What have I been up to?

Ever get the feeling that your life is just getting on with itself and you are left sitting watching it? Well since my last blog post its been a little like that and slightly hectic but I am back on track and getting organised!  I thought the best way to give an update on what I have been doing during my absence is to talk about my Day Zero project, I am now 12% through, and have a few items in progress! 

My 101 Things in 1001 days post only had 74 of the 101 items listed, I topped up my list and its now full, all I have to do is work my way through them all. 

The same applies as last time, strike-through means complete, bold is in progress -  I have added progress details to my list, you can view them all here. Fancy joining me in completing the others then just give me a shout! 

1.           Visit 3 new cities outside the UK

2.           Make a birthday cake for someone

3.           Learn to knit

4.           Make a perfect flat white

5.           Buy a designer handbag

6.           Paint something

7.           Volunteer locally

8.           Send homemade cakes by mail to someone

9.           Take my niece swimming

10.        Visit The Shard UK

11.        Go to Paris with my Husband

12.        One week without social media

13.        Try Bikram Yoga

14.        Learn a new craft

15.        Host a murder mystery party

16.        Write a blog

17.        Go to 5 different museums

18.        Buy something from Etsy

19.        Clean out my closet

20.        Go to the zoo

21.        Send a secret to PostSecret

22.        Find a personally inspirational quote and work it into a piece of art or home decor

23.        See the Northern Lights

24.        Swim in the Mediterranean

25.        Read a whole book in one day

26.        Wear a skirt or dress every day for a week

27.        Eat creme brulee

28.        Donate blood

29.        Read a book in another language

30.        Make a list of the books I have read

31.        Say "yes" to something I would not normally do

32.        Get to my goal weight and maintain

33.        Go a month without buying anything that isn't a necessity

34.        Cook an Indian meal from scratch

35.        Make paella

36.        Scuba dive in the Red Sea

37.        Pass Motorbike test

38.        Make red velvet cupcakes

39.        Go to Hummingbird Bakery

40.        Drink champagne in a jacuzzi

41.        Have afternoon tea at The Ritz (somewhere in the world)

42.        Go to a live comedy show

43.        Make jam

44.        Go on a spa break with girl friends

45.        Join a book club

46.        Fly business class

47.        Treat myself to a nice piece of jewellery

48.        Do a track day

49.        Do a random act of kindness for a stranger

50.        Take my husband out for dinner

51.        Book a last minute holiday

52.        Donate to a food bank

53.        Go on a traditional picnic

54.        Read the Chronicles of Narnia series

55.        Make a pizza from scratch

56.        Go vegetarian for a week

57.        Go to a vineyard

58.        Visit Stonehenge UK

59.        Visit The Outer Hebrides UK

60.        Dance in the rain

61.        Make mojitos

62.        Finish my sketchbook

63.        Campaign against FGM

64.        Visit Loch Ness SCOTLAND

65.        Don't watch TV for a week

66.        Grow something from a seed

67.        Ask 20 friends to suggest one book, and read them all

68.        Visit the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela SPAIN

69.        Bake something new each month

70.        Climb an indoor rock wall

71.        Sing a karaoke duet

72.        Kiss in front of the Eiffel Tower

73.        Ride a Boris bike

74.        Got to a Westend Show

75.        Learn how to use rollers in my own hair

76.        Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find

77.        Try 10 new cocktails

78.        Complete a photography course

79.        Go a month without drinking soda

80.        Enter a baking competition

81.        Send flowers to my friends office

82.        Shoot a gun at the firing range

83.        Try drawing every day for a month

84.        Read 5 classic books

85.        Participate in Postcrossing

86.        Drink vodka in Russia

87.        Go to Royal Ascot

88.        Place a bet

89.        Improve my Spanish

90.        Spend New Year’s eve in Edinburgh

91.        Change my hair style

92.        Ride a jet ski

93.        Go to Las Vegas

94.        Make a snow angel

95.        Have friends over for a BBQ

96.        Organise my photos (soft & hard copy)

97.        Fundraise for charity

98.        Got to an aquarium

99.        Take a boat trip

100.    Take a craft workshop

101.    Try 5 new restaurants in London

Has anyone else made a Day Zero list? It's a great place to organise your plans and ideas and make sure you get round to acting on them. 

That's all for now, more to come soon! 

Kx

A day at the races

I have never been to horse racing before, it has never been something I felt compelled to partake in – well watch, those poor horses wouldn't be running anywhere with me on their backs.

So when we were invited by a friend to go to GloriousGoodwood to celebrate his birthday I thought, well why not? 

I popped on-line to check the dress code, where the racecourse was and how to get there. Hubski and I ended up getting a last minute deal the The Ship Hotel which is such a lovely boutique hotel.

It took us a couple of hours to get to Chichester, where the hotel is, and we then got a cab to the racecourse, which took around 15 minutes. Upon arriving it was swarming with people, dressed in their best, fascinators and Panama hat galore! Although I was disappointed to see that a fair few people slipped through the dress code net, stronger policing would be nice to keep the standard high. 

The Hubski and I enjoying a G&T on the roof terrace

We grabbed a G&T in the Gordon’s bar and mingle around to get our bearings. Knowing absolutely nothing about horse racing or betting I had various questions for my friend who was ‘in the know’ about it all and got myself up to speed, well a little anyway!

