I did it! I made the switch! I'm still not convinced and may come running back to blogger at any moment, but for now you can all find and follow me on wordpress!
http://wedolifeasithappens.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Making a move!
Sorry I haven't been posting much of anything lately, I've been helping J set up his very own page for his metal casting. We have set it up on wordpress so I was considering making the change from blogger to wordpress myself with this little blog, that way we will all be on the same thing and J can also post on this all using the same account... I'm not convinced wordpress is for me really though - 1. It doesn't work on my work mac, 2. It isn't as creative with the backgrounds etc as blogger and 3. I don't know if I can be bothered, lol! Anyway, I have a few posts and bit saved that I want to share with you all, so as soon as I decide whether or not to make the switch I will let you all know :) and don't worry, I'll transfer across all my posts etc if I do move, and I'll link this one to the new one... if there will be a new one!
Friday, May 03, 2013
Mountstewart Antiques and Art Fair
I am ever so excited for the Antiques and Art Fair at Mountstewart tomorrow! Mountstewart is one of my favourite places (Turf loves it too)! We have raided the family heirloom cupboard (that one that leads to Narnia hasn't got a patch on ours...) and are taking a few bits and pieces with us to be valued.
The regular Mountstewart car boot sale is on tomorrow from 9am-12pm, while the Antiques and Art Fair and the Second Hand Book Fair will be taking place from 10am-5pm Saturday-Monday. I might end up going all three days just to get a good look at everything! Lets hope the weather holds up.
Tonight we are heading to a wedding so of course a new dress was in order - a lovely vintage swing style red one - and a new (to me) fur was purchased, which is faux of course, I'm not a heathen! I spent last night putting a small stitch in the dress... it was rather a tad too low cut for me I'm afraid, I'm not one to have my bits on display, so I put a small stitch in the V to make it a bit more decent.
All in all it's set to be a pretty good weekend for us, and we hope it is for you too!
The regular Mountstewart car boot sale is on tomorrow from 9am-12pm, while the Antiques and Art Fair and the Second Hand Book Fair will be taking place from 10am-5pm Saturday-Monday. I might end up going all three days just to get a good look at everything! Lets hope the weather holds up.
Tonight we are heading to a wedding so of course a new dress was in order - a lovely vintage swing style red one - and a new (to me) fur was purchased, which is faux of course, I'm not a heathen! I spent last night putting a small stitch in the dress... it was rather a tad too low cut for me I'm afraid, I'm not one to have my bits on display, so I put a small stitch in the V to make it a bit more decent.
All in all it's set to be a pretty good weekend for us, and we hope it is for you too!
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
The Great Wall - Rising to the challenge
It will be two years ago this October since I set off on the adventure of a lifetime to trek the Great Wall of China for Brake, the road safety charity in memory of my brother. I covered the trip for the travel newspaper I work for, but thought I'd share it on here along with a few more pictures. I firmly believe that everyone should do something like this in their lifetime, there is nothing better for giving you a better perspective on your life and those you want in it, especially after a traumatic period in your life...
This is the first of a two-part series about my trip to China! I headed off on a charity trek along the Great Wall of China and found out that it’s a lot more challenging than many might expect...
Stretching 6000km in a dotted line across China, the Great Wall was begun in the 5th Century BC. As it snakes across the mountains it conjures up a sense of history, which is difficult to grasp until you have had the opportunity to experience it.
My trek across this sleeping reptile was very varied, we passed through woodland and terraced farmland, following the contours of the beautiful hills and mountains in remote areas north of Beijing. We followed old sections as well as restored sections with smooth flagstones and lots of steps - both with very different difficulties... jostling with crowds of tourists and school children on the restored sections or navigating crumbling stones, no side walls and sharp drops down steep mountainsides on the old wall.
The challenge was physically demanding but we were well rewarded with some fantastic scenery, breathtaking views and a fascinating first-hand insight into a rich culture and history.
Days one and two were filled with travelling. I took a mid-morning flight from Belfast City to London Heathrow with bmi... when travelling with so much gear (liquids, walking poles etc), all of which had to be checked in, it was much cheaper to travel with an airline who included a generous checked-in baggage allowance in the price of the flight. I had a couple of hours to kill at Heathrow before meeting with the rest of the Skyline group, so after a quick walk-round to find out where our meeting point was located I parked my luggage at an empty table in one of the cafes and grabbed a coffee and a hot filled roll. Food glorious food! When I ate that roll, little did I know it would be the last piece of proper bread I would see for 10 days!
It wasn't long before I spotted some people hanging around near the meeting point who looked like they were going on a trek... dressed in walking trousers, heavy walking boots and a warm fleece/coat (similar to myself). I went to join them and found out, after some introductions round the little circle, that we were all signed up to the Geat Wall of China trek with Skyline.
The group leaders showed up pretty promptly and got us all checked in, leaving us with instructions on what gate to meet at and what time. The key rule... DO NOT MISS THE FLIGHT.
I was very kindly given entrance to the Emirates Lounge and enjoyed a lovely cup of tea, some sandwiches and sweet treats in comfort, away from the hustle and bustle of the airport lounges/shopping areas. There is nothing more pleasant than enjoying a cup of tea (from a proper cup with a saucer!) and reading a book in peace before a long flight. I'm not a great flier so that little quiet time chilled me right out.
To be honest I don't remember much about the flight from Heathrow to Dubai as I spent the majority of it sleeping, with small intervals of eating. I love a full service airline... that is the life!
We only had 30 minutes between landing at Dubai and taking off for Beijing so we had to be off the plane pretty sharpish and run through the connecting baggage checks to make it which, thankfully, we did. I spent the Dubai-Beijing leg of the journey much as I had spent the Heathrow-Dubai leg... sleeping with intervals of eating, although I did manage to squeeze in a movie too.
We landed in Beijing on day two of our trek (because of the time difference) just as the sun was setting, and the journey to our hotel (The Dong Fang) wasn't very long. Everyone was surprisingly hungry I say suprisingly because we had all had two meals on each flight... four meals in total already), and the hotel had prepared a traditional Peking Duck welcome feast for us all. The Skyline staff told us to enjoy it as the food for the rest of the trip was "unpredictable", to which we all laughed... we weren't laughing two days later when we thought we may have unknowingly eaten squirrel in one of the villages!
After our feast of proper traditional Chinese food - I've always loved my local Chinese takeaway, but I've realised nothing can beat freshly cooked Chinese food, at home the takeaways use A LOT of sugar - some of the group (me included) decided to go off in search of beer... a local beer to be exact, and we found it... just down the road from the Dong Fang, yay! It was lovely... cool, crisp, refreshing and only 50p... we splurged on two each before turning in for the night, deciding it was best not to blow all our budgets on the first night.
Day three came quicker than I expected, but after all the sleep I got on the flights I was fresh and raring to go. Breakfast at the Dong Fang was another feast... a buffet of eggs (cooked several ways), meats, fried rolls, sweet bread, cereals and sticky pastries. This was were I realised chopsticks were not just used at dinner! I was pretty confident with chopsticks before I went to China so I coped okay with my scrambled egg and sausage... although some of the group gave in and asked if there was a possibility of a knife and fork (by the end of the trip and knife and fork was something completely unheard of, we were all pros).
I quickly learned that chopsticks and small rice bowls are the staple tableware. The Chinese don't use plates. The breakfast at the Dong Fang was an exception, with it's buffet style it was highly Westernised and as such we had the option of plates and cutlery. The general Chinese custom is to have everything put on the table in large bowls, each person then spoons some rice into their own small bowl. Everyone shares food from the larger 'share' dishes of meat and vegetables and eats them straight from the dish, no need to plate up!
I was very pleased when I impressed the waitress of the Chinese restaurant I visited when on a family holiday in Tenerife last month - I asked for chopsticks and a rice bowl... and thanked her in Chinese. Perhaps showing-off just a tad!
We had no time to spare after breakfast as it was straight back to the room for our baggage. The trek was imminent! We made the morning journey out of Beijing, heading for Huangyaguan and caught our first glimpse of the Great Wall ahead of us. We arrived at our accommodation in Huangyaguan, it was a monastry-style hostel at the foot of a mountain, the Great Wall running high along the mountain top... our rooms were arranged in a square with a courtyard in the middle and we could see the Great Wall high on the mountain from the grassy courtyard.
