Task 2: Miami Ink

I do not have fond memories of my first tattoo experience- I was 16, attempting to rebel and it resulted in my Mother not speaking to me for 3 days. I knew it wasn't going to take much to beat my first one but I was adamant in making sure it had a special meaning. I'm not sure how proud Oliver would be of this task- after my first tattoo he called me a 'tart' (typical brother!) however no matter how much tattoo's divide opinion I think you should always respect those who wish to have them.

Choosing my tattoo proved to be more difficult than anticipated, my original idea of the number '23' seemed a bit too predictable so I decided to wait for the perfect one. A few weeks ago I was browsing the Internet and had the idea for the tattoo I wanted. As soon as I saw a few designs I knew it was 'the one'.

Since my brother passed away there has always been special moments when I feel like he is around, and it has been the same for my family. On the day my brother passed away I picked up a white feather from our garden and kept it in my pocket. Since then they have always turned up in the most unusual moments and provided comfort in knowing my brother is around. Whenever they appear (trust me they really are the strangest and unexplainable places) we put them in a little box on our fireplace. I know it may seem daft to some but I genuinely think you cannot comment unless you ever experience something similar. I have spoken to many people who have their own special ways of knowing passed love ones are around.

So today my lovely friend Jazz took me along to Ultimate Art Tattoo in Sutton http://www.ultimatearttattoos.co.uk/index.htm and I was greeted by the lovely Adam. I was petrified to say the least- more so for the pain than the thought of having a tattoo I didn't like! I heard that the ribs is one of the most painful places to have so it was never going to be an enjoyable experience, even with The Simpson's Movie for me to watch (that's what you call customer service). The design was confirmed and before I knew it I was lying on the table and I heard that dreaded noise as the needle came towards me. I wish I could tell you it didn't hurt as much as I imagined but it was actually worse! The only thing to make it better was the hilarious conversation throughout the whole hour and a half torture. For that long you would think I had a dragon on my back but alas I will have to save that one for next time. I am really happy with the result and I am pleased that my Mother is still speaking to me!! The time has come for me unveil my work of art...

Me & the lovely Jazz

Before the needle

Enjoying the Simpson's!

Beginning to take shape..

Adam

PAIN!

Not my prettiest moment



The end result :-)


So another (more painful) task bites the dust. Please keep reading as more tasks are completed and I really appreciate each and every one of you who supports me in what I am doing. I really do hope that in some small way it will make you think more about doing something you have always wanted to do xx

Taking the plunge..

..One of the first ever charity challenges I completed was a skydive in November 2006. I would love to say it was amazing and I wish I could do it again...but that isn't quite how it panned out. It was a cold, grey day and I had to wake at the crack of dawn to get to the site in Nottingham. I hadn't thought much about what I was actually doing until we had a safety talk and got to meet our instructor. My instructor looked like a thin version of Santa and around the same age, but he had a great sense of humour and really did his best to put me at ease. Before I knew it I had got into the smallest, oldest plane imaginable and was slowly climbing to 15,000 ft. No matter how high you think that is..double it!! By some fluke of bad luck I was due to go first but unfortunately it took a little more reassurance for me even to contemplate moving from my spot. Someone else went first and then the finger pointed at me again. It wasn't until the poor lady (who had the job to persuade me to move) mentioned all the people who had donated money that I agreed to it. This seemed to be a signal to my instructor to move quickly as I hadn't even took a breath and I was being hung out the side of the plane. He shouted at me to put my legs under the side and hold my head back and before I knew it the most incredible force was making my cheeks wobble up to my ears. I remember feeling weightless, trying so hard to scream whilst also smiling for the cameraman in my face. After 30 seconds of free fall the parachute was up and I could finally relax taking in the beautiful view. We finally reached the ground and I was greeted by all my family applauding...thank god that was over!

Many moons ago!

....So you're probably thinking why would I now want to do a bungee jump? Honest answer- NO IDEA! It has always been something that has petrified me and I see a lot more danger involved that a skydive- even if it isn't as high. But the fact that I was so adamant NOT to do one was half the appeal of making sure it was on the list. That may not make sense but hopefully by now you will have realised that I love a challenge and I never do things the usual way.

I have very kindly been funded to do the bungee jump by an extremely lovely lady and will always be grateful for her generosity. I am pleased to announce that I will be facing my fear on-

Monday 9th April (Easter Monday) at approx 3pm

West Midlands Waterski Centre,

Tamworth Road,

Cliff,

Warwickshire,

B78 2DL

Spectators are more than welcome and it would be amazing for anybody to come and watch. I cant promise I wont get nervous but I can promise I will definitely do it!

Thank you for your continuous support throughout the tasks and the motivation to keep going and complete the rest. Please remember you can donate online at www.justgiving.com/23b423 if you think what I am doing is worth a few pennies.

Thank you for reading,

Grace x

Task 20: Live on air with Claire

It was Monday lunchtime and I managed to tear myself away from my exciting pasta salad to have a quick peek at my emails. I check my emails daily but mainly receive junk emails from clothes shops and somebody telling me Ive won $5 million dollars...but today was a little different. Top of my inbox was a new email from a lady name Natasha with the subject 'BBC Interview'! I nearly fell off my chair as I opened it and quickly scanned the sentances to find out what it was all about...

