heatherl60

I enquired when I went to give blood this week. The nurse took a quick look at my veins and said they weren’t big enough for me to donate platelets. So that’s that! 8 months ago

I went to my booked appointment on Wednesday and was able to donate. It was fine, and I booked an appointment for January. 8 months ago

I’ve signed up for a stall at a very busy (45 thousand visitors) Christmas festival. My husband and I have spent a long time planning for it and have decided that it’s likely to be so successful that I can justify paying a friend to work with me for 1.5 days per week. She’s excited, I’m excited and it will be great! 8 months ago

Cash only seems to be going well! We’re at the end of week 3 of the pocket money regime, and I’m certain we’ve spent a lot less. When you only have £30 in your purse for the whole week, no matter what, you’re a lot more likely to spend it on things that truly matter and not fritter it away.

I’m sure we’ve saved a fair bit, but I think it’s too early to tell. 8 months ago

This week I did something to my knee. I have had problems with it in the past, but thought that physio had sorted it out. But on Monday it started to hurt again for no reason, and I was struggling to walk up and down stairs.

I only went to my pilates class this week because it is low impact – I didn’t want to damage my knee any further. It’s OK again now though, so back to normal this week. 8 months ago

My brother, my only sibling, died at Easter this year in a hill-walking accident. He was 23. One of the things that has hit me is that when I’m older and lose my parents, there will be only me left – I won’t be able to reminisce with my brother about our shared childhood memories. That really hurts and I’m scared that I will forget important things.

I’ve been saving up for a nice journal and pen that I’m going to use to write down memories of my brother and our childhood. I plan to have it with me at all times, so I can write whenever I remember anything. My mind is so full of little tiny memories that I know I will forget if I don’t make a note of them. 8 months ago

we’ve started a new cash-only system for general purchases, which has worked well for the first 2 weeks.

we get the cash out of the machine on Sunday or Monday and split it into different pots. there’s a food pot, a petrol pot and an eating out pot. on top of that we get pocket money each week to cover other purchases we want to make.

I like not using my debit card – it makesme much more aware of how much I’m spending and how much I have left of my weekly allocation.

I did allow myself to buy something online today with the debit card, but I’ll get less pocket money when it’s doled out. buying online is often a lot cheaper, so it seems a bit silly to cut that out entirely if we’re trying to save. 8 months ago

I ended up having several evening commitments this week that clashed with my usual classes. in fact, I only managed 1 class ( Pilates) all week. I did do some walking, but not much, and I don’t feel as good as I do if I’ve done more exercise.

I suppose everyone’s allowed a bad week, right? 8 months ago

i finished Macbeth last night. I did it for GCSE English years ago and know it quite well, plus it’s really quite short, so it wasn’t that hard to follow.

not sure what to tackle next. I think it might have to be one from the histories list, which feels like a much harder kettle of fish! suggestions? 8 months ago

So this plot is not suitable for us because it is in the designated Greenbelt and therefore cannot be built on. Ho hum. 8 months ago

I’ve just started Project 333, where you live with a wardrobe of only 33 items (clothes, shoes, accessories) for 3 months. I’ve selected 33 items that will see me through until the end of November and have packed the rest away into suitcases and bin bags.

You can read more about Project 333 at the link below:
http://theproject333.com

It’s gone OK so far, but it is only day 1! 8 months ago

One bag of books went to the charity shop yesterday. It was mostly duplicates of books we already have. I don’t like getting rid of books as a rule, but there’s no point having 2 copies of the Harry Potter series taking up space on the shelves. 8 months ago

I need to ascertain whether I have enough platelets to be a donor; apparently many women don’t. This involves the blood donor people taking an extra sample to test next time I give blood. This will be on 19th September. 8 months ago

I’ve finished Twelfth Night and quite enjoyed it. I’ve bought secondhand copies of Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing that have study notes included – Macbeth next I think. 8 months ago

This week I:
went to a 50 minute FitTone class (cardio and toning)
went to a 50 minute Pilates class
went to a 50 minute Zumba class

I also did a fair bit of walking. 8 months ago

We’ve found some land that we can (possibly) afford! We drove down to see it on Friday; it’s a plot of scrubland on the edge of a wood, opposite a housing estate. Just over 1.5 acres of it. The next step is to find out if there’s any chance of getting planning permission to build on it. This needs to be down before Thursday, because that’s when the land will be sold at auction. 8 months ago

I’ve enrolled online for a 10 week beginners dressmaking course which starts in a few weeks time. I’m really looking forward to it! 8 months ago

I’m partway through Twelfth Night, the first play on my list. I downloaded the complete works of Shakespeare for my Kindle and am finding that “little but often” is the way to do it. 8 months ago

This week I :

- went to 3 fitness classes of 50 minutes each. 2 were cardio, one was toning.
- skipped pilates
- walked the dog a few times, but not every day
- didn't get my lunchtime walk

so there’s room for improvement. 8 months ago

Here’s a list of all of Shakespeare’s plays, split into genre. There are 37 in total. I read a few (probably the “easiest” ones) at school, and have seen dramatisations of others. Some of them I’ve never heard of!

I’m going to attempt to read all of them over the next year, starting with the ones I already know and switching between the genres. I think the historical plays will be the hardest, but time will tell.

COMEDIES

All’s Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night’s Dream – saw the play
Much Ado about Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest
Twelfth Night – read at school
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter’s Tale

HISTORIES

Cymbeline
Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III

TRAGEDIES

Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth – read at school & saw the play
Othello
Romeo and Juliet – read at school, watched the film, saw the ballet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida 9 months ago

I tried to go today but was turned away because I hadn’t made an appointment. Then I tried to book an appointment when I came home but the session I wanted was full. So I’ve emailed about an appointment for a session in September. Frustrating start! 9 months ago

I feel better when I have a regular sleep pattern. The one that works best for me is 8 hours per night from 11pm to 7am, with a bit extra at weekends. It’s already 11.30pm and I’m still awake, so not such a good start to this one. 9 months ago

This trip is planned for the end of 2013 / beginning of 2014. The first steps to take are saving up for it, booking suitable flights and working out how to get 6 weeks off work. 9 months ago

I’ve wanted to do this for so long. My grandma is a talented dressmaker but doesn’t live nearby, so I’ve decided to do a beginners class for 10 weeks. It starts in September and I just need to make sure it doesn’t clash with my church commitments. 9 months ago

“Do more exercise” is quite vague. Let’s face it – any exercise would be more!

This goal means that I will be meeting (and hopefully exceeding) the NHS activity guidelines for physical activity: 75 mins of vigorous CV exercise a week, plus muscle-strengthening exercises on 2 or more days.

My plan is to attend at least two 50 minute cardio exercise classes a week at the university fitness centre, as well as a pilates class on one day. I will also do 45 minutes of pilates at home one day per week.

On top of this I will walk the dog every day, and go for a 15 minute walk in my lunch break. 9 months ago