Author: Maria Runs

Hey all

You might remember that a while ago I hosted a giveaway for Groupon, which is a daily deals website. They kindly sent me a voucher too, so that I could try out the service and review it.

They send out emails every day, but you can also search on their website. I kept looking as I could not decide what to spend the voucher on. In the end a deal came up for a canvas print from photobox- a large one for £20 instead of the usual £60 or something.

It was easy to get the voucher for the deal (that is how Groupon works- you buy a voucher from them, and then redeem the voucher with the retailer), and although the voucher expired quite quickly, they did send emails prompting me to use it.

It took us ages to decide what picture to choose. We had originally chosen a different photo, but when Andy uploaded it to the website, it said that the picture quality was not good enough (as the canvas is big- that is it in the middle of our sofa), so in the end we chose one from last summer (sunset at Key West) as by then Andy had very good quality camera (I don’t know the technical term but it has a big lens!).

The canvas is lovely- the picture has come out really well.

Andy also surprised me by ordering some prints from when we went to Canada a few years ago. The picture we had originally chosen for the print is the top left one, and is of a lake, at sunset, with an elk in the foreground. The other ones are Canada too (including Peyto lake, bottom right, which is in the shape of a wolf- amazing).  I just find those pictures so relaxing to look at.

Anyway, I have used Groupon in the past (it was how I found out about the cupcake decorating class) and I would always keep an eye out for different deals. They do rather inundate you with emails though!

Do you ever use any of the daily deal websites? What sort of deals do you look for? 

Hey peeps

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and you all got out to enjoy the sunshine- it has come just in time!

I was very lucky on Friday (as it was the last day of term)- I was given some beautiful flowers and lots of lovely cards.

(And a badge made by one of the children- so sweet).

Plus some lovely gifts from colleagues- candles, lush bar, baking book and a candle jar for the garden.

It was a bit of a rush as I had to leave right away to get to the wedding on time, but I made it, and it was lovely- an intimate service with immediate family. I was so nervous about doing the reading (even though it was for such a small audience) but it went well thankfully.

Saturday was the busy day (even more so for Andy as he had best man duties to attend to). I ended up pottering around at home all morning, before I got dressed up and headed over to pick up his parents. All the family members had these lovely flowers (although they have wilted a bit now!)- I wore mine on my wrist, and of course all the men had theirs in their button holes.

Officially the service was a blessing (as they were married on Friday) but it was basically a wedding service with readings and hymns etc. The sun came out and I am sure the photos will look lovely. I had plenty of time to catch up with people I met at the hen weekend (in Southwold) as Andy was very busy.

They also had a sweetie bar which was total genius– jars with jelly beans, dolly mixture (remember that?), licorice allsorts, flying saucers. They had the little metal scoops, and stripy bags! I got some jelly beans but hardly ate any so brought the rest home with me!

Of course the inevitable questions kept coming at the two of us (as his brother is a year younger than Andy and they have been together nearly as long as we have). Firstly I find it awkward because really it is nothing to do with anyone else. But also I am not sure of my own thoughts on it! I mean, I know that I would not want a wedding day- every wedding I go to confirms it more. I think people think I am insulting them when I say it, and I am not- I enjoy going to weddings, but I would not want a day like that myself. Andy had to do a speech, and he did so well, but I would have hated to have all the focus on me just for a little bit, let alone a day. Plus they are so expensive- for just one day! Think of what holiday you could have in exchange. And we signed a lot of things when we bought our house- that is a pretty big commitment. And you hear about people who are happy for years, then get married only to split up soon after. Is there something about it that adds more pressure? Who knows.

Anyway, they had a brilliant band (Hula groove) who were fab- I have never been to a wedding before where the dance floor was so consistently packed. The two of them had a wonderful day (which is what counts, after all), and the weather was just the icing on the cake.

We didn’t set an alarm for Sunday morning, and in the end I didn’t get up til 10am (which is so late for me) and headed out for a 9 mile run. It was hard, but I was tired from all the dancing, and probably had not had quite enough to drink on Saturday. I made the mistake of thinking (at mile 6) “hmm, at the Great North Run I won’t quite be half way yet”- whoops. Anyway, overall I enjoyed it although my legs did feel tight. I saw so many runners out too- it must be the sunshine calling them! It took me nearly 2 hours I think (have not plugged in the Garmin yet, and I was too thirsty when I got home to look at it!), but that is OK.

We were going to go to the Waffle house for breakfast, but I got home from my run at 12, so it was too late for that! We watched the Grand Prix (go Button!) and then headed out to see my parents and Andy’s parents, and then went to the Waffle house for dinner instead. It was packed, but that is no surprise. It has so much outdoor seating, and it is right by the water, so it was perfect. I went for a wholemeal waffle topped with veggies, hummus (a massive scoop of it) and sliced avocado, topped with a sweet chilli sauce. It was delish.

Today I have got to wait in for some deliveries, and then do some shopping, and work (and possibly the allotment to tackle the wedding, but that might wait until tomorrow!), but it is nice to have a day to myself now and finally relax into the summer holidays.

After all:

OK that has gone huge! I copied off a friends’ facebook wall 🙂

Catch you later dudes!

Also, married folks- what made you decide on getting married? Has anything changed since you have been married? Just curious.

I know, I know, everyone is going on about the weather, but seriously, it is July! JULY!

This is the last week of term, but it does not feel like it at all with all the rain and wet play. We had Sports day (rained off the first date)- the field was wet, and the water soaked through my trainers (why did I take my wellies home on Monday?), and then it rained right at the end, so I spent the rest of the day with sopping wet socks and trousers. Not good.

Last night I made some cookies to keep everyone going:

As I had some cookie mix (and not much time) it was perfect- I used the Oatmeal cookie mix that American Soda sent me, and added in some of the butterscotch chips (which, by the way, taste like butterscotch Angel delight).

It made a lot- 2 big tray-fulls, and they went down well at work.

I have also been getting gifts ready- the fudge is all bagged up now, and I will take it in tomorrow as the last day will be so manic.

I missed the WIAW post again, but I did take a photo of my lunch from the weekend (possibly? Or earlier than that)- crumpets with peanut butter and fresh strawberries (so good), lime curd, and Earl Grey tea.

At the moment I am deciding whether to go to the Sweatshop run tonight. I woke up at 4am this morning with a bad headache, and it would not go away. Since being better I have been trying to steer clear of painkillers (not that I take them loads)- because I must have been on some kind of painkiller for at least 5 months. Anyway, I had to succumb to ibuprophen in the end, and luckily it went, but I have felt a bit groggy today (from the lack of sleep I think), plus after being soggy all day, I feel I have only just warmed up and dried off. It is not raining out there at the moment, and I think that a run in the fresh air might help, but then again if it pours I think I could end up feeling rubbish, and at some points I feel like my headache is on the verge of coming back. So we shall see. Still have not got my t-shirt as they have not had my size in, so that is a good reason to go! Also because we have the wedding on Friday, I can’t go out for a run then (and don’t want to go out in the morning as I want to have time to do my hair and if I run in the morning it gets a wet ponytail), and the Reception is on Saturday so I suppose I could go out then for a short run, but ideally I wanted to wash my hair Friday night and then make it look presentable on Saturday morning, as then it is easier to sort out. Hmm. But then after that I will be on holiday so I can have a run whenever I want. And I don’t want to be unwell for the wedding, or for the last few days of term. Oh it is hard to tell!

How do you decide when to give a workout a miss?