Blog 20 - On Your Bike...

My 18^th challenge completed was a 40 mile bike ride. I am pleased to say I did the most preparation I have done for a challenge so far, seeing as I didn’t actually have a bike, I needed to at least buy a bike!

Seeing as I wasn’t sure if I would like cycling, as I have barely ridden a bike before and haven’t ridden a bike since I was in my teens, I didn’t want to spend vast amounts of money on a bike. I found out about the Cardiff Cycle Workshop, who take in unwanted and abandoned bikes and recondition them and sell them on. The guys that work voluntarily were fab, they found me a bike that fit and would cope with a 40 mile bike ride and all for the pricely sum of £50! They were really enthusiastic and spurned me on for the challenge.

Along with the bike I bought a bottle holder, lights, handy tool kit, foot pump, spare inner tube and padded trousers, so I was ready… all the gear and no idea!!!.

 I was really pleased that so many of my friends wanted to join me on this challenge and were supportive of tactics and working out the best route to take. Thanks to Nia who also managed to score a group of us a Bike Maintenance class courtesy of Muddybum bikes in Rhiwbina. The guys from Muddybums were brilliant and taught us all how to change a tyre if we got a puncture and gave us a general over-view of how to look after our bikes and tips on how best to get through the challenge.

So I had the gear, I had the maintenance expertise, now I just needed to get on a bike!  

As time was short I only had time for one training ride, so Nia, Sue and I went for an evening ride on the lower part of the Taff Trail down to Cardiff Bay and back. We ended up doing 16 miles and I found it quite easy apart from a few wobbles and an argument with a peddle. I also learnt a few  lessons, namely keep my mouth shut as I swallowed a ton of flies, I need to work out how to use gears and put my padded trousers on the right way!

So with only one training ride under my belt, and the starting point of the Taff Trail agreed (just above Pontiscill Reservoir), myself and 12 lovely brave ladies started off at 9.30am in the pouring rain (a bit of a late start when most of us got a bit lost). As I was still fiddling with my phone strap, all the others set off and I was left behind with the husbands and cars. It did cross my mind to just jump back in the car – what an amazing practical joke that would be!!

The first part of the ride was fairly pleasant as the rain quickly stopped, there were some hills and I was still struggling with my gears but the time quickly went past as did the miles. Our first stop was the Dynevor Arms at Troedyrhiw almost 13 miles in, we timed it just right for opening time but although tempting to partake in an alcoholic beverage, most of us wanted a cup of tea! The chaps in the pub explained they didn’t have a kettle but were really lovely, and let us use their loo and fill up water bottles etc.

Even a horse came up to see the crazy bike ladies!

After a quick food break ranging, we set off again and only 5 minutes into the next stage, Catrin lost concentration and did a hilarious comedy fall, where she somehow dropped down off the path, panicked and braked, but her brakes were so powerful the bike stopped suddenly and flung her somersaulting over the top like a human and bike buckaroo!!! Luckily she did land on soft grass and was laughing! We were all so shocked and worried (well I was, after taking her photo first!). She was unhurt apart from a few cuts and bruises, so it did give us a laugh. The other funny part was when I followed Catrin down some steps by mistake and got the shock of my life! I also had to face my nemesis and had to cross a few scary bridges along the way, although it made me cycle like a bat out of hell to cross them!

 Other than the continuous cycling, chatting and scenery watching, the rest of the ride went pretty calmly. We stopped in Pontypridd and managed to find a Costa Coffee for a lunch stop approx 26 miles in. After a wee and refreshments we headed off again. This next stage was when it really hit home for me and turned much more painful with my hips and undercarriage becoming very uncomfortable. Luckily Sarah brought some strong Ibuprofen and when they started kicking in, it was more manageable. As with all the challenges I really thought it would have felt easier, I’m not sure what is wrong with my psyche that makes me think I can do all these things with no training, skill or general overall fitness!.

Eventually 12 of us started the ride, stuck together and supported each other throughout and all 12 of us finished together at the Deri pub in Rhiwbina! It felt amazing to see the pub, see all of our families welcoming us home and downing that first pint of lager! We did it in a ridiculously slow time (approx 6 hours) but we did it! No punctures and no injuries!

