MoreSmiles 365 - what next?

It's the last day of the year, and the last day of MoreSmiles365.
What to do next?
More smiles of course, but I'm going to play on the URL of my blog, http://lisasmiles365.blogspot.co.uk
So, in 2015, my 365 blog will be called LISASMILES which could be Lisa Smiles or Lisa's Miles as both are important to me and not mutually exclusive.
Some days it'll be things that make me smile and others, the posts will be related to miles travelled, either on foot (running or walking) on my bicycle, or by some other mode of transport (hoping for some plane travel!)
Thanks for being with me this year - here's to new adventures next year!

MoreSmiles 365:365

My last post of the year, and I'm ending this chapter with the people that make me smile more than anything else. 

The cyclist, the trumpeter and the brainiac. Love you xx

Here are my photos from 2014 - which was your favourite?

MoreSmiles 364:365

Another birthday cake for Isaac as we visited my in laws, and another Christmas dinner too! 

Nice to see John's parents, and his sister too. 

Boys smiled at their new hats with in built headphones. 

Everyone smiled at Jude's trumpet 'concert.'

And there was much bemused smiling when John's mum suggested that he looked like Greg Wallace...

MoreSmiles 363:365

My little boy is 16. Lots of smiles looking at pictures and celebrating with him. He's assured me he won't be changing his name by deedpoll nor demanding a moped or a pilot's license. Nor will he be joining the army or moving out. I'm pleased as I quite like him really ;)

MoreSmiles 362:365

A beautiful day for a walk so off we popped to Ilam in Derbyshire where there are always hills fields and a river and today there was also still snow. 

Great fun as John once more led us across up hills and across ploughed fields; this time they were snow covered but snow disguised several patches of deep mud, flooded ground and icey holes! No harm done though and trying to avoid the hazards was quite amusing. 

MoreSmiles 361:365

"Cold but smiling" says the caption on this photograph from our trip to Iceland in  2010. 

Today was also cold although yesterday's snow had melted. And there were smiles too :

A lie in!

Coffee and cake in John Lewis was disappointing but we found some great kitchen utensils!

Top Gear made us smile.

It's Saturday night and Christmas or not, it's curry night! 

A rainy run. 

MoreSmiles 360:365

A day of family fun at Mum's including a 'picnic lunch', a NERF battle and Skyfall. And a nap on the floor.

Oh and several CBeebies pantomimes watched with Bob who used most of us as a cushion at some point! 

MoreSmiles 359:365

I hope your day was as full of smiles as mine. Merry Christmas everyone x

MoreSmiles 358:365

Nothing like Mövenpick ice cream at 9am when you've been awake for over four hours and are 'in transit' on your way home. 

Christmas dinner successfully collected in my pink shopping trolley. 

Christmas Eve service including candles safely executed. 

Prosecco open, carols playing and presents wrapped. 

It's one more sleep until Christmas Day! 

MoreSmiles 357:365

Spotted under Aspernbrücke along with this and many other interesting sculptures and 'doodles'.

A walk in the 'Wald' turned out to be up a near vertical hill but the view was pretty (and that's from halfway up!) ...

And the Danube was rather pretty as the sun went down, if not as blue as I was lead to believe ;)

MoreSmiles 356:365

Jude as a hamster, more Weinachtsmarkt fun and a scrunchy map. Still smiling in Vienna. 

Oh, and then there was the man who looked like a caricature of a deposed African dictator and was dancing around outside the U-Bahn. 

MoreSmiles 355:365

Having a great time in Vienna. Lots of smiles today not least at Jude's caffeine fuelled exploits, the dodgems in Prater and Glühwein. 

MoreSmiles 354:365

Oooooh Vienna! 

It's been a long day but a good one. I burst into tears on setting foot on Swiss 'soil' at Zürich Airport and managed to do some Christmas shopping in the hour we were there. Vienna is looking lovely and we hooted with delight when we saw a man on a scooter - just like Switzerland. Our room has huge windowsills on which I am sitting and watching the world and there's a running shop across the street! 

"Spanish-Austrian fusion food" was interesting. The 'Crema Catalana' was a hit, served with cinnamon biscuit and passion fruit purée. And I enjoyed my duck (which was not very Spanish at all!) 

Christmas markets await tomorrow!

MoreSmiles 353:365

Thank you Secret Santa for my lovely gifts.

Smiling because I'm packing and because I get to visit Switzerland - albeit only for an hour!

And it's officially the end of term. 

MoreSmiles 352:365

Hurrah! Just pizza and Secret Santa tomorrow but no early get ups for two weeks.
Apart from Saturday, but that's to catch a 'plane so doesn't really count!
Smiling :)

And watching the boys playing Scotland Yard also made me smile. Glad I decided to sit this one out as my brain was frazzled juts watching them let alone keeping track of who was where!