We were assigned a room buddy, who we would be sharing rooms with throughout the trek. My room buddy was Jeannie, a lovely lady who had signed up to the trek to raise money for Breast Cancer after battling with the disease herself, a very brave lady indeed!
After checking into our rooms and enjoying some lunch, we set off to the first section of the trek, which was to give us a good indication of the challenges ahead. The trekking time for the day was estimated at around three to four hours. The Huangyanguan section of the wall was originally built in 557 AD, and was repaired for the first time in the Ming Dynasty with bricks and for the second time in 1985. This section is noted for being particularly stunning because of it's water towers, which have all been restored to their former magestic glory. We completed this section of the trek in two hours, well under the suggested time and were pretty pleased with ourselves.
Later in the trek, as we progressed onto the old wall, we realised why we made such light work of our first trek day... it was smooth, with side walls and didn't crumble as you walked, oh how I longed for side walls!
Since we finished our trek sooner than expected there was time for a nap/beer in the courtyard before dinner. I chose the nap... strange but true! Dinner that night had been arranged in a local restaurant. We did a whip round of our table for a kitty and took advantage of the local beverages.
Dinner was lovely, sweet and sour pork like you have never tasted from your local takeaway, beef and potato stew, kung po chicken loaded with chillis and peanuts, light as a feather rice and several other vegetable and meat dishes.
After dinner we all headed outside and pulled up chairs round the campfire... the nights in China can be cold, very cold, so we all pulled our chairs close to the campfire and dipped into the kitty for another round. We ended the night with a game of campfire charades.
Day four saw us up early for a breakfast of steamed flat sweet dumplings (kind of like pancakes) and jam... there was also some boiled eggs. We loaded our bags onto the bag bus (which took all our large bags to the next accommodation, we took smaller bags with our daily essentials with us) and headed out for the second part of the trek. We hiked up the mountain and along a restored section of the wall. By mid morning we had reached the bottom of Heavens Ladder, a steep (and I mean steep) climb of over 200 steps. This was a tough section, but it's well worth the effort as the views from the top are out of this world... I guess that's why they call it Heavens Ladder - a view from the heavens over the Yanshan Mountains and the region below.
After a well deserved breather at the top (and designating a ‘rest-room’ spot for ladies and men – this was new to us all, but necessary) we headed on up the mountain further to join the top of the ridge where our path then wound it’s way around sections of the old wall. Some parts of this section of the wall were in very poor condition and impossible to walk on so we followed a narrow path along the side, but other parts were well enough still to walk on, and so we did… after climbing up some wall rubble to reach the top! This was the first taste I had of standing on a very narrow 10ft high (it could well have been higher) wall with no side walls, completely open to the elements and to the steep drop down a mountain on either side. This part of the wall was in poor condition but still walkable, the trick was to keep your head down and keep on moving, if you stop or look about you, there is the chance of some vertigo! I have never suffered from vertigo or a fear of heights before, but that day I certainly did!
In the afternoon we began our decent, winding our way down the narrow path on the mountain side. We stopped for lunch when we reached a small rocky clearing… our packed lunch for the trek consisted of the same thing each day, four slices of bread with a small bit of cheese and ham in each… and a banana or other fruit. To be honest I wasn’t 100 per cent keen on the sandwiches some days, but on others they were lovely! On the days the sandwiches weren’t so good I tucked into one of the snickers-type chocolate bars that I had brought along with me. Everyone seemed to have brought along a multipack of some sort of chocolate snack or energy bar… and when we all ran out we had to rely on Eric and his never-ending supply of Snickers bars – lifesavers!
When we reached the bottom of the mountain we made our way through the valley to the village of Longmen where we would be spending the night at local family houses. The family were lovely and did everything they could to make us welcome and comfortable. The accommodation was basic, and we bunked four to a room, pairing up with two other room buddies. After a day of trekking and makeshift ‘rest rooms’ we were all glad to see proper toilet facilities… you would be shocked to learn that toilet facilities all over China are normally a hole in the ground where you… ahem… squat. This includes all the public loos too! These toilets had obviously been fitted with Western visitors in mind.
Everyone was ravenous that night and we all tucked in to the now familiar fayre… including beef and potato stew, spicy white fish, kung po chicken, chilli vegetables, sweet and sour pork, an unidentified meat (no one could recognise the taste) and boiled rice. We noticed the beds around the side of the room we were eating in and realised that this must be where the family slept. It was very humbling to see an old man just walk across the room and lie on one of the beds to sleep while we ate. He was completely undisturbed by it all.
The family had set up a campfire for anyone who wanted to sit up and have a beer. I was absolutely beat that night, so headed straight to my bed with a full stomach and a weary body. The estimated trek time for the day had been 5 – 7 hours… we took 9, no wonder I was tired! There was no heat in the room so I dug out my sleeping bag (something I hadn’t yet had to use) and was glad to snuggle down into it’s warmth, like a giant caterpillar.
This is the first of a two-part series about my trip to China! I headed off on a charity trek along the Great Wall of China and found out that it’s a lot more challenging than many might expect...
Stretching 6000km in a dotted line across China, the Great Wall was begun in the 5th Century BC. As it snakes across the mountains it conjures up a sense of history, which is difficult to grasp until you have had the opportunity to experience it.
My trek across this sleeping reptile was very varied, we passed through woodland and terraced farmland, following the contours of the beautiful hills and mountains in remote areas north of Beijing. We followed old sections as well as restored sections with smooth flagstones and lots of steps - both with very different difficulties... jostling with crowds of tourists and school children on the restored sections or navigating crumbling stones, no side walls and sharp drops down steep mountainsides on the old wall.
The challenge was physically demanding but we were well rewarded with some fantastic scenery, breathtaking views and a fascinating first-hand insight into a rich culture and history.
Days one and two were filled with travelling. I took a mid-morning flight from Belfast City to London Heathrow with bmi... when travelling with so much gear (liquids, walking poles etc), all of which had to be checked in, it was much cheaper to travel with an airline who included a generous checked-in baggage allowance in the price of the flight. I had a couple of hours to kill at Heathrow before meeting with the rest of the Skyline group, so after a quick walk-round to find out where our meeting point was located I parked my luggage at an empty table in one of the cafes and grabbed a coffee and a hot filled roll. Food glorious food! When I ate that roll, little did I know it would be the last piece of proper bread I would see for 10 days!
It wasn't long before I spotted some people hanging around near the meeting point who looked like they were going on a trek... dressed in walking trousers, heavy walking boots and a warm fleece/coat (similar to myself). I went to join them and found out, after some introductions round the little circle, that we were all signed up to the Geat Wall of China trek with Skyline.
The group leaders showed up pretty promptly and got us all checked in, leaving us with instructions on what gate to meet at and what time. The key rule... DO NOT MISS THE FLIGHT.
I was very kindly given entrance to the Emirates Lounge and enjoyed a lovely cup of tea, some sandwiches and sweet treats in comfort, away from the hustle and bustle of the airport lounges/shopping areas. There is nothing more pleasant than enjoying a cup of tea (from a proper cup with a saucer!) and reading a book in peace before a long flight. I'm not a great flier so that little quiet time chilled me right out.
To be honest I don't remember much about the flight from Heathrow to Dubai as I spent the majority of it sleeping, with small intervals of eating. I love a full service airline... that is the life!
We only had 30 minutes between landing at Dubai and taking off for Beijing so we had to be off the plane pretty sharpish and run through the connecting baggage checks to make it which, thankfully, we did. I spent the Dubai-Beijing leg of the journey much as I had spent the Heathrow-Dubai leg... sleeping with intervals of eating, although I did manage to squeeze in a movie too.
We landed in Beijing on day two of our trek (because of the time difference) just as the sun was setting, and the journey to our hotel (The Dong Fang) wasn't very long. Everyone was surprisingly hungry I say suprisingly because we had all had two meals on each flight... four meals in total already), and the hotel had prepared a traditional Peking Duck welcome feast for us all. The Skyline staff told us to enjoy it as the food for the rest of the trip was "unpredictable", to which we all laughed... we weren't laughing two days later when we thought we may have unknowingly eaten squirrel in one of the villages!
After our feast of proper traditional Chinese food - I've always loved my local Chinese takeaway, but I've realised nothing can beat freshly cooked Chinese food, at home the takeaways use A LOT of sugar - some of the group (me included) decided to go off in search of beer... a local beer to be exact, and we found it... just down the road from the Dong Fang, yay! It was lovely... cool, crisp, refreshing and only 50p... we splurged on two each before turning in for the night, deciding it was best not to blow all our budgets on the first night.
