Open Eyes ~ It's All Around You
Most people would crave for a day off work to do nothing! I literally dread taking a day off if I don't have any plans. The thought of sitting around doing nothing stresses me out!!! I feel like I am wasting time, missing out on an opportunity or not making the most of the precious day out of the office. With the 13th March scheduled off work I needed to have some plans in place to keep me entertained ~ especially as Garry wasn't free either! What surprises me the most though is how much you can fit into a day when you don't have to work! So many hours spent at a desk and not enough time to explore!
When Monday came around I couldn't have been luckier ~ the weather was the best day of the year! Beautiful sunshine! Perfect for a day of getting out and about. So with the alarm set early I quickly whizzed off to get an early morning swim in before heading out to enjoy the weather! The pool was pure bliss ~ quiet ~ peaceful~ empty! Now this is totally different from the manic child fest of a weekend session ~ not that I have anything against families swimming there, but it was nice to be able to swim a length without having to dodge an inflatable toy or being dive bombed on! In fact being able to swim in a straight line and not dodge people actually made me swim faster! Who knew I had been wasting so much time dodging people! If only I could have every Monday off hey!
By 9.30 I was out the gym and whizzing along with the windows down in Ezmarelda my little fiat 500! I decided that I had a few hours to kill before meeting friends for lunch and that I would drive to a location to go for a walk, enjoy the sunshine and take a few photos! Lots of people would consider me crazy for going for a walk by myself, but as an only child this seems perfectly normal to me. Back when I was living in the village I would often take myself off to walk or bike in the countryside. I guess I could never sit still as a kid either!
Walking alone was relaxing ~ there was no pressure to get anywhere particular by a set time. I just enjoyed my surroundings with the squirrels dancing around me as I wandered through the woods. There were so many twists and turns I could take and it was nice just making up my route as I went along. I eventually ended up down by the River Orwell and strolled in the direction of the Orwell Bridge. The first sings of Spring were coming and in a couple of weeks the woods would be filled with daffodils, bluebells and blossom. Am hoping to return as I think the photos will be spectacular!
Upon returning to my car I felt I had already achieved so much on my day off. This was only the beginning however as I had a lunch date with my school and college friends down by Dedham Vale. I have mentioned in a previous post about the amazing Hall Farm. This place has developed over the years to include a gorgeous farm shop, restaurant and an animal trail! With the sun still beaming down we took a pre lunch stroll to see the new baby lambs, llamas and the ducklings. It still amazes me that this is all available for free! A great day out for a family.
Lunch was lovely! Have missed the girls and it was fun to have a good gossip over some yummy lunch. Am very lucky to have all these girls still in my life. We may not see each other as much as we would like, but I think it's a credit to us all that we are all still in touch after so many years. Life certainly wouldn't be as fun if I didn't have all these lovely people to share it with. Awww soppy moment! But it really was lovely that they all made such an effort to see me on my day off! Thanks Girlies!
The week was off to a blinding start ~ all of that ~ plus a combat session just happened on Monday! How could the rest of the week compete while also returning to work!?????? Surprisingly well it would seem! The return to work is always a little bit of a drag, but was spiced up by some lovely social activities on Thursday and Friday.
As 5.30 struck on Thursday night we convinced some friends to head out for dinner. We drove up to Old Felixstowe to a place known as the Ferry Boat. For years I had no idea that this place existed so it is still exciting and new for me! The initial proposal was to go out and enjoy the sunshine, but by the time we got there it was obviously getting a bit dark! Maybe a little too enthusiastic about summer. Loved our decision to come here though as the pub is warm, cosy, by the coast and serves delicious food. They have one of those menus where you could literally eat everything! It was hard to pick, but the food never disappoints so you can't go that wrong. We don't do mid week pub trips as much as we used to, but they are always a good opportunity to put the world to right, have a good moan and have a few beers!
Friday night also had an adventure on the cards and it had been booked in the diary for a while. Beauty and the beast was being released at the cinema and we all had tickets to see it! With a few hours to kill between work and the film we hit the new Bella Napoli restaurant in town. Here the best plan ever emerged! We decided to pair up and get a pizza and pasta between two of us and share! The best of both worlds or what! The combo was amazing and I was stuffed by the time we were finished. The trick now was to not fall asleep in the cinema!
This luckily was not a problem ~ the film was amazing! I had gone in with low expectations ~ actually no expectations. I really had no idea what the film was going to be like! But it was amazing (even despite my general dislike for Emma Watson as an actress). The love story was of course beautiful, but the humour throughout made it an enjoyable watch! Perfect end to a Friday.
After making the most of the week I didn't want to let the weekend go to waste. I had no races booked this weekend and after having a week off running I decided to fling on the trainers and go out and explore. I wanted to run without any pressure today so decided I would have one of those runs where you just decide where to go when you get to a junction. I had no plans for distance, speed or direction. This also meant I could quit and turn back at anytime! Maybe a little lazy attitude, but decided that this weekend I wanted to try and run for fun! I ended up having an enjoyable nine mile run out to Rushmere St Andrew, through a section of Fynn Valley over to Playford, before heading back towards Ipswich through the golf course and back home. It was so much fun finding new foot paths ~ deciding which way to go when paths split in woods and risking the fact that I could get lost. I could have been out there for hours, but I was wary my trainers were not feeling great and I didn't want to risk any injury and the rain clouds had started to circle.
We had initially decided to go on an adventure to a new location Sunday morning with the Thomas family. Unfortunately the wind was blowing quite strongly and we thought it would be better to go somewhere we could escape the elements if required. We decided to amend our plans and to head over to Woodbridge for a morning stroll. We got to meander down the river footpath before heading into Woodbridge for a coffee. Had a lovely time train hunting with George and Henry and running around Woodbridge shouting choooo choooo!
This week has been full ~ full to the brim! One of the types of weeks I love. I appreciate it can't always be like this, but it is very easy to sit at home watching TV and to miss out on these things. Sometimes you just need to think outside the box and get out there to explore. I certainly wouldn't have seen so many beautiful things, laughed with so many people or had such a lovely week if I hadn't opened my eyes to what is around me. Feeling really quite lucky to be surrounded by such lovely things and lovely people.......