One Year Anniversary

It is a year to the day since I started this blog, after a false start in which the original blog disappeared in to a Black Hole of the Cyber Kind!

What a year it has been, the goal I set was not met, but I got half way there. I have shared some of my deepest and saddest thoughts along with some of my happiest and most joyful moments. All of these with friends I have never met. (Well apart from Kari, Trish and Sam)

I have "met" people who have inspired me, made me mad, made me laugh, made me cry.  I have had words of comfort, inspiration, advice and encouragement.  I have had insight into people's lives that have been uplifting and humbling. I have learnt from the example of  folk with tremendous courage and will power.

It has been an awe inspiring year and I want to thank each and every one of you who have followed me, or just dipped in and out on occassion. Every comment that has been left has been special to me, I still find it astounding that "Strangers'" take the time to comment.

To mark my one year of blogging I have produced an award, yes me all on my little own....

I am awarding it to twelve bloggers who have touched me one one level or another.

Twelve because there are twelve months in a year.

I would like the recipients to pass it on to six bloggers who have inspired them.

So here in no particular order are my

TWELVE FABULOUS BLOGGERS

Fitcetera

http://katschisfitcetera.blogspot.com/

The Daily Diary of a Winning Loser

http://losingweighteveryday.blogspot.com/

Spunki Suzi Working Towards a Healthier Me

http://spunkysuzi.blogspot.com/

ZaaBaby The Incredible Shrinking Woman

http://zaaisshrinking.blogspot.com/

Fat[free]Me

http://fat-free-me.blogspot.com/

To The Best of My Ability

http://danasafattymcbutterpants.blogspot.com/

266

http://266-twosixtysix.blogspot.com/

A Deliberate Life

http://chrislivessimple.blogspot.com/

365 Days to a New Me

http://dawneandgreg.blogspot.com/

Fat To Fab

http://foodaddict-fromfattofab.blogspot.com/

Deb Will be Free

http://debwillbethin.blogspot.com/

The English Kitchen

http://theenglishkitchen.blogspot.com/

Sorry I still cannot do that fancy linking thing;o(

 

When I started this blog one year ago today, I did not realise the impact it would have on my life.

I had absolutely no idea I would have “Followers” did not even realise what one was until I started to “Follow” my darling friend Kari on her amazing journey. My original plan was to write about my efforts to lose sixty pounds before my sixtieth birthday. Well that did not happen and I am not beating myself up about it. But what did happen was I made some really good friends. Friends I will probably never meet, but you never know. Life can throw up opportunities even when you are not looking for any.

Thanks for being there xxx

Planning The Dream

In an effort to life myself out of the blues

(thank you for the lovely comments on yesterdays post)

I have been looking at the map and the guide books

 for our dream holiday in October/November.

There are so many places, so much to see so little time.

So I am looking for advice for out there fellow bloggers.

Do you or do you know anyone who lives in New England?

If so where would you recommend to visit?

Where would you recommend to stay?

We will be based just outside of Boston for three days

 and staying in New York for the last three of four days.

So we will have ten days to do some touring.

Anyone know of any hidden gems?

I love lighthouses, covered bridges, waterfalls, history and the fall colours.

As well as visiting craft shops/

Any ideas would be most welcome.

It Was About This Time

My mam passed away seven years ago tonight.

Views From a Great Weekend

This weekend was Ralph's short weekend , when his shift changes.  So I like us to just have fun for the two days.  We had great weekend...

Saturday we went to the fair with my youngest daughter and her girls.
I don't do fairground rides, but I like the hustle, bustle and the colours and the smells.
 As these photo's show, my family like the rides..

It was a great afternoon.

Sunday we went to Angelsey and while it was raining in Runcorn the sun was shining on us..

A great weekend spent with family and friends, you can't beat it can you?

Friday

Friday comes around so quickly these days. It's scarey!!
One week of part ime comes to an end today, it's been different.For the next two weeks I am on early shift so it will be totally different. From 1:30pm the day is my own, so it will be a fortnight of really
getting the house and shed sorted. Getting walking and back to the gym.I can't believe Ralph is paying for us both to go the gym and we haven't been since Emily was taken ill. We have got to get that sorted.
By the way, Em had a check up at Alder Hey yesterday and doesn't have to go back until
September 2nd..YESSSSSSSSSS!!

My eating is right on the button. Salads galore.
My exercise is improving but slowly.
I need a kick start.

Right, I'm off....

This Part Time Lark....

I am having to think twice about my daily routine at the moment.
This working part time lark puts a whole differnet slant on my day.
I am still in the mind set of planning my lunch hour and I don't have one now!!
Today was the first time I have been on my own since the new regime starteed and it was wierd.
Gettting out of the habit of watching the clock is going to take some time me thinks.

This week my food has been very healthy and delicious, have had a salad every night for tea.
I love the warm sunny days, they encourage you to enjoy salads.

My exercise has been sorting through my craft stuff and discarding or storing in new home.
This also means making the Shoebox more like a home again, instead of a small storage unit!!
Have been doing half an hours walk before work also, so I am getting back into the groove slowly,

I cannot find the lead to connect my camera to my laptop, but as soon as I find it
I will upload some photo's of my food, my shed and other irrelevant nonsense.....

Spring Spring Spring

Just experimenting for Suzi http://spunkysuzi.blogspot.com/
It is a beautiful morning here.

Flights Are Booked....

We have booked our flights to Boston coming back from New York...
Guess what?  I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Excited!!!
Twenty day's of Fall Fun...

My Soldier Boy

My Boy Soldier  Makes My Day!!

Conor was a child six weeks ago,

 last night he came home a young man.

He talks with such maturity and dedication,

he took my breath away.

He showed me his Regimental Bible

with pride and humilty.

This boy was not brought up with

 any formal religious influence.

If a bible or prayer book or

anything religious were given or discussed

he would not have been interested. 

I hope this is a little acorn from which

a strong oak tree grows. 

I hope he gains a faith in God that will

strengthen him