Day three came quicker than I expected, but after all the sleep I got on the flights I was fresh and raring to go. Breakfast at the Dong Fang was another feast... a buffet of eggs (cooked several ways), meats, fried rolls, sweet bread, cereals and sticky pastries. This was were I realised chopsticks were not just used at dinner! I was pretty confident with chopsticks before I went to China so I coped okay with my scrambled egg and sausage... although some of the group gave in and asked if there was a possibility of a knife and fork (by the end of the trip and knife and fork was something completely unheard of, we were all pros).
I quickly learned that chopsticks and small rice bowls are the staple tableware. The Chinese don't use plates. The breakfast at the Dong Fang was an exception, with it's buffet style it was highly Westernised and as such we had the option of plates and cutlery. The general Chinese custom is to have everything put on the table in large bowls, each person then spoons some rice into their own small bowl. Everyone shares food from the larger 'share' dishes of meat and vegetables and eats them straight from the dish, no need to plate up!
I was very pleased when I impressed the waitress of the Chinese restaurant I visited when on a family holiday in Tenerife last month - I asked for chopsticks and a rice bowl... and thanked her in Chinese. Perhaps showing-off just a tad!
We had no time to spare after breakfast as it was straight back to the room for our baggage. The trek was imminent! We made the morning journey out of Beijing, heading for Huangyaguan and caught our first glimpse of the Great Wall ahead of us. We arrived at our accommodation in Huangyaguan, it was a monastry-style hostel at the foot of a mountain, the Great Wall running high along the mountain top... our rooms were arranged in a square with a courtyard in the middle and we could see the Great Wall high on the mountain from the grassy courtyard.
We were assigned a room buddy, who we would be sharing rooms with throughout the trek. My room buddy was Jeannie, a lovely lady who had signed up to the trek to raise money for Breast Cancer after battling with the disease herself, a very brave lady indeed!
After checking into our rooms and enjoying some lunch, we set off to the first section of the trek, which was to give us a good indication of the challenges ahead. The trekking time for the day was estimated at around three to four hours. The Huangyanguan section of the wall was originally built in 557 AD, and was repaired for the first time in the Ming Dynasty with bricks and for the second time in 1985. This section is noted for being particularly stunning because of it's water towers, which have all been restored to their former magestic glory. We completed this section of the trek in two hours, well under the suggested time and were pretty pleased with ourselves.
Later in the trek, as we progressed onto the old wall, we realised why we made such light work of our first trek day... it was smooth, with side walls and didn't crumble as you walked, oh how I longed for side walls!
Since we finished our trek sooner than expected there was time for a nap/beer in the courtyard before dinner. I chose the nap... strange but true! Dinner that night had been arranged in a local restaurant. We did a whip round of our table for a kitty and took advantage of the local beverages.
Dinner was lovely, sweet and sour pork like you have never tasted from your local takeaway, beef and potato stew, kung po chicken loaded with chillis and peanuts, light as a feather rice and several other vegetable and meat dishes.
After dinner we all headed outside and pulled up chairs round the campfire... the nights in China can be cold, very cold, so we all pulled our chairs close to the campfire and dipped into the kitty for another round. We ended the night with a game of campfire charades.
Day four saw us up early for a breakfast of steamed flat sweet dumplings (kind of like pancakes) and jam... there was also some boiled eggs. We loaded our bags onto the bag bus (which took all our large bags to the next accommodation, we took smaller bags with our daily essentials with us) and headed out for the second part of the trek. We hiked up the mountain and along a restored section of the wall. By mid morning we had reached the bottom of Heavens Ladder, a steep (and I mean steep) climb of over 200 steps. This was a tough section, but it's well worth the effort as the views from the top are out of this world... I guess that's why they call it Heavens Ladder - a view from the heavens over the Yanshan Mountains and the region below.
After a well deserved breather at the top (and designating a ‘rest-room’ spot for ladies and men – this was new to us all, but necessary) we headed on up the mountain further to join the top of the ridge where our path then wound it’s way around sections of the old wall. Some parts of this section of the wall were in very poor condition and impossible to walk on so we followed a narrow path along the side, but other parts were well enough still to walk on, and so we did… after climbing up some wall rubble to reach the top! This was the first taste I had of standing on a very narrow 10ft high (it could well have been higher) wall with no side walls, completely open to the elements and to the steep drop down a mountain on either side. This part of the wall was in poor condition but still walkable, the trick was to keep your head down and keep on moving, if you stop or look about you, there is the chance of some vertigo! I have never suffered from vertigo or a fear of heights before, but that day I certainly did!
In the afternoon we began our decent, winding our way down the narrow path on the mountain side. We stopped for lunch when we reached a small rocky clearing… our packed lunch for the trek consisted of the same thing each day, four slices of bread with a small bit of cheese and ham in each… and a banana or other fruit. To be honest I wasn’t 100 per cent keen on the sandwiches some days, but on others they were lovely! On the days the sandwiches weren’t so good I tucked into one of the snickers-type chocolate bars that I had brought along with me. Everyone seemed to have brought along a multipack of some sort of chocolate snack or energy bar… and when we all ran out we had to rely on Eric and his never-ending supply of Snickers bars – lifesavers!
When we reached the bottom of the mountain we made our way through the valley to the village of Longmen where we would be spending the night at local family houses. The family were lovely and did everything they could to make us welcome and comfortable. The accommodation was basic, and we bunked four to a room, pairing up with two other room buddies. After a day of trekking and makeshift ‘rest rooms’ we were all glad to see proper toilet facilities… you would be shocked to learn that toilet facilities all over China are normally a hole in the ground where you… ahem… squat. This includes all the public loos too! These toilets had obviously been fitted with Western visitors in mind.
Everyone was ravenous that night and we all tucked in to the now familiar fayre… including beef and potato stew, spicy white fish, kung po chicken, chilli vegetables, sweet and sour pork, an unidentified meat (no one could recognise the taste) and boiled rice. We noticed the beds around the side of the room we were eating in and realised that this must be where the family slept. It was very humbling to see an old man just walk across the room and lie on one of the beds to sleep while we ate. He was completely undisturbed by it all.
The family had set up a campfire for anyone who wanted to sit up and have a beer. I was absolutely beat that night, so headed straight to my bed with a full stomach and a weary body. The estimated trek time for the day had been 5 – 7 hours… we took 9, no wonder I was tired! There was no heat in the room so I dug out my sleeping bag (something I hadn’t yet had to use) and was glad to snuggle down into it’s warmth, like a giant caterpillar.
Monday, April 29, 2013
World's Worst Attempt at Parallel Parking...
This video has had me laughing all day, so I thought I'd share it with you all...
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Lists are taking over our lives!
I am a list person... I make lists for everything an anything (although I should point out that the pic above is not one of my lists), but for the past week and a half the amount of lists made in our house has been ridiculous! The count down is now on to get everything ready for November... it may seem like a long way away, but trust me it isn't. Last July when we got engaged I thought I'd have everything done and dusted by December... now we are in to April and I've still masses to do!
It's the little things that take up a lot of the time, so we sat down last week and made a list of all the little things we still have left to do - for instance, we completely forgot the we need new shoes!
We need to get the invitations sent out pronto so that we get the RSVP and menu choices back in plenty of time to make up the table plan and the hotel needs at least 10 weeks notice of the menu choices... and J has to find his birth certificate so we can get the marriage license... it's all the little things that need to come together!
We've also been considering taking on a renovation project... so have been working out the figures for that!
So I haven't been keeping up with the squat challenge, in fact I never made it past Day 1, but I do want to give it a good shot, so I'm getting back on the wagon with it today I'm starting all over again. I have also been quite naughty and been a little too flexible with my syns... back on track now though which feels good!
Friday, April 19, 2013
Happy Birthday to You!
Today our little puppy/unicorn is 1 year old! He's growing so fast *sniff sniff*
Happy Birthday little man!
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Goodlife Sausages and the 30 Day Squat Challenge
I popped in and bought a box of the Goodlife Glamorgan Sausages - had a look at the syns online, but could only find the ones with cheese in them... also tried the syns calculator, but it would only let me add one free food. The main ingredients are onion, leek, potato and cauliflower - so it isn't really acurrate to use the syns calculator. I would guess they were about 2 syns if I only syn the synful ingredients - rapseed oil and rice starch. I don't think there's much of either in them.
