Number 40. Have an amazing time celebrating my 40th!

Number 40. Have an amazing time celebrating my 40th.

So I've definitely celebrated in style with a few different occasions! I'd like to thank everyone who joined me to make my 40th so very special, and for all the lovely gifts, cards, and messages, I was very spoilt and feel very blessed! x

Thursday 17th October 2013....an early celebration for me but not for Louise who turned 30 early October & Jeanette who turned 50 at the end of October. I work with both of these lovely ladies at Dee, Atkinson & Harrison, we are only a small team so was rather strange that the 3 of us were celebrating big birthdays so closely together! We therefore decided to have a 'work do' to celebrate and had a lovely evening after work at the Dine Bangla Restaurant in Beverley. 

Saturday 10th November 2013. 

I also have always wished to see 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert' I never managed to get to London to see it but earlier this year I found out that in November, for one week only, it was showing at Hull New Theatre. I therefore decided to organise a girly night at the theatre to see it as it was perfectly timed with it being November!

Fantastic night, amazing show, what a laugh we had! There were 37 of us in total and it was just a lovely lovely way to celebrate!

Friday 22nd November 24th November 2013. Birthday weekend!!

I decided not to have a party...I think this did shock a lot of friends as most people know that I like to throw parties!
Instead the weekend of my birthday we booked a barn conversion in the Lake District and together with 7 other families we celebrated which is just what I wanted & on the Saturday evening we had a Wig&Stache Bash which is what I wanted to do,and thank you my lovely friends for the hilarious wigs and moustaches (some even naturally grown!!) however there were also a few unexpected surprises thrown in!
Starting with a beautiful memory/photo book created by my bezzie Helen, a gorgeous 'skinny dipper' birthday cake created by 'Ali's Little Cake House' on behalf of my husband and Helen, decorations of banners and balloons, and entertainment which involved my friends making me sick!!
They had devised a very funny game of 'I'm a Celebrity/Bush Tucker Trials' which they blindfolded me and I had to eat things....I was gagging on the first one, but wasn't sick at this stage!
After finishing this task, Helen then said that there was another challenge for me to do, the 'Cinnamon Challenge' which I had never heard of and stupidly agreed to put a tea spoon of cinnamon in my mouth....I just can't explain what it does to you!

The powder sucks and clings to any moisture in your mouth so you can't breathe, or swallow, you don't know what to do!! When you laugh or splutter you blow out puffs of red powder! Now obviously this was highly amusing to watch as everyone was really laughing, I had felt a bit queasy after the 'I'm a Celebrity' shenanigans but after a few minutes of the cinnamon challenge, I stood up and vomited all over the floor in front of my guests, then dashed outside and threw up a few more times but I was still laughing!!

I was obviously very embarrassed to have been sick in front of my friends, and all the children, plus it was all over my tights and I'd managed to get it inside one of my shoes...gross!! But I have to say it was very funny, you really do just have to laugh!

I then had a multitude of delightful presents (including a Tiffany ring from my husband!) and cards, I was very spoilt and was made to feel very special, a big thank you to everyone! xx

 

 

 

Number 21. Walk over hot coals.

Number 21. Walk over hot coals.

I'm not someone who wants to throw themselves out of a plane, mainly because I have a fear of heights but I wanted to do something that was challenging! A very good friend of mine walked over hot coals a few years ago on a work team building excursion and she said it was exhilarating which had stayed in my mind!

Its alright adding this to my list but then I had the dilemma of how do I actually do it?!

I found a great website called www.ukfirewalk.com which basically made it clear that I had two options to organise my own event or attend an event organised by someone else. I decided that with everything else I had going on this year it was easier to attend something that I didn't have to arrange!
The website put me in contact with the HeelandToe Charity in Durham who were running an event on November 2nd 2013 which was the perfect time for me to do it and fit in before my 40th!
I also loved the sound of the charity, they are a charity which provides conductive therapy to disabled children suffering from cerebral palsy, dyspraxia and other movement disorders, and I was proud to do it for them as well as tick an item on my list!