As always I am so surprised that my moment of madness coming up with these challenges has encouraged others to join me and join in on the craziness. I love that I am getting closer to friends I already know and making new friends along the way and am just so touched by everyone’s support.  So sitting here with aches and pains and a very tender undercarriage, (padded trousers were rubbish!) I am pleased and proud that another challenge is done!

Blog 19 – Over half way through the challenges…

Well I’m over half way through my year of challenges and have 5 months left to go! I have completed 15 challenges and still have a whopping 25 to go…eek! I have almost finished the most restrained 40 days of my life as I am on Day 38 of no chocolate and am currently sitting staring at a basket of chocolate eggs that I will be devouring next week. I have proved my determination once again at not giving in to the chocolate cravings but boy has it made me miserable. It is something I hope I never have to do again as life is tough enough without the pleasure of chocolate! And to make matters worse I didn’t even lose a pound in weight as stuffed my face with 2^nd rate choices of cakes and biscuits instead!!

Anyway that will be my 16^th challenge completed and as I am over half way through and feeling the pressure I thought I would have an update on the challenges remaining and completed;

CHALLENGES UNDERGOING:

Challenge 1 – WRITE 40 BLOGS – This is Blog 19 written.

Challenge 5 – RIDE 40 MILES ON BIKE – I with a number of other willing volunteers will be hoping to ride 40 miles on the Taff Trail on Sunday 27 April.

Challenge 6 – DO 40 SIT UPS EVERY DAY – I am managing to keep this up.

Challenge 7 – LEARN A 40 MOVE DANCE ROUTINE – I am hoping my mate Tracey is going to help me with this one.

Challenge 10 – TAKE 40 PHOTOS WITH 40 THEME – I have taken a photo for each completed challenge so have taken 15 so far.

Challenge 11 – READ 40 BOOKS – I am currently on Book number 27.  

Challenge 14 – 40 DATES WITH MY HUSBAND – We have currently had 21 dates.

Challenge 15 – LEARN A TOP 40 HIT ON THE UKELELE – I am massively struggling with this one, but think I have found someone who plays who can teach me the basics.

Challenge 17 – VISIT 40 PUBS – I have currently visited 25 pubs.

Challenge 20 – PARTY WITH 40 FRIENDS – I am hoping to celebrate my birthday with a party.

Challenge 21 – PUT £40 ON BLACK IN A CASINO – My brother and Sister-in-law did this in Las Vegas for me but I also need to do it in the UK.

Challenge 23 – SEE PLAY ON THE WEST END – I have booked to see a play in April.

Challenge 24 – AFTERNOON TEA AT THE RITZ – I have booked for this in May.

Challenge 26 – LOSE 14 POUNDS –aargh I’m really not sure I’m going to be able to do this?

Challenge 27 – CHOCOLATE CHALLENGE COMPETITION – this is planned for May.

Challenge 29 – WALK ACROSS A HIGH BRIDGE – I need to plan when I’m going to do this but I hope to walk over the top of the Newport Transporter Bridge.

Challenge 31 – GO ON THE BIG ZIPPER – This is booked for May.

Challenge 32 – ENTER A MUDRUNNER EVENT – This is booked for June.

Challenge 33 – TRY VODKA – not done yet.

Challenge 34 – ATTEMPT A WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT – not done yet.

Challenge 35 – COOK A NEW RECIPE EACH MONTH – I am keeping up to date with this but am still a rubbish cook!

Challenge 37 – GET 40 RETWEETS FROM ONE TWEET – Not done yet.

Challenge 39 – RECORD MY OWN MUSIC SINGLE – not done yet.

Challenge 40 – GET 40 PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE CHALLENGES WITH ME – I am recruiting lots of people in a lot of the challenges, so think I might be able to achieve this one.

COMPLETED CHALLENGES:

Challenge 2 – GET 40 PEOPLE TO DONATE £10 – I managed to get 40 people to donate £10 to my Just Giving Fundraising page for RSPCA Cardiff.