I've also started the 30 Day Squat Challenge...
I've also started the 30 Day Squat Challenge...
50 squats DONE... not looking forward to the 250 in 30 days time... I'll keep you all updated on my progress though :)
J's furnace is now up and running and he has a fair few ingots created already... he's now on to making the moulds to create his masterpieces's... I'm very proud!
Week Two of the Scan Bran Challenge Day 1
So I'm now into my second week of the Scan Bran Challenge... the idea being to add more fibre and less useless calories into your diet on the Slimming World plan and kick start your metabolism... I had my weigh-in last night and had lost 2lbs... I am very happy with that, would have been better if I had gotten 3lbs off, but 2lbs if definitely better than nothing, or worse - a gain!
I'm sticking with the Challenge this week too, I've enjoyed getting so much from my Healthy Extras... in fact I don't know how I would manage to stay on plan without them!
I love the Good Life veggie sausages (the vegan ones without cheese) but can only ever find the syns online for the cheese filled ones. I'm going to do a little bit of top up shopping (yoghurts, jellies, veggies etc) so I'll buy a box and run them through the syn calculator online. They are delicious, and should be pretty low in syns, so fingers crossed!
I'm sticking with the Challenge this week too, I've enjoyed getting so much from my Healthy Extras... in fact I don't know how I would manage to stay on plan without them!
I love the Good Life veggie sausages (the vegan ones without cheese) but can only ever find the syns online for the cheese filled ones. I'm going to do a little bit of top up shopping (yoghurts, jellies, veggies etc) so I'll buy a box and run them through the syn calculator online. They are delicious, and should be pretty low in syns, so fingers crossed!
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Scan Bran Challenge Day 7
So this is the final day of my Scan Bran Challenge... I really should call it the Finn Crisp Challenge! If you are giving this a go too, but hate Scan Bran, just substitute it for Ryvita or some other high fibre HEb crisp bread. I've actually really enjoyed the challenge and will continue using the Finn Crisp next week as well!
Just to give you a better idea of how I've been doing the challenge, here is my food diary from last Thursday -
Breakfast - Three Finn Crisp with three Laughing Cow Extra Light + coffee with 15ml skim milk
Lunch - Syn free noodles + Spelga fat free yoghurt + glass of water
Afternoon Snack - Three Finn Crisp with three Laughing Cow Extra Light + coffee with 15ml skim milk
Tea - Slimming World Chips + two Tesco Galmorgan Meat Free Sausage + Peas + Oh So Lean Peppered Sauce + Glass Diet Coke
Evening Snack - Sugar Free Hartley's Jelly
Supper - Two Alpen Light Double Chocolate Bars + tea with 15ml skim milk
Healthy Extras -
6 Finn Crisp = 1 HEb
2 Aplen Light Double Chocolate Bars = 1 HEb
45ml skim milk = allowed 250ml as HEa
6 Laughing Cow Extra Light = 1 HEa
Syns -
Tesco Galmorgan Meat Free Sausages - 3 1/2 syns each = 7 syns
Oh So Lean Peppered Sauce - 2 1/2 syns for tub = 1 syn
Sugar Free Hartley's Jelly - 1/2 syn
Total = 8 1/2 syns
I do Green Days, so all my meals are meat free. It is the only way that works for me. When I eat meat I put on weight, when I don't I lose it... strange but true!
I'm keeping everything crossed for a loss tonight now that I have changed back to doing Green Days and I'll do an update tomorrow on tonight's weigh-in!
Just to give you a better idea of how I've been doing the challenge, here is my food diary from last Thursday -
Breakfast - Three Finn Crisp with three Laughing Cow Extra Light + coffee with 15ml skim milk
Lunch - Syn free noodles + Spelga fat free yoghurt + glass of water
Afternoon Snack - Three Finn Crisp with three Laughing Cow Extra Light + coffee with 15ml skim milk
Tea - Slimming World Chips + two Tesco Galmorgan Meat Free Sausage + Peas + Oh So Lean Peppered Sauce + Glass Diet Coke
Evening Snack - Sugar Free Hartley's Jelly
Supper - Two Alpen Light Double Chocolate Bars + tea with 15ml skim milk
Healthy Extras -
6 Finn Crisp = 1 HEb
2 Aplen Light Double Chocolate Bars = 1 HEb
45ml skim milk = allowed 250ml as HEa
6 Laughing Cow Extra Light = 1 HEa
Syns -
Tesco Galmorgan Meat Free Sausages - 3 1/2 syns each = 7 syns
Oh So Lean Peppered Sauce - 2 1/2 syns for tub = 1 syn
Sugar Free Hartley's Jelly - 1/2 syn
Total = 8 1/2 syns
I do Green Days, so all my meals are meat free. It is the only way that works for me. When I eat meat I put on weight, when I don't I lose it... strange but true!
I'm keeping everything crossed for a loss tonight now that I have changed back to doing Green Days and I'll do an update tomorrow on tonight's weigh-in!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Scan Bran Challenge Day 6...
So it's day 6 of the can bran challenge. I have been very good (aside from some pizza on Saturday night) and am hoping that the Scan Bran Challenge will help me shed some pounds and I'll see the number on the scales go down tomorrow night at weigh-in. I've been using Finn Crisp instead of Scan Bran... the Scan Bran tastes like cardboard.... I couldn't stomach it! I have always loved Finn Crisp, so am happy that I can have 6 as a HEb on the plan. I haven't weighed myself at all this week, and I plan to wait until weigh-in tomorrow night to see if there has been any progress.
I am aiming to have hit my target weight by September (for my hen party), and then maintain for my wedding in November. I all honesty I don't have masses of weight to lose to get to my personal target. Doctors say that a woman of my height, 5 ft 9, should weigh on average about 145 pounds (10.5 stone)... My personal target is 11.5 stone, so I don't have a lot to lose before September, then if I want to carry on and lose the extra stone I can do that, but I wouldn't be too concerned about it to be honest.
We had a pretty good weekend - spent Friday night watching TV in the house and on Saturday we headed out with some friends. Things went downhill on Sunday though - I had a terrible migrane and from about 4pm onwards I was laying in the dark in the bedroom with some painkillers! Then of course it was sod's law that my car (not even a year old!) wouldn't start on Monday morning... apparently it's something about it being an eco-car and the sudden temp change and rain affected the electrics and made the petrol gauge go all wonky... sake... got it to go eventually, but too late to go to work - by the time I drove there I would have only had two or three hours in the office before heading home, so took an unexpected day off and got some house work done.
Everything's back to normal today though! I'm actually glad to be back in the office! I hate sitting at home with nothing to do, it would drive me crazy not to have a job!
Made a list of everything we still have to get done before the wedding... it's not a long list, we already have most of the things done, it's just a few things we need to do - get our shoes, send out the invitations etc... all in all, we are pretty organised, which is a GREAT feeling!
I am aiming to have hit my target weight by September (for my hen party), and then maintain for my wedding in November. I all honesty I don't have masses of weight to lose to get to my personal target. Doctors say that a woman of my height, 5 ft 9, should weigh on average about 145 pounds (10.5 stone)... My personal target is 11.5 stone, so I don't have a lot to lose before September, then if I want to carry on and lose the extra stone I can do that, but I wouldn't be too concerned about it to be honest.
We had a pretty good weekend - spent Friday night watching TV in the house and on Saturday we headed out with some friends. Things went downhill on Sunday though - I had a terrible migrane and from about 4pm onwards I was laying in the dark in the bedroom with some painkillers! Then of course it was sod's law that my car (not even a year old!) wouldn't start on Monday morning... apparently it's something about it being an eco-car and the sudden temp change and rain affected the electrics and made the petrol gauge go all wonky... sake... got it to go eventually, but too late to go to work - by the time I drove there I would have only had two or three hours in the office before heading home, so took an unexpected day off and got some house work done.
Everything's back to normal today though! I'm actually glad to be back in the office! I hate sitting at home with nothing to do, it would drive me crazy not to have a job!
Made a list of everything we still have to get done before the wedding... it's not a long list, we already have most of the things done, it's just a few things we need to do - get our shoes, send out the invitations etc... all in all, we are pretty organised, which is a GREAT feeling!
