Lust List (Feb 2011)

Afternoon all.
This is the start of a new monthly post I am planning on doing. The title says it all really, its going to be a list of items I am lusting after at the moment.
They could be anything, artwork, shoes, home items, cakes! Anything and probably everything :)
Let me know what you think? a good monthly post, or completely disinteresting!? x

Starting off the first in this series... Reebok Easy tone high tops!

Ok. perhaps not the most stylish footwear (though I am complete;y loving the animal print on these ones!) BUT and its a big but, (yes. the pun is intended!) the Easytone is said to tone your derriere, by just wearing them to walk about in.
A firm bottom without the extra effort at the gym. Yes please!
Unfortunatley previous trainers that claim the same (easytone, shapeups, MBTs etc) aren't exactly what I would wear while popping to the shops. These however these freestyle hybrids, I can see myself wearing them with a pair of skinny jeans and tshirt!
The problem. I don't remember where I saw them. I dont know how much they are. and I can't find the blasted things anywhere!! if you know where they are stocked. please let me know! ty.

Second on my list this month. This necklace from BooHoo.

Third. These 'my jewellery' hooks. Perfect for my new little girly area of our bedroom. (I'd prefer it in black so it matched my tree more!)

Fourth. This hook for in our downstairs bathroom.

and Fifth. This picture for the same room. (smallest picture ever!)

Sixth. These tights from H&M... I think I *need* them!

Seventh. This print. Found via Peonies and Polaroids 

Oh my I love it so! (and yes I know its yellow! but it does come in other colours, I'm tempted by the sea green for in our bedroom)

Eighth. This Lamp from Ikea. It would look wonderful in our bedroom (when its madeover of course) unfortunately A: We brought new bedside lamps just a few months ago. B: £61.27 each... I can't justify £122.54 on a couple of lights for the bedroom. Look at how lovely they are though.

And Ninth. These shoes, again from H&M, and again leopard print!

And finally. Tenth. These Irregular Choice shoes from Schuh. I've lusted after these for some time, so they deserved a place on my first ever Lust List! :) and ... they are on SALE!!! eek.

Thats everything that set my pulse racing this month. Whats the bet that by the time I do next months Lust List I'll have given in and brought myself half of these items? :)

What items are you lusting after at the moment?? Or, what have you given in and brought yourself? x

Sunday Snapshot

Darren found my lost hairband when we started to go through & sort the spare room. And promptly lost it again behind the back of the sofa about 10sec after this was taken, when he threw it at me! Hey ho. Happy Sunday x

Weigh in result & meal plans

Good Morning.
So last night was weigh in night, and as I mentioned previously I had myself a mini goal of 1lb, so I could not just get my half stone award, but I would pass it that little bit too.

Well. As it happens I must have been rather good, because I lost 2.5lbs!! Whoop! :D go me. That takes me to 9lbs lost in total. Which considering how easy I am finding it, and how much I am enjoying it is just fabulous.

Of course this means I now have the 'all clear' to get myself some lovely new glasses. and as it happens the new Gok range was launched today it seems. Perfect timing? why yes it is.
It does seem however, that the glasses that I decided I liked and wanted when I had my little sneak peek on Sunday, are Mens. Bah. Whatever. I like them.

Anyway. I am going to share my weekly meal plan with you all again. I got some nice comments about it and you all seemed genuinely interested. (plus if I commit myself to it on here, It should be another incentive to keep myself on track)

Friday
Lunch: Egg salad Sandwich
Dinner: Stuffed Potato & Beans (quick dinner as we (myself, Leanne and Dawn) are off to a SW event tonight!)

Saturday - Gym late morning
L: French Toast, bacon & mushrooms
D: SW 'KFC' chicken & chips (new recipe. hope its nice!)

Sunday
L: Cheese & Bacon Omelette
D: Beef Goulash & Rice (in slow cooker)

Monday - Gym in evening
L: Leftover Goulash & rice
D: Sausage, Chips & beans

Tuesday (Green Day)
L: Egg & potato salad
D: Veggy Jambalaya

Wednesday (Green Day) - Gym in morning
L: Leftover Jambalaya
D: Pasta & Arrabiata Sauce

Thursday - Weigh In
L: Egg & potato salad
D: Homemade Quiche & chips.


