She's my hero.... The London Marathon for Rett UK

Well what can I tell you? 

It's Monday the 25th April and it's all over.  Not just all over, but all over and she totally nailed it!  London Marathon take 2 - smashed in a smidge over 5 hours.  What a hero 💜💚 

It's been a really tough few months; training and fundraising has been relentless, but Lauren has never wavered or given up.  

The fundraising target is surpassed; raffles, car boots, eBay sales, donations, charity events and loads more - all contributed to this amazing total. 

3 weeks ago, Lauren's training came abruptly to a halt.  Lauren was told she had shin splints, the pain was so severe even cycling to keep up the fitness was unbearable.  They told Lauren at least 6 weeks off running and rest was the only answer.  Was this going to hold Lauren back? Ha!

Compression socks, compression tights, countless advice, painkillers, physio appointments, blood sweat and tears, meltdowns, deep heat and sheer determination saw us arrive in London yesterday.

Train selfie of course!

Number on and ready!

#TeamCarly

 

In all to soon after reaching the start with Lauren, she was off....after getting a selfie with a Chaser of course!

We boarded the tube, the DLR and shanks' pony and tracked that girl around the marathon.

Sadly, Lauren's Mum and Stepdad couldn't be with us during the day.  I know; could her Mum have had teleporting abilities - rather than having to catch a plane to get to us, she'd have been there in a heartbeat.  I also know how disappointed she was not to be with Lauren, but they were certainly there in spirit and in constant contact on the phone with us and tracking her progress on the VLM app so as not to miss a second.

Our first viewing at 14 miles.

Second viewing at 21 miles - doesn't she look amazing?!

London was at its busiest and the crowds again didn't disappoint for their cheering abilities!  The sound of the crowd, the clapping and the shout outs along the whole 26 miles were just overwhelming. The police presence in London was massive - they did an amazing job of keeping everyone safe and London incident free.  

Done! London Marathon in 5 hours - what an inspiration, she's simply - my hero.

Even with her injuries, Lauren shaved 17 minutes off last years time and is now a multiple marathon finisher. What a girl! 

I can't possibly convey how proud we all are of her, full time uni student (who is today in a presentation assessment), employee at 3 jobs and multiple marathon finisher.  One of the most selfless, passionate people I know and I admire and love her just so much, we all do.

Even laying on the floor being stretched out - she just looked fabulous!

Back to the tube we went, for a trip back to the car.  It was completely packed and the heat was unbearable, we had a quick pit stop for a lay down, but we were back to the car and Portsmouth in no time.

Hey - if a girl can't have a lay down at a tube station after running a marathon, when can she?!

Final destination - the pub Lauren works in; where we were met by Lauren's Mum and Step dad straight off the plane to congratulate her and a cheer from all the locals.  Lots of her friends arrived to join us; for celebratory hugs, loves and most importantly drinks!  

Lauren - what a girl, what an achievement!

Here's Carly catching up on the marathon coverage, trying to spot her sister.  Her sister who was running, just for her.  A sister who; when her legs became tired, ran with her heart.  

#TeamCarly 

#Sisters (a lovely shot taken previously)

Thank you to everyone who has helped get to where we are today; for donating raffle prizes, helping with charity events, donating boot sale fodder, donating to Lauren's fundraising page, sharing posts on social media, training with her, giving her valuable advice, wishing her well, cheering her on, supporting the cause and just being all amazing people. 

Rett UK is such an important charity and the funds Lauren has raised in honour of her sister, will help them keep achieving their goals. 

A massive thank you to Lauren for making us so proud yet again. An amazing experience and what an achievement. She is a force to be reckoned with, a super sister, a super daughter, simply a superstar and I'm so proud to be her Wicked Stepmum!

#TeamCarly #TeamRettUK #TeamBarcroft #ThisGirlCan #ShesMyHero #LaurenYouveGotThis

 

She's only gone and done it!

Well what can I say?  I'm just so proud of my step daughter, Lauren!

Amazing fundraising night organised by Lauren and her sister Lynsey, fabulous music, lots of booze, lots of dancing and lots of fun.  Most importantly, lots of money made for Rett UK!  

Lauren raised over £1600 last night towards her £3000 target, which means on top of the £1590 (without including what Carole and Lauren have on sponsor forms to be collected after the race) she already has.... 

She's smashed it!! What a girl! 

The raffle went down a storm, thank you again to everyone who donated, your generosity has helped Lauren reach her target and raise funds for such a brilliant charity.

I'm so sorry, I don't have a list of who won what, but we had winners in the room and winners who took part online too. It was a whirlwind of an evening and so enjoyable, it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye and I'm sure everyone had an amazing time.

Loads of fabulous people pitched in to help organise, help set up, sell tickets, support Lauren and Lynsey and it was just awesome! Same time next year everyone?!?

Next stop.... London marathon #teamcarly 

I'll keep you posted!  TTFN, Sammy xx

Roll up roll up..... We're holding a Raffle for Rett UK

Ladies and Gents, today I bring to you... An amazing raffle - with all funds raised going to Rett UK.