Challenge 3 – RUN FOUR 10K RUNS IN 4 DAYS – I ran 40k between 2.13.14 – 5.3.14 with help from my friends. Cost £16 to enter the official St Davids Day Run.

Challenge 4 – SWIM 40 LENGTHS – Swan 40 lengths of the 50m pool in Cardiff Bay with Lara Ramsay on 27.10.13. (Money spent £16 for goggles and entry to pool)

Challenge 8 – SCORE 40 ON A DART BOARD WITH ONE DART – Got a double top on my 9^th try on 12.1.14

Challenge 9 – 40 HOUR FAST – I completed 40 hours not eating any food and surviving on water and flavoured water only. (Sept, with Karen Daniel)

Challenge 12 – VOLUNTEER FOR 40 HOURS - Aside from my RSPCA volunteering, 40 hours of my free time were given volunteering for NSPCC Childline Schools Service, PTA events and other fundraising events. 

Challenge 16 – 40 HOUR NO SWEARING OR £1 FINE – Completed between Tuesday 5 to Wednesday 6 November 2013. (Cost me £21)

Challenge 18 – TURN MOBILE PHONE OFF FOR 40 HOURS – I turned my phone off and had no access to facebook, twitter or emails at all for 40 hours. (Oct)

Challenge 19 – 40 HOUR SILENCE – Completed between Midnight on Thursday 14.11.13 until 4pm on Saturday 16.11.13.

Challenge 22 – ADOPTED A WILD ANIMAL – I adopted Jubilee an Asian Elephant through the Born Free Foundation. (Spent £30 for adoption fee)

Challenge 25 – GIVE BLOOD – Completed on 11.10.13.

Challenge 28 – COMMIT 12 ACTS OF KINDNESS TO RANDOM STRANGERS – Completed on 26.3.14.

Challenge 30 – APPLY FOR A GAME SHOW – I applied to the following game shows ‘Deal or No Deal’ ‘The Chase’, ‘Bargain Hunt’ and ‘The Guess List’, but have not actually made it onto any actual shows.

Challenge 36 – LISTEN TO ALL THE CD’S I OWN – 186 CDs were listened to from beginning to end.

Challenge 38 – HULA HOOP FOR 40 REVOLUTIONS – Completed in Sept. (Spent £18 on buying hoola hoop)

So thank you all for your continued support and wish me luck for the rest of the list!

Blog 18 - Kindness makes the World go round...

I have to admit this has been my favourite challenge so far and I have loved it…. Far more than giving up chocolate grr!

Since the beginning of this madness, I started planning to commit 12 random acts of kindness to strangers. At first this was harder than I thought it would be as I had trouble thinking of things that would be easier enough to do, wouldn’t cost a fortune and wouldn’t make me look like a loon! I did a bit of research to get a few ideas and a number of things actually just happened without any planning that I counted as part of this. The non planned acts were much easier and most of the time I didn’t think about it qualifying until after they happened. 

It was surprisingly hard at times to carry out the acts of kindness if they were pre-planned. Strangers were generally quite suspicious of me and I also got really shy and embarrassed trying to carry them out for some odd reason! For example with Kindness 10, I kept dropping a £5 note and offering it to people and the person would be so honest and say ‘No I didn’t drop it, you keep it!’ after the third attempt at this I gave up that day and tried again another day which went much more smoothly.

So I ended up doing 15 acts of kindness, as I didn’t feel some were big enough, so the final list was:

Kindness 1 – Paid for a cup of coffee and slice of cake for a stranger in a café (£3.50). Paid for a coffee for a stranger in the queue behind me in Starbucks (£3)

Kindness 2 – Bought a pack of Minstrels in a vending machine and left it in the bottom of the machine for a stranger to find.  (60p) – I did do this a couple of times as I loved it and it would totally make my day if I found free chocolate!