My lovely hubby decided he would do it with me, and as well as the firewalk they were also planning an ice (glass) walk which he said he would do as well!

So we went up to Durham last Saturday, nerves were creeping in a little bit but we'd raised a good amount of money on our Just Giving page and I was looking forward to meeting people at the charity!

It was such a well organised event, the centre, staff and children were all lovely and the money raised from the event will be so gratefully appreciated! They'd put on a whole afternoon/evening of entertainment which was nice for us all and as we'd taken Lydia and James with us they had a brilliant time! There was an American cop car, 'North Road' the band which won Metro Radio's 'Big Audition' and they were supberb! Daleks, Stormtroopers, Fireworks, and of course the fire and glass walking!

My husband was awesome, that is all I can say, he walked over the broken up razor sharp glass and said it was easy, he then broke an arrow with the point in his neck, and he firewalked twice!
I nearly bottled the firewalk, my mind lost it so I had to leave the line and rejoin it....to get myself across I chanted to myself 'I can do this I can do this'!!

It was harder than I thought it would be, I hadn't envisaged such intense heat, or flames to the side of me when walking over the coals, and the step from the grass on to the hot coals is SCARY!!! However I did not burn my feet, or get any blisters, yes it was hot when I first stepped on but then you walk so fast that you've soon done it!
I did not wish to do it again, once was enough, and now I can say I am a firewalker!!

We raised a fantastic amount for this brilliant charity, thank you to everyone who supported us it really did mean so much to us. It is still possible to donate if you should wish please just go to:

http://www.justgiving.com/Claire-Andrew-Arundel

Many thanks xx

 

 

 

Number 24. Volunteer Time to a Charity.

Number 24. Volunteer time to a charity.
Very shortly after adding this on my list I was reading the Beverley Advertiser at work and on the front page they had an article about the 'Break Away Project', they are a project set up last September in Beverley who aim to help anyone who has been subject to domestic abuse. As they had been inudated with people they were appealing for cosmetics and toiletries to give to people they help as people often leave home with nothing.
I contacted the project and they were very keen for me to help. I decided to put a letter in all my Christmas cards and appeal on Facebook for friends to donate such items.
I now have a good amount collected, more coming in all the time and I aim to make regular drop offs throughout the year to try and help keep them stocked up!

12/02/13 Today James & I delivered the first batch of toiletries & cosmetics I've collected to the Break Away Project they were so incredibly grateful & everything was ideal for them to use, they were so appreciative & I'll look forward to taking more throughout the year! I felt like Father Christmas as they were so impressed with how much had been donated...it's lovely when people pull together to make a difference...we are all capable of helping others!

Number 35. Start a Blog.

Number 35. Start a Blog.
Well this is living proof I have done just that! I'm not sure I'm doing it right but its up and running and will hopefully be a good way of keeping a record of my achievements over the year.

Number 18. Watch the top 100 films of all time.

Number 18. Watch the top 100 films of all time.
This was really hard to choose a list but in the end I plumped for 'Barry Norman's 100 greatest films of all time'.

My hubby has promised to watch them all with me and some of them we will watch with our children! I will rate each film out of 10!

In December 2012 we watched the following 13 films:

Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid (5/10)
Casablanca (5/10)
Dirty Harry (5/10)
ET (9/10)
Great Expectations (9/10)
Its A Wonderful A Life (10/10)
The Magnificent Seven (5/10)
Master & Commander: Far Side of the World (5/10)
Night of the Living Dead (4/10)
The Railway Children (8/10)
Sunset Boulevard (8/10)
Toy Story (9/10)
When Harry Met Sally (9/10)

In January 2013 we watched the following 7 films (TOTAL WATCHED = 20):

All About Eve (6/10)
Blazing Saddles (2/10)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (5/10)
GoodFellas (8/10)
High Noon (5/10)
Shrek (9/10)
William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (8/10)

In February 2013 we watched the following 10 films (TOTAL WATCHED = 30):