My beautiful step daughter Lauren, is running the London Marathon and she needs to raise £3000 for this place.  Lauren has organised a fundraising event on 1st April at The Irish Club in Southsea 7pm, a night of Northern Soul music and fun to be had by all (tickets £5 each on the door).  We're also holding a raffle on the night, but even if you aren't coming you can still get involved! 

We have some amazing prizes for you, donated from our fabulous local businesses. A massive thank you to you all, without you we couldn't do this! 

Here is the start of our collection...

Paddle boarding session at Portsmouth Watersports Centre.

http://www.portsmouthwatersports.com/or https://www.facebook.com/Portsmouth.Watersports/

Two beautiful necklaces and a pair of earrings from The Art of Glass https://www.facebook.com/TheArtOfGlass/ also known as I Am. Jewellery https://www.facebook.com/Iamjewellery4u/

 A voucher from Koh Thai Tapas http://www.koh-thai.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/KohThaiTapas/ 

Three vouchers from Paws and Claws Photography https://www.facebook.com/pawandclawphotography/

Print vouchers from Through The Looking Glass https://www.facebook.com/lookinglasslove/ http://www.ttlgdesigns.co.uk 

Voucher from Ab Fab Beauty http://www.abfabbeautytraining.co.uk https://www.facebook.com/Ab-Fab-Beauty-Treatments-and-Training-516408151714510/

A silver pendant from Gun Powder Silver https://www.etsy.com/uk/your/shops/GunPowderSilver/story  https://www.facebook.com/GunPowderSilver/

A treatment voucher from Meadowsweet Reflexology https://www.facebook.com/Meadowsweet-Reflexology-1554262771479807/

A sweet jar from Miss Molly the Vintage Caravan https://www.facebook.com/missmollythevintagecaravan/  http://www.missmollythevintagecaravan.co.uk

The Who album covers framed print, donated by A. Barcroft Painting & Decorating https://www.facebook.com/A.BarcroftPaintingandDecorating/

A voucher from Mama et Moi https://www.facebook.com/Mama-et-Moi-1473529796300568/ http://mamaetmoi.co.uk

We also have - 

* Nutrition pack from High 5 Nutrition 

* Voucher from Loch Fyne Gunwharf https://www.facebook.com/LochFynePortsmouth/

* Cutlery Set from Villeroy & Boch http://www.villeroy-boch.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/VilleroyandBoch/ 

* Knife Block from Zwillings www.uk.zwilling-shop.com

* Signed copy of the Body Coach 'Lean in 15' book https://www.facebook.com/JoeWicksTheBodyCoach/  http://www.thebodycoach.co.uk

* Voucher from Le Cafe Parisien https://www.facebook.com/lecafeparisien/ http://www.lecafeparisien.com

* Breakfast Pack from Hyden Farm Originals https://www.facebook.com/hydenoriginals/  http://www.hydenoriginals.co.uk

* Younique make up from Younique with Dani https://www.facebook.com/Youniquewithdani/ 

Thank you to everyone for your kind donations - we are adding more to the list over the coming days, grab your raffle tickets while you can! 

If you would like to purchase raffle tickets, they are £1 a ticket or £5 a strip, every penny is going to Rett UK. Please email me at - mrssammyb@gmail.com to buy, or comment on my fb page or send me a message.  I'll just need full name and telephone number (and payment of course), the raffle will be drawn on the night and we'll contact you as soon as possible if yours is the lucky ticket.

Look forward to hearing from you and good luck!!

Sammy xx

Fund raising on eBay for Rett UK

Well I'm sure you all know by now that my beautiful step daughter is once again running the London Marathon.  Lauren this year is running for Rett UK, to raise awareness for Rett syndrome and fund raise for their worthy cause.  This is a cause close to Lauren's heart (and us all) as her sister Carly has Rett Syndrome.

For her place in the marathon, Lauren has to raise £3,000 in addition to running the 26.2 miles, so there is lots of fundraising to be done!

If you'd link to donate please click here... https://www.justgiving.com/Lauren-Barcroft4?utm_id=13 

Lauren is raising money in all sorts of wonderful ways and this weekend has seen carboot sale number 2, which has bought in £175 in funds.  

We've finished the carbooty runs now, but we still have some good items left to sell which have been kindly donated to us, so I'm on the eBay trail!

Please go and check out our items here...  http://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?isRefine=true&_pgn=1&_nkw=seller%3Asambarn&_sasl=sambarn&LH_Auction=1 

I'm starting items low in the hope we will sell everything and every penny counts!  Please do check out our items here (wide range of items and sizes) and feel free to share amongst friends so that we can raise as much as possible!

Thanking you all kindly xx

Irregular Choice Limited Edition, Alice in Wonderland 'One lump ortwo'FOR SALE

So I'm about to combine 3 massive loves in my life!

*Shoes

*Alice in Wonderland 

*My Step Daughter

So the limited edition Alice in Wonderland collection were released by Irregular Choice last Friday. It was a disaster, the website crashed, no one could buy them - people were posting links all over to other stockists, they were sold out in minutes... But somehow I ended up with a pair! 