I had a couple of realisations this week when sorting out the meal plan. and with us doing the early morning work outs, a couple of things need to change. Not huge changes just little tweaks.
Last week, instead of the Spag Bol on Monday, I cooked a pepper risotto so I could have a 'green day'. I really think this helped me stay on track and get a good weight loss this week.
Also, if I plan those green days on the early morning work out days, it means (with the extra fibre/dairy allowances) I am free to have a quick breakfast before the gym (say a cereal bar) and a proper breakfast after my work out, as I am getting ready for work. Hoorah.
Our weekday evening meals also, generally need to be super quick and simple. because we are either getting in late from weigh in or the gym. or we are knackered from our early morning work out, and quite frankly, if we are knackered we cant be bothered to cook! :)

I'll stop there as I can tell I am beginning to ramble! :) As before, let me know if there are any recipes you would like me to share. x

Motivation

Yesterday morning Darren and I set our alarms early, got up and ready and were at the gym for a work out at 6.30am when the place opens...


If you have passed some random person who happens to look like me, telling everyone within earshot that they were 'at the gym at 6.30 IN THE MORNING don't you know' I'd estimate that is 99.9% likely to have been me. If I could shout this from the rooftops I probably would. Why? Because I am incredibly sodding proud of myself.


I am not, by anyones stretch of the imagination, a morning person. I dont want to be spoken to, I dont want people getting in my way, I dont want to be up, out of my warm cosy bed, especially when its still dark outside. oh and its raining! (poor Darren. how he puts up with my tantrums is beyond me!)


I also struggle immensely with motivating myself. I know I *should* exercise. I know I *will* enjoy it once I am there. But getting myself there can sometimes be one hell of a chore.
However this week. I have been more motivated than I can ever remember being. Even years ago when I was at my healthiest. When I met Darren I was at the gym almost every evening. When I had to stop working out because of whiplash from a car accident, I fell into bad habits. And shifting those bad habits has been so tricky.
It IS easier to sit at home, curl up on the sofa and snack/order take out. Food definitely became a comforter and a way to relieve boredom.
So within the space of a year or so I put on around 3 stone. (42lbs roughly) and for the past 4 or 5 years I have been trying to shift it. I seem to be in a repeat pattern. Lose weight (normally around 1 stone) get lazy, put weight back on, lose weight, get lazy, put weight back on. and so on and so forth.


I don't want to be that person any more. I want to be healthy. I want to be able to do more things without getting red faced and out of breath. And of course I want to feel better about how I look. Shallow maybe, but who doesnt want to feel good about themselves??


Anyway. Yesterday at Lunch when I was catching up on my daily blog reads I came across Danielle at Sometimes Sweet's post about Motivation. (What perfect timing for me to read that post!!) If your struggling on the motivation front pop over and have a read. (her blog is generally just fab anyway, so pop over and have a read anyway!!)


I am hoping my new found motivation sticks around for some time to come, but when I am struggling I shall try and remind myself of how I feel now (bloody marvellous!) remind myself of Danielle's post, and the reasons why I am doing this (yellow dress, remember the yellow dress!) :) x

Aww Shucks!

I don't want to get all gushy and soppy, but I just thought I should post a quick thanks to all you lovely people who seem to read my little ol' blog!

I can't believe I have 18 people that actually follow it!! lol (*waves* to new followers!) ok, I know in comparison to some blogs 18 is really a drop in the ocean. but to me its HUGE! :)

Also, Thanks for all the comments and messages re my recipe post on Monday. I was honestly chuffed to bits that so many people liked it and are going to give them a try. (though now I am slightly scared that everyone will hate them and wonder what planet I am on! haha)

Anyway. Thanks and yeah, Awesome! :D
Thats enough gushy-ness for now I think. on to much more frivolous things.

I have decided I am getting the Gok Wan glasses I mentioned yesterday. However looking on the Specsavers website, They do not have them online yet. and do you think I can find a picture anywhere to share with you? Nope. If they are not on the shelves next week I shall just ask for the ones I want. I know they have them and I want them because I tried them already. They wont turn down a sale surely?? :)
These are the sunglasses I am going to get though. Yes. 'mens' apparently. but really can glasses be sexed? I dont think so.

Anyway. here's the deal I have, HAVE, to make it to my half stone this week in order to allow myself to order these glasses this weekend. Not only make it. but clear it. So its at least 1lb loss.