Friday, April 12, 2013
Scan Bran Challenge Day 2
Okay, so it's day two... and I've switched from the cardboard-like Scan Bran to the Finn Crisp Original Thins. I was surprised to find out that I could have 6 of these as my HEb as they are very high in fibre! I loved these before I started Slimming World... but I used to eat them with peanut butter and cheese... yummy, but not too good for the waistline! I had a look in my local Tesco's last night for the Laughing Cow Extra Light (6 for a HEa) but I couldn't find it... so I stocked up on the Laughing Cow Light (5 for a HEa).
I had four of the Finn Crisp for my breakfast with three Laughing Cow Light cheese triangles...
Rather than use milk as my HEa, I'm just syning it... 15ml of skimmed milk is only 0.5 syns, and since I've cut down to two cups a day, I think I can spare a syn for milk and save my HEa for some tasty cheese!
Night times are usually my downfall... I get home and I'll be so hungry that I will snack while I wait for my dinner, so last night I made sure that I had some fat free Spelga yoghurts in the fridge (the fruit flavours are all syn free) and I had a strawberry one as soon as I got in... that staved off the hunger until dinner was ready so no snacking! For dinner last night I made slimming world chips, boiled rice and oh so lean curry sauce for over the top... all free on green. I had a chat with a lady from my Slimming World group who said that Extra Easy didn't work for her either... glad to know I'm not the only one who can't lose weight on Extra Easy!
Some things I also stocked up on this week are -
I had four of the Finn Crisp for my breakfast with three Laughing Cow Light cheese triangles...
Rather than use milk as my HEa, I'm just syning it... 15ml of skimmed milk is only 0.5 syns, and since I've cut down to two cups a day, I think I can spare a syn for milk and save my HEa for some tasty cheese!
Night times are usually my downfall... I get home and I'll be so hungry that I will snack while I wait for my dinner, so last night I made sure that I had some fat free Spelga yoghurts in the fridge (the fruit flavours are all syn free) and I had a strawberry one as soon as I got in... that staved off the hunger until dinner was ready so no snacking! For dinner last night I made slimming world chips, boiled rice and oh so lean curry sauce for over the top... all free on green. I had a chat with a lady from my Slimming World group who said that Extra Easy didn't work for her either... glad to know I'm not the only one who can't lose weight on Extra Easy!
Some things I also stocked up on this week are -
The Slimming World hi-fi light Rocky road bars are delicious! Problem is they just aren't big enough. They are very tasty though and so satisfy the chocolate cravings. They are 3 syns each or you can have 2 bars as 1 HEb
The Alpen Light Double Chocolate bars are new o the range and absolutely delicious! The are much bigger then the hi-fi bars but still the same syns - 1 bar is 3 syns or you can have two bars for a HEb
The Pink N' Whites are a new thing to me, but at only 2.5 syns per slider (and they are pretty big) I'll munch them down to kill the sugar cravings! And they are pretty tasty... two of these and a cup of tea and you feel like you've really had some serious naughtiness... but you haven't!
I have always like Spelga yoghurts so I was pretty pleased to see these in the refrigerator aisle! I found the Muller Light's were a bit too watery for my taste, but these Spelga ones are just perfect! All the fruit flavours are free and the vanilla with choc sprinkles is 1 syn for the pot... I wouldn't recommend it though as the chocolate pieces in it have much the same taste as the ones in the Muller Lights vanilla and choc... which I didn't really like... they leave a strange taste in the mouth. I'd rather save my syns for something else
These little sugar free jellies are only 0.5 syns per pot and are a fab snack or after tea treat.
I also stocked up on Galaxy Chocolate fingers - a long finger of galaxy chocolate, only 6.5 syns each. I bought them in Home Bargains in Newtownards beside the Tescos. I couldn't find an image online to show you what they look like. Crunchies are another one of my favourites - they come in at 9.5 syns, but for a whole chocolate bar that is not bad at all. Cadbury flakes are only 6.5 syns too... so I popped some of them in the trolley. I can't not keep chocolate in the house because J loves it, and is always rifling through the cupboards for bars, but if I only buy chocolate that is low in syn then even if I am tempted I can stay within my syns for the day - good idea I thought!
So in an earlier post I was telling you that we were going to go for dinner and see The Host in the cinema on Wednesday night... I had a gain in weigh in before we went so I went off the idea of going out to eat and instead had a Slimming World friendly tea in the house. I have read The Host a couple of times now (the phrase 'dog-eared' is apt since Turf chews the corners of the books as I read them!), but to be honest was a bit worried about seeing the movie as the trailers made it look BAD! But the film was not at all like the trailers, in fact it was brilliant! I would thoroughly recommend it. You don't have to have read the book to enjoy it.
I'm an avid reader - and I've been very (very, very, very, very, very) slowly (for me) making my way through the Call the Midwife trilogy - I stopped reading them so I could watch the series, but now I'm back reading the last book - Farewell to the East End. They are excellent. I had a massive collection of books which I recently sent to the charity shop... I now only download books onto my ipad - keeps them all in one place and it's highly portable. Anyone else reading any good books at the minute?
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Scan Bran Challenge Day 1
This week I am doing the Scan Bran Challenge... or going to try to! I've just had my first bite of the scan bran (of which you are allowed 5 as your HEb) coated in Laughing Cow Light (of which you are also allowed 5 as your HEa)... I forgot how just how much like cardboard these things taste.
I use small bites and plenty of chewing to get them down...
You get 10 Scan Bran in each pack, and I am glad that I only bought the one to try first... I think I might substitute the Scan Bran for the Finn Crisp Original Thins (6 count as 1 HEb) and if I can get my hands on some Laughing Cow Extra Light (6 count as a HEa) that would be perfect!
I think the idea for the Scan Bran Challenge is to get plenty of fibre into your diet, so swapping the Scan Bran for something equally high in fibre should help the weight-loss just the same.
I had two of the Scan Bran with Laughing Cow Light for my breakfast with a glass of water and a cup of coffee - using milk as syns (15ml of semi skim is 0.5 syns). I am pretty full now so we will see how long that lasts! I have a 0% fat Spelga yoghurt, syn free noodles, 0.5 syn jelly pot and 3 more Scan Bran and Laughing cow Light to get me through til tea time!
I use small bites and plenty of chewing to get them down...
You get 10 Scan Bran in each pack, and I am glad that I only bought the one to try first... I think I might substitute the Scan Bran for the Finn Crisp Original Thins (6 count as 1 HEb) and if I can get my hands on some Laughing Cow Extra Light (6 count as a HEa) that would be perfect!
I think the idea for the Scan Bran Challenge is to get plenty of fibre into your diet, so swapping the Scan Bran for something equally high in fibre should help the weight-loss just the same.
I had two of the Scan Bran with Laughing Cow Light for my breakfast with a glass of water and a cup of coffee - using milk as syns (15ml of semi skim is 0.5 syns). I am pretty full now so we will see how long that lasts! I have a 0% fat Spelga yoghurt, syn free noodles, 0.5 syn jelly pot and 3 more Scan Bran and Laughing cow Light to get me through til tea time!
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
Syn Free Pho Ga...
So yesterday I discovered these lovely syn free instant noodles. I just had them for my lunch today and damn were they delicious! They are called Pho Ga noodles and you can generally find them at your local Chinese supermarket or in the foreign section of your local supermarket - I got mine in Tescos.
They are essentially rice noodles in a chicken broth. They are free on Green and Extra Easy and 2 1/2 syns on Red, which I think is pretty good if you're having a red day but just want something super quick and super filling that isn't meat.
These noodles come in their own little container, all you have to do is add boiling water - this makes them especially handy if you are heading away for the weekend camping or such and you really want to stick to plan but don't want to eat BBQ the while time. I will definitely be stocking up more of these. At only 50 calories a pot you could have a lot of these in a day and gain no weight at all... maybe that's why Chinese ladies are so skinny!
They aren't a really big portion too, so you could easily have two pots and not feel too greedy!
I already posted about going back to the Green and Red days rather than the Extra Easy, which just doesn't seem to work for me. But I also wanted to mention a little trial I am doing as well. J's mum and dad did the 5:2 diet for a while and it worked really really well for them! My problem is I like to have a treat EVERY day though so I will be doing the 5:2 diet the Slimming World way... 5 days of green and 2 days of red or extra easy. I like the idea of mixing it up a bit and the last time I did Slimming World I did 5 green days and two red/extraeasy - my red days were generally Wednesday (I had a low fat chicken dish from the chinese after weigh in) and I had an extra easy day on Sundays, when I cooked a Slimming World friendly roast dinner.
