Reasons to be Cheerful: Proud Mum, YouTube and Guinea Pigs

Welcome to another Reasons to be Cheerful linky as its Thursday! I enjoy reading and sharing your posts and I hope you enjoy each others. Just link up and then go and visit. Here are my reasons to be cheerful this week:
1) Proud Mum
My daughter has got her first job! Its tough at 14 to get a weekend job so she has done well. I can still remember earning a princely £1.47 as a supermarket cashier at her age.
2) YouTube Channel
Thanks to all my YouTube videos of fell running I went through the 100 mark for subscribers as well as continuing to have a large number of views:

3) Caption Competition

When I checked back on my shots of my son on a friend's trampoline there was this caption worthy moment that put a smile on my face:

Reasons to be Cheerful: Challenges, Wins and Guinea Pigs #R2BC

Hard to believe its the last day of November as its gone in a flash! The last time of Michelle hosting then its over to me for December. Here are my reasons to be cheerful this week:
1) Challenge Complete
When I injured my foot in October I thought that I would fail to earn my 1000 km medal as its either run or walk and not a mix! I had reached 706 km of running and it was tantalising close so frustrating... Luckily thanks to Pokemon Go I have walked over a million steps to 1001 km since May, so my medal is on its way:

2) Guinea Pigs

As the temperatures have started to plummet the guinea pigs can't stay in their outdoor hutch. I have sacrificed a corner of my kitchen to keep them cosy for the winter. I love seeing their little faces and hearing their week whenever I go into the kitchen:

3) Rediscovering Hidden Treasures

Reasons to be Cheerful: Me Time #R2BC

I have enjoyed a few days without my children before getting back together with them. Its so important for me to be able to a) unwind b) catch up on things without children needing adult intervention! So here are my first half of half term reasons to be cheerful:

1) Harry Potter Marathon

We are having a whole school Harry Potter themed World Book Day so I had an excuse to binge watch our entire collection (although the last movie is missing!!):

2) Furry Family

My daughter has decided that as she neglects the guinea pigs that they would be better off being mine. I am actually very happy to be responsible for the little cuties:

3) Overdue Hair Do:

Reasons to be Cheerful: Roses and Guinea Pigs #R2BC

This is my last week hosting until August as the original hostess with the mostest Michelle is back in charge next month. It has been lovely to read and share all your posts in June and I hope you spread the word! Here are my reasons this week:
1) Exploring Kendal
I love all the little ginnels and yards that run off the main roads in the centre of Kendal. They are a fascinating peek into the history of the town. This one is Angel Yard:

The plaque on the wall reads:

Angel Yard is all that is left of the Angel Inn which stood on this site until the 1980s. Once one of Kendal's oldest hostelries, its premises, brewhouse, stabling and outbuildings ran behind Lowther Street, an area now occupied by outh Lakeland District Council's offices and car park. The Angel Inn is said to have taken its name from 1745 when Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops passed through the town. Some soldiers broke into the Inn and the occupants fled, leaving behind a little child. On seeing an angel standing beside the child brandishing a drawn sword the soldiers ran away in fear of divine punishment

2) Furry Family

My daughter has two guinea pigs and often when I go out in the garden they come to the front of their hutch and try to get my attention:

3) Roses

So many glorious roses in my own garden and further afield:

4) Proud Mum

I have lots of proud mum moments to make me cheerful this week:

• my 9 year old defending his big sister against older bullies in the swimming pool
• my daughter performing brilliantly for her grade 1 singing exam
• my son being picked for the school athletics team
• my daughter being very calm dealing with a first aid incident whilst marshalling at parkrun

get the InLinkz code

Reasons to be Cheerful: Fun with Friends #R2BC

oops I accidentally wrote over this post but don't want to lose the comments or linkers! Will just put the correct photos back...

get the InLinkz code

Reasons to be Cheerful: Happy New Year #R2BC

I have handed the reins back to the lovely Jo at Ojo's World for the month of January and you will be in capable hands! Here are my first reasons to be cheerful for 2016:

1) Furry family

As its winter our guinea pigs have moved into the kitchen to keep warm and dry. This is giving a lot more opportunity for snuggles:

2) Construction

I had lots of fun helping my son build his Christmas Lego and doing my jigsaw. I find being creative like this very fascinating: 

3) Family fun

We have been discovering some old games from our old, old house. They have been in my parents' loft for 5 1/2 years. My children kept beating me at family trivial pursuit!