I know its Wednesday already, and I get weighed tomorrow evening. and I know 1lb isn't exactly an earth shattering amount. but with my record over the past couple of weeks. breaking the STS/half pound cycle would be great. I've tracked what I have eaten, I've got off the couch and got my backside to the gym.
If that 1lbs comes off. I am having those damned glasses! (I probably need new ones anyway. but technically I could get new lenses in old glasses! booo)

Keep your fingers, toes, arms.. whatever all crossed for my weigh in tomorrow night. Otherwise I'll have one god almighty sulk on if I don't lose that 1lb!

Weekend Update

Just a quick post with an update from my weekend. We didnt do a great deal, but (as I have probably said before) the occasional lazy weekend is lovely! :)

Saturday Darren worked. And he discovered that being a postie when it is absolutely lashing it down with rain is not particularly fun. It certainly slowed him down so he was home later and we did not make it to the gym. But I made him a hot cup of coffee and big bowl of pasta & sauce for when he go home to warm him up.
(He'd have had soup like your 'supposed to' to warm up. But we had no bread and I wasn't about to go out in that rain! heh heh)

Then because of the terrible weather his footy match Sat afternoon was cancelled. So while I studied and sorted through some photos He played computer games.
... We finally ordered some wedding shots that people have asked for, and some prints for the frames we have at home. No more empty frames on the wall for us! Not in the living room anyway.

We are now so close to finishing the living room its almost unreal! Just a little bit of painting, the flooring edging and new light fitting and we are done! I am so excited :)

Ahh yes. That reminds me. My Saturday morning, while Darren was out braving the weather, was spent clambering about in our spare room.
And when I say clambering I really do mean it... You couldn't get in the room and you certainly could not close the door! ... This is it after I have spent around an hour, possibly two, trying to sort it out.

Arghhh. Sorry. I know its a scary sight! and thats just one corner of the room! :( I'm worn out just looking at the crap we need to sort out. of course having the old sofa in there until we can sell it takes up a big chunk of space. But a lot of it is just accumulated rubbish that has slowly and surely been growing over the years. I'd completely love to have it as a fully fledged working spare room/office/studio again. But if we tackle it a bit at a time we shall get there gradually. :)

Sunday was a super lazy day. I didn't even get out of bed until 12.30. Super lazy. Then all we did was pop into town to help Darrens Mum choose some glasses. I of course tried on almost every pair in the shop too. And they showed me some of the new Gok Wan ones that they have just had in but are not out yet. Some of them were truly horrid, but some were lovely. I particularly liked No:12 which was almost in a camo green print.
I found some prescription sunglasses I liked too. They may have been in the mens section, but who cares! I liked them. I do have a slight obsession with sunglasses. We may only have about 1 week of the year here in Blighty that you can wear them, but I love them so. The bigger and more bug eye the better.
I got some fabulous ones for £2 from Primark just last week. unfortunately my attempt at wearing contacts was unsuccessful (My eyelid will NOT let me stick my finger in my eye!) so wearing normal sunglasses is now limited to reading a book in the garden or by the pool. (When we go on holiday of course!) I'll have to share my sunglasses collection with you all sometime. :)

When we got home we had a quick lunch and curled up on the sofa together to watch Boardwalk Empire (Which I like. The styling is amazing, but its taking me a while to get into it fully!) play Mafia2, and eat Lasagne. Lovely.
x

Best Burgers EVER!

Seriously, these things are amazing! This is the recipe as I made them last night. It made 6 burgers as it was for a 'bacon double cheeseburger' and Darren wanted 2 for himself!
But it was WAY too much food. I couldnt finish mine, and we both just lay on the sofa unmoving after eating. yeah we should have stopped eating before we got too full, but they were so yummy we just kept going! :)

The recipe I am sharing now is my adjusted version that serves 2, and makes single not double stack burgers. The photos were taken when I made the full original recipe.