Kindness 3 – Left a £1 in a locker in the leisure centre for a stranger to find. (£1)

Kindness 4 – Bought a £1 scratch card and gave it to a stranger (£1)

Kindness 5 – Gave a drink to a child whose Mum had forgotten to bring him one at a gymnastics class (£1.20)

Kindness 6 –Picked up someone else’s dog poo with my poo bag as the owner had forgotten their own bags. (Free)

Kindness 7 – Carried a strangers heavy bags to her car as she was struggling as she was on crutches. (Free)

Kindness 8 –Created a ‘Free Box’ full of unwanted CDs, DVDs, books, jewellery and odd bits and put it on a bench in the park behind my house for a couple of hours a couple of days. Strangers were then able to take anything they fancied to keep for themselves. (Free)

Kindness 9 – Managed to find some great seats in the pub to watch England v France 6 Nations Rugby game, then saw an older couple about to stand to watch, so we offered the seats to this couple and stood throughout the game ourselves. (Free)

Kindness 10 – Dropped a £5 note accidently on purpose on the floor then offered it to an old couple and said that they must have dropped it. (£5)

Kindness 11 – When out for a meal in a large group the bill came and we were undercharged for 2 bottles of wine. Although most of us were very tempted to ignore it, I and few others felt uncomfortable not admitting to it, as it was a small local family business. So a couple of us paid extra to cover the bottles of wine as a very large tip coming up with the perfect compromise. 

Kindness 12– After hearing screams from the park behind my house, as I was having a cup of tea in the house, I ran into the park to help a stranger who was in trouble. Her cocker spaniel dog was being attacked by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier type dog. The Staffie had its jaws clamped around the neck of the cocker spaniel, who was being held by the owner screaming. I dived into the muddy bog to help, I managed to get my own hands in the jaw of the Staffie and with the help of two other passersby and a milk man who also came running when he heard the screams, we somehow managed to get the dog to free its grip around the spaniel’s neck. I then managed to get the Cocker Spaniel and the owner to my house, and gave them both first aid and get emergency help for the dog. The stranger and Daisy the dog turned out to live in my street. I’m pleased to say after two operations, 10 year old Daisy made a full recovery and her owner was treated for shock and also recovered quickly. Amazingly none of the humans were injured in the rescue and I have made a new friend with one of my neighbours.  (Free)

Kindness 13 – Took a photo for some tourists. (Free)

Kindness 14 - I talked to a lonely older chap when I was supposed to be rushing to do something else. (Free)

Kindness 15 -  I spent the day giving way whilst driving and offering all motorists the chance to go in front of me or pull out etc. (Free)

I loved doing this challenge and although it didn’t cost me much, each and every act made me smile and really cheered up my day! I especially loved it when it rubbed off on my children and they kept thinking of things they would like to leave in the free box and my son told me that he had left a trail of sweets for another child to find! It made me put down my phone and look around and take notice of strangers and the people around me everyday. Just smiling and acknowledging people more has really changed my outlook on the day.

Even though the challenge was to complete 12 acts, I wish I had set 40 acts of kindness in a way, but unlike some challenges that I will never want to attempt again, this one I will definitely carry on looking for opportunities I have totally got the bug now and want to continue to look for more opportunities to brighten up my and a strangers day!

Blog 17 - Hands on Buzzers...

Ah the attempt to get 5 minutes of fame. Challenge 30 was to apply for a game show. The thinking behind this one was, that it seemed like it might be a laugh and you never know I might win a prize! Well little did I know how hard it is to get on a game show. The application forms alone take forever and you have to think up countless witty ways to explain why you would be a good contestant and why you are so fabulous, funny, daring and a bit special!!

Well needless to say, I haven't yet actually managed to be shortlisted for a show, but have made four applications in total. I really wanted to apply for the 'Wipeout' game show and try my hand at the Big Red Balls, I would have been useless, but I bet I would have looked funny. Anyhow the applications for that show had closed so I chose 'Deal or No Deal' mainly because there was no skill required just luck and a show called 'The Chase' although I had no idea what that show was, so quite glad I didn't get chosen.

After discussing this challenge in work lots, I also managed to persuade my colleague Paul to apply for a show with me, (to be honest it didn't take much persuasion as he is a major fan!), BARGAIN HUNT! Now once again I would have no idea when it comes to this show but Paul and I wrote a cracking application form and I was really expecting a call, but as yet nothing!