The atmosphere is quite interesting because everyone gets really hyped up for each race (there were 7 in total) but the races are say 30 minutes apart so in between things relax a little, the bars get busy and then everyone gets back to their viewing spot to watch their horse come in.

The view from the grandstand

Are there any tricks to betting? Probably, but I don’t know them. For me it was a case of picking a horse with a name that I could manipulate to be relevant to me or one that had pink in the jersey. This is how I stumbled upon Pal of the cat – a fair maiden (which means it has never won a race, not that it’s a female horse…). Off I popped to put a tenner on the last race. Would you believe it, Pal of the cat won its first race and I won £280 on my first bet! Hoorah, winning makes the day even more fantastic.

When the buzz died down we went back to Chichester on a private bus that is put on for the race goers. Being on top of a double decker bus on country lanes after a day of drinking G&T’s and Pimm’s is a bit interesting….

We got back to the hotel exhausted, the excitement really takes it out of you but we did still manage a quick dinner at the hotel restaurant, which has an AA rosette. There were mixed reviews online about the restaurant, mainly picking fault at the service so we were a little sceptical but we needn’t have been. Our food came out promptly, it was delicious (I had tagliatelle with gorgonzola, caramelised onions and kale – light summery and hit the spot with its generous portion size) and the service was polite. The breakfast the next morning was just as good, with me opting for something that wasn’t on the menu and hubski having the eggs Benedict (duck egg, in a fresh cob with Parma ham and béarnaise sauce).

All in all I rather enjoyed myself and will most probably be booking myself a day at Royal Ascot next year! 

Kx

101 Things in 1001 Days

Have you heard about the Day Zero Project? I have seen it on a few blogs and though it was about time I joined in!

"Day Zero is an online community for people who love creating lists, setting challenges, and making positive changes in their lives."

 - www.dayzeroproject.com

I have taken on the 101 things in 1001 days challenge, as of 3rd July 2013 I will undertake 101 tasks before 30 March 2016. The items on the list are not necessarily difficult, expensive or rare but more activities that will hopefully give me things to focus on over the next 1001 days. As I achieve them I will mark them off and give details of how and when they were completed which I'll keep you updated with. 

Why am I mentioning this to you lot? Well I would like some more ideas as to what I can add to my list, and of course if anyone wants to join me with my challenges or create their own list that would be great! I currently have 74 items and need to get to 101 so put your thinking caps on please. 

This is what I have on my list so far, those that are crossed out have been completed since I made the list (there are some things on there I have already done in the past but will do again no doubt) and those in bold are in progress. 

1. Visit 3 new cities outside the UK
2. Make a birthday cake for someone
3. Learn to knit
4. Make a perfect flat white
5. Buy a designer handbag
6. Paint something
7. Volunteer locally
8. Send homemade cakes by mail to someone
9. Take my niece swimming
10. Visit The Shard
11. Go to Paris with my Husband
12. One week without social media
13. Try Bikram Yoga
14. Learn a new craft
15. Host a murder mystery party
16. Write a blog regularly
17. Go to 5 different museums
18. Buy something from Etsy
19. Clean out my closet
20. Go to the zoo
21. Send a secret to PostSecret
22. Find a personally inspirational quote and work it into a piece of art or home decor
23. See the Northern Lights
24. Swim in the Mediterranean
25. Read a whole book in one day
26. Wear a skirt or dress every day for a week
27. Eat creme brulee
28. Donate blood
29. Read a book in another language
30. Make a list of the books I have read
31. Say "yes" to something I would not normally do
32. Get to my goal weight and maintain
33. Go a month without buying anything that isn't a necessity
34. Cook an Indian meal from scratch
35. Make paella
36. Scuba dive in the Red Sea
37. Pass Motorbike test
38. Make red velvet cupcakes
39. Go to Hummingbird Bakery
40. Drink champagne in a jacuzzi
41. Have afternoon tea at The Ritz (somewhere in the world)
42. Go to a live comedy show
43. Make jam
44. Go on a spa break with girl friends
45. Join a book club
46. Fly business class
47. Treat myself to a nice piece of jewellery
48. Do a track day
49. Do a random act of kindness for a stranger
50. Take my husband out for dinner
51. Book a last minute holiday
52. Donate to a food bank
53. Go on a traditional picnic
54. Read the Chronicles of Narnia series
55. Make a pizza from scratch
56. Go vegetarian for a week
57. Go to a vineyard
58. Visit Stonehenge UK
59. Visit The Outer Hebrides UK
60. Dance in the rain
61. Make mojitos
62. Finish my sketchbook
63. Campaign against FGM
64. Visit Loch Ness
65. Don't watch TV for a week
66. Grow something from a seed
67. Ask 20 friends to suggest one book, and read them all
68. Visit the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela SPAIN
69. Bake something new each month
70. Climb an indoor rock wall
71. Sing a karaoke duet
72. Kiss in front of the Eiffel Tower
73. Ride a Boris bike
74. Got to a Westend Show

At the end of the day this is a bit like a bucket list but with a target end date to complete them all. I also have a 'Some day list which I am treating as my lifelong bucket list. 

I've got 993 days left from today! 

Look me up on Day Zero.com - MacKinnon.ka

Kx