The Ingredients

300gextra lean beef mince

1-2 garlic cloves (I use one small and one large clove)

1-2 spring onions (original recipe called for shallots, but we had none. Also personally, onions make me quite poorly, and spring onions dont effect me anywhere near as badly! I use 2 small or 1 larger)

1 and half teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce

Salt

Ground black pepper

4 rashers bacon

2 wholemeal rolls

Handfull of spinach leaves

2 low fat cheese slices

Frylight for cooking

2 large potatoes (for chips)

The Method

Preheat oven to 180C

Start with the chips. Chop potatoes into chip sized chunks

Par boil chips for around 5 minutes and drain

put back into saucepan and give a good shake to break up the edges.

place chips on a naking tray & spray with frylight

add herbs/spices if you want to (Personally I sprinkle with a little garlc salt)

pop into your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes

Put mince, crushed garlic, chopped onions and worcester sauce in a bowl

Season Well

Mix well with hands

Split mixture in half and shape into burger patties

Frylight a frying pan and cook burger for 5-8 minutes on each side

at the same time fry the bacon rashers

remove bacon and burgers and rest on a couple of sheets of kitchen roll (pad away any excess fat)

Cut bun in half

Layer spinach on bottom half of bun. followed by 2 bacon rashers. a burger and top with a slice of cheese

finish off with a squirt of ketchup if you want, and the top of the bun

take chips from the oven and split between the 2 plates

serve

As you can see. following the original recipe made HUGE double burgers. If you have a really big appetite the go for the doubles. but for a more manageable meal, a single stack is much better (imo)

If you try them, I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. x

Sunday Snapshot

Not a snapshot from today, but rather from last night. But look at the size of that burger!!
And you know the best bit... Diet food! Uh-huh.
(Also. Recipe for this monstrosity coming up on the blog tomorrow! X)
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Weigh in result & meal plans

Good morning. Thought I would pop on quickly to fill you in on my weigh in last night. I lost half a pound!! half a pound. Seems I am still chasing after that elusive half stone loss!

Its not been a brilliant week, what with my shoulder giving me gyp I wasn't able to cook as much, and certainly no exercise. and when your in pain generally just just want to eat crap. I do anyway! and while I didn't eat crap 100% of the time, I did give in to cake, chocolate and other treats much quicker and more often than normal. Plus we had our valentines day treat. :)

So. although I still have a hurty shoulder, I am going back to the gym (just doing no arm/shoulder work at all of course!) and I have planned the weeks meals. These are not set in stone by any stretch of the imagination, but having an idea what i'll be doing for lunches and dinners certainly helps. The groceries get delivered this afternoon.

Friday.
Lunch: Stuffed potato (pre made in the freezer!) & baked beans
Dinner: Chicken & mushroom curry. with rice.

Saturday. - Gym late morning
L: Baked potatoes (and i'll cook some extra and make some stuffed ones for in the freezer!)
D: Double bacon and cheese burgers, and chips.

Sunday. - Gym, swim or bike ride in afternoon
L: cooked brunch - a 'full English'
D: Veggy lasagne, salad and Garlic bread

Monday. - Gym evening
L: Chilli & prawn noodle pot
D: Spaghetti Bolognese, salad and garlic bead

Tuesday.
L: Leftover lasagne & salad
D: fish, chips & mushy peas

Wednesday. - Gym or a class
L: leftover lasagne or Spaghetti bolognese & salad
D: Chilli beef noodles

Thursday. - Weigh in.
L: Chilli beef noodle pot
D: Stuffed potato (made previously in the week, out of freezer) & baked beans eaten when I am back home after weigh in.

If you like the sound of any of these meal ideas and want the recipe, let me know. I'll do photos and a recipe guide post on here for it. :)

A Yellow Dress

I had seen this dress on the H&M website and loved it.

Yesterday while out shopping we popped into H&M and I couldn't resist taking a look at it. I still loved it. loooook at it!...

Its so sunny and ruffle-y and just so lovely. I tried on my usual size. and couldn't get it on properly. :(

So i brought it in a size smaller!!! :O WTF! Smaller!! are you crazy.

Yes. I think I might be. but you see I have decided THIS is my goal dress. This is the dress that when I shift the lard and get back to the weight/size I want to be then this is the dress I want to wear to celebrate.

The fact I have brought it scares me somewhat. what if I still can't fit into it?? its not the money spent on it that bothers me (it was all of the wonderfully priced £15) its the fact that I love it. if it still does not fit, what do I do? other than cry uncontrollably of course! but come on. 2 sizes smaller. 2 and half stone (35lbs) that'll get me down 2 sizes wont it??

wont it?? Someone please tell me yes!

Anyway. I love it. I WILL wear it. I will wear it this summer.

*crosses all fingers and toes and prays it fits when I've lost weight*

xx

Valentines & more.

