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Tuesday 30 June 2009

Royal Highland Show

On Sunday Nathan and I went to the Royal Highland Show as I had promotional staff working there signing up the public to Go Greener. After I had done my official duties Nathan and I had a good wonder round. We watched a bit of the show jumping and enjoyed looking at the goats, sheep, cows and pigs... it was like being a kid again!
Nathan petting the goats- they did look a little evil so I stayed away! But they seemed very affectionate!
These little pigs were fighting with the two larger pigs over the fence and whilst we were there they were getting the better of them- biting the big pigs ears etc... quite comical and entertaining- well we thought so!!
I love Highland cows- their long fringes that cover all of their faces.
I really liked the colour of this cow- nice with the caramel and the white.

When we left the Highland Show we got pulled into this HUGE long line of traffic that ended up bringing us out by the M8 (for those that don't know it's away from the direction of our home) so we decided since we were half way there we'd go to Livingston for Wagamamma- I love their restaurants and since we don't have one in Edinburgh it was a tasty treat! Look at our noodles- YUM!

Saturday Brunch

Again this weekend we all piled round to Becky's to watch the second game of the Lions test- unfortunately the Lions lost the game in the final moments! Boo! which means we haven't won the 3 game test! Nathan had some of the boys round to ours but I went round to catch up with Hillary and her boyfriend, My Dad and Dougie and Becky. Becky cooked sausages and bacon and Hills brought smoked salmon bilinis and I made waffles (so many waffles!) We didn't think all the food would be eaten but we managed to get through it no bother- even the pile of waffles!
We also had Bucks Fizz (Orange and Champagne)
Midway through the game the girls got a little distracted as they painted their nails!
I took what remained of the waffles home and treated Nathan to an afternoon snack!

Friday 26 June 2009

Moonwalk Photos

The official photos are up from the Moonwalk. I can't download them unless I pay a ridiculous price for them but if you click on Action Photo you can see photos of me, Hills and Emma.

Pull down to United Kingdom, then Edinburgh Moonwalk in the next box and finally our numbers are:

Me: 10020
Emma: 10090
Hills: 10331

There is a great picture of Emma and I finishing on Emma's photos. She looks delighted to be done!

Thursday 25 June 2009

My ideal house!

The other night Nathan and I were talking about what we would have in our ideal house over and above the bedrooms and living room that we currently have. If we had more space! What our house would look like and what rooms etc we would want. I thought it would be kind of fun to find some pictures that best depicted what I would like in the future.... I tell you what I am going to have to work very hard to get it!! I would love a big country kitchen with a central unit that people can lean against and chat. I'd also like to have a big family table in the kitchen that everyone can eat at/ work at.. and maybe a fireplace with some armchairs to cosy into to in the winter. I'd like the kitchen to be big enough for living in.
For the Summer I'd love to have a porch (not usual in the UK due to the wet!) but I'd love to have a porch with a swing to sit on in the morning with a coffee and also in the evening with a G&T!I still dream of having a little house/ shed in my garden which will be home to all my craft materials and somewhere for me to work where I can fully submerse myself in my own wee creative world!
With Nathan and his rugby kit and future animals and mess I would love to have a mud room that was nicely heated... so when you came into the house you would feel warm and toasty and wet shoes would dry quickly!
On the same note as the mud room I'd love a laundry room which would look like this. The reality would probably be that my laundry room would be a total mess and still packed full of laundry. But isn't it pretty!? It's similar colours to our second bedroom. I'd love to have a bath- we only have a shower in our flat but since this is my dreams there are no limits so lets say a jacuzzi with a sea view!!

And finally (although there are so many other things I would love if money were no object) here is a lovely wet room. This is very like something that Nathan also talked about having. I think this would be great as a en suite although I'd have to have my jacuzzi bath in there somewhere too! Ah! I can but dream!!

Wednesday 24 June 2009

Glasgow Craft Mania

I have a new favourite site... I seem to have a new one every day at the moment!!
Please check out- http://www.glasgowcraftmafia.com/blog/

I really love etsy and this website has some great links to some beautiful crafts: I really liked this tea towel. It may be a good hint if I hung this in my kitchen! I also love these fabric buttons- which you can spell out your name or favourite word. Click here to see more.

Tuesday 23 June 2009

Our Oven is back in action!

Yesterday, Monday I had the day off to recover from the Moonwalk. Thankfully I didn't need it as apart from a wee blister and slightly sore leg ligaments I was okay.

So we did loads of jobs around the house including getting the oven fixed. The electrician came round and checked it out and it was in fact the element that had burnt out.

So he put in a new element and also fixed the fan so hopefully no more rattly oven either! Joy of joys!

I can't wait to get back to cooking- although now the weather is hotting up I am not sure how much we will be using the oven! (mind you the weather never does stay warm for long!)

Although it means I can make salmon parcels again! Hooray!

Scotland on Sunday supplement

Inside the Scotland on Sunday there was a pull out edition for the Moonwalk and on page 7 was my name!

Hooray! Well done me!!

Fathers Day

When I finished the Moonwalk Becky drove myself and Nathan back to my Dad's house where I had a brilliant salt bath. Whilst I was soaking Becky kindly made this delicious breakfast for Father's Day. It was SO good! It was also lovely sitting in the garden although I was quite sore at this point so I went for a lay down after we'd eaten and only woke up 2 hours later on my Dad's couch! So I wasn't that great company but I had been up all night walking so I think I could be forgiven! Happy Father's Day to my lovely Daddy though!
Becky, My Dad and I in his kitchen after breakfast.

