This year I have set myself a challenge of 54 books to read. Shouldn’t be a problem as last year I did manage to read 56 books but at the beginning of the week and with 17 weeks to go, you keep telling me that I’m one book behind. What should I do? I almost bought Roald Dahl’s, James and the Giant Peach when it was on Kindle’s daily deal; that would have been a nice and quick read.
On Monday, I had finished The Throwaway Children by Diney Costeloe. Published in 2015, and I actually bought it then so I have no idea why it has taken me so long to read. The story is set in 1948 and is about 2 little girls being sent to an orphanage after their mother marries again. Her new husband is violent and does not want them around. I immediately fell in love with plucky Rita, the eldest sister, who cared deeply for her little sister Rosie. Lily, the girls’ grandmother, is another brave character, who tries her very best to take them away from the orphanage. She is told that the girls have been adopted, and hoping that they have been found a home with love, writes them a letter to tell them how she cares for them. Unbeknown to Lily, the girls have been sent to Australia to an orphanage there where they are separated from each other.
I wasn’t sure if I could read the book after the girls were sent to the English orphanage as they were treated so badly. I did though and it was an extremely sad story but one with an ending that was very tearful but also one of hope. This book certainly earned a 5 star review from me.
When I’ve read a harrowing book, I like to look for something which might have a bit of a happier feel. I chose The Last Piece by Imogen Clark. I discovered this author in 2018 and have tried to read all her books. This story is about the Nightingale family, Cecily and Norman and their three daughters plus a 50 year old secret. After my last read, whilst not so disturbing, it was still a thought provoking read. Not the feel good book I was looking for but one I enjoyed. I managed to read it in 4 days so Goodreads, my status now reads you are on target!
My next read is Dorothy Koomson’s follow up to The Ice Cream Girls, All My Lies Are True. I only started reading last night but am hooked so I think I’m going to stay on track! I don’t think this is going to have the feel good factor either but never mind, it will soon be time to read the Christmas books!
Yours forever reading
Tina
P.S. Was it cheating that I read P.S. I Love You again. I did read the follow up and felt that I had to read it!
Kathryn doesn’t own a kindle: Kathryn doesn’t want a kindle. My old kindle has been given to my sister Tracy who is putting it to very good use. Whilst Kathryn can now gift me kindle books, she refuses to plus she thinks if she is going to buy me a book, it will be her choice and not something from my ever growing list. I do like most of her choices and if she has read something and given it a glowing review, I will borrow it from her. This year I have read three of her books.
She was particularly enthusiastic about Jog On by Bella Mackie; a book she said she was going to make all her friends read so they could see the benefits of running particularly with mental health. Having been spurred on to up my exercise in January by taking on the RedJanuary challenge, which encourages to support your mental health and exercise every day throughout January (January is a dreary day for most people so having a plan to do something every day gets you out of bed and really does make you feel better), I wanted to read this book. As soon as Kathryn closed the cover on her book, I asked if I could borrow it.
Jog On by Bella Mackie
The author had spent most of her life battling with anxiety and depression. She was known as the sad kid at school. Finding herself alone after a very short marriage, Bella literally picked herself off the floor and dragged herself outside and started running. Her first run was slow, in the dark and lasted a few minutes. Overtime, she was able to do little more. It wasn’t an easy task for Bella; she explains her fears of public places and public transport. Eventually, through running or “jogging”, she was able to face these fears. She was able to experience the city she lived in but hadn’t noticed before. She was also able to take a tube and fly in a plane without having a panic attack.
I normally read a book in a week; this took me two weeks. There is a lot of details about different anxieties and depression. We can all think that we are depressed sometimes when we have a difficult week or anxious when we have to do something new but Bella explains how much more a person with anxiety issues will worry about little things.
I did find this a fascinating read. Bella picked up her running using one of the couch25k podcasts. I started running with this and at the age of 47, I went from someone who couldn’t run for a bus to someone that could run for 30 minutes with out stopping. I had recently lost my younger brother who had been diagonised with schizophrenia in his 20s. As I faced each weekly challenge, I thought of him, imagining that if he had taken up running or any exercise, maybe he would have reached 50 or older. A few years later, my mum died. At the age of 14, my mum had a nervous breakdown. I don’t believe she ever fully recovered from it. The understanding wasn’t available from family or the medical world. I have a song on my running playlist which we played at her funeral; Show me the Way to Amarillo. Whenever it plays on my run, I imagine my mum is with me.
