About Me

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I'm a 45 year old mother of 3 boys. I live in a beautiful old house that needs a lot of TLC with my youngest son and 2 dogs. I am working hard at keeping myself healthy and fit by working out and doing a spot of running. I'm a creative person and am passionate about keeping traditional skills alive. I cook, knit, bake, garden, preserve, read, write and am now learning to spin and quilt. Oh and I sometimes swear.....

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Love the skin you're in

Being fair skinned and freckly has made me very careful with my skin over the years.  I use a face cream with a SPF of 15 all year round.  In the summer I never go out without sunscreen and in the winter I moisturise like it's an Olympic event.

So adding regular chlorine baths into my training routine has sent my skin into overdrive.  And not in places where it's easy to cover up.  Oh no, in highly visible places.  Wearing a burka is looking like a good option right now.  Any tips from regular swimmers or those with delicate skin gratefully received.

Swimming is going well I think.  My coach thinks I'm progressing (doing lengths now) but I think I'm actually getting worse.  Maybe it has to get worse before it gets better! There is so much to think about that I often forget to kick or breath because I'm focusing so much on my head position or arms.  It's like patting your head while rubbing your tummy and counting backwards from one million in Swahili!  Aaaaaargh!!!!

On the academic front my OU materials have arrived.  I am going to love this course (AA317 Words and Music if anyone wants to look it up)  I do have a wee bit of a musical background in that I played the cello and piano in the school orchestra.  I have sung in various choirs and I love a good karaoke session! Ok, that last one won't help but I can follow a score.  And I love music.  All kinds of music except for jazz but I'm open to being introduced to its delights.

I had a wee bit of abuse on FB this week over my musical tastes!  I have admitted they are a bit eclectic and like to listen to stuff according to my mood. For me Lady Gaga and Girls Aloud sit comfortably on my playlist with Kings of Leon, Elvis Costello, Meatloaf and the cast of Glee. 

In fact everything in my life right now sits comfortably.  I'm in a very happy place.  I love the skin I'm in :-) xxx

8 comments:

Unknown said...

There you are you see. Did I not tell you at the turn of the year you'd bounce back quickly. You should always listen to Bob, your wise friend :-)))

Anonymous said...

My best advice would be to swim in a gimp mask.....

allybea said...

You did Bob. I just didn't believe you :-)xxx

Clark, BEHAVE!!!

Mad Madam Mel said...

pay no attention to other opinions on music, i listen to everything from lady gaga to clannad to linkin park to dean martin, eclectic to say the least. well done with the training :)

allybea said...

Hey elf, good to see you here. Glad you survived your cooker fire!!

Not listened to Clannad in a while. Must download some tracks

Flip said...

swimming is going to ruin my skin ?

allybea said...

Depends if you've got tough skin Flip! Lol! I'm a bit of a delicate flower ;-) x

Jane said...

Delighted to see that things are going swimmingly for you at the moment Ali!
I could never get the hang of front crawl and am always envious of folk that can master that breathing technique. Good old breast stroke does it for me.
And, delighted to hear your OU stuff has arrived - I always think that's the best part, the rummaging around in the shiny new course materials (especially if you've got some good tunes blaring away in the background!) x