North Somerset Festival of Dance

North Somerset Festival of Dance was last week, and both girls had two solos, and DD1 had her duet too.  Normally they are in a lot of group dances too, but the school didn't enter the groups this year because All England Regional Finals were the same week, and many girls had qualified for there.  (My girls hadn't, sometimes being only 1 mark away! sob, sob. Lol)

I like going to this festival, not least because I can go back to the MosaiCraft shop - the craft that I discovered last year.  I have bought a new one to do, but won't share anything else about it until after September, because it is going to be another present. And, I'm being a bit braver this time, and I have decided to personalise it, not just following the pattern.

The festival also meant that I could meet my best mate for lunch, as she lives nearby. 

Though we were in the same friendship group at school, it wasn't until Sixth Form that we really became good friends.  Since then, I went to uni and have since started a family.  My friend, otoh, has had a much more exciting life, doing a year at one university before deciding to totally change direction, and location, and did a different undergrad degree in NZ.  Then she came back to the UK to do her Honours year, and her Masters at yet a different university.  She started a PhD at a different university, but didn't get on there, so after a year out, went back across the world to Aus to do her PhD.  She's nearly finished, and is back to do her write-up. <fingers crossed it goes well>

All-in-all, it means I don't see her as often as I'd like.  We keep in touch using FB and Skype, but it is nice when we can actually meet up for a chat.  After lunch we went back to her house, and I was doubly pleased that my girls were no longer afraid of her dog!  It's a black lab, and my girls are often afraid of dogs they don't know too well, especially if they are bigger than a Westie, or excitable.  Instead, they were playing with the dog, stroking him, and laughing lots - it was good to see.

At the Festival itself, the girls did well and got some high marks.  They didn't get placed, unfortunately, but with over 20 competitors in many of the categories, the fact they were still managing 80+ pts was really good.  DD1 had a new costume for her tap solo, and DD2 had a brand new dance - a character: Mary from The Secret Garden.

Weekly Update No22

My weight has gone up again. 

Not a total surprise, given the crap I shovelled away last week.  Not least because I was trying to control my lingering cough (which is now finally getting better!) at the girls' dance festival so drank a bottle of cough syrup last week, and when watching the dances I continually sucked on cough sweets to try and stop coughing.  It did work, but I was very aware about the huge quantities of sugar that I was consuming.  Oh, and of course, there were the sweets I had in the car to keep me awake when driving, and the sugar in the energy drinks (I'm not used to waking at 5:30am these days) and the sugar in the can of latte I was drinking.

So yes, my weight has increased.  But at least I have started exercising again! I have done 2 days so far! (I haven't done today's session yet, as I've been really busy, but hopefully will get to it soon.)  I do feel better for moving my body again, my mind seems clearer already, and I'm starting to think that I wish there was a class around here again (and should I start saving to do the training next time it comes to the UK?).  I'm not sure I have the confidence to do something like that, not least because

my body shape doesn't exactly scream "healthy" or let alone "trainer"!

Anyway, I've had a small smoothie for lunch today, and after I've made the girls' lunch, I hope I can squeeze in 30min of Body Groove before the person I'm tutoring arrives.

When the cat's away...

...the girls and I decided to have a sleepover in the living room.

We ordered a takeway and put on a couple of films, and planned to do "girlie stuff".
DD1 is becoming a right little teenager, so has a pot of face mask for us all to use.

After we washed the masks off, I put the flannels in the washing machine as we watched the second film.

Halfway through, I heard a funny noise, like water dripping.  I opened the kitchen door and was met by a tidal wave of dirty soapy water!

Bless the girls, they heard me shout and ran to get a load of towels, helped me mop up the water, and empty the cupboard that was drenched (fortunately it's mainly tins and snacks, so not too much food was wasted).  It took a while, but we were able to clear up the water.

I had a look in the cupboard, and the waste water pipe from the washing machine has become disconnected; unfortunately, the washing machine was too heavy for me to move, so it will have to wait until my husband comes back tomorrow, before the pipe can be retrieved from behind the washing machine and reconnected.

We're now watching the end of the film, before going to bed.  Hopefully, they'll be no more drama overnight!

Body Groove 30 Day Challenge

Today is the first day of the Body Groove 30 Day Challenge. If you go to the website, you can access the Challenge for free (though I think it requires a credit card; and you will be charged if you don't cancel at the end of the trial).  Misty Tripoli describes the challenge as:

This isn’t just a workout, it’s so much more! In addition to the Grooves, we’ll be doing segments from the Discover Your Groove workshop, meditations, journaling etc. We’ll be challenging and nurturing the WHOLE SELF... body, mind, heart and soul!

