and I sat down in it and my mum pushed me along! It actually gave me a real insight into how it feels to be totally dependent on sombody else to push you along and it felt very strange to be so reliant on my mum. I feel very lucky that I have the use of my legs!

When we went to the Troubadour club in London last night, one of the acts was a cabaret artist called Sarah-Louise Young. I’d obviously heard of cabaret before but had ever seen such an act. She had four different characters who all sang and told jokes. She had a brilliant singing voice and each character was very well created, though we didn’t find some of the jokes that funny. It was a great experience though and the venue is amazing. It was lovely to sit at a little table right by the stage – all very intimate.