Good afternoon.
As you may have noticed if you check back here regularly, I've been absent for a couple of days. As I mentioned previously I had a couple of days booked off work, and the couple of days off work, evolved into a couple of days off everything really. So just unplugging from the world pretty much completely and spending some quality time with my Husband.

You know what. I feel fabulous for it.

Monday Darren had his rota'd day off. which was just pure luck, so we got to spend Valentines together and doing whatever we wanted. We got up late, took our time getting ready, popped into town (where among other things I brought a new dress... more on that at a later date) Then we went for lunch at our local Harvester.
I ate Cajun Prawns, salad and stuffed mushrooms, Darren ate garlic mushrooms, salad and a cheese and bacon burger. The Cajun prawns are just wonderful. I'm not going to bother with a main meal next time. I'll be happy with the prawns and a bit of salad. I'll have room for dessert then too! ;)
After lunch we popped back out shopping so Darren could get Mafia2 for the PS3, then finally we made our way to the Cinema to watch Tangled (such grown ups! haha)

We got the timings wrong for the local Odeon, so changed tack and popped over to Cineworld instead. Where instead of gorging on fizzy jelly sweeties like we normally do. Darren had minstrels and I treated myself to some Ben & Jerrys. Cherry Garcia ice cream (yum) and Jamaican me crazy sorbet (which is my new favourite thing EVER!)

I don't think the day did wonders for my diet, but i enjoyed every moment of it. :)

No photos, I apologise. I haven't yet got used to taking photos of my day to day life to help me blog! I do promise I shall make more of an effort and take more photos from now on!

Yesterday I spent the day sorting out the bedroom, visiting friends and then doing a bit of DIY. ok, in all honesty Darren did the DIY, I supervised and passed drill bits and screws etc.
We didn't do much, put up a new curtain pole and curtains, moved the mirror and put up some frames in the bedroom basically.
We still have lots to do in the bedroom to get it how we want it, but even these small changes have made such a massive difference. It was so light and bright waking up this morning. It certainly made getting out of bed easier.
And having the mirror hung in portrait and in a better position for me to see into it (having over a foot in height difference between me and my Husband means mirror placement is always a fun task!) means I can get ready in the mornings without having to scoot into different rooms to check my outfit etc.

Well I am off to finish eating my lunch now.
Happy Wednesday.x

Sunday Snapshot

Inspired by my best friend Leanne who was telling me about her carrot cakes the other day, this morning I made these little treats for Darren. an early valentines. ok. perhaps not the most glamourous well decorated cakes, but as a spur of the moment baking session. quite good I think!

besides, its the taste, not how they look thats important! (and they taste lovely!)

Happy Valentines for tomorrow x

a mini re-design.

Look what I did (up there. the banner)
All afternoon with my dodgy neck I've been playing about on my computer making banners and buttons. Different pictures, and colours, text etc.

all afternoon.

Then. When I come to update and implement the new design. I realise I have made a typo on every single one of them, apart from the very first one.

Well what can I say? I could curse and swear and stamp my feet, but what good would that do?

Sod it. Shove the first one on, mend all the others another day and do a proper redesign when i'm not getting irritable, achey and hungry.

and on that note, I am off to see what curry concoction my husband is whipping up. Goodnight.x

ouch!

Good afternoon.
Todays plans have gone completely to pot. I had planned to get up early, get to the gym for it opening and do a full work out, then pop into town shopping, I need hair dye and I wanted an eyebrow pencil amongst other things, and to get Darren a card for Valentines. Then to get some groceries and cook roast gammon for dinner.
Unfortunately I didnt sleep well last night, but at some point I managed to do something to my neck, and this morning I can barely move!
So instead of gym and shopping, I am on the sofa. Heat pack on neck and cup of tea in hand.

I did manage however to do some batch cooking this morning of stuffed potatoes. (basically baked potatoes, scoop the potato out and mix with cheese, veggies, herbs etc, whatever takes your fancy. and stuffed back into the skins) Chilli and chorizo, and bacon and herb. They are now cooled and popped into the freezer for easy lunches and dinners next week.

Hopefully my neck will be better as soon as possible. Especially seeing as I have Monday and Tuesday off work! :)

Friday Lunchtime

Afternoon all.
Its Friday, its Lunchtime. and its about time I gave you all a Weigh In update.

I stayed the same. Arse.