Apocalypse Now (2/10)
Cabaret (8/10)
Chinatown 5/10)
Gladiator (8/10)
The Graduate (5/10)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (8/10)
Psycho (7/10)
Schindler's List (10/10)
The Searchers (5/10)
The Third Man (2/10)

In March 2013 we watched the following 8 films (TOTAL WATCHED = 38):

Bambi (9/10)
Brief Encounter (8/10)
Bringing up Baby (6/10)
Chicago (6/10)
The Cruel Sea (2/10)
Gone With The Wind (10/10)
The Silence of the Lambs (7/10)
The Wizard of Oz (6/10)

April 2013 was a bad month for film watching as we were very busy, so we only managed to watch the following 4 films, must do better next month! (TOTAL WATCHED = 42):

Airplane (6/10)
Deliverance (4/10)
I Know Where I'm Going! (5/10)
Lawrence of Arabia (6/10)

May 2013 saw us get back on track as we are half way through the year before I turn 40 we had to reach the half way point! We watched the following films: (TOTAL WATCHED = 51):

Citizen Cane (2/10)
The Exorcist (7/10)
Kind Hearts & Coronets (8/10)
LA Confidential (8/10)
Moulin Rouge! (10/10)
No Country for Old Men (8/10)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (6/10)
Shane (6/10)
To Kill A Mockingbird (9/10)

June 2013 we watched the following films: (TOTAL WATCHED = 58)

Alien (6/10)
Dr Strangelove, or how I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (5/10)
The Godfather (8/10)
The Hurtlocker (7/10)
A Matter of Life and Death (6/10)
Raging Bull (4/10)
Unforgiven (6/10)

July 2013 we watched the following films: (TOTAL WATCHED = 63)

Groundhog Day (7/10)
Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone (8/10)
Mary Poppins (8/10)
Star Wars IV: A New Hope (5/10)
12 Angry Men (8/10)

August 2013 was difficult to find the time to watch films as we were busy with the kids summer break and a week away in Italy but we managed a couple!: (TOTAL WATCHED = 65)

Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade (6/10)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (8/10)

September 2013 we watched the following films (TOTAL WATCHED = 72)

Blade Runner (5/10)
The Dark Knight (8/10)
The Great Escape (8/10)
The Jungle Book (6/10)
Paths of Glory (5/10)
The Shawshank Redemption (10/10)
West Side Story (6/10)

October 2013 we watched loads of films!! (TOTAL WATCHED = 89)

The Adventures of Robin Hood (7/10)

Annie Hall (5/10)

Bad Day at Black Rock (7/10)

The Big Sleep (5/10)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (7/10)

Duck Soup (4/10)

Frankenstein (8/10)

Gregory's Girl (8/10)

High Society (8/10)

Jaws (8/10)

Monty Python & the Holy Grail (5/10)

North by Northwest (8/10)

Red River (7/10)

Singin in the Rain (8/10)

To Be or Not To Be (8/10)

2001: a Space Odyssey (3/10)

The Wild Bunch (6/10)

November, time to conquer the remaining films to make the 100!! We watched the following:

Halloween (7/10)

It Happened One Night (8/10)

Kiss Me Kate (5/10)

My Fair Lady (8/10)

Ninotchka (8/10)

The Red Shoes (5/10)

Saturday Night Fever (9/10)

Seven Samurai (6/10)

Shoah (6/10)

Some Like it Hot (8/10)

Rosemary's Baby (7/10) (TOTAL WATCHED= 100!!)

So we did it, yay! Watched the last film on the 20th November, I've really enjoyed this challenge, it's definitely made me more open to all different types of films. My top 5 though are definitely:

1. Gone with the Wind

2. It's a Wonderful Life

3. Moulin Rouge

4. The Shawshank Redemption

5. Schindlers List

However my favourite film of all time which isn't on this list has to be Les Miserables! 

Number 4. Eat Sushi.

Number 4. Eat Sushi. This was completed on my 39th birthday as my friend Jeanette very kindly bought me a sushi pack from M & S. The verdict was: I would eat again!