FIFA 12 Ultimate Team – Team of the Week January 4-11

The first 2012 TOTW is out and the players are all better than ever! You can find these in-form players from 6pm GMT on 4 January until 6pm 11 January. You can also view the team in the FUT Web App, or play this squad with your own team in-game.

GK: Mignolet, Sunderland – 74>74

CB: Koscielny, Arsenal - 78>82

CB: Hanley, Blackburn Rovers- 68>73

CB: Distin, Everton - 77>82

CM: Cattermole, Sunderland - 75>81

CAM: Ireland, Aston Villa – 77>82

CM: Ramires, Chelsea - 79>82

RW: Dyer, Swansea - 73>74

ST: Crouch, Stoke - 79>82

ST: Yakubu, Blackburn - 73>82

LW: Bellamy, Liverpool – 79>83

SUBS:

GK: Bunn, Blackburn Rovers – 65>72

CB: Mulgrew, Celtic – 70>74

CM: Sparrow, Brighton and Hove Albion – 65>74

CM: Powell, Crewe Alexandra – 52>61

ST: Daly, Dundee United – 70>73

ST: Berisha, Brisbane Roar - 63>64

ST: Vaz Te, Barnsley - 63>64

About – The highest rated player here is Craig Bellamy of Liverpool with an increased rating of 83. Because of the Christmas break around most of the world, the starting XI is made up of 100% Premier League players.

Happy Hour – Likely to be on Friday or Monday at 7-8pm

Check here for more FIFA tips and assistance. Remember to follow the blog to be the first to hear about next weeks TOTW and Happy hour.

1. Emerald Lake Reflection, Canada

2. Gigantic Upturned Tree Roots

3. Blue Water River Safari

4. “Is that a camera?” My Dog Coco

5. Squirrel Stealing My Strawberries

6. Cat on a Mission

7. Striding Edge Helvellyn, Lake District

8. View of England’s Southern Coast

9. Canadian Black Bear

10. Ready to Jump

Manchester United lost at home to Blackburn 2-3. To make things worse this match was played on Sir Alex Ferguson’s 70th birthday meaning his party celebrations were brought to an abrupt end. Blackburn took the lead after a Yakubu scored a 16th minute penalty and later doubled his tally by thrashing through the defence. Blackburn had a lot of defending to do but could not keep Berbatov out as he scored with a header and again to bring things equal. Youngster Grant Hanley then shocked the world as he scored the winner to send the champions home.

Tottenham drew away at Swansea after Van der Vaart took the lead in the first half. Swansea showed persistence and were even quite dominant throughout the next half hour so they deserved the goal when winger Scott Sinclair blasted in the equaliser.

I hate to say that Chelsea lost at Stamford Bridge to Aston Villa. A bright start led to a Drogba goal but Chelsea’s defence has to be blamed for the defeat. Aston Villa scored one plus to more in the last ten minutes to win the game 1-3.

Finally, Manchester City played Sunderland and were expected to pass their rivals to make it to the top of the table. However, frustration and a lack of concentration meant that nobody was able to score apart from the Sunderland striker JiDong-Won who scored with 10 seconds of play remaining.

What a shocking few days! Who would have ever thought this would happen?! Anyway, most of the clubs are playing again within the next few day and will be hoping to make up for the weekend’s mistakes. Don’t let us down again Chelsea.

AIM: To cycle a minimum of 1000km throughout the course of 2012

EQUIPMENT: I will be cycling on my new Hybrid bike which I was given for christmas. All the statistics and distances will be recorded using my Suunto X10 watch.

LOCATION: Hopefully I will be able to cycle all over England but the nearest locations to me will be in and around London.

UPDATES: Check the 2012 Cycling Challenge Page for updates on how much I have completed, photos and more.

NOTE: Because of school I will only be able to cycle on the weekends so this works out to about 20km a weekend.