I am very excited about tomorrow night - J and I are having our first date night in a loooong time! We haven't had a date night since Valentine's day. We have been saving so hard and paying for bits and pieces of the wedding so we decided that tomorrow night we will go out for dinner and see a movie. We are seeing The Host (I re-read the book on Saturday and Sunday in preparation) and am very excited! Haven't decided on where we will be having dinner - generally we choose a place for burgers before the cinema, just because burgers, milkshakes and movies seem to go so well together (or is that an American idea?). I'm partial to the burgers in Makhulu 5, whereas J prefers a Big Mac! For a change we might go to the Mandarin Chinese in Bangor... yum, I love that place! It's sooooo much better than the China Buffet up the street... better quality food, service and price! Papa Joes is good too though! Oooooh decisions! I'll let you know what we decide and how the movie was (minus the spoilers!)
They are essentially rice noodles in a chicken broth. They are free on Green and Extra Easy and 2 1/2 syns on Red, which I think is pretty good if you're having a red day but just want something super quick and super filling that isn't meat.
These noodles come in their own little container, all you have to do is add boiling water - this makes them especially handy if you are heading away for the weekend camping or such and you really want to stick to plan but don't want to eat BBQ the while time. I will definitely be stocking up more of these. At only 50 calories a pot you could have a lot of these in a day and gain no weight at all... maybe that's why Chinese ladies are so skinny!
They aren't a really big portion too, so you could easily have two pots and not feel too greedy!
I already posted about going back to the Green and Red days rather than the Extra Easy, which just doesn't seem to work for me. But I also wanted to mention a little trial I am doing as well. J's mum and dad did the 5:2 diet for a while and it worked really really well for them! My problem is I like to have a treat EVERY day though so I will be doing the 5:2 diet the Slimming World way... 5 days of green and 2 days of red or extra easy. I like the idea of mixing it up a bit and the last time I did Slimming World I did 5 green days and two red/extraeasy - my red days were generally Wednesday (I had a low fat chicken dish from the chinese after weigh in) and I had an extra easy day on Sundays, when I cooked a Slimming World friendly roast dinner.
I am very excited about tomorrow night - J and I are having our first date night in a loooong time! We haven't had a date night since Valentine's day. We have been saving so hard and paying for bits and pieces of the wedding so we decided that tomorrow night we will go out for dinner and see a movie. We are seeing The Host (I re-read the book on Saturday and Sunday in preparation) and am very excited! Haven't decided on where we will be having dinner - generally we choose a place for burgers before the cinema, just because burgers, milkshakes and movies seem to go so well together (or is that an American idea?). I'm partial to the burgers in Makhulu 5, whereas J prefers a Big Mac! For a change we might go to the Mandarin Chinese in Bangor... yum, I love that place! It's sooooo much better than the China Buffet up the street... better quality food, service and price! Papa Joes is good too though! Oooooh decisions! I'll let you know what we decide and how the movie was (minus the spoilers!)
Monday, April 08, 2013
Back to basics...
I'm finding it a lot harder to lose the weight this time around than I did last time... Slimming World is a great way to lose weight and make a real change for life, as long as you stick to it... but I find it harder this time than last time. Maybe it's because I like chocolate and crisps and all the bad, sugary, fatty things that aren't good for our bodies, but last time I seemed to have more willpower with them... this time I don't. Last time I used my syns for things like gravy or curry sauce with my dinner, or a glass of wine, I found it incredibly easy to forgo chocolate... this time I am not finding it so easy, so I have had to rethink my eating.
The Slimming World Light Rocky Road bars are great... and I've gone back to the green/red days rather then the extra easy. I find the extra easy to hard and time consuming, especially as I am partial to things like noodles, rice, beans, pasta, potatoes more than I ever am meat - last time I did Slimming World I was vegetarian so it was very easy for me, I would go home and stick some sweet potato wedges and some syn free tesco meatfree chicken style burgers in the oven... but since I've started eating meat again it hasn't been that easy, I'd rather have beans or peas on my plate with a low-syn vegetarian option instead of a breast of chicken or some grilled fish with salad or steamed broccoli.
Going back to the green/red days also means I have 2HEb and 2HEa... which is a great help as I can have 2 of the Rocky Road bars for 1HEb AND still have my weetabix in the morning - or if I'm particularly wanting to have a lot of chocolate I can have four of the bars spread throughout the day as my 2HEb and if I STILL want chocolate after that, then providing I haven't used any syns, have a crunchy (9.5 syns) at night with a cup of tea. I'm hoping this will help.
Has anyone else been having trouble losing weight/staying away from synful foods? Feel free to let me know any of the tips and tricks you use!
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
I was never lost...
So over the Easter holidays I was off work and was no where near a
computer - for a FULL FIVE DAYS... which was amazing! I spent a lot of
time curled up on the sofa watching DVD's, taking Turf long walks along
the shore, reading books in the back garden (in our rare bit of
sunshine), visiting family, baking cupcakes, eating Easter eggs, cooking
for the family and generally living the good life.
I'm not a regular blogger, I'm not even a real blogger... I just put everything and anything on here that I think someone else may find interesting. Sometimes I use this as a sort of overflow writing space when I can't fit something in a facebook post or a tweet - like a recipe or a little review of somewhere I have visited.
I don't mind posting recipes and recommendations about things online, and I love posting pictures of our little family, but some things are personal and private, but I will share one of them with you today and this is why...
When I returned to my computer from my Easter break I had two unopened facebook mails. One of them contained a link to a webpage where something had been written about me - a person who I once considered my closest friend wrote that they had 'lost' me.
In the past few years I have had some really terrible things happen in my life, things I wouldn't wish on anyone. Not everyone knows about these things - generally everyone knows about one of them - but there were others that culminated with me being very down all the time, nothing could make me happy. I could fake a smile, but inside there was nothing, no real happiness - for example one of our guinea pigs dying sent me into absolute grief and misery for three days - I was physically unable to stop crying. Another - I have never had any problem with flying... but all of a sudden I am terrified of it, I shake and cry uncontrollably even at the thought that I have to get onto a plane - the anxiety I have surrounding flight is horrible. Seeing an ad for PETA of dogs in a cage in China sets me into hours of crying and sadness at the world. I used to cry in bed every night for no reason at all - I would wake in the morning and my pillow would be soaking. I would cry in the shower. I was sad for weeks on end. I didn't enjoy the things that I used to.
I now know that this was depression, and I wasn't the only person in my family who suffered from it. I always thought of the ability not to cope with things as a weakness, but now I know that it's not a weakness, its having been strong for so long and carrying so many things inside that you eventually break.
When I read that link this morning the word 'lost' really stuck. I may have been lost inside, but I felt discarded by someone who I thought knew me better than anyone. I was at one of my lowest points when I was discarded by this person who I considered one of my closest friends. I was struggling with my own blackness and trying to help them with the things they were fighting, or about to begin to. But I was very very low, which made it all the worse. I couldn't understand why I had been discarded, replaced. What had I done, was it because I couldn't be happy enough, couldn't smile enough, didn't go out and 'have a good time' enough? Is this why they didn't want me around to help them? Because I couldn't even help myself? I would burst into tears while driving to work for no reason.
One thing I have learned is that the best way to ease the feelings you get with depression is to talk to someone about it. My family and friends helped me to realise that things in life happen for a reason, I can't force someone to want me in their life. When things happen to a person, sometimes they change, sometimes you no longer fit in their life... this is what happened to me, I no longer 'fit' in this person's life. This person was fighting their own things, and I no longer fit. It took me over a year to move on from that, but now I no longer burst into tears when I think about it, I no longer think that I should have changed in someway, that I should have been better, that I should have kept trying.
I wish this person every happiness with their life, because they really do deserve it.
I am no longer angry. I have moved on. I have control of my depression. I don't cry every night. I don't burst into tears for no reason. I like to be out in the sunshine. I enjoy life.
When I am feeling low now I look at this little face and he makes me feel warm inside...
I'm not a regular blogger, I'm not even a real blogger... I just put everything and anything on here that I think someone else may find interesting. Sometimes I use this as a sort of overflow writing space when I can't fit something in a facebook post or a tweet - like a recipe or a little review of somewhere I have visited.
I don't mind posting recipes and recommendations about things online, and I love posting pictures of our little family, but some things are personal and private, but I will share one of them with you today and this is why...
When I returned to my computer from my Easter break I had two unopened facebook mails. One of them contained a link to a webpage where something had been written about me - a person who I once considered my closest friend wrote that they had 'lost' me.