4) Flowers

I treated myself to these beauties whilst shopping in Aldi:

What is making you smile this week? Please join in!

Reasons to be Cheerful: My family and other animals #R2BC

Back to hosting after the wonderful job done by Jo at Ojo's World and running late already! I had to dig deep for my reasons this week having spent most of it stuck in bed due to problems with my jaw and reacting to the meds.... However I am now mostly back on my feet so here is what kept me smiling through the pain:
1) Running bling
I had forgotten about some virtual races that I had signed up for so I was very pleased to get 3 lots of running bling through the post this week:

Virtual races mean that you can take part in an event with 100s of other people without having to travel miles to do so. Perfect when you live miles from most events like me:

2) My son having fun

My son has made a nice little group of friends in our new street. I sometimes fall over a group of them playing on our Wii but they are also often found outside playing cricket and football. He even got invited out to Barrow Baths with one of the boys:

3) Junior Masterchef

#WordlessWednesday Oops! Guinea Pig Houdini

Reasons to be Cheerful #Juneathon and family fun

The lovely Jo is still our host over at Ojo's World this week then its back to me for July! I will have to be a lot more organised... Meanwhile here is why I am smiling this week:

1) Juneathon

This challenge is inspiring me to get out and run a lot more even on my normal rest days! I am getting much fitter and ran my longest non stop run yesterday. Today I had a bit of a break but even so I deliberately parked in the middle of the village and walk for some of the school run:

2) My daughter's residential

A year later than originally intended (due to having her tonsils out!) my daughter went on an adventure residential with her school. She had lots of fun doing all sorts of outdoor activities and came back exhausted! This was taken by one her class mates:

#CountryKids Dens in the garden

We were very lucky again today and had another dry day, not as hot as yesterday but good enough to spend a large chunk in the garden. There was a scary moment early on when we discovered that the new guinea pig run wasn't completely cat proof:

Luckily just one freaked out cat and two not too sure guinea pigs! My daughter had to climb in to get the cat out... Think we need to work on a more secure compound...

Then my daughter started asking about constructing a den in the garden requiring purchasing new bits. She wasn't too happy when I said she had a perfectly good den kit and kept on insisting on building something more like a mini shed. I wasn't for heading down to a DIY store so instead I got out the camouflage tarpaulin and rope that my son got for Christmas: 

I looped the rope between a tree and a fence post and borrowed pegs from other tents. Then we put the picnic rug inside to make him a sun shelter:

His kit is one that can easily be put up and down anywhere and it turned out to be a great spot to eat meatballs and spaghetti:

Let's hope it gets a lot more use this summer with plenty of dry days. Not sure its a place to sleep out in though...

Reasons to be Cheerful: Week 18 - 2014 #R2BC

Welcome back to the blog hop being hosted here. The lovely Jo at Ojos World is having a well earned rest after looking after us all in April. Thanks Jo! Welcome to everyone whether old timers or newcomers we all want to share what has made you smile this week. To kick you off here are mine:

1) Guinea Pig lawn mowers

As the weather has stayed nice our little furry friends are enjoying spending their days nibbling the grass in the garden. Its giving my daughter and I plenty of practice at catching them too! Here is Bubble playing peek a boo:

2) Running

I managed to complete my first proper 10 km race since December this Saturday. It was a bit of a struggle but I accidentally broke my 1 km and 1 mile personal bests on the course:

Reasons to be Cheerful Week 15 #R2BC

Doesn't time fly so that this linky speeds around! So many folks joining back in which is fabulous to see too. Glad they have rediscovered it via my co-host at Ojo's World Here are my reasons this week:

1) Time together as a family

We had a very laid back day last Saturday and we were all very chilled out. It bodes well for the next fortnight as we enjoy our much needed Easter holidays. Hopefully lots of cheeky grins like this one:

2) Spring flowers

The daffodils are really hitting their peak at the moment. This is just one of the many beauties outside my school:

#CountryKids Walking with Guinea Pigs in 2D

My daughter asked for reins to take her guinea pig for walks from Santa. So one appeared for Christmas and as she failed to get the harness on on Boxing Day I had to take over. This was just a short indoor trial but today we managed to use it outside:

Ready to 'walk'

Guarding guinea pigs from cats

Checking out the garden rake

Cat!

'Walking' the guinea pig

Peekaboo

Guinea pig guard

Cuddling guinea pig

Uh oh!

You can look but not eat!

So not a very long walk but a bit of fun! A little drama at the end when the other guinea pig briefly went on the run and we had to catch it before it became lunch...