Whilst waiting for the call from Bargain Hunt, I also came across a plea for contestants to a new show called The Guess List which will be hosted by Rob Brydon. It sounded perfect, no general knowledge needed - tick, no skill required - tick, must have a sense of humour and willing to laugh at themselves - tick. So I got on to it, it was a much shorter application form too - result! Within a couple of hours of sending off my form I got a phone call interview and offered an audition. An audition??? I know, I can't believe they actually audition potential contestants. Anyway I was unable to make the audition so I declined and thought 'oh well' and carried on with my day. That night though they called back and said that as I couldn't make the audition could I do a video audition answering numerous questions that they gave me. So I agreed, much to my and Mr RP's dismay as the next day we were going on a family holiday and were up to our eyes in preparation so I made a very hasty, badly lit, horribly embarassing audition tape. And no you can't see it...... oh ok just because it proves the challenge attempt I guess. Get ready to hide behind your hands and cringe away...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH-x1DCl5N0

Sadly even though they sounded pretty desperate, I was not chosen so think I may not be able to fulfill this dream but the challenge of applying for game shows is well and truly completed and you never know they may come back in the future to request some mad Welsh girl who can hoola hoop!

Blog 16 - Get My Daps On...

Ok so I thought as I had run one 10k last year, it wouldn't be that much harder to run 4 of them back to back over 4 days! Hahaha! How wrong was I?! I laughed at preparation and thought that bananas and chocolate bars would see me through! It was only into my 3rd run that someone mentioned running socks!

Subsequently 4 days of running with only basic training (of runs about 3-6k once or twice a week) left me with painful shin splints, hip bursitis, bloodied toes, blisters, swollen ankle, bloody knee and a bit of a hobble!

But I should start at the beginning, after a half term break at Centre Parcs and a week of relaxation, pancakes, treats and copious amounts of wine, I was ready to conquer my 40k run attempt. The first 10k was with my usual running partners of Sue and Nia at the official St David's Day 10k run. This was a really flat and lovely run around Bute Park in Cardiff, it was hard on my shins as they were painful from shin splints, an injury I had picked up the week before, but we got through it in 1 hour and 14 minutes, which we were happy with.

The 2^nd run was with four other mums from my children’s school, I was really touched as I only thought that one friend was running with me and then 3 others turned up to support me. So Elaine, Siwan, Lisa, Catrin and I ran the 2^nd 10k from Rhiwbina up to Tongwynlais and down the Taff Trail. This run was the hardest of the four runs, as there was quite an incline which was tough on the shins and the other girls were much fitter than me and I was having a lot of self-doubt and mentally feeling a bit negative. To my surprise I did run it all and finished in the same time (1 hour and 14 minutes).

The 3^rd run was after a full days work and began with very shaky tired legs. I ran this 10k with my 27 year old colleague Paul around Newport. We had a comedy start as we got a bit lost trying to find the River Usk cycle trail but this distraction helped to ease me into my stride and this run ended up being my most physically comfortable. As most of my body was aching, I stopped focussing on my shins and it was ok and we completed it in 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

The 4^th run was again after a days work and apart from being tired and having a number of large blisters, I was feeling positive. Sue and Nia joined me again and we ran a 10k route from my house to Roath Park, Birchgrove and back. It was all going well until the 9k mark where I took a tumble down an uneven kerb, twisting over on my ankle, scraping my knee and landing in the road. I must admit the aches, pains and tiredness from the last 4 days finally overtook me and I had a little weep in the road! Luckily the girls hooked their arms around me and heaved my crumpled heap off the road and kept me moving. Within a couple of strides we started jogging again through my tears as I was determined to run it all and did not want to stop at 39k!!! To keep me going Sue shouted out ‘Think of your blog Michelle!’

We did complete it in our slowest time of 1 hour 18 minutes, but I was so proud I managed it at all. All 3 of us celebrated as it was a massive achievement for Sue and Nia too, for their 2^nd 10k within a couple of days. The girls surprised me with Cava and strawberries to celebrate and we sat, stiffening up and laughing at how ridiculous a challenge it was I had set myself and them!