What I particularly like about the Body Groove videos, is that they really are for all people.  There are people of all shapes and sizes doing the workout in the video, and they are easily adapted to your own personal requirements, so can easily be as high or low tempo as you want, or if you cannot stand for long, or at all, they can be done when seated too.

I have just done the first day's workout, and am now sitting on the sofa, typing this in a sweaty mess, but am very glad that I have started as I mean to go on.  For those attempting the challenge, there is a Facebook group specifically set up so we can encourage one another.  I was a bit apprehensive that I would be the only person who started streaming the videos in January, and didn't get to February before life got in the way; but there is a friendly bunch there, and others are in the same situation as me.  So, I'm doubly glad that this challenge has forced me to get off my arse and actually do some exercise.  I had forgotten how fun it was.

Day 1 done! Day 2 tomorrow.

Bright and Zany Costume

For my Musical Theatre show, I need to come up with a Bright and Zany Costume.  I already had a black tutu, so decided to buy some knee-high rainbow socks, and was looking at different tops; unfortunately, anything half decent cost more than I was hoping to pay for. 

So, I bought a cheap Tshirt from ebay, that I thought would clash beautifully with stripy socks, and I decided to have a go adjusting it myself.

Then I searched various ways to DIY or hack or improve Tshirts, and decided to use a combination of them to make this simple Tshirt, more 'goey-outy'.

First of all, I decided I wanted to cut open the neckline, and then weave the Tshirt to make a bit of a fancy pattern.  Following some easy How-Tos on the internet, I cut out the neck and made multiple slits in the Tshirt all around the neckline.

Then you pull each loop through the neck one, and it creates almost a plaited pattern.

I cut the centre loops to tie them together.

Unfortunately, I didn't like the sleeves on the Tshirt either, so I used a Salina Bear clip from YouTube to make a cold-shoulder effect with cute bows on either side.

As you can see from the photos of me wearing the Tshirt, it looks better than I was hoping for, especially given that I am not arty/crafty at all.

The photos aren't great, because I am wearing a dress underneath, so doesn't show the shape of the Tshirt as good as it could be.  Additionally, I had to sew up a couple of places where the seams started to separate from where I had made cuts, but the photos were from before I had finished.

It makes me wish I had altered Tshirts back in the days when I used to live in them!

A Small Confidence Boost

DD1 (11) is going to secondary school in September (her choice).

For a bit of fun, she's doing the 2018 KS2 SATs just to see where she lies (for her/my benefit - this won't be passed to the school). This morning she did the two SPAG papers, not in "exam conditions" as such, but I wouldn't let her ask or look up the answers, until she had finished. We just marked them together and she got a raw score of 38 marks, which has an adjusted score of 100. (100 is the expected standard at the end of Yr6.) She is rightly pleased and I feel proud of her!

Given that we unschool, we certainly haven't been teaching-to-the-test, or spending hours learning what fronted adverbials or co-ordinating conjunctions are. We've not done a spelling test, nor have I specifically taught where apostrophes, commas or colons are meant to go in sentences. Though she was a very early reader, DD1 hates reading, preferring to spend her time dancing, singing, making up songs on the keyboard and watching youtube. Yet, she has still managed to reach the expected English level of a schooled child, without being forcefed an education.

We have a dance festival to go to the next couple of days, and will hopefully find time to do the reading, the maths and the reasoning papers next week.

Weekly Update No21

I have lost nearly a kilo this week, which isn't bad going, considering how much I have eaten this weekend!

Smoothies for lunch during the week has been easy, filling and delicious.
Making food for tea has been a struggle - even with "easy" things like slow-cooker recipes, I've not been making them in time.  It hasn't helped that I've been ill this week. I take antihistamines all year, and usually have to increase them from Easter.  This year I haven't had to - until this past Tuesday when everything has hit me at once.  I was left with streaming eyes, running nose, sinus headaches, fever and chills.  It wasn't pretty.

Fortunately the worst of it only lasted 48hours, dosing up on antihistamines and taking my blue inhaler a few times put me back in control.  I have now been left with a chesty cough and a croaky voice.  Not great considering I am in an adult musical theatre show in 3 weeks' time (a medley of songs from different shows); had a practice tonight and I couldn't hit half the notes, and now I'm home my cough is worse.

This week, I'm on the road two days as my girls are in a dance festival.  I have to have a good think tomorrow to plan the days properly so I can eat healthily, rather than just stuffing my face with snacks and pub grub.