In the past few years I have had some really terrible things happen in my life, things I wouldn't wish on anyone. Not everyone knows about these things - generally everyone knows about one of them - but there were others that culminated with me being very down all the time, nothing could make me happy. I could fake a smile, but inside there was nothing, no real happiness - for example one of our guinea pigs dying sent me into absolute grief and misery for three days - I was physically unable to stop crying. Another - I have never had any problem with flying... but all of a sudden I am terrified of it, I shake and cry uncontrollably even at the thought that I have to get onto a plane - the anxiety I have surrounding flight is horrible. Seeing an ad for PETA of dogs in a cage in China sets me into hours of crying and sadness at the world. I used to cry in bed every night for no reason at all - I would wake in the morning and my pillow would be soaking. I would cry in the shower. I was sad for weeks on end. I didn't enjoy the things that I used to.
I now know that this was depression, and I wasn't the only person in my family who suffered from it. I always thought of the ability not to cope with things as a weakness, but now I know that it's not a weakness, its having been strong for so long and carrying so many things inside that you eventually break.
When I read that link this morning the word 'lost' really stuck. I may have been lost inside, but I felt discarded by someone who I thought knew me better than anyone. I was at one of my lowest points when I was discarded by this person who I considered one of my closest friends. I was struggling with my own blackness and trying to help them with the things they were fighting, or about to begin to. But I was very very low, which made it all the worse. I couldn't understand why I had been discarded, replaced. What had I done, was it because I couldn't be happy enough, couldn't smile enough, didn't go out and 'have a good time' enough? Is this why they didn't want me around to help them? Because I couldn't even help myself? I would burst into tears while driving to work for no reason.
One thing I have learned is that the best way to ease the feelings you get with depression is to talk to someone about it. My family and friends helped me to realise that things in life happen for a reason, I can't force someone to want me in their life. When things happen to a person, sometimes they change, sometimes you no longer fit in their life... this is what happened to me, I no longer 'fit' in this person's life. This person was fighting their own things, and I no longer fit. It took me over a year to move on from that, but now I no longer burst into tears when I think about it, I no longer think that I should have changed in someway, that I should have been better, that I should have kept trying.
I wish this person every happiness with their life, because they really do deserve it.
I am no longer angry. I have moved on. I have control of my depression. I don't cry every night. I don't burst into tears for no reason. I like to be out in the sunshine. I enjoy life.
When I am feeling low now I look at this little face and he makes me feel warm inside...
Depression is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days...
We all go through spells of feeling down, but when you're depressed you feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days. Some people still think that depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition. They're wrong. Depression is a real illness with real symptoms, and it's not a sign of weakness or something you can "snap out of" by "pulling yourself together".
The good news is that with the right treatment and support, most people can make a full recovery.
Speak to your GP...
It's important to seek help from your GP if you think you may be depressed. Many people wait a long time before seeking help for depression, but it's best not to delay. The sooner you see a doctor, the sooner you can be on the way to recovery.
Sometimes there is a trigger for depression. Life-changing events, such as bereavement, losing your job or even having a baby, can bring it on.
People with a family history of depression are also more likely to experience it themselves. But you can also become depressed for no obvious reason.
Depression is quite common and affects about one in 10 of us at some point. It affects men and women, young and old.
Depression can also strike children. Studies have shown that about 4% of children aged five to 16 in the UK are affected by depression.
Living with depression...
Many people with depression benefit by making lifestyle changes such as getting more exercise, cutting down on alcohol and eating more healthily. Self-help measures such as reading a self-help book or joining a support group are also worthwhile.
You can find out more about depression on the NHS website
We all go through spells of feeling down, but when you're depressed you feel persistently sad for weeks or months, rather than just a few days. Some people still think that depression is trivial and not a genuine health condition. They're wrong. Depression is a real illness with real symptoms, and it's not a sign of weakness or something you can "snap out of" by "pulling yourself together".
The good news is that with the right treatment and support, most people can make a full recovery.
Speak to your GP...
It's important to seek help from your GP if you think you may be depressed. Many people wait a long time before seeking help for depression, but it's best not to delay. The sooner you see a doctor, the sooner you can be on the way to recovery.
Sometimes there is a trigger for depression. Life-changing events, such as bereavement, losing your job or even having a baby, can bring it on.
People with a family history of depression are also more likely to experience it themselves. But you can also become depressed for no obvious reason.
Depression is quite common and affects about one in 10 of us at some point. It affects men and women, young and old.
Depression can also strike children. Studies have shown that about 4% of children aged five to 16 in the UK are affected by depression.
Living with depression...
Many people with depression benefit by making lifestyle changes such as getting more exercise, cutting down on alcohol and eating more healthily. Self-help measures such as reading a self-help book or joining a support group are also worthwhile.
You can find out more about depression on the NHS website
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Sorellalinks...
Monday, March 25, 2013
New clothes in smaller sizes...
So everyone who has been on any kind of healthy eating and exercise plan knows that one of the most expensive things about losing weight is buying new clothes... especially the clothes that are only 'interim' clothes - the clothes you wear while you are inbetween your old size and the size you want to be...
In my post earlier this morning I wrote of how I have started rewarding myself with clothes when I lose weight... now I just want to point out that these are not expensive items... take a look a these examples and guess how much each outfit cost...
In my post earlier this morning I wrote of how I have started rewarding myself with clothes when I lose weight... now I just want to point out that these are not expensive items... take a look a these examples and guess how much each outfit cost...
OUTFIT 1 - BLACK SILK SHIFT DRESS WITH RED MOHAIR CROP JACKET AND BLACK SUEDE GOLD TOE BOOTS
OUTFIT 2 - VINTAGE STYLE MAROON BIRD WRAP DRESS WITH BLACK SEQUIN WEDGE
OUTFIT 3 - BROWN FITTED TROUSER WITH CREAM KNIT JUMPER AND BLACK SUEDE STUDDED PLATFORM SHOE
SOME MIX AND MATCH EXTRAS FOR WITH THE BROWN TROUSERS...
FUR TRIM BOOT
STUDDED TENNIS SHOE
CROCHET KNIT LACE TRIM JUMPER
LEATHER SHOULDER KNIT JUMPER
Did you have a guess at the price of each item? Bet no-one got it right.... all 12 of these items cost a total of £60... FOR THE LOT. Each item I have pictured here cost £5 each... that's right FIVE POUNDS EACH... cheaper than a Chinese takeway, and better for you too! Check out the items I have pictured here and loads more at everything5pounds.com
Happy Shopping!
Breaking the habit...
I don't know if I am the only one who has this habit or not, but I wanted to share some of the methods I'm trying to combat it.
My name is Kirsty and I like to reward myself with food...
I have a very bad habit of rewarding myself with food, which really needs to stop. Instead of going to weigh-in on Wednesday night and rewarding myself with food after I loose weight... I need to reward myself with something unrelated to food, like clothing, shoes or a new DVD.
I have been trying really hard to break this habit... rather than thinking "Great, you've made it all week without eating any syns, now you can have a Chinese takeaway and a glass or two of wine"... I've started to think - "Great, you've made it all week without eating any syns, now you can buy yourself a new jumper."
Trust me, I know this is a very hard cycle to break - but it's one that is definitely worth breaking. I have also started to think more before I eat syns - I think to myself "Do I really want this?" If I really want it then I have to work for it - do 30 minutes on the stepper, or take the dog for a 30 minute walk. If I'm not prepared to do the exercise in order to eat it then I don't really want it - bottom line. And sometimes after doing the exercise I get the endorphin rush that makes me not crave the syns, so I have the bonus of getting some extra body magic time in and not eating any syns!
It doesn't always work like this - over the weekend when it was freezing cold and blowing a blizzard I ordered Chinese takeaway AND had it delivered... no exercise involved at all. I have also started asking for my Chinese takeaway to be made without MSG... I find that this helps me stop eating when I'm full - although I don't know for sure if getting it without the MSG helps or if that is just in my head. It's worth a try though.
These are my new rewards...
I'm more of an Irregular Choice fan... but these new designs by Iron Fist really caught my eye!
My name is Kirsty and I like to reward myself with food...
I have a very bad habit of rewarding myself with food, which really needs to stop. Instead of going to weigh-in on Wednesday night and rewarding myself with food after I loose weight... I need to reward myself with something unrelated to food, like clothing, shoes or a new DVD.
