It's....Mother's Day!

Greetings biscuit fans! There's not much about running in this week but I will try to add an update on the end!

If you've just read the title and had a sudden panic it's ok - you still have a few hours to get that all important call in to your Mum and even better try to send a card. It wont arrive until next week, but if you're inventive you might be able to blame it on the clocks going forward to British Summer Time or something of that like.

My good e-blogger friend Shaman Dalie, who writes fantastic running blogs, often far better illustrated than mine with inspiring photography, sent me a challenge to write 8 little known things about myself and then pass the challenge on.

Never wanting to miss a chance to talk about myself I thought I'd accept the challenge, however given that it's Mother's day I thought I'd be a bit rebellious and write 8 little known things about my mum, safe in the knowledge that only my Dad reads this!

So here we go, 8 things about my mum, Caroline:

1. My mum is a primary school teacher. She wanted to teach right from being a young child and if my Dad has shown this to her she's probably correcting my spelling as you read this. My Auntie always jokes about how my Mum would play 'schools' as a child and set my Auntie 'pretend' assignments - but then mark and grade them anyway.

2. Her favourite chocolate bar is a 'Crunchie'. This has always stuck in my mind and whenever I see one in a shop I'm always reminded of the fact. I should probably apologise for all the Crunchie chocolate bars she's received as presents over the years - we're not very imaginative with gifts sometimes!

3. She has a secret love of the 'Jordan' reality tv programmes (and possibly now 'the only way is essex') but criticises me for liking 'Take me out'. No Likie - No Lightie Mum!

4. Mum will always fall asleep mid way through a film at home (often in the cinema as well) and then wake up near the end and want to know what's going on. If someone could create a film that has as solid start and ending but a middle mostly filled with a blank screen it would save us a lot of explaining time. (Oh this doesn't apply to anything with Colin Firth in it - weird phenomenon)

5. She can't read contour lines on maps - as discovered on our many family camping holidays when a '30 min' walk has turned into a several hour ramble, as we discover that you have to scale up the side of a vertical cliff as part of the 'lovely coastal trail' she's found.

6. She cooks brilliant 'baked maccaroni' the Maltese way (she is half Maltese) and I have never been able to get it the same when I try at home. I have therefore decided that good cooking is not particularly genetic (although may have been passed on to my sister).

7. She is a bit unlucky with cars and has had several that have leaked - causing little pools of water in the passenger side which has frozen in winter and  made a mini ice rink.  There's also been several cars that have had the habit of conking out at traffic lights. We have good experience of bump starting cars in my family!

8. I owe her more than I will ever be able to repay for all the concerts, dance shows and sports competitions she's taken me to and dutifully watched or cheered on the sidelines, as I've sung out of tune, danced out of time or run around whilst she's got very cold. I don't think I can ever say thank you, or sorry, enough!

So thanks Mum - Happy Mother's Day and you can stop adding apostrophes and commas to my blog now!

A brief running update - still no running for me :-( However the foot is getting a lot better and is almost painless now. I have an appointment booked with a specialist in another two weeks - by which point I hope to be back to running again! In the meantime I'd like to give a huge thank you to all the Sandhurst joggers who responded with brilliant suggestions to my call for inspirational reading. Paul, I am now desperate to get back on my feet and Ian W - I'm so terrified of bikes that the prospect of a triathlon is still highly unlikely.

Thanks for all your updates on the car dancing - sounds like it is going well! Keep up the good work dance fans! (If you're confused please read previous blog!)

And lastly a MASSIVE congratulations to two of our bestest bestest friends Laura and Stick - well done on finally moving into your new house guys - I hope all is going well and you're not still lost in the depths of IKEA.

Keep in touch with your Mums!

Biscuit Nikki x

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