MoreSmiles 351:365

Staff panto today was a hoot! Thanks to the talented people with whom I work I had a magnificent 'frame' and make up that transformed me into The (Multilingual) Mirror in Snow White and the 9 Elves. Thanks too to Evila aka Jamie for not literally throwing me against a wall and smashing me into a million pieces as suggested by the script! 

MoreSmiles 350:365

Survived party afternoon relatively unscathed and a y3 bought me a present  (unheard of!)

End of an era as John finishes working for the company that took us to Switzerland. Sad but as Dr Seuss said...

MoreSmiles 349:365

I really don't want to see another dodecahedron Spanish calendar again (although I'm making them again on Wednesday and Thursday so a vain hope!) although it made me smile to see pupils trying really hard to stick all the flaps down and make it a regular shape! However I did spend lunchtime sticking rather a lot of them together! I hope they're not binned as soon as they get he though.

MoreSmiles 348:365

Today I was sent a list of "Things I won't wear/do not want" by my son. It includes polo shirts, shirts with button, cable knit, corduroy, anything by Ralph Lauren/Polo and scarves. Made me smile!

Another excellent concert from Jude and BSCB, this time at the Adrian Boult Hall. And great to be able to see Jude who is normally hidden behind other instruments. This time he was high up and in the middle. Unfortunately we were forbidden from taking photos/videos by the compere at the start of the concert :( However I enjoyed watching him - and the rest of the band - play as well as the other ensembles/bands/orchestras.

MoreSmiles 347:365

HIT in the park first thing.

Hairdressers at lunchtime. 

Decorating the Christmas tree in the afternoon. 

And a 50th birthday celebration in the evening. 

An action packed smiley day!

MoreSmiles 346:365

Today's smiles:

I found my running group in time having been delayed at the doctors. 

None of my extremities actually fell off in the cold although my toes felt like they had for much of the time. 

I have a few more Christmas presents. 

All the Friday night ferrying around was completed without hiccup. 

I finished my book before I fell asleep! 

And I found this guitar on the corner of the room where we were doing Core.

MoreSmiles 345:365

Look who was waiting on the sofa when I arrived at work today! 

Biggest smiles of the day:

Two amazing school plays, delivered by Year 3/4 and Year 1/2. I sang along to ALL the songs in The Polar Express (hopefully not too loudly!) and was amazed by the wonderful acting in Born in a barn, particularly the cockerel who was so loud and confident! The title made me smile too as its a phrase often heard around my family home as a child when someone left a door open. 

And it was Christmas lunch for the pupils today. After a misunderstanding about times, I had to fill some time so Y5 and I had a great time dancing to Chocolate. Then off to the dining hall where I danced and sang for 45 minutes with the children  queuing for lunch. Some were reluctant to join me for a quick gallop up and down but plenty were queuing to be swirled twirled and dipped. One little lad kept appearing again as he had so much fun! Just hope my UP band has counted all the steps as I was exhausted by the end of it all!

MoreSmiles 344:365

Today I told Y3 my favourite story - El pequeño petirrojo (Little Robin Red Vest) by Jan Fearnley. They loved it and we had great fun acting it out with the new bibs I bought that have pockets for flashcards, and also cuddly toys.

And this year as I told it I thought of two lovely ladies who 'helped' with the experience. Thank you Jackie for letting me have the robin and his lovely vests when you had to part with your resources. I think my assorted animal crew look rather fetching in their Christmas jumpers! And thanks to Bev for helping me all those years ago with the animated vests for my Powerpoint version of the story. Your skills are greatly missed but not as much as your smile and sparkle.

MoreSmiles 343:365

Music concert and muffins made me smile today. I am bruised from being a French hen as the one next to me (aka John) had very bony wings and flapped too close to me but it was fun, and great to see David again. And Jude was rather annoyed by some idiot deciding to grab one of his muffins before he left school and causing a lot of crumbling but they were delicious. 

And finally, Y4 listened to the story of Aladdin in Spanish this morning then had to write their own three wishes. Some of them were so heartfelt that it made me well up. And smile too as it shows that as much as we may doubt it sometimes, kids aren't all me, me, me.

MoreSmiles 342:365

Loved the music concert this afternoon - although it was stressful! In fact it's been a quite stressful day what with lost iPads and trying to do a QR CODE webquest with 1 iPad between 30 children, and having precisely 4 minutes to do my Spanish lesson once rehearsal and assembly were over. Still, we found the iPads in the end and I won't have to plan next week's lesson now!

Singing at Café Church saved me from post Cabaret blues. And was fun too! As was trying to get out of the Gracechurch centre as there was a padlocked fence across the precinct when I tried to go home! Also enjoyed Cath's solo, and an ex-pupil who couldn't believe how old I am! 

MoreSmiles 341:365

Two Pic Collages I made today that make me smile.

MoreSmiles 340:365

A gorgeous morning for Park Run. And a respectable time given the slippy conditions. 

A concert this afternoon by Birmingham Schools Concert Band. Including Jude. Lovely window! 

And more cabaret. I love it. Can't wait for the summer one now.