Bella believes running saved her life and I certainly can see that running or any form of exercise will help your mental health. I know that baking and cooking always makes me feel good. I love eating it too: that’s why I exercise – I can eat cake!
Happy by Fearne Cotton
Another book I read on my goodreads list was Happy by Fearne Cotton. Again, this was a proper book given to me by Kathryn. Fearne is a lady I admire. She seems so bubbly but she talks about her battle with depression. In this book, she shares ideas to finding joy in every day. Fearne openly talks about her own battle and how she tries to approach things differently to avoid black days. Again this book took me a long time to read: I actually started reading this in 2018 but put it down before finishing it this year. I think it needs another read sometime.
Finally another book I must mention to do with running is Your Pace or Mine? by Lisa Jackson. This lady has run in a lot of Marathons. She doesn’t run to get her best time; she aims to finish them whilst meeting lots of interesting people on the way. I started reading this to get some inspiration to pick up my running again in 2018. I don’t have any intention of taking part in a marathon but reading this book, Lisa certainly makes you feel you could. She also made me realise that although my running is probably at the same pace as somebody else’s walking pace, I am still a runner.
Your Pace or Mine? by Lisa Jackson
I love reading and one of the reasons I enjoy it is that I get something out of the books I am reading. I think these three books gave me inspiration and each one had parts I could recognise from my life. I am a big fan of fiction books but am trying to read a non-fiction once a month.
In 2018, I joined Jordan and Kathryn on taking part in the Goodreads challenge for the year. They were aiming to read 52 books in the year whilst I chose 26 books. I soon changed to 52 as I was reading one a week. I actually managed over 60 books that year.
The Goodreads site is a good place to record the books that you want to read and have read. You can add your friends and see what they are reading, write and read reviews (I don’t tend to write reviews) and receive recommendations based on the types of books you like to read. I use it mainly for the challenge. As it was my 53rd birthday this year, I decided to make this year’s challenge 53 books to read.
I tend to read from my kindle but encouraged (or bullied) by my kids, I do sometimes read a “proper” book! On Wednesday, I visited the town of Reigate. We enjoyed a lovely walk through Priory Park. I discovered this box which is a part of the Little Free Library, a place where you can exchange your books. When I opened the box there were books which could be exchanged with a book you’ve read. A brilliant idea which I’m going to look in to more.
Box in Priory Park, Reigate
Little Free Library open box
Here is a list of books I have read so far. I have included my Goodreads ratings which are marked out of 5. My ratings are very rarely below a 3 because if I really don’t like a book, I won’t waste my time by reading it. I will try to write reviews for the books I have read:
1 The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan, Stuart Kelly ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3 Nice Work by Celia Imrie ⭐⭐⭐
4 Lizzie’s Secret by Rosie Clark ⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 The Island Villa by Lily Graham ⭐⭐⭐⭐
6 I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7 Still Me by Jojo Moyes ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8 Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers ⭐⭐⭐⭐
9 Maybe Now by Colleen Hoover ⭐⭐⭐⭐
10 The Rest of Me by Katie Marsh ⭐⭐⭐⭐
11 Goodbye Clutter, Hello Freedom by Lena Bentson⭐⭐⭐⭐
12 The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
13 I’m Fine and Neither Are You by Camille Pagan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
14 One Last Summer by Victoria Connelly ⭐⭐⭐⭐
15 The Summer of Chasing Dreams by Holly Martin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 16 Happy: Finding Joy in Every Day by Fearne Cotton⭐⭐⭐⭐
17 You Then, Me Now by Nick Alexander⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
18 The Tattooist of Aushwitz by Heather Morris⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 19 Your Pace or Mine by Lisa Jackson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
20 The Little Perfume Shop of Champs Elyees⭐⭐⭐
21 The Promise by Teresa Driscoll ⭐⭐⭐
22 Sea of Memories by Fiona Valpy ⭐⭐⭐⭐
23 Valencia and Valentine by Suzy Krause ⭐⭐⭐⭐
24 The Last Piece of my Heart by Paige Toon⭐⭐⭐⭐
25 Summer on the Italian Lake by Lucy Coleman ⭐⭐⭐⭐
26 The Memory Collector by Fiona Harper ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
27 How to Find Love in a Bookshop ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
28 The Spitfire Girls by Soraya M Lane ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 29 Jog On by Bella Mackie ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
30 Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts by Lucy Dillon⭐⭐⭐⭐
31 Half a World Away by Mike Gayle ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
32 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Okay, so unlike my 50th birthday, I didn’t have any balloons for this occasion but I did have a very nice birthday cake made by lovely kids. I made one for work too so diet not going well.