One of those things, In hindsight although I ate well and did not go over my syns etc, al lot of what I ate was carb fuelled stodge. We all have times like that though I guess. I was mightily peeved last night, I so wanted to get my first half stone off. and while I am still sulking about it today, I have made an effort to have fruit with my breakfast, and for snacking. I also have veggy (Butternut squash to be precise) soup for my lunch.

I'm going to spend some time later today working out a meal plan for the week. and I am going to make sure we have plenty of fruit and veggies in there.

Darren is working tomorrow, and I have Monday and Tuesday off work. So my routine will be a bit shot, but I am going to make the best out of it and go gym more, and do some batch cooking for those lazy evenings when you just cannot be bothered.

and I am going to make it to that half stone next week. I am. I'm going to blow it out of the effing water!

Much Love.
Jules

The secret of happiness...

I've been having a bad week. Not for any particular reason, but you know when sometimes you just have 'one of those days' and then you have another and another, and it turns into 'one of those weeks'

I've been in the worst possible mood, and so argumentative! I cannot be much fun to be around.

Last night, after much sulking and whinging I dragged my moaning backside to the gym, which to be honest, I didnt really enjoy. but I am please with myself for going and doing a work out.

At home, still sulking and feeling sorry for myself I realised I wanted comfort food. I wanted to curl up on the sofa, with a plate of stodge and feel sorry for myself. We had some chicken to use up, and so I decided to attempt chicken risotto.

Now I love risotto. It is pure comfort food (especially with my little added extra, which I shall share in a moment) but I normally do a veggy one, so adding chicken to the mix was, ok, perhaps not thrilling, but it was a bit different! :)

I threw in the chicken, and the rice. plenty of chicken/veg stock. then in went some garlic, peppers, mushrooms and a lonely half courgette that was left in the fridge. Plenty of seasoning, chilli powder and mixed herbs.

Just before its finished, and this is the key to taking it to the next comfort food level, stir in a spoonful of cream cheese... *sigh* heavenly.

Curled up on the sofa, with Darren, a furry blanket, my risotto and a lovely cappuccino made for me by Darren. It really was the most relaxed and happiest I have been this week.

So thats my secret, for this week at least. sometimes you just need to indulge yourself a little... and make yourself risotto.

xx

Saturday Night Bowling

We haven't been bowling for ages. litterally years. But Saturday morning Darrens Mum/Brother called and asked if we wanted to go. Dinner was in the slow cooker, but I just shoved that onto 'warm' and along we went.

My feet are so small in comparison to Darrens!

Darren can spin bowl... show off! :)

where as I just chuck it and see what happens. :)

his brother, also a spin bowler at times, and his Mum... an fellow 'chucker'

after 8 they turn out the lights, and put neons on.

It really was good fun, even though I came last in every... single... game! haha. and by the way. lovong bowling shoes! I want my own pair.
Such Fun! :D
x

Sunday Snapshot

We are having a lazy Sunday. Very lazy. A lie in until gone midday, followed by a quick brunch, lazing on the sofa, and a beautiful cappuccino. Bliss.

Were going to have more Sundays like this.

x

OK. So here it is...

... I'm confused.
I have so many different ideas and thoughts and goals and dreams that I dont really know what I want to acheive first. And because of that I flit back and forth dabling in a bit of each and everything, but never quite making an indent in any of the things I want to achieve.

What I have come to realise is. I am not the only one like this. It is, from what I can tell, pretty darn normal. I've never really known what I want to do, and I'm now 30. plodding along in an office job, without the confidence to get off the treadmill and head towards, or even discover what I really want to do. But I know that I do not feel fulfilled with how things are at the moment. I need to find a way to balance paying the bills with finding out/doing what I really want.

Its hard. And I guess thats really why I started this blog. to try and gain some focus, some direction.

As always, my brain flits from one idea/notion to another. I think I need to break things down, not let so many things take over my life and thoughts.

