This half term is a bit different as the husband is off to Vietnam with my Dad! My mum is here at home with me and in the past week we have done nowt but clean the house, tidy the kitchen, wash, fold & put away laundry and some fun activities with the kids.
My parents arrived on Monday the first day of Half Term.
We took the kids to Tumblers in the morning to meet up with Netmums.
Once at home we did not have to wait long for Mum and Dad to arrive, so the party was complete.
We went Baking with Becky at Bicester Avenue's Wyevale Garden Centre. That was loads of fun, just hours before the men took to the sky in their Singapore Airlines aeroplane on Wednesday. The children made pizza and scary fairy cakes and they enjoyed making them as much as eating them up after!
Thursday was Cupcake baking day at home. The little people wanted to go to the play ground and it was soaking wet, so baking more cakes was the perfect way to keep them distracted!
Note to self: use hard butter at room temperature for frosting in the future!
Friday was big clean day. Mum did many loads of laundry folding and washing when I did the vacuuming all around the house. I ended up going to the osteopath at 5:30pm as I was completely shattered and in pain. His treatment worked wonders as usual...
An early-ish bed for me, whilst the children where no-where near ready to sleep at 9:00-10:00pm. I believe Mum managed to get them to sleep in the end...
Today, Saturday, we had a long lie-in and went for a quick browse at Waddesdon Plant Centre as Mum had never been and she wanted to pick up a nice plant for my sister-in-law. Upon retuen home I had a visit from a garden company who may be able to help with re-planting our garden. After that we went on to Tring to visit the Smith family. Nana & Grandad were there too, so it was a full house and we had lots to chat, catch up on and the kids enjoyed playing with each other. A very pleasant afternoon and early evening. We got home before 9:00pm and the children said they were still hungry so we made some boiled eggs and pasta shapes on toast for them and Mum and I had a fried egg with bacon and cheese. Then kids to bed and Mum went up shortly after. I'm finishing off some work now and then I'll be following their suit! Remember: clocks went back 1 hour tonight!
Sunday 30 October 2011
Friday 3 June 2011
A very busy time...
I do appologise for not writing anything for a very long time, but I have been extremely busy since March 2011 as I have stepped up as the Chairperson on the Management Committee for our local pre-school. As one can imagine that involves a lot of work and we've pretty much had a meeting a week with the full committee plus an additional 1-3 meetings per week with individual committee members. It's all very challenging, but generally gives me great satisfaction.
Meanwhile my hobby room has been painted and decorated and is now waiting for the furniture so I can finally put all my books and craft items away in the bookcases and new desk. I also have a Horn Sewing Cabinet on order and all will be delivered next Tuesday... http://www.hornfurniture.co.uk/superior.php
My task over the weekend is to make sure there is floor space to put all the new furniture in it's new place.
Amidsts all this we have also made two trips to the Netherlands, once for Easter Break and then again last weekend to celebrate my parents' 40th anniversary.
We've had loads of fun, and of course celebrations go with the usual food, so there was not much of a 'sticking to thhe plan' attitude, but obviously the pounds added up around Easter so I was well prepared for a gain. Unfortunately the 'damage' was about 4lbs. I was not sticking to any plan, so feared all my previous hard work had gone belly-up. Fortunately this was not the case and when I weighed myself the Monday before last (about 3 weeks after Easter & Royal Wedding Weekend) and found I had lost about 6lbs, so was well chuffed, especially after not really following a plan in those 3 weeks.
I find just eating smaller portions and using smaller plates works just fine.
OK - the stress involved with all the pre-school work may have helped as well...
We shall see what the status is on Monday.
Another busy week ahead
Meanwhile my hobby room has been painted and decorated and is now waiting for the furniture so I can finally put all my books and craft items away in the bookcases and new desk. I also have a Horn Sewing Cabinet on order and all will be delivered next Tuesday... http://www.hornfurniture.co.uk/superior.php
My task over the weekend is to make sure there is floor space to put all the new furniture in it's new place.
Amidsts all this we have also made two trips to the Netherlands, once for Easter Break and then again last weekend to celebrate my parents' 40th anniversary.
We've had loads of fun, and of course celebrations go with the usual food, so there was not much of a 'sticking to thhe plan' attitude, but obviously the pounds added up around Easter so I was well prepared for a gain. Unfortunately the 'damage' was about 4lbs. I was not sticking to any plan, so feared all my previous hard work had gone belly-up. Fortunately this was not the case and when I weighed myself the Monday before last (about 3 weeks after Easter & Royal Wedding Weekend) and found I had lost about 6lbs, so was well chuffed, especially after not really following a plan in those 3 weeks.
I find just eating smaller portions and using smaller plates works just fine.
OK - the stress involved with all the pre-school work may have helped as well...
We shall see what the status is on Monday.