Lovely birthday cake
For my 50th birthday, I was busking in the sunshine in Lanzorote (well I did enjoy wave jumping with Kathryn in Fuerturventura because my treat was a day trip there). This birthday, it was pouring with rain and I didn’t fancy paddling in the rough seas of the Solent. Did enjoy a lovely lunch with Chris whilst watching the rough seas. The food was not great for the diet but who cares on your birthday!
Delicious
One of the most memorable moments of my 50th birthday was my 50 challenges. They weren’t big challenges (the 10 mile run and making croissants were huge to me) but they did make the year stand out for me. It is something I would highly recommend. Challenges keep me on track and alert. I would fall asleep on the sofa after work at 5pm if I didn’t push myself to do exercise or dance round the kitchen making dinner. If I don’t exercise before work, I do my daily solitaire and sudoku puzzles on my iPad (warning: extremely addictive so do need to turn iPad off and not use it again that day!). So this year I plan to do more challenges. To start with, I plan to do 30 day challenges. I love books like Challenge Yourself I Dare You by Stuart Ralph and 50 New Year’s resolutions because they spur me on and give me tips on how to achieve something. I plan to put this in action and set myself 12 challenges over the year. I’m going to cheat with June as we are 11 days in and plan to do at least one blog a week. Before the end of the month, I will hopefully have a full year’s plan.
One challenge which has become a regular annual one is the Goodreads challenge. I took part in it last year for the first time, and initially I was going to aim for 26 books whilst Jordan and Kathryn were hoping to read 52. I did change to 52 and a smug me can say I was the only one who completed. I actually read over 60 books. We are all reading again. This time I have challenged myself to read 53 (age came into that). I am out in front again and have read 29. Jordan has nearly finished his 28th book so this year’s challenge is getting very competitive. The kids are a bit old fashioned and like to try to put delaying tactics in my way like giving me proper books to read. Well I can take that challenge. Not so good in the work bag though: takes up a lot of room!
The first two weeks of the year have flown by and as I approach my 52nd birthday, I would like to make this year (and all future years too) another memorable year. My aims that I have started this year are to make sure I do achieve this. I’m also on a mission to make my Me You diary an exciting read; one that Dawn French would be proud of. I’m not going to be jumping out of planes or do any bungee jumping but I would like to make sure that each day counts.
I do have a few exciting things to look forward to. I will be going to London to see The Lion King in April. Kathryn wanted to see this so we bought 2 tickets for Christmas presents. Lucky old me gets to go with her on this outing. We are also going to go to The Ritz for tea in May. This had been one of Kathryn’s challenges set for my 50th birthday but when she did set it, she hadn’t realised that poor students could not afford this luxury, so, with reluctance, we changed the challenge. Imagine my surprise when I unwrapped a box from Kathryn at Christmas time to find a voucher for tea at The Ritz. They are certainly two experiences that I am looking forward to sharing with you.
The Ritz London
Looking at my list of aims for January, I can confirm that I should be collecting quite a few ticks this month. Here is my progress:
Finish Puddles of Love
I actually finished all of the cross stitch on Sunday. Just have backstitch, some French knots and beading to do so it will be a very good tick.
Puddles of Love cross stitch completed
Book 3 classes at leisure centre per week
In November, I took out a membership at our local leisure centre. I have attended the gym a few times but much prefer the classes. To make the membership pay, I need to go at least 2 times a week. My initial cost was £99 for 3 months which was a bargain. I like value for money and have made sure that I have stuck to going. I have been going to the same zumba class for other 5 years now and I always go with somebody else. Going on my own was a little out of my comfort zone. I decided I would try a selection of classes and find what I liked. I have found everyone so friendly; even the receptionist calls me by my first name without looking at my card now! Last week I did 5 different classes. This week I have 4 booked:
Aquafit – this was another challenge for my 50th Birthday. Amazing that I love this class now. Fat Blaster – my stomach ached a lot when I did this last week but I had done a Legs, Bums and Tums class the night before. Zumba – as I have other plans for Friday, I have to do this class straight after fat blaster. I love this zumba class. Body Jam – this is a mad dance class. Absolutely no idea what I’m doing but it is fun and worth getting up for on a Sunday morning..