Getting married involves unlocking certain dialogs with various Skyrim characters which gives you an option to propose to them. The dialogs are unlocked by obtaining the Amulet of Mara and talking to Maramal. The amulet can be obtained in several ways:

• Completing “The Book of Love” quest.
• Buying it for 200 septims (gold coins) from Maramal.
• Finding it as a loot (completely random).
• Steal or loot from Kematu in Swindler’s Den.
• Finding in a tent on the beach, north of the city of Dawnstar.

The Book of Love Quest is given by one of the priestesses, Dinya Balu at the Temple of Mara in the city of Riften. When you get there, ask for the Blessing of Mara from Danya and you will be given the quest.

To buy an amulet from Maramal, find him either in the Bee and Barb (The Inn) or in the Temple of Mara, both in the city of Riften.

The rest of the points are self explanatory. Once you have the Amulet of Mara, you must talk to Maramal, without discussing the marriage with him you will not unlock the needed dialogs with characters.

Now that you got the amulet, unlocked the needed dialog, go propose! Your options for both men and women are plenty! Merchants, priests, miners, farmers, store owners, Inn owners, housecarl’s, mages and random characters. You will of course need to complete miscellaneous quests given by the character you want to marry to prove your love for them. And btw, marriage in Skyrim, is final. At the time of this post, there is no divorce.

Note:

If you have not found Riften, it is the most South East (down and to the right of the map) located city in Skyrim.
Another benefit of completing The Book of Love quest is a permanent 15% Resist Magicka ability.
You can live with your spouse at their home of your home.
You cannot marry any Jarls, Dragons, Giants or animals.
You cannot  marry a Khajiit or a Wood Elf, just because there aren’t any available with the marriage dialog

To Climb:

• Helvellyn 3112ft
• Skiddaw 3054ft
• Scafell 3164ft
• Scafell Pike 3208ft

DAY 1

The first and perhaps the most interesting mountain was Helvellyn. The walk starts at and finishes at the peaceful village of Glenridding. The ascents sees you take on the challenging Striding Edge and then the Swirral Edge to come back down. The round trip takes about 4 hours on a 12 mile route. The best part here was buying a hot drink and chocolate from The Highest Cafe in England.

After the morning’s warm up we moved on to Skiddaw, the lowest of the four peaks. This hike is not at all a scenic one and is best avoided unless you are doing the challenge. One large rocky boulder you may call it. The 9 mile trip starts at Latrigg Car Park and descends down Carlside to Millbeck. You will definitely deserve your dinner after today’s walk.

DAY 2

After a limited sleep we were up again and ready for an even longer day’s walk. Departing from Keswick, we made our way up summit both Scafell and Scafell Pike consecutively. After a good few hours we were faced with a decision of which path to take. Unfortunately, our lack of skill in map reading led us up the wrong mountain and it was very disappointing  to see something in the distance higher than what was supposed to be the highest point in England. Oh well, at least we added a third peak to the day.

We eventually found the right route and ascended via the Corridor Route, Esk Hause or Grains Gill, presenting the most demanding part of the challenge. I had never seen anything like this before and it came as a great surprise. There was no path showing the way but rock after rock that you had to climb over. One false step could have led to a cliff. Luckily we missed the cliffs and made it to the top in dampened moods after so much physical activity.

So there may have been a few problems but overall the trip was a success. We completed our challenge and felt good about it after. If you are planning on attempting the Lake District 3000 footers challenge then please feel free to contact me at stayrefreshed@gmail.com for any information about lodging, routes, equipment and more. Thanks!