I ordered the last pair left in a size 4 (I am generally a 4 or 5) from another outlet and I eagerly awaited their arrival.  Whilst waiting for the big day, I was dismayed to find the shoes already for sale on eBay at double the price! Seriously, why buy them just to sell them! Greedy fudgers.

Well the day dawned, they arrived and alas they don't fit and I can't get my feet in them.  It was such a sad day in this household, lots of grumps all round. I spent hours trying to decide what to do, keep them anyway? Try and get another pair (from the USA and shipped) or send them back and give up.  Well none of the above!

I'm going to sell them!  

No I'm not going to join the greedy profiteers on eBay, but I am going to list them.  I paid £199 plus postage for them and I've listed them for £150 plus postage.  Anything I get over this amount will go straight to my step daughters fund raising for her marathon. So if by some miracle we do get more money for the shoes, someone will get the pair they're after and a well deserving charity will gain too.

So check out the shoes on the link below and also the link to the just giving page for the fundraising.

eBay listing of shoes Here

Just giving page... https://www.justgiving.com/Lauren-Barcroft4 

Please do feel free to share around!

I'll keep you posted xx

100 Happy Days

Happy Valentines everyone! I hope you've been spoilt, celebrated the way you wanted, stuck two fingers up and got drunk with your girlfriends, whichever you've opted for - I just hope you're happy and have had fun.

I'm still struggling with the black horrors a little and am not really in to or up to anything much.  But I do know I need to snap out of it soon and least of all get some natural positivity back and busting some moves over here!

I've noticed on my time hop app thingy the '100 Happy Days' phase that took Instagram by storm, was a couple of years ago now.  Yes I'm sure some people got fed up with it, or thought it was rubbishy - but I think it was fab.  It specifically made me search for something that made me happy everyday. 

So that's what I propose to do - 100 happy days 2016.... Here we come - it's a start!  Going back to basics and hoping the rest will follow.

Today is day 1 and here is my first post...

#100happydays2016 #day1 Mr. B bought me a fabulous #TedBaker phone case for my lovely new phone. #lovehim #notvalentinesdaypresent

Do feel free to follow away on Instagram 'mrssammyb13' - see you over there!

TTFN, Sammy xx

Dear Coleen Rooney.... We know Rett UK is close to your heart

Dear Coleen,

I understand you're a little busy at the moment (congratulations by the way, another bouncing boy - just beautiful) but if you could take the time to have a read and consider my request, I'd be most grateful.

My step daughter, Lauren, is running the London Marathon this year to raise money for Rett UK.  Lauren has an older sister, Carly, who is 33 this year and has Rett Syndrome.

Lauren's older sister is just beautiful. Carly is one of the 1 in 12,000 girls with Rett syndrome; the severe lifelong neurological disorder, the mental and physical disability that began in early childhood. I understand Coleen, you know more about this than most people and it is a cause understandably, very close to your heart. 

(Lauren with Carly after she'd finished the Great South Run for Rett UK)

For those of you reading who'd like more info, please have a look at -www.rettuk.org 

Now Lauren ran her first marathon last year for the National Autistic Society for her friends little girl.  This year she has been lucky enough to secure a charity place for Rett UK.  Not only is the marathon a feat in itself, Lauren has to raise £3,000 for this marathon space.  This is a hard task, as you can imagine - but not an impossible task and certainly one we are all taking very seriously for this worthy charity.

Let me tell you a little about our Lauren - she is an amazing part of our family, has beautiful friends and is such a support to everyone.  Last year, she trained for the London marathon whilst working full
time, studying a full time college course in her spare time and working two jobs to keep her afloat.  This year she's training for the marathon, studying a full time uni course to be a radiographer; including placements at local hospitals on the south coast and working two jobs just to pay her rent (no student loan available and very minimal bursary due to her always having workedfull time and paying too much tax), so you can see - with her achievements, aspirations and achievements, Lauren is a force to be reckoned with!

To help fundraise; Lauren is taking donations to sell at carboot sales, is collecting via a just giving page and is organising a fund raising event in Portsmouth and holding a raffle at the event.

Click here for the event on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/873798396074943/

Click here for the just giving page https://www.justgiving.com/Lauren-Barcroft4/?utm_id=13

I apologise now Coleen, but my message is one of a plea. I'm not after your money (unless you would like to make a donation), but just something to pop in the raffle to raise some worthwhile funds if at all possible please.  I'm sure you get lots of these pleas but do please consider us; we would be grateful for anything - a signed football shirt/football of Wayne's, a signed item from your clothing range, anything that would help us along the way with the fundraising would just be so appreciated.

I know it's a massive ask and I understand if you have to turn us down.  But if you can help in any way at all, we would be most grateful.

Thank you for reading Coleen, wishing you all the best with your beautiful family. 

Saying a prayer for all those with Rett syndrome and those we've lost to this cruel disorder.  Along with Rett UK, we're determined to raise funds to do all we can to help support families and complete more research into this disorder.

If you can help us at all (even if you aren't Coleen Rooney) please do feel free to share this post far and wide and email me here.  Carboot fodder, raffle prizes (actual prizes or vouchers etc) or sponsorship great fully received xx

Thank you so much for reading!

Much love, Sammy xx