Travel dreams and plans...

I'd so love to go to Machu Picchu. I've wanted to go there for years so I've made a decision to try and go there in 2011. I got as far as pricing it up and looking into it as a birthday trip a few years ago but realised I wanted to walk the Inca trail to get there and there was no way I'd manage it. (I went to Prague and got Salmonella instead... arghhhhhh!)

First up is loosing enough weight and getting fitter so I can actually do the walk without risk to my health *blush*. I think the up and down nature of the trail + 1000s of steps would finish me off at the moment. So this months challenge to myself is to up the number of steps walking I do a day! I have been aiming for the recommended 10,000 a day but have only managed it twice I think! Mostly I've been walking as normal at work and walking 35-40 mins on the way home but it means I don't always quite managed the full number so I've been doing a bit of cycling on my wee cycle machine too to try and make it up (for every 100 steps short - 1 min gentle cycling). I've also been eating more sensibly and do feel better for it all. I've also lost 5.25lb so far in June! Yipee. Hopefully this is the 1st step in my loose 7 lb for a year bit of the 101 challenge too! Next weigh in is Sunday...

I was talking to my parents about which countries/places we have all been to (inspired by SFT's country list!) and I mentioned wanting to go to Machu Picchu and they do too (especially my Mum I think) and they are threatening to come and possibly do the walk too! Not sure if I can see them doing it (they are as unfit/overweight as me and I don't see them going camping somehow... he, he, he) but it'd be lovely to be there with them even if they cheat and get the train lol!

Everything else challenge wise is plodding along and I've started a few other things on my list too. Having real trouble remembering how many XYZ I have managed though... ooops! Oh well!

PS I managed to do another random act of kindness - I gave a stranger a 12.5% off voucher for a £35 or more spend in M&S. I'd seen her trying to decide exactly which of several items to buy earlier so I gave her the voucher. She did a good impression of a goldfish when I gave her it... mouth opening and shutting and very surprised... lol! I felt so good and was smiling all day!

Film festival...

Hmmm I haven't posted yet this month - oooops! My last (attempted) post got pinged into oblivion when I hit publish post :-(

Started another thing yesterday - I went to my first ever film on the Edinburgh Film Festival "Away we go", the opening film of the festival. Sadly I missed/ was too late for/ couldn't see most of the big stars there (like Sean Connery and Alan Cummings) but saw Sam Mendes and a couple of the actors as they introduced the film. :-) The film itself was very good and had a nice mix of very, very funny and more poigniant moments. Its about a couple who find out they are going to have a baby and can't decide where to bring it up so go on a road trip visiting various places and friends/family. Definitely worth a watch - I think its out properly in September.

I'm also off to see "The private lives of Pippa Lee" tonight along with 3 others over the next week! :-) Should be fun - I don't think I've been to the cinema so much in my life! I think I was ~5 films in total last year but I'm resoundingly in double figures this year so far! Hmmmm... actually I'll be getting close to double figures this month, he he he. I've been to see quite a few film previews through seefilmfirst /tellten (so free) too and there have been some really good films recently. I saw "Sunshine cleaning " on Sunday - worth a watch too.