The movie that dominated the award ceremonies on both sides of the Atlantic this year was the curiously named Argo.  The title doesn’t give anything away and neither will this review in terms of spoilers but the hype and accolades are well deserved.  We watched Argo (DVD + UV Copy) last night with friends visiting for the weekend and all really enjoyed it.

Argo is a a tense watch, you need to pay attention but listen to the dialogue to follow a great story that will have you gripped.  It is not the sort of film that you can half watch, put your phone / tablet down and pay attention because it is worth it and also your husband will get seriously irritable if you require him to fill in the blanks whilst you were gassing with your pal forcing him to go back 10 minutes to re-watch part of the movie.  I speak from personal experience!

The movie is based on real events in 1979 during the Iran hostage crisis where the CIA and Hollywood came together to save the day and the lives of six hostages.  A situation that went unknown for many years until it was declassified many years later.  Academy Award® winner Ben Affleck directs and stars in the film sporting some rather fabulous 1970′s facial hair – think Bee Gees!  He wears it well!  I also loved the catch phrase from the movie, well phrased swear words always make me smile.

Thank you Warner Bros. Pictures for sending us the Argo (DVD + UV Copy) we never made it to the cinema to see Argo and really enjoyed the movie which it out now on DVD to buy, rent, view.

It is now March and my 39th year fitness mission that commenced on 31st December 2012 continues, irrespective of the results of which there are some decent achievements, the greatest of which is that I haven’t given up.  I am still getting my exercise kit on and training twice a week with Greg Johnson and also still running and working my way through “Couch to 5k” (C25K).

The scales say I’ve lost 19lbs, well I had until I went to  Center Parcs then gained a couple but they’ll be history again soon enough.  My jeans require a belt otherwise they fall down, I am refusing to by new one’s until I drop 24lbs.  I am so much stronger, I can do stupid things like “plank get ups” – who ever invited these if you’re reading – I HATE YOU!

I’m starting my second month of training, we have a small, fun group of ladies meeting on Monday at 6:30pm and Wednesday at 6pm at Wilmslow High School for 45 minutes training.  Being part of a little crew of people with Greg’s nutrition plan has made all the difference to me being focussed and sticking with it and now its just part of my weekly life.  There are just a couple of spaces in the class so if anyone is interested then contact Greg directly through his Facebook page.

I started off following the C25K programme and I do really enjoy it, I try to run 2-3 times a week if I can and now I can run for nearly 10 minutes without stopping.  Next week will see me doubling that as I start to do no interval runs, never thought that would be possible.  With a decent pair of running shoes and a play list it would appear anything is possible.  Mobilefun.co.uk sent me an armband to keep my iPhone safe and my hands free whilst running its great.  If you’re thinking about starting C25K or fed up of holding your phone like I was you should consider investing, great value at just £9.99.  This is just one of many iPhone 4S accessories available from mobilefun.co.uk

The days are getting longer, the walk home from school is lighter and lights on at home is getting later.  The snowdrops are out in full force, the daffodils are stretching towards the sunshine but it is still cold.  Often frosty in a morning.  Spring is almost here but not quite.

Outside picnics and BBQ’s are away off yet but we are British and we’ve never let the weather stand between us and a picnic.  So when Emma Bridgewater challenged us hold an indoor picnic we thought it was a great opportunity to have some picnic practice for the scorching Easter we will be having are sincerely hoping for!  After a busy Saturday morning of swimming and ballet lessons for Lil H and Diva G respectively we embarked with some of Emma Bridgewater’s gorgeous polka dot melamine goodies on our indoor picnic.

Grandpa had dropped off a new loaf, he’s been inspired by Paul Hollywood and the Great British Bake Off and his bread maker Christmas gift is serving the whole family well.  So we sliced up some of his sun dried tomato and parmesan bread – yum!

Spread, top and cut the sandwiches into some jaunty angles – that’s the thing about homemade bread, it’s a bit quirky!   We laid down a blanket on the floor, the napkins on laps, poured juice in melamine mugs, shared crisps in bowls and toasted “cheers” to declare our indoor picnic officially open!

A beautiful array of colourful matching polka dots.  The matching melamine made me very, very happy indeed and the even better news was it all went in the dishwasher.  It goes without saying that the children loved not eating at the table, a rule which I am pretty stringent about following a series of, shall we say “wandering spillages”, that required professional cleaning!

Once the hungry swimmer and ballet dancer were fed, the desire for the indoor picnic wasn’t sated, “my babies would like a picnic” Diva G requested.  Indoor picnics are not just for people it would seem!  The guests were gathered – Barbie, Baby Annabel, Cabbage Patch Gisele and Red Riding Hood (she brought her own basket of goodies!)