I do recommend trying classes and finding what you actually like to do. So far, there has only been one class that I haven’t been keen on and that was totally to do with me; not the class itself. There are still a few more I plan to try so I think I will be making my membership pay.
Read an author from my favourite author list
My old faithful kindle with hundreds of books still to read was replaced at Christmas by a Kindle paperwhite. I can now read in the middle of the night if I can’t sleep in my bed!! Haven’t had to yet though. I am always downloading books and thought that I would make sure that I downloaded new books this year from my favourite authors. I intended to make a list of 12 authors but came up with 14!
January’s favourite author read
My author this month was Jodi Picoult. I read Small Great Things, a book about what happens when a new born baby suddenly dies. I have always loved reading books by Jodi Picoult; I love her style of writing and learning about the subjects she writes about. I have to admit that I felt uncomfortable reading this book at the beginning. It involves racism in a very violent way. There are a lot of other prejudices in the book apart from the racism and it made me think about my own prejudices; I couldn’t find any sympathy with the character who was racist at all. I actually don’t think that the author wanted us to anyway but it did make me realise how easily it can to be judgmental. I have read other readers’ reviews on this book and there are some who believe the author is not qualified to write on some of the subjects. Whilst it can be an uncomfortable read, it is a powerful one. I look forward to her next new release.
Aim for a relaxed and on time morning start
This aim might seem a little mad but I always tend to cram far too much into the time before I leave for work. This one will always be a work in progress but I am actually leaving for work on time at the moment. I just can’t be held responsible for traffic though!!
Buy a mascara and learn to apply
Another mad one but I will explain. I have never been big on make up and always find I look like a panda when applying mascara. I had started having my eyelashes tinted but I’ve decided that it is an expense I could do without. After reading reviews, I purchased an Eyeco waterproof mascara from Marks and Spencers. I decided to go for a travel size one as there wasn’t a lot of difference in the price and I wanted to check it was right for me. I have only had it a few days and have yet to check it out for a full working day or whether it lasts in the swimming pool.
eyeko mascara – no more panda eyes
So this week I am hoping to start my running again, plan out the food better and maybe try to get 10,000 steps a few more times!
Enjoy the third week of January – lighter evenings are coming!
Tomorrow is the final day that I have to complete the challenges. Today I have 6 left to get a tick against. They are:
Challenge 4 – Revisit learning French – I got this changed to Spanish. If I am very honest, this isn’t going too well. I did sign up for a course on Future Learn. First part of course needed me to type answers with the correct accents over. I work from a laptop and the process of downloading the keyboard was so complicated – very foreign to me. Next I tried a website Kathryn told me to use – Saysomethingin. I have to say it was very good but I have so far only managed one lesson. I need a compromise here.
Challenge 18 – Learn 7 – 10 (new) German words a week. Another foreign language one that I haven’t mastered. There is a pattern here – I am only just mastering English!
Challenge 19 – Spa day with your daughter. Partly achieved whereby we did go swimming yesterday completing another of my challenges; no 48 – take up swimming on some level. I had been trying to pluck up the courage to do this for sometime. I can swim but I have a confidence issue. I had found a small private pool and evantually booked to go yesterday. It was great having the pool to ourselves and we managed 100 lengths (I did say a small pool!). It was enjoyable but I am slightly deaf now due to water in my ear! I do think I might try aqua-size in my local pool now as I do think I would get a lot of benefits from exercising in water. To complete this challenge, we are aiming to get our nails done on Tuesday. I think a proper spa day might be on the cards later in the year.
Challenge 28 – Take a dance class with your daughter. We are completing tonight. Going to do Shbam. I have no idea either but should be interesting!!
Challenge 49 – Make blog! I think I can have that one although I will share with you tomorrow more on how I will continue.
Challenge 50 – On 6th June on your blog, write about how you found being 50. That can’t be done until tomorrow!
Apart from the first two challenges which I am going to have to strike a deal with Kathryn so I get a rollover challenge, I will get this completed.