These things I know I want... I know I want to lose weight and be healthier... but this is not the be all and end all. so while I need to concentrate on it. I dont need it to take over. I just needs to become a normal part of my daily routine.
I know I want to 'sort out' our home and garden. and I do love interior design. I feel actual joy when I walk into a beautiful room, read an interior design magazine or see some beautiful architcture. But instead of thinking 'we need to do the whole house!!. I just need to concentrate on one room at a time. enjoy the process. Not treat it like a chore.
and finally, I know I want to have more time to do the things I love. I love looking at fashion. I might not be the most stylish person on the planet, I am often late in discovering new trends, or I decide I love them long after everyone else has 'been there done that' Who cares! It makes me happy. I love photography. I need to find the confidence to get back out and taking photographs again. and I love learning. My Saturdays are going to be dedicated to doing things I love. Darren is out most of the day at work & football. so this is the time I shall use to study, photograph and generally just take some time to spend on my 'hobbies'

I hope this makes some sense, I'm going to put real effort into being less erratic with my blogging, and the things I blog about! :) I also hope that you'll all bear with me and continue on this journey with me.

and if your in a similar place to me. Let me know. we could perhaps help each other along!

Hope your all having wonderful weekends.
Love from a confused (but soon to be focussed) lady! x

Whoop - Friday!

Good evening. Just a quick post before I climb the wooden hill to bed. Plus, my computer is being a complete bitch and not working right tonight. Very frustrating!

I had my weigh in last night of course., and I lost 1lb! :D fabulous when you think we ate out twice at the weekend. 6lbs in 4 weeks is not to be sniffed at and its the most consistant and best weight loss (with such little effort!!) that I have had in a long time.

Next week the meeting I normally go to changes. there are so many people now that it needs to be split into 2 sessions, because of work I have no choice but to go to the later session. I am toying with the idea of doing an exercise class for the hour previous. We'll see hoe it goes and I'll take it from there and decide on what to do.

Well I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow. Gym first thing and then I am going to start on the ecourse I signed up for. Going to get my photography equiptment out too and dust it all down! :) And Darren has an early start with work, so I shall log off now and try and get some sleep, though with the wind raging outside like it is I shall most likely have a night filled of wizard of oz type dreams, or I'll lie there hoping our rickety old shed has not blown away! :)

Leaving you with Weezer - Beverly Hills. ... I am so completely longing for summer you would not believe!

Goodnight x

Pinch punch first of the month!... oh no wait, That was yesterday!

Morning Campers.
Can you believe we are in February already?

Its been a new month of ups and kinda downs already for me. I'll start with the kinda downs (they in themselves are not terrible but they are just a bit crappy!) as I'd rather finish the post on a high! :)
I've been having the oddest and not so nice dreams the past couple of nights. Which means I have been sleeping very badly and an just knackered.

First I was in a building trying to get to the 8th floor, but the lift (elevator for readers across the pond) looks old and rusty so I decided to take the stairs. They were even worse, old metal rickety things, rusting with no hand rail and with missing steps. so I go back to the elevator. Which now has no walls, just the lift shaft and a platform. When I get in it drops, not all the way to the bottom. But I hit my arm on the side and land in a heap on the floor. hurt and bleeding. Thats when I woke up. one of those sudden wake ups with a sharp intake of breath. and every time I start to drift off, I am just about to step in the lift again, and I wake myself up, not wanting to fall.

and last night. was full of me overhearing friends, acquaintances, old ones I have not seen for years, overhearing them all talking about me. That I look like crap, and I'm failing at losing weight, I'm a joke. etc. There were other odd dreams amongst all that too, but I cant remember them this morning. I just remember being quite troubled and tossing and turning a lot. blurgh. I woke up feeling like shit.

Who knows what they all mean, if they even mean anything at all in fact! But it seems I do tend to dream when I have a lot of stuff going on in my brain. apparently the number 8 (the floor I was trying to get to) signifies 'power, authority, success, karma, material gains, regeneration, and wealth'!!
Hmmm, I dunno. Trying to work out if they mean anything is just sending my brain into even more of a spin! haha. I guess we have a few things going on at the moment, with Darren starting his new job, it means different working hours and days and it just need some adjusting to.


Which brings us very nicely and neatly to the 'ups' of course.
Darren starting his new job. First day training yesterday and it seems he enjoyed it. He was certainly happy and chilled when I got home (even after the shitmobile  - the new name for his car - cut out on the way home, but thats another story!) he filled me in on his day and what he did etc. So it seems all is good.
I also got home to him doing some DIY, and as I was cooking dinner (pork and pepper kebabs with rice - yum!) he tidied the living room. It was lovely spending the evening in a tidy room. No thoughts in the back of your head telling you that you really should be packing that washing away/hoovering the rug/taking that stuff upstairs etc.


Hope you are all having a good start to February.


Happy halfway-through-the-working-week-day! :D x