Another busy week ahead
Monday 28 February 2011
Rudolf Day
As part of the Fly Lady Christmas UK yahoo! group some of us are taking part in a monthly Rudolph Day so we can prepare to make Christmas decorations and/or gifts throughout the year.
This month I have been knitting fashionable scarfs. They were easy to make and each one took less than 24 hours to make! The result below...
They are made from 'Creative Can Can' by RICO Design.
Like this, as you see I have another colour...
I was lead to believe that one ball would make one scarf, but I actually made two out of one ball.
So next month I can make 2 more!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
This month I have been knitting fashionable scarfs. They were easy to make and each one took less than 24 hours to make! The result below...
They are made from 'Creative Can Can' by RICO Design.
Like this, as you see I have another colour...
I was lead to believe that one ball would make one scarf, but I actually made two out of one ball.
So next month I can make 2 more!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday 16 January 2011
Another week...
Goodness, another week has passed. I only weigh in every two weeks, so I have no idea what the damage is this week... though I did get on the scales on Tuesday and found I have lost even more weight...
I placed some orders with Cath Kidston and received some really nice fabrics for some projects I am going to be working on as soon as I have a proper workspace. Lovely fabrics for projects from Cath Kidston's book 'SEW'.
I also ordered some more bits and pieces from a newly found FlyBaby friend's website - http://www.sewbox.co.uk
I cannot wait for my craft room! It just means we have to get the guest room sorted and make it into a multi-function room. We've bought a new guest bed yesterday, one that looks like a normal single bed, but slides out to a double if needed. This will give more space in the guest room.
We will have to break out the built-in wardrobe and put new storage back in and a nice big desk for me so I can have my sewing machine out as well as a computer...
The rest of the house is near to completion now. We've got the new fireplace and the new skirting board in the living room, we're just waiting for the final coat of paint on it and then the carpet can be finished.
The curtains are nearly ready to be hung and I think we have finally reached an agreement about the new lights... difficult as there's so many choices and so little I really like... and what we all agreed on would be the best solution is now not available as they've discontinued the lights. Thanks, Next!
Along with the new guest bed, we also bought a 'Big Girl Bed' for Katelijn yesterday. The beds will be delivered on Tuesday, so we have to get the guest room empty by then. I've put the old bed on eBay as well as our old TV and will do the same with the cot.
Bed on eBay
TV on eBay
Today we will be opening Christmas presents with the extended Smith Family. We were going to hav ethe whole lot here, but as our living room is still not livable and the stuff still stacked in the dining room, this is all not going to happen and we've moved the venue to the Brother- and Sister-in-Law. As I had already bought all the food I have just started preparations. DH is off to the supermarket with the kids to pick up some last minute items as Ocado could not deliver this morning. The house is now empty, so I can sort out the presents.
I placed some orders with Cath Kidston and received some really nice fabrics for some projects I am going to be working on as soon as I have a proper workspace. Lovely fabrics for projects from Cath Kidston's book 'SEW'.
I also ordered some more bits and pieces from a newly found FlyBaby friend's website - http://www.sewbox.co.uk
I cannot wait for my craft room! It just means we have to get the guest room sorted and make it into a multi-function room. We've bought a new guest bed yesterday, one that looks like a normal single bed, but slides out to a double if needed. This will give more space in the guest room.
We will have to break out the built-in wardrobe and put new storage back in and a nice big desk for me so I can have my sewing machine out as well as a computer...
The rest of the house is near to completion now. We've got the new fireplace and the new skirting board in the living room, we're just waiting for the final coat of paint on it and then the carpet can be finished.
The curtains are nearly ready to be hung and I think we have finally reached an agreement about the new lights... difficult as there's so many choices and so little I really like... and what we all agreed on would be the best solution is now not available as they've discontinued the lights. Thanks, Next!
Along with the new guest bed, we also bought a 'Big Girl Bed' for Katelijn yesterday. The beds will be delivered on Tuesday, so we have to get the guest room empty by then. I've put the old bed on eBay as well as our old TV and will do the same with the cot.
Bed on eBay
TV on eBay
Today we will be opening Christmas presents with the extended Smith Family. We were going to hav ethe whole lot here, but as our living room is still not livable and the stuff still stacked in the dining room, this is all not going to happen and we've moved the venue to the Brother- and Sister-in-Law. As I had already bought all the food I have just started preparations. DH is off to the supermarket with the kids to pick up some last minute items as Ocado could not deliver this morning. The house is now empty, so I can sort out the presents.
Monday 10 January 2011
BBCs 10 Things You Need To Know About Losing Weight
Today SureSlim UK posted on the Facebook Newsfeed a message about this programme that was aired on the BBC last week. I felt compelled to watch and was amazed at the results of some of the scientific tests.