 

 

So, the running challenge is complete! Due to my physical injuries, lack of preparation and rubbish running inability, a lot of people took pity on me and along with completing the running challenge, I also managed to complete the sponsorship challenge too and got 40 people to donate £10 each to my Just Giving page raising money for the RSPCA Cardiff. In fact to date, I have managed to get 42 people to donate, this page will remain open until the end of the 40 Challenges, so hopefully I might pick up a few more.

This challenge taught me a number of things; I should probably do more preparation; 40k is actually quite far and harder to run than I thought; there are some lovely scenic running routes around Newport and Cardiff; I have more determination than I thought; my friends and family are so supportive as I couldn’t have done it alone and I need to buy some running socks!

COMPLETED CHALLENGES (14 so far):

Challenge 2 – GET 40 PEOPLE TO PLEDGE £10 TO CHARITY – completed on 5 March 2014, the Just Giving Page that I set up to raise funds for the RSPCA in Cardiff will remain open for the rest of the year and continue to take more donations.

Challenge 3 – RUN 40K OVER 4 DAYS – I ran four separate 10k runs on 2, 3, 4 & 5 March 2014.

Challenge 4 – SWIM 40 LENGTHS – Swan 40 lengths of the 50m pool in Cardiff Bay with Lara Ramsay on 27.10.13. (Money spent £16 for goggles and entry to pool)

Challenge 8 – SCORE 40 ON A DART BOARD WITH ONE DART – Got a double top on my 9^th try on 12.1.14

Challenge 9 – 40 HOUR FAST – I completed 40 hours not eating any food and surviving on water and flavoured water only. (Sept, with Karen Daniel)

Challenge 12 – VOLUNTEER FOR 40 HOURS - Aside from my RSPCA volunteering, 40 hours of my free time were given volunteering for NSPCC Childline Schools Service, PTA events and other fundraising events.

Challenge 16 – 40 HOUR SILENCE – Completed between Midnight on Thursday 14.11.13 until 4pm on Saturday 16.11.13.

Challenge 18 – TURN MOBILE PHONE OFF FOR 40 HOURS – I turned my phone off and had no access to facebook, twitter or emails at all for 40 hours. (Oct)

Challenge 19 – 40 HOUR NO SWEARING OR £1 FINE – Completed between Tuesday 5 to Wednesday 6 November 2013.

Challenge 22 – ADOPTED A WILD ANIMAL – I adopted Jubilee an Asian Elephant through the Born Free Foundation. (Spent £30 for adoption fee)

Challenge 25 – GIVE BLOOD – Completed on 11.10.13 and also gave blood on 9.3.14.

Challenge 30 – APPLY FOR A GAME SHOW – I applied to two game shows ‘Deal or No Deal’ and ‘The Chase’ in August but have still not heard anything back. I also applied to Bargain Hunt this month for my colleague Paul who would love to go on this programme.

Challenge 36 – LISTEN TO ALL THE CDS I OWN FROM BEGINNING TO END – All 186 CDs were listened to by 17.2.14.

Challenge 38 – HULA HOOP FOR 40 REVOLUTIONS – Completed in Sept. (Spent £18 on buying hoola hoop)

Blog 15 - Music moods...

 

This challenge was one of the easiest but was very long! Challenge 36 was to LISTEN TO MY ENTIRE CD COLLECTION in its entirety i.e. listen to all songs on all the albums I own,  all the way through. Since having children and mostly giving up the remote control on the TV and never getting the time to listen to my own music, I thought of this challenge as it would give me an excuse to turn off the children’s CDs and put my own music needs first for a change. I began this challenge in August and finished listening to all 186 CDs from my and Nick’s collection this week, all in all taking almost 6 months!

Although not a hard challenge, as I managed to listen to my CDs when I was driving mostly, it really depended on which CD I was listening to as to what mood it put me in for the day. Some days it made me all fired up and sometimes it brought me right down, sleepy or low, the music choice really affected my mood. There were some low points, and some truly awful albums in my opinion (mostly Nick’s 80s albums it has to be said!), some amusing moments including Mr Blobby CD and a few albums that brought back some amazing memories.  

