Smile With The Stars

On the 12th December 2010 my cousin, Lee Johnson, went to sleep and never woke up.

Lee died from SUDEP (Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy) at the age of 24.  He was an incredible person who lived his short life to the full.  As a child, he played for Leeds United youth team alongside James Milner, a position he had to give up because of his condition.  He continued to play for his local team and was also an outstanding cricketer. 

His passion for sports was well known.  Lee had successfully undergone a soccer training assessment course which was to be the start of the next stage of his life - as a soccer coach on the West coast of America.

His death touched so many people.  Neither Lee, his parents Simon and Vicky or his sister Becky knew that Epilepsy could take a life.  Following Lee's premature passing, a campaign to raise awareness of Epilepsy and reduce the stigma surrounding the condition was launched.

What Have You Achieved in the Last 6 Months?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary to 'achieve' means to succeed in doing something by effort, skill, or courage.

What a lovely mantra for our daily lives.

What have YOU achieved in the last 6 months?  The reason I ask this question is because it's exactly 6 months since I began My Resolution Challenge.  Yes, it's a frightening thought but we are half way through the year!

So when I began this challenge 6 months ago, my initial aim was to complete at least one or two of the items on my New Year resolution list.  I would be happy to lose 8lb, I would be over the moon to run without the aid of an oxygen tank and I would be ecstatic to have one of my stories published. 

Clear Your Clutter in 4 Easy Steps

June is here and the sun is shining which helps to make everything look and feel so much brighter.  As I am still slightly traumatised by my encounter with the zip wire last week I am very pleased to note that June's resolution is so much calmer.

Adopt Better Habits.

Boring!

I came up with this challenge when I realised how I'd let my recycling slip, so this goal was a way to get back on track.  As I gave it some extra thought I came to the conclusion that recycling my rubbish was a pretty lame topic to cover and all my readers would be nodding off before I'd managed to soak the
label off an old baked bean tin.

Creative Fund Raising

If you're going to get creative then you've got to have some fun; as Actor, John Cleese, once said "If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play."

Stratford Half Marathon attire

Getting creative doesn't need to involve a pad and pen, artist's easel or a pair of knitting needles.  In fact you may only need a bath full of cold beans or running shoes and an Epilepsy Research t-shirt!

This week I'm taking my 'Do Something Creative' resolution in  a different direction.

Q.  If you were asked to raise money for your favourite charity, what creative ideas could you come up with?

Here are a few of my favourite ideas...