Our 26.2 mile route!

The Moonwalk!

Pictured above is me just about to go into the event- I was quite excited!!

We had to arrive by 9:15pm to check in and to also get organized. I was a bit concerned that all the waiting around would be annoying but quite to the contrary! The Big Pink tent was fantastic and they had organized the event so well- there was loads to do!
The best part of being in the Moonwalk arena was looking at every one's costumes- people had gone to so much effort. Emma and I both commented on how tame we had been! Next year we will definitely be going all out! Check out the ladies on the left who were decked out from head to toe.
You could get temporary Moonwalk tattoos to show some more support. I went for a little lady and Emma and Hills had pink feet on their chests!
Inside the pink tent was massive! They had a swing band on for the first part of the evening, which was great fun then Nina Barough the founder of the Moonwalk got on stage and showed us videos of where our money goes. All the money raised in Scotland stays in Scotland- it was good to watch the videos and a great reminder of why we were doing it.

They also had a stand in the tent which demonstrated new machines which Moonwalk money has bought. These are scalp cooling machines which help to prevent hair loss when woman are going through chemo therapy. There was one bride to be who was on her hen party (Bachelorette party) and she was fully decked out as a bride and the presenter asked why she choose to do the Moonwalk for her hen night and she explained that her friend is going through chemo at the moment and the scalp cooling machine is helping her keep her hair. Amazing!

There was also a pasta party and we all got some food to keep us going. Hillary was walking with her friends from work- from left to right: Jen, Mel, Karen, Hillary and Emma.
Myself and Emma take a seat before we head out on our 26.2 mile walk!
We all got space blankets which amazingly keep you so warm- Hillary was trying to tie Emma up to keep her toasty!
Our group before we headed off. I made my space blanket into a turkey fan as I tucked it into my bum bag. You can't see our faces very well as our caps had reflective material on the front so we were easy to spot by cars etc. Emma, Me and Hillary
The final event of the evening before we all headed off was a mass aerobic class. It was brilliant fun and although there was not much room it got you totally hyped up! I loved it!
Emma and her crazy moves!
Hillary and Emma doing the Grapevine in my direction!
The girlies taking part in the aerobics class... so much fun!
Each group got called out to the start line and our group was the last to go. Looking back at the pink tent it looked amazing!
They had a giant inflatable balloon which looked exactly like the moon.
The start line. We were running a little late so didn't set off until about 12:11am. To the left of the start line were the presenters and also the founder of the Moonwalk who cheered us as we set off.
Looking up the first hill- which was one of the biggest! All you could see was a sea of reflective hats and pink! Unfortunately the camera wasn't able to capture it too well.

Just before the 2 mile marker Becky and Dougie were sat on the wall near Morrison street cheering us on! Then when we crossed Lothian Road Nathan was there leaning against a lamp post- no doubt taking in the sights! It was so lovely to have such great support!

I didn't take any more photos until we were more than half way as I was trying the keep up with the pace. Just after mile 13 I took a wee funny turn and felt so sick. Emma and I stopped and I had some nibbles and a lovely volunteer that was helping out gave me a cereal bar and I felt 100% better after that.
They had portable toilets along the route but the queues were so long! This picture was taken of Emma at about 5.30am in Newhaven. This was the point that all the laughter had gone and it was more of a slow plod!

The morning was beautiful though and once we reached Portobello beach we got our stride back. It might have been more of a delusional sleep deprived craziness though!! We sat on the wall and I called Nathan back (he had phoned whilst we were walking) There were still lots of Moonwalkers walking with us.

By the time we reached Holyrood we were singing songs and were having a great laugh- it was either that or crying!! So we pushed through the pain barrier and kept going!!

At mile 26 with only 0.2 miles to go I couldn't have been happier. I then turned this corner and saw Becky and Nathan waiting for us to cheer us the last few yards- I felt a wee bit emotional and so we powered on to the last few feet.
Crossing the finish line! We didn't do an amazing time but we completed it! Not only that but the second half of the walk I really enjoyed laughing and singing songs! I am really glad Emma was by my side and we got each other through! (Plus I'm sure if we subtracted the many toilet stop times we would have been closer to 8 1/2 hours!)
With our medals on having just crossed the finish line!
The pink tent looked a little different than it did when we left!

We came back out of the arena and met Becky and Nathan. Becky had brought me beautiful Lillies and Nathan brought us Prosecco and Strawberries! They were such a great support! Nathan text me with an hour and a half to go to tell me of his incentive for us and it definitely helped us get closer to the finish line!
Emma and I collapsed on the grass after we finished! I had been wanting to do this for about the last hour!
Myself and Emma congratulate ourselves! Cheers to us and to our supporters!
Emma and her husband Sean who met us at the finish line.
Nathan, Me and Becky at the finish in Inverleith Park. We sat for an hour and enjoyed our strawberries and the sunshine.

For more official photos including the Edinburgh castle that was light up in pink for the night click here.

Thank you too to everyone who has sponsored me! It is so appreciated! If you still haven't done so and want to please go to: www.justgiving.com/jennielandels