A good day?

There are some days that are better than others and today is definitely not one of the better ones! You see, I'm sick. Melissa was kind enough to share her germs with me resulting in a nasty head cold accompanied with a sore throat. That was Monday and today is Thursday and I'm still feeling pretty sorry for myself. Luckily for me, the sore throat has gone away but in its place is the nasty green stuff with a cough, which means its travelled south!
I slept better last night, which is really positive as the previous two nights were spent on the sofa.....
I hate being sick!!
I feel like I'm in a bubble. Like a spectator looking in. The kids returned to school on Monday and I haven't really talked to them about their new beginning. I don't really want them to come too close to me as I don't want them to get sick, especially at the beginning of the new semester.

While I was lying here, I was wondering what constitutes a good day? And I've come to the conclusion that it's different for every single person on the planet and that the answer could also change every day too. Just take the beginning of my week, for example. On Monday "a good day" included:

• a good start at school/work for everybody
• not too much muscle ache from gym 

By Tuesday "a good day" would have meant:

• no more sneezing, no more sore throat
• being able to sleep
• having the cold meds do their job

Does having "a good day" constitute only of good things happening to us?
Does a mother with a newborn baby call it a good day when her baby hasn't woken up crying every two hours? 
Does a mother of young children class it a good day if she hasn't yelled at her kids and made them cry (even if she was the one that felt like crying)?
Is it a good day when you have succesfully cleaned the house and done the laundry?
Does a teacher call it a good day when he comes home from school and hasn't felt the desire to "strangle" one of his teenage students?

What constitutes a good day, or a bad day, and who decides?  
I guess we decide and it all depends on our viewpoint at that moment. We all have good days and bad days and some days that aren't one or the other. But really it's up to us to decide if the day is going to be a good one by our atitude. Sure I'm sick and I'm stuck in bed but hey, my body is fighting this cold as well as it can and I have a loving family around me to pick up the slack when I can't. It's not really a bad day - it's just a "could have been a little bit better day"! :)
The family will home in an hour ready for their lunch. Thank goodness Melissa is here and thank goodness I have food storage........

Hugs,
Becca

Back to school

The day that everyone has been dreading for weeks finally arrived today - the "Back to school" day!
The hubster is now into his 6th year as music school director, Aaron into his 2nd year as an IT apprentice, Jordan in his 2nd year in secondary school and Daniel has just started his last (6th grade) year in primary school. WOW! For the next 6 weeks it'll be just Melissa and myself at home until she starts her studies mid September and then it'll just be me again :(

We really missed the kids last week. We didn't notice it too much while we were away but once we were back at home, we really noticed how quiet it was without them. Their bedrooms and bathrooms were constantly clean and tidy (that was really nice) but it just wasn't the same without them. We are not ready to have an "empty nest" especially not all at once! Don't get me wrong, we really enjoyed each other's company but we just missed our kiddies.

Melissa came home an evening earlier than the boys, so we took her out to dinner to celebrate her graduation. We had a lovely evening where she told us about her "adventures" in YSA camp. It's so good to have one-on-one with our children.

Now comes the trial of settling into a "normal" routine once again. I wonder how long it'll take me this time? Well I guess there is no time like the present - I haven't been to the gym since June - so I'm off to torture my body with a Fat Burner session. I hope I can walk tomorrow!!!

Hugs,
Becca

UK Trip Part 2

Bath
One of the main attractions in Bath are the Roman Baths itself. The romans came to Bath in 50 AD but the baths were only re-discovered in 1880 and received a grand opening in 1897.
The view from the Terrace is the first view you have as a visitor to the baths, but what you can see from here is less than a quarter of the site as a whole. The Terrace overlooks the Great Bath and is lined with statues of Roman Governors of Britain, Roman Emperors and military leaders.

Jordan touching the water although the little white notice there is saying "Please don't touch the water"!

 Some of the drainage system:

At the very heart of the site is the Sacred Spring (now called the King's Bath).  Hot water at a temperature of 46°C rises here at the rate of 1,170,000 litres (240,000 gallons) every day and has been doing this for thousands of years.

 In the past this natural phenomenon was beyond human understanding and it was believed to be the work of the ancient gods. In Roman times a great Temple was built next to the Spring dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva, a deity with healing powers.

The mineral rich water from the Sacred Spring supplied a magnificent bath-house which attracted visitors from across the Roman Empire.

The King’s Bath was built, using the lower walls of the Roman Spring building as foundations, in the 12^th century. The bath provided niches for bathers to sit in, immersed up to their necks in water.
Although modified and encroached upon by the building of the Grand Pump Room in the 18^th century and subsequent 19^th century developments the King’s Bath continued in use for curative bathing until the middle of the 20^th century.

The Pump Room as it is today:

Where the lady in pink (left in picture) is standing is where you can drink some of the warm spa water. Personally I think it's gross - The hubster drank my glass!
Spa water has been used for curative purposes for two thousand years (it contains 43 minerals).  Originally treatments involved bathing in the hot waters, then in the late 17th Century drinking spa water also came to be a recognised treatment for certain conditions. I would have had to have been really ill for the doctor to get me to drink that stuff :)
We really enjoyed our morning in the baths. We all received audio guides explaining everything is great detail and once again the boys listened to theirs in German.

After eating our lovely baguettes we did a bit of shopping. We went to GAP and bought Roland a hoodie.
We seemed to lose it a little as Mr. D. took an age to decide which one to buy!

Bath is a lovely town and the buildings are just gorgeous. We walked up to the Circus:

and to the Royal Crescent:

At around 6pm we made our way back to the hotel to travel to Bridgend in Wales to stay with Anthony (my nephew) and his family.

Wales
To get into Wales you have to cross the Severn Bridge (a toll bridge), which is rather spectacular. Bridgend is on the welsh south coast and Anthony and Pauline live in a nice area. We were treated to our own room with en-suite bathroom! It was lovely spending time with them and for Roland to get better aquainted with my family.

On Tuesday Anth & Pauline took us up to a local mountain where we greeted the sheep........

........and then we went to their local beach. Apparantly the water was warm but it sure as heck was windy. Only Mr D., Jordan, Daniel and Brandon were brave enough to go in......

Lily-Mae, poor thing, was freezing!

On Wednesday we went in to Cardiff with the train where we visited the Welsh National Museum (and a peek in to Cardiff castle) and on Thursday to The Museum of Welsh Life, an open air museum covering Welsh Life from Celtic times to the present day. To finish off the day, another trip to the beach made.

Daniel and two year old, Lily-Mae:

Five year old Felicity:

On Thursday evening we made our way to Redditch to spend the weekend with Mum and Barbara. On Friday we took a trip in to the Cotswolds and visited Bourton-on-the-Water. It's such a quaint little village with the typical honey coloured cottages.The kids played in the shallow water and the rest of us laid on a blanket and either snoozed, read or played games. We really needed an easy day and this was just "the ticket" :) 

 

Barbara, my elder sister. Love you, Barb!

And my Mamma - she's just the best!

Saturday we let the boys sleep in - they really needed it - and we just went into town to do some window shopping. On Sunday we went to my home ward for church, where the hubster and I were called upon to give our testimonies - argh!!!On the way home we drove by the hubster's old missionary flat......

.....and then to the cemetry to show Mr D. and the boys my Dad's grave, which he shares with my neice Emma who died when she was three months old of cot death.

Well that's all for part 2....phew!!

Hugs all,
Becca