One memory that came flooding back was when listening to U2 and I recalled the live concert I attended in Budapest when I was travelling when I was 18. I never really liked U2 until we got offered very cheap tickets in Budapest and I was totally in love with the band after it. I also met two young guys from the then Yugoslavia who lived in the same village and had grown up together but were currently at war and after the concert they would be going back to their respective sides and carry on fighting even though they were the best of friends. It was really emotional towards the end of the concert and a moment in history I will never forget!

On a lighter note, I also remembered running around Glastonbury as a young 20 something watching Prodigy live and singing a long to one of their most famous tracks, but in my naivety thought the lyrics were ‘Take my Picture’, if any of you know the correct lyrics for this song you will know how wrong I was! What a tit!

Anyway memories aside it was an enjoyable challenge on the whole and has helped me narrow down my choices for me to sing in a future challenge, but that story is for another blog!

So my 12th challenge completed, 28 to go!!

COMPLETED CHALLENGES:

Challenge 4 – SWIM 40 LENGTHS – Swam 40 lengths of the 50m pool in Cardiff Bay with Lara Ramsay on 27.10.13. (Money spent £16 for goggles and entry to pool)

Challenge 8 – SCORE 40 ON A DART BOARD WITH ONE DART – Got a double top on my 9^th try on 12.1.14

Challenge 9 – 40 HOUR FAST – I completed 40 hours not eating any food and surviving on water and flavoured water only. (Sept, with Karen Daniel)

Challenge 12 – VOLUNTEER FOR 40 HOURS - Aside from my RSPCA volunteering, 40 hours of my free time were given volunteering for NSPCC Childline Schools Service, PTA events and other fundraising events.  

Challenge 16 – 40 HOUR NO SWEARING OR £1 FINE – Completed between Tuesday 5 to Wednesday 6 November 2013.

Challenge 18 – TURN MOBILE PHONE OFF FOR 40 HOURS – I turned my phone off and had no access to facebook, twitter or emails at all for 40 hours. (Oct)

Challenge 19 – 40 HOUR SILENCE – Completed between Midnight on Thursday 14.11.13 until 4pm on Saturday 16.11.13.

Challenge 22 – ADOPTED A WILD ANIMAL – I adopted Jubilee an Asian Elephant through the Born Free Foundation. (Spent £30 for adoption fee)

Challenge 25 – GIVE BLOOD – Completed on 11.10.13.

Challenge 30 – APPLY FOR A GAME SHOW – I applied to two game shows ‘Deal or No Deal’ and ‘The Chase’ in August but have still not heard anything back. I also applied to Bargain Hunt this month for my colleague Paul who would love to go on this programme.

Challenge 36 – LISTEN TO MY ENTIRE CD COLLECTION – All 186 CDs were listened to by 17.2.14

Challenge 38 – HULA HOOP FOR 40 REVOLUTIONS – Completed in Sept. (Spent £18 on buying hoola hoop)

blog 14 - Making the most of my time...

A really important part of this year of challenges was also to make a difference in some way. I wanted to raise money for charity but also wanted to give more of my spare time volunteering for a good cause. So aside from my normal volunteering work of fostering animals for the RSPCA, I also signed up to the NSPCC Childline Schools Service. This entails volunteers going into schools and presenting an assembly to Year 5 and 6 children, telling them all about Childline and raising awareness of the phone number and website. We also help to define different types of abuse and explain the importance of talking to trusted adults or Childline if they are unhappy, unsafe or worried about anything. We then go back into the classes and give them an hour workshop exploring these things in more depth.

 

This has been a really eye opening experience for me and rewarding as the feedback from children on the Childline website after we have been to the schools really makes you realise how worthwhile it is. I did initially struggle and worry how I was going to talk to children about such serious issues and if it was too soon to talk to them at their age (9/10/11) about these sorts of issues but this was quickly dispelled as I realised how much actually children know or think they know at that age! The biggest issues that do come out are about bullying and the amount of stress that is on our young people nowadays. There are times that I see and meet some kids that I think about and worry about after but ultimately I’m glad that I’m doing it. I’m glad that we are getting the message out to young people that there is always someone to talk to and hope that somehow in our small way we are helping some children, in the future as well as for now.