The challenge I did complete yesterday which I enjoyed more than I thought I would was reading Kathryn’s 10 favourite books in “proper” book format. She does have more so I plan to read a few more. The books, in no particular order, were:
Dream a little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
I Was Here by Gayle Forman
Looking for Alaska by John Green
I am Malala by Malala Yousasafzai and Patricia McCormick
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Invoice by Jonas Karlsson
The Truth about Forever by Sarah Desen
Scarlett by Cathy Cassidy
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
Writing the list, I realise I can not count (which is very bad news for the clients!) and have actually read 11. How did I not notice this?!!
I was a little negative at first about reading a “proper” book but I did enjoy reading them all. I know that Kathryn would like to know what my favourite was and that is a very hard question. They all had something about them that I loved and a lot of different issues were tackled in each. I am Malala and Reasons to Stay Alive are non-fiction and were telling you about problems faced by both authors. I think that my favourite has to be The Truth about Forever. The book is about Macy, who at 17 years old is still coming to terms with her father’s death by trying to be perfect whilst her mother and sister cope with it in different ways. Macy starts working for a catering firm and becomes friends with an interesting group of people and finally allows herself to open up. I loved the characters in the book and whilst it is written for teens, it was a book I couldn’t put down.
See you tomorrow for the final chapter of my challenges. I will not quit!
I think I can put another tick against challenge no 5 – read a book every month of a genre you don’t/don’t often read. I say think as Kathryn suggested my May book and I have only got half way through and decided that I can’t waste anymore of my life on that particular book. I will explain later my reasons.
I have enjoyed most of the books and I will be reading a lot more of Agatha Christie. Some of them have been hard going; classics in particular. However, I do plan to dedicate September to reading one of this genre. Self help books have not been one of my things but as well as my January read, I have also enjoyed Challenge Yourself, I Dare You so I will be making this type a regular read.
So now I must share with you why I can not read anymore of How To Be A Woman. My relationship might never be the same with Kathryn again.
Should you judge a book by its cover?
The description of the book doesn’t tell you too much but the last paragraph probably explains why I didn’t enjoy it:
“Part memoir, part rant. Caitlin answers the questions that every modern woman is asking”
The book has 313 pages; not a huge book. Why, after 10 days of reading am I only half way through and basically feel like what is the point. One of the points is to realise I am and should be proud of being a feminist. I do think that Caitlin has made a few good points but my problem is I do not enjoy her memoirs at all. Maybe this is because I am a stick in the mud and the thought of my children (one male and one female) behaving in the way she has, is not what I want to know. Don’t get me wrong; they will always be doing something I don’t know about and that’s the way I like it! 160 pages along and it appears that Caitlin is an absolute star; she appears to have landed a job at the age of 16 in a music journal office in London and has her own place to live with her boyfriend at the age of 18. Maybe if I allow myself to be tortured for another 10 days, I will get to find out how to be a woman. Personally, at 50 (okay closer to 51), I am quite happy with the way I have lived my life, know how I want to dress and enjoy the activities I want to. At 18 years old, I experienced the “club scene”, knew it wasn’t for me and found what I wanted. In my mind, making my own choices is being a feminist.
So sorry Kathryn (and Caitlin), I might be being narrow minded, but the book is going into the heading in my kindle of “books I am not enjoying”.
Crazy, that’s what Kathryn said I was. That was a statement she made when I said I was continuing with my 30 day challenge of getting up at 5.30 a.m. every morning (well week days anyway). I am into my 4th week and as the weeks progress, it is a habit I am enjoying.
Reading the book, Challenge Yourself, I Dare You, has certainly inspired me to get on with my challenges and today I have 25 days left to finish. I also added another to the completed list; I have finally finished my Sweet Tea cross stitch. I actually started this challenge in August so it has taken me 9 months to complete.
Gorguss
This challenge, no 29 – start and complete a new sewing project has to be on the top 10 of my favourite challenges. It has made me restart a hobby that I enjoyed and made me a bit more disciplined. Apart from this week when I have devoted all spare time into doing my back stitch, I have tried to put aside time during the week whereby I can stitch. I am hoping to continue and carry on with my next project that Jordan bought me for Mother’s day (well with a bit of a hint from me!).
Start and complete a new sewing project
Here are a few things I learned from this challenge:
Joining a cross stitch group encourages you to complete your project!