We laid out Diva G’s melamine heart tea set, a favourite second birthday present, a plate, tea cup & spoon for each dolly and a wooden cookie and piece of birthday cake.  Everyone had their own candle and we kicked our second indoor picnic off with four recitals of “Happy Birthday” to Barbie, Annabel, Gisele and Little Red!

Indoor picnics with people, with dollies – what’s not to love?

Thank you Emma Bridgewater for inviting us to join in the Indoor Picnic Challenge and the  melamine picnicware they sent us – we love it!

A couple of weeks ago I took Lil H and Diva G to Legoland® Discovery Centre to check out the new but for a limited time only Star Wars™ themed model displays.  We often enjoy an after school play at Manchester’s Legoland® Discovery Centre and with Lil H being a big Star Wars fan and increasingly getting into and getting good at Lego we were excited to check it out.  For those that have been before the display is located up the ramp towards the interactive light game which for us was always our last play before we went home.  This time it was our first port of call.  They have a Lego Jabba The Hut mini figure, need I say more?!

LEGOLAND® DISCOVERY CENTRE LAUNCHES LEGO® STAR WARS™ THEMED INTERACTIVE MODEL DISPLAY

STAR WARS™ legend is set to take over Manchester for five months as part of the Trafford Centre attraction’s brand new feature.

From the rolling hills of Naboo, with its ancient domed city and cascading waterfalls, to the treacherous terrain of the desert planet of Tattooine, the incredible landscapes of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace will be recreated using LEGO bricks forming some of the most stunning displays the Manchester LEGOLAND Discovery Centre has seen since opening in March 2010.

The pop-up walk-through LEGO® Star Wars™ MINILAND Model Display will offer an intergalactic immersion into the sights and sounds of this the first in the film franchise. Built-in games will offer hands on fun for even the youngest of Padawans who can take part in a thrilling Podrace with the young Anakin Skywalker and help defeat the evil Droid Army in the ‘Droid Destruction’ game.

The display is made up of over 250,000 LEGO bricks, is home to 2000 LEGO Star Wars minigures and took 2,000 man hours to create!

The display will be open to the public from Friday 1 February until Sunday 2 June and will be celebrated with a weekend of Star Wars Days complete with activity including:  A meet and greet with members of the Star Wars UK garrison Win prizes and giveaways

The attraction already features a North West MINILAND, built from more than 1.5 million LEGO bricks, bringing the local area to miniature life with iconic buildings such as the Trafford Centre, Blackpool Tower and the city’s famous football grounds along with moving airships, trains and trams.

Located in Barton Square at The Trafford Centre, the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre is made up of a series of interactive features to immerse kids into a world where their imagination can run wild with creative inspiration at every turn.

Featuring a whole host of exciting attractions from the Kingdom Quest ride to the LEGO CITY Forest Pursuit driving adventure ride complete with battery powered off road vehicles, the Centre not only provides fun for LEGO fans young and old, but fantastic educational benefits too.

The Centre involves just one entry fee, with all attractions included in the cost. Tickets are available online from just £8.10 per person.

The Centre is open from 10am seven days a week. The Centre remains open until 7pm daily, with the last admission at 5pm – see www.LEGOLANDDiscoveryCentre.co.uk for details or follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/LDCManchester

We’ve had a pre-release copy of Barbie in the Pink Shoes to watch for a couple of weeks – Diva G aged three already owns five times as many Barbie’s as she’s had birthdays so I was confident and correctly so that this would be enjoyed.

It’s a straightforward movie – it’s about Barbie, it involves ballet, shoes and a lot of pink.  If you are three this is:  THE. BEST. FILM. EVER.  If you are the adult in charge of a three year old this DVD will provide 1hr 12  mins of entertainment to your little one so you can get some stuff done!

The story has a nice “never give up” message to it  as its about a girl who never gives up on her dancing dream.  Barbie™ stars as Kristyn, a ballerina who dreams of one day joining an established dance company. She longs to dance just like the troupe’s lead dancer, Tara but no matter how hard she tries, her performance always seems to lack that special something. All this changes when she stumbles upon a beautiful pair of magical pink ballet shoes that take her on an amazing adventure to a fantastical world of ballet.

Kristyn and her friend Hailey encounter magic and mystery in this wondrous land but of course there is a baddie and this land is ruled by an evil Snow Queen.  They must dance like never before, through their favourite ballets, to defeat the evil Snow Queen. Only then will they find their way back home in time for the big performance. Inspired by her magical journey, Kristyn performs the iconic dances of Giselle and Swan Lake but with her own flourish and wows the big ballet company. Dancing like the star she is on this magical ballet adventure, Kristyn realises that when you dance from your heart, your dreams come true!

Barbie in the Pink Shoes is the latest installment in the fantastical adventures of Barbie™ available on DVD and Blu-ray from 18^th March 2013 The DVD and is available to pre-order now – a great chocolate alternative for an Easter gift.