So for this challenge I wanted to donate 40 hours of my time volunteering, so aside from my RSPCA work I also have given 36 hours for Childline so far, 3 hours for helping out at School PTA fairs and events and 2 hours helping out at a fundraising fair for Arthritis UK. I will be carrying on volunteering for Childline for at least another year hopefully so my volunteer hours should continue to grow.

So this is my 11^th challenge completed and I am continuing to chip away at some of the others, Ive managed to book the Big Zipper, West End Play and the Mudrunner and my training is underway for the running 40k challenge...

Update on the other challenges:

· (Challenge 1 – Write 40 Blogs) this is blog number 14 written

· (Challenge 2 –Get 40 people to donate £10 to charity) Raised £150 so far, £250 to go!!

· (Challenge6 – 40 Sit ups every day) keeping up although some days are a bit half hearted!

· (Challenge 10 - Take 40 photos) – I’ve realised that the photos I have taken for the challenges would fit this brief so I have taken 10 so far.

· (Challenge 11 – Read 40 Books) I am on book number 20

· (Challenge 14 – Have 40 dates with my husband) – Had 17 dates so far.

· (Challenge 17 – Visit 40 pubs) I have visited 20 pubs so far.

· (Challenge 23 – See a Play on the West End) – Booked for Other Desert Cities at the Old Vic for Saturday 19 April 2014.

· (Challenge 24 – Have Afternoon Tea at The Ritz) This is booked for May 2014 to also celebrate my mum’s 70th Birthday.

· (Challenge 26 – lose 14 pounds in weight) struggling big time with this one and have the full 14 pounds to lose!!

· (Challenge 28 – Commit 12 acts of kindness to random strangers) I have completed 10 acts so far.

· (Challenge 31 – Complete the Big Zipper) – Booked for Sunday 25 May 2014.

· (Challenge 35 –Cook 12 new recipes) - 5 recipes made.

· (Challenge 36 – Listen to my entire CD collection) I am still trying to get through this one!

COMPLETED:

Challenge 4 – SWIM 40 LENGTHS – Swan 40 lengths of the 50m pool in Cardiff Bay with Lara Ramsay on 27.10.13. (Money spent £16 for goggles and entry to pool)

Challenge 8 – SCORE 40 ON A DART BOARD WITH ONE DART - Got a double top on my 9^th try on 1.2.14.

Challenge 9 – 40 HOUR FAST – I completed 40 hours not eating any food and surviving on water and flavoured water only. (Sept, with Karen Daniel)

Challenge 12 – Volunteer for 40 hours - Aside from my RSPCA volunteering, 40 hours of my free time was given volunteering for NSPCC Childline Schools Service, PTA events and other fundraising events. (I will be carrying on with the volunteering for Childline and RSPCA so am expecting to clock up over 80 hours by the end of the year)

Challenge 16 – 40 HOUR NO SWEARING OR £1 FINE – Completed between Tuesday 5 to Wednesday 6 November 2013. (cost me £21)

Challenge 18 – TURN MOBILE PHONE OFF FOR 40 HOURS – I turned my phone off and had no access to facebook, twitter or emails at all for 40 hours. (Oct)

Challenge 19 – 40 HOUR SILENCE – Completed between Midnight on Thursday 14.11.13 until 4pm on Saturday 16.11.13.

Challenge 22 – ADOPTED A WILD ANIMAL – I adopted Jubilee an Asian Elephant through the Born Free Foundation. (Spent £30 for adoption fee)

Challenge 25 – GIVE BLOOD – Completed on 11.10.13.

Challenge 30 – APPLY FOR A GAME SHOW – I applied to two game shows ‘Deal or No Deal’ and ‘The Chase’ in August but have still not heard anything back. I also applied to Bargain Hunt this month for my colleague Paul who would love to go on this programme.

Challenge 38 – HULA HOOP FOR 40 REVOLUTIONS – Completed in Sept. (Spent £18 on buying hoola hoop)