Whilst enjoying the other stitcher’s achievements, don’t compare their timings. I am a plodder when it comes to most things so I tried not to get disappointed when someone else did the same project in 3 months!
Find your own methods that work for you. I always start in the centre of a design as instructed and I always save the backstitch to the end. Other than those rules, I work my own way.
When you make a mistake, if it’s too late to unpick, work round it. Don’t let it put you off. I did make a bit of an error and it did hold me up, but then I decided to stitch in another place and work it out at the end. I did just that and I don’t think it makes a difference. Just makes it unique.
Don’t think you hate a stitch and allow it to put you off. I had a dread of back stitch. It took me five days to complete it but I really enjoyed it. I will not dread it so much in the future as it made me so happy when I saw the picture coming to life (even the drunk rabbit, Kathryn!). I was so overjoyed with my french knot (even if it is out a fraction. I can live with it!).
Don’t open new project until one you are working on is finished. I am going to open it at the weekend.
Gorjuss Puddles of Love – next project
So I have now completed 30 challenges – just 20 to go! Maybe I need to get up at 5 a.m.!
29 completed 10 ongoing/planned 4 changes 7 still to do
There still looks an awful lot to be completed but I am confident that it can be achieved. A few are frightening me; languages to name one…or two in the case of German as well as French. Keep putting it off because of the cross stitching project.
Talking of the cross stitching project, I did want to have that finished at the weekend but still not achieved. I have picked something I am capable of but perhaps a little too big for me. I am nearly there but have a lot of stitching in the same colour to finish off. Oh and then there is the back stitch. I will keep going and it will be a big fat tick.
Sweet Tea Latest
I am slowly getting through Kathryn’s 10 favourite books and thoroughly enjoying them. I even read one whilst eating lunch (I think Kathryn might have done the same with that one). On Friday, Kathryn was not impressed that I hadn’t actually read a lot of that particular book but I was determined to finish it and it was a great read. I will also be downloading my last book of a different genre in the next week so that will be another big tick.
Kathryn’s Favourites
This week I am hoping to finish my upcycle/DIY something from a charity shop. I did start this a few weeks ago so I will put the finishing touches together and hopefully another tick done.
Challenge 43 – A start
There are 4 challenges that I am confident that I can complete in the next 35 days. I shall concentrate on the other 17 now!
25 completed 11 ongoing/planned 4 changes 10 still to do
I can say half of my challenges are done. 49 days are left to complete the other challenges; it is possible.
Two of my ongoing challenges are reading books, and one of them will be easy to complete. Not sure about reading Kathryn’s books but I will keep on and who knows.
I did actually turn to a book to help me with my challenges on Friday. I had originally visited Amazon’s website to look for a book to help me with my write a story challenge. Reluctant to part with any money, and also to keep with my “let’s try and read the books I have already purchased challenge set by myself!”, I decided to check out my kindle library. I will explain that at a later date, I promise. I came across a book I purchased in September 2014 (actually it was a freebie) called Challenge Yourself, I Dare You: A Better You In 30 Days! by Stuart Ralph. I thought it would be a good and quick read; good reviews and only 43 pages.
I read it and it did inspire me. On Friday, I did a 30 minute run, unloaded the shopping, walked to the bottle bank, did the ironing, had a 30 minute visit from my sister, walked to shops to buy some forgotten items for the cake, made a lovely dinner, emailed the author of the book, baked attempt one of the showstopper challenge, walked 22,211 steps and made a very good start on my story. Most of those things would have been done on Friday. Starting my story was due to reading the book.
The actual message is simple; take 30 days to give up or start something. I wish that I had read it before I started the challenge but better late than never. I felt the author was my friend and that he believed in my challenge. He encouraged me to believe I could do whatever I wanted. I am actually lucky as I am surrounded by people who do believe in what I am doing; my family. However, I don’t think they appreciated the fact that I now believe I can sing. Whilst making my three course meal challenge on Sunday, I did a brilliant duet with George Michael singing Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.
This morning I started on my 30 day challenge – I decided to get up earlier every morning to get myself organised so I could leave the house for a leisurely walk and not the run I normally do! Well first day and I started this blog post, did an exercise DVD, tidied the kitchen and arrived at work two minutes early. Good start but feeling very tired now. Hopefully I will adjust and get those challenges completed!