'Hi Grace,

Hope you’re ok.

I’m just contacting you from BBC Radio WM and the Adrian Goldberg Show.

We’ve come across your blog and would love to do a feature on it!

Ideally we’d look to do it this Wednesday 8^th, and it’d be great if you can come into the studio?

We’d also love it if we could help you cross something off your list on air if you can think of anything?

Can you get back to me asap.

Really looking forward to hearing from you.

Natasha.'

I sat in silence for a few moments trying to take it all in- it still surprises me how interested people are in the blog. I clicked back into gear and after a few frantic phone calls it was all confirmed for Thursday 9th at 11am. Over the next few days my excitement decreased and my fear grew and grew- what if I sound like the biggest brummie ever? what if I swear? what if I knock my glass of water over and destroy the whole studio with an electrical fire?? There wasn't much time for me to dwell as before I knew it Thursday was upon me and I was up bright and early to ensure I was on time. I listened to BBC WM as I got ready and the car journey to the mailbox and got little butterflies when I heard my story being mentioned on what was coming up on the Adrian Goldberg show. I went to the reception and signed in before having 10 minutes to 'relax' I could not believe I was sitting waiting to go on the radio to talk about such a fanatasic charity and more importantly my amazing brother. I felt my throat tighten,my  palms got sweaty and before I knew it I was being ushered into the studio and sat opposite the red microphone..5..4..3..2..1...

The moment it felt very real

It feels like such a blur when I look back, I was truly petrified and felt like my brain went empty but somehow I managed to string sentances together and even have a laugh with it too. I remember being called Claire alot (cheers Adrian!) and somehow being persuaded to attempt the splits on air (still a little way to go as it hurt alot!). I had such a great time I wish I could do it every week! It was such an amazing experience and hopefully will have inspired a few more people to live for the moment and not wait for tomorrow to do what they really want to do. 

The view of the studio from outside

I cannot thank Adrian, Natasha and Louisa for helping me complete another task and do something I never thought I would have the chance to do.  I decided to replace the dvd boxset in 24 hours with appearing on the radio as it was such a great experience and much more challenging than sitting in my pj's all day!

If you didnt get the chance to hear my interview you can listen online at-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00njvlf and got to 2 hours 15mins to hear in full.

If you have any problem with the link you can search for BBC WM and Adrian Goldberg 09/02/2012. The show is available online for 4 more days so dont miss out!

If you have any ideas for completing other tasks or just wish to drop me an email then please contact me on grace.collins@live.co.uk or you can follow me on twitter @thegracecollins

Thank you for all your support and if you wish to donate a few pennies you can do so www.justgiving.com/23b423

Grace x

7 down..16 to go..

I have been lucky enough to hear from really amazing people over the last few weeks who have stumbled across the blog through followers publicising the links too and I am extremely grateful for that. I thought that now was as good a time as any to give a little update on where I am with the list-

1. Go to New York
2. Get a tattoo
3. Appear on a TV programme
4. Run a charity race
5. Buy a pair of designer shoes
6. Start a blog
7. Learn Welsh
8. Hold a tarantula (or one seriously massive spider!)
9. Go to a music festival
10. Bet £100 on red or black at the casino
11. Climb Snowdon
12. Watch the sunrise on new years day
13. Get a piercing- not ears!!
14. Go on a blind date
15. Volunteer for a day
16. Write the first chapter of my book
17. Go to Paris
18. Streak
19. Ride a motorbike
20. Watch a whole TV box set in 24 hours
21. Go to Scotland
22. Learn to do the splits
23. Do a bungee jump


Even though I have only completed 7 tasks I can assure you the others are well on the way to being completed. The last few weeks have been very busy making arrangements for upcoming tasks- some I can tell you about and some I cant (wouldn't want to spoil the surprise would I?).


I am very pleased to inform you that I will be climbing Snowdon in March and even more excited to update that my best friends will be joining me along the way too! I really appreciate them all committing to what is going to be quite a challenge- the most we've ever climbed is the stairs to the second floor of a club!!! I have decided upon a weekend that is due to be a difficult one for my family so I am very honoured to have them with me to ensure it is a positive experience.


Whilst Snowdon is sure to test my endurance it will also be acting as training for what is install for task number 4. Half an hour ago I signed up for the Stratford 220 Triathlon- that's right..a TRIATHLON! Just in case you are thinking I have been drinking I can safely say I haven't. The people closest to me will agree I never do things by halves and enjoy a good challenge so it seemed a great idea. I looked into races coming up before June but I didn't quite think the local fun run was going to cut it- so on the 13th May I will be completing a 200m swim, 23km cycle and finally a 2.5km run. I am extremely nervous but hoping to see it as a way to get myself healthy and hopefully help with learning to do the splits to!

I have already started my training as I am currently completing a boot camp with http://www.freshairgym.co.uk/ and with the help of some great people will be fighting back cramp and stitch until the 13th May. Come rain or sun or SNOW I will do this....




Smiling through the agony of finishing my 3rd boot camp session



I hope you can all support me along the way and there will be another task completed before the end of the month too.

Remember you can donate to support the fantastic charity CRY at www.justgiving.com/23b423 if you would like more information on the charity I am raising money for please read the blog post 'Make a difference'.

Much love as always for reading.

Grace xx