1. Set foot on each of the seven continents. Antarctica may seem like a hard one but there are many ways listed here.  Now you can truly call yourself a world traveller.
2. Cross a country on bicycle. Tours take some planning but there is no better way to experience a country than through a physical activity.
3. Go Heli-skiing. With a helicopter you can access snow far better than anythingexperienced before. At least try some skiing.
4. Travel India by train. With its extensive rail network, this mode of transport is the best way to see one of the world’s most colorful and diverse countries – even Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May of Top Gear enjoyed this.
5. Climb one of the world’s Seven Summits. Climbing mountains is not for the faint-hearted, but everyone has had a dream of standing atop one.
6. Participate in a Carnival parade in Brazil. You haven’t had a good night out until you’ve been to the biggest party in The Nation of Parties.
7. Skydive. It is the ultimate thrill, unless you add a wingsuit, and actually flying.
8. Surf. It’s not about being a ripper but just catching waves.
9. SCUBA in the Great Barrier Reef. The largest coral reef in the world is a must for dive enthusiasts. It is the world’s most unique aquatic environment.
10. Visit the source of one of the world’s great rivers. Great rivers, like the Nile, have humble beginnings.
11. Climb an active volcano.
12. Photograph an endangered species. Aside from an image you can keep for a lifetime, it will remind you, and others, how fragile life can be.
13. Spend 24 hours alone in the jungle.
14. Attend the Olympics. Whatever you say about the commercialism of the olympics, they are one of the biggest events on the planet and with them in London 2012 you may just have your chance.
15. Stand at the North or South Pole.
16. Be in the stands when two rival South American club teams play each other at football. Soccer is a passion for most of the world’s population.
17. Find your version of “The Beach.” One of the best travel books ever inspired a generation of backpackers. Why not find your own version of untouched paradise?
18. Visit every capital city in Europe. The crowded continent is full of beautiful architecture and diverse cultures.
19. Shake hands with someone who has truly changed a country.
20. Participate in the world’s biggest water fight during Thailand’s New year Festivities (Songkran).

I have only experienced some of these activities but they were all definitely worth doing, Before the end of my lifetime I hope to have done or visited everything on this list. I would also like to hear about your most inspirational holidays, so leave a comment below to fill the next few gaps.

21. Melifluousmurmurs - Camping in a desert.

22. Alex Autin – The Kokoda Trail

23. Apronheadlilly – Stay home and read a book (in between blogging).

24. Stripes - Taste a 99% chocolate bar

25. Houdini – Go in a hot air balloon!

Remember to live life to the full and have an amazing New Year!

At times it has even been too much for the instructors to cope with!

And here is the current forecast from the Val d’Isere Website just to prove this is all true:

So you should now know that this is the season to go skiing. Find a place in Val d’Isere through either of these sites – http://www.valdisere.com/gb/index.php , http://www.valdinet.com/

Finally, more amazing skiing posts and updates can be found here. Enjoy the New Year!

FIFA 12 Ultimate Team – Team of the Week 28 December – 4 January

Stuffed with talent, you can find these in-form players from 6pm GMT on 28 December until 6pm 4 January. You can also view the team in the FUT Web App, or play this squad with your own team in-game.

GK: Sirigu, PSG – 79>84

CB: Samba, Blackburn Rovers - 79>83

CB: Coloccini, Newcastle United - 79>82

CB: Dunne, Aston Villa - 78>81

LB: Nagatomo, Inter Milan - 76>81

LM: Park, Manchester United - 82>84

LM: Rodríguez, Liverpool - 78>80

LM: Álvarez, Inter Milan - 78>82

ST: Barda, Racing Genk - 74>78

ST: Ljubijankič, AA Gent - 71>74

ST: Berbatov, Manchester United - 82>86

SUBS:

GK: Stockdale, Fulham - 73>74

CB: McAuley, West Brom - 69>73

LM: Daniel, Wellington Phoenix - 58>63

LM: Barbosa, Évian Thonon Gaillard FC - 66>72

ST: Guly, Southampton - 67>73

ST: Samaras, Celtic - 68>74

RW: Phillips, Blackpool - 69>74

About – The highest rated player here is Berbatov of Manchester United with a rating of 86. Even though he has mainly been used as a substitute this season, he found his feet on Boxing Day scoring a hat-trick against Wigan during a 5-0 thrashing. He is one of six Barclay’s Premier League players to make the team this week. Impressive?

Happy Hour – Likely to be on Saturday or Monday at 7-8pm

We could see smoke in the distance for at least five minutes so it was a shock to find out that it was a vehicle. What was the truck doing on fire, and what would you have done if you were confronted with this situation? As you can tell, my immediate reaction was to take the photo!