I have been trying really hard to break this habit... rather than thinking "Great, you've made it all week without eating any syns, now you can have a Chinese takeaway and a glass or two of wine"... I've started to think - "Great, you've made it all week without eating any syns, now you can buy yourself a new jumper."
Trust me, I know this is a very hard cycle to break - but it's one that is definitely worth breaking. I have also started to think more before I eat syns - I think to myself "Do I really want this?" If I really want it then I have to work for it - do 30 minutes on the stepper, or take the dog for a 30 minute walk. If I'm not prepared to do the exercise in order to eat it then I don't really want it - bottom line. And sometimes after doing the exercise I get the endorphin rush that makes me not crave the syns, so I have the bonus of getting some extra body magic time in and not eating any syns!
It doesn't always work like this - over the weekend when it was freezing cold and blowing a blizzard I ordered Chinese takeaway AND had it delivered... no exercise involved at all. I have also started asking for my Chinese takeaway to be made without MSG... I find that this helps me stop eating when I'm full - although I don't know for sure if getting it without the MSG helps or if that is just in my head. It's worth a try though.
These are my new rewards...
Friday, March 22, 2013
Chicken Curry and Veg Instant Noodles...
I just wanted to share a quick picture of the Chicken Curry and Veg Instant Noodles. I have added the little orange pouch of oil in these ones but I normally don't. I usually just put in the soup base pouch and veg pouch. They are 1 syn per pack and don't require any heating - just hot water, so they are a great low syn snack to take with you when you travel!
There is a picture of the packet on my last blog... these are the polish brand ones
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I'm away to enjoy these! Warm, tasty and low syn - just perfect for a day like this!
There is a picture of the packet on my last blog... these are the polish brand ones
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I'm away to enjoy these! Warm, tasty and low syn - just perfect for a day like this!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Family heirlooms, a free lunch and low syn noodles...
Really now, there aren't many things better than a free lunch? Especially a surprise free lunch from The Bay Tree in Holywood! I was all set for boring old Ramen Noodles for lunch when a courier van pulled up outside our office and delivered two brown bags filled with yummy goodness - one for my Editor, and one for me!
I have just scoffed this extremely tasty triple decker BLT on farmhouse bread...
And am about to tuck into this absolute divine looking slab of malteaser square...
The Bay Tree is located in the lovely little town of Holywood and is open seven days a week. That lunch was just DELICIOUS! I wonder if I could convince my work to relocate to Holywood?
Anyone who is friended with me on Facebook, knows all about my nan's glass door bookcase that was headed for the charity shop until I rescued it! I was in two minds about whether to have it shabby chic'd, or leave it as it is... so far I've left it as it is, and I think it looks quite well!
As you can see, we are in the middle of re-doing our living room (as much as we can in a rented place) so the walls are a bit bare! I'm forever throwing things away and it drives J mad, but I can't stand to have clutter ad mess around me...
But I think this antique unit really adds a little bit of character to this bare corner! And it's a great place to store all the little nick-nacks we pick up on our travels, and packs away books and DVD's neatly - I've just given about 60 books to the charity shop, I couldn't stand to have them cluttered on shelves around me! this little unit means the ones I did keep can be packed away neatly and don't bother me at all!
Last night J and I sat down to watch a bit of TV - Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners was on... I love that show! I can't believe the state of some peoples homes! Anyway... one lady was talking about how she started hording after some very traumatic events in her life - first, both she and her husband were stabbed in their shop... then their son died. I am the complete opposite of this - I used to hoard loads of crap, and I mean I would have piles of junk in my bedroom, things I would never use or need in a million years, but after Karl died in 2009 I literally stopped collecting things and now I can't stop throwing things away, I just can't stand to have any kind of clutter of mess around me - sometimes I have even thrown out things that we actually use, just because I can't stand to have them sitting around.
I used to have a collection of literally hundreds of books, but I threw half them away when J and I moved into the apartment a year ago and last weekend I got rid of the rest... this little unit and another very small bookcase in the dining area hold all that remain after the cull! I have just done another cull on shoes and handbags too... not that I've bought many new ones, just that I'm throwing more and more away... J says I'll end up with nothing left, lol, and he is probably right! Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a word (apart from mental or mad) for a person who enjoys throwing things away?
I also promised to share with you pictures of the low syn noodles I eat... I'm a big fan of Ramen and I love Curry Noodles. These are the lowest syn ones I could find -
You can find the ones above in the Chinese section of your local Tesco's. These are the chicken flavoured ones, but Tesco's also stock the Beef and Sesame flavoured ones. If you can, go to Camseng, the big Chinese superstore just off the Lisburn Road - down Lower Windsor Avenue, you will find lots more flavours there - I bought the pork and veg ones and also the duck ones to try this week. Each packet made up as directed is 3.5 syns - I checked this with the syns calculator online.
These noodles are found in the Polish food section of Tesco's (I go to the one in Newtownards) - they are delicious and only 1 syn per packet.
Both the ramen and the noodles make great lunches or snacks, but sometimes for a quick slimming world dinner, I will fry up some value stirfry veg and some thin sliced chicken to eat with each. For anyone who hasn't heard of ramen before, it's basically a noodle soup - lots of tasty noodles in a tasty broth - it's a really filling dish and it only takes 3 minutes in the microwave to make.
I have just scoffed this extremely tasty triple decker BLT on farmhouse bread...
And am about to tuck into this absolute divine looking slab of malteaser square...
The Bay Tree is located in the lovely little town of Holywood and is open seven days a week. That lunch was just DELICIOUS! I wonder if I could convince my work to relocate to Holywood?
Anyone who is friended with me on Facebook, knows all about my nan's glass door bookcase that was headed for the charity shop until I rescued it! I was in two minds about whether to have it shabby chic'd, or leave it as it is... so far I've left it as it is, and I think it looks quite well!
As you can see, we are in the middle of re-doing our living room (as much as we can in a rented place) so the walls are a bit bare! I'm forever throwing things away and it drives J mad, but I can't stand to have clutter ad mess around me...
But I think this antique unit really adds a little bit of character to this bare corner! And it's a great place to store all the little nick-nacks we pick up on our travels, and packs away books and DVD's neatly - I've just given about 60 books to the charity shop, I couldn't stand to have them cluttered on shelves around me! this little unit means the ones I did keep can be packed away neatly and don't bother me at all!
Last night J and I sat down to watch a bit of TV - Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners was on... I love that show! I can't believe the state of some peoples homes! Anyway... one lady was talking about how she started hording after some very traumatic events in her life - first, both she and her husband were stabbed in their shop... then their son died. I am the complete opposite of this - I used to hoard loads of crap, and I mean I would have piles of junk in my bedroom, things I would never use or need in a million years, but after Karl died in 2009 I literally stopped collecting things and now I can't stop throwing things away, I just can't stand to have any kind of clutter of mess around me - sometimes I have even thrown out things that we actually use, just because I can't stand to have them sitting around.
I used to have a collection of literally hundreds of books, but I threw half them away when J and I moved into the apartment a year ago and last weekend I got rid of the rest... this little unit and another very small bookcase in the dining area hold all that remain after the cull! I have just done another cull on shoes and handbags too... not that I've bought many new ones, just that I'm throwing more and more away... J says I'll end up with nothing left, lol, and he is probably right! Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a word (apart from mental or mad) for a person who enjoys throwing things away?
I also promised to share with you pictures of the low syn noodles I eat... I'm a big fan of Ramen and I love Curry Noodles. These are the lowest syn ones I could find -
You can find the ones above in the Chinese section of your local Tesco's. These are the chicken flavoured ones, but Tesco's also stock the Beef and Sesame flavoured ones. If you can, go to Camseng, the big Chinese superstore just off the Lisburn Road - down Lower Windsor Avenue, you will find lots more flavours there - I bought the pork and veg ones and also the duck ones to try this week. Each packet made up as directed is 3.5 syns - I checked this with the syns calculator online.
These noodles are found in the Polish food section of Tesco's (I go to the one in Newtownards) - they are delicious and only 1 syn per packet.
Both the ramen and the noodles make great lunches or snacks, but sometimes for a quick slimming world dinner, I will fry up some value stirfry veg and some thin sliced chicken to eat with each. For anyone who hasn't heard of ramen before, it's basically a noodle soup - lots of tasty noodles in a tasty broth - it's a really filling dish and it only takes 3 minutes in the microwave to make.
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