I thought to share it with you all here too.
The 10 Things We Need To Know About Losing Weight are:
1. Don’t skip meals. Your body will crave food and will subconsciously prefer the high calorie, high fat foods over the healthy options. Your brain messes with you when you do not eat your meals on a regular basis!
2. Your plate size matters! Use smaller plates and you"ll likely eat less than you normally would but you feel full just the same.
3. Calories matter too. But we"ve all known that for years!
4. Everybody is different, glucose metabolism is key but it"s not the be all and end all! It can be any number of things that are stopping you lose weight.
5. Protein staves off hunger pangs. Protein will naturally help the body suppress Insulin & correct Glucose Metabolism it will also keep you feeling fuller for longer!
6. Soup keeps you fuller for longer!
7. The wider the choice the more you eat variety is good but keep focused on the things that are good for you!
8. Low fat dairy helps excrete fat from your food.
9. Exercise goes on burning fat even when you sleep.
10. Keep moving and lose weight.
I can also recommend some interesting books on the subject...
Gary Taubes - The Diet Delusion
Mark Sisson - The Primal Blueprint
If you’re on a weight adjustment plan, I would highly recommend these books. There’s others as well, but that’s for another time.
Sunday 9 January 2011
Only gained half a pound!
Well, had my weigh-in yesterday and feared the worse after stepping on my scales at home last Tuesday.
We stopped by the in-laws on our way home on Monday and was offered a biscuit, which I kindly declined. I said it probably wouldn't make a difference as I had probably gained weight over the holidays anyway and the MIL said she thought so and that it was 'noticable'! I felt sooo awful after that remark that I HAD to step on the scales at home on Tuesday morning. I never weigh after having had any food, so only weigh myself in the morning, fresh out of bed, after having been to the loo!
So thinking there would be a 2,5 kilo damage, I found out I had only gained HALF A POUND!!!!!
How on earth is that possible after all the excess at Christmas and New Year and then a week of not being on plan 100% and eating crisps, arctic rolls, biscuits, chocolate and all sorts?
I do not know how, but I am well pleased.
So here's to my MIL who told me it was 'noticable' that I had gained weight..! NOT!! ;o) LOL
We stopped by the in-laws on our way home on Monday and was offered a biscuit, which I kindly declined. I said it probably wouldn't make a difference as I had probably gained weight over the holidays anyway and the MIL said she thought so and that it was 'noticable'! I felt sooo awful after that remark that I HAD to step on the scales at home on Tuesday morning. I never weigh after having had any food, so only weigh myself in the morning, fresh out of bed, after having been to the loo!
So thinking there would be a 2,5 kilo damage, I found out I had only gained HALF A POUND!!!!!
How on earth is that possible after all the excess at Christmas and New Year and then a week of not being on plan 100% and eating crisps, arctic rolls, biscuits, chocolate and all sorts?
I do not know how, but I am well pleased.
So here's to my MIL who told me it was 'noticable' that I had gained weight..! NOT!! ;o) LOL
Thursday 6 January 2011
Wednesday 5 January 2011
Back Home
After a few busy weeks at the family in the Netherlands we're finally back home.
We came home to an extremely cold house on Monday afternoon and we discovered we'd ran out of oil!
We thought we'd be OK until today, but even with the whole system on frost setting the oil ran out. We had ordered a delivery before we went away, but with the snow and cold weather they had run behind. Of course it was a Bank Holiday so no oil suppliers were open.
Mark managed to get a couple of portable heaters from a local DIY shop and we managed to heat up the kitchen, the conservatory (which has electric underfloor heating) and the bedrooms.
Yesterday we managed to get a few jerrycans full of oil, so that kept us going and just half an hour ago our delivery finally arrived, so we're warm and cosy again.
I dared the personal scales yesterday and of course the Christmas and New Year's damage was visible. I have my next Sure Slim UK weigh-in on Saturday so I reserve judgement until then as it gives me a few days to get back on track. I don't expect much, but who knows.
Unfortunately this morning I was cleaning my kitchen scales and the top dropped out of my hands onto the stone floor and shattered in thousands of pieces. Now I have no means to weigh my portions accurately, I have another set of scales, but they are not very accurate, but for now that'll have to do.
I'm going to have to look for some snazzy new kitchen scales now! Any excuse to go shopping really... LOLThe house is still a mess after the decorating that was done before the Christmas and New Years festivities and we had the carpet delivered today. We're still on track for getting it all fitted this Friday and Saturday, so hopefully by Sunday we can re-claim our living and dining rooms in full new decor! I cannot wait.
The new fireplace is being installed next week and we'll get all the curtains then as well. I'll be glad when it's all over.
I have not done anything creative since coming back, but I did manage to do a lot on the cross stitch work over the holidays. Maybe I'll manage to finish it by March.
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