pamperings

Yesterday I was treated to a day of pampering by my very good friend.  For my Christmas present she took me up the road 55 miles to the college her daughter is at doing a hospitality HND.  Every now and then they have a day where the public can come in and have some pampering and can also eat in the restaurant so the students can practise being in the real world.  So my friend bought us both vouchers for a massage and a three course meal.
It was a really lovely day and great to be out for the day just doing our own thing.  The massage I had seemed truly professional and I certainly felt very relaxed after it.  My friend felt hers was more of a gentle rub so not quite as good.  We then went and had a little walk around the shops (not my favourite thing to do but I did enjoy it) and went back to for the meal.  It was really lovely and the only thing which reminded us that we were in a college was the tutor who was hovering to make sure the students got it right.  I would definitely go again for both and really appreciated my present.
Rick seemed to manage the day with the children and he is really doing great at the home educating when I am not there.  It is something we will have to get used to when I get a job (haven't heard from the two I applied for on Monday) and not an easy change for him.
I took 7yos to his swimming lesson at 6.30pm.  He has gone up into the top class and I think it was quite challenging for him but he did really well.  He is a really good swimmer.  He'll be joining the others in the club soon!
I went to badminton in the evening for an hour and it went really well.  My arm is still sore when I stretch but as I don't think it is doing any damage I just am trying to go through it.  It was good to be back at badminton again after a while.
This morning 7yos and I went down by the river.  He went on his new rip stick and I ran.  It was quite stoppy and starty as he is just learning to use the rip stick but he did really well.  He is very determined.  11yod was out at a friend's house for the day so I spent most of the rest of the day doing house work and grocery shopping for us and my parents.
13yos has announced that he wants to concentrate on running for a while and so he went out this afternoon and ran 4 miles.  He'll be catching his dad soon.  Rick is on a marathon training programme so he is making sure he gets all his training in - think he is aiming for another PB!
On Tuesday 18yos decided he wanted to hitch hike down to Manchester.  He took his back pack and gear and set off and got a lift just outside our little town.  That lift took him about 170 miles and then he quite quickly got another one for the last 30, almost to his grandparents' door.  Coming back was a little harder - he ended up having to sleep out and got cold and wet but he made it home in time for work last night.  All this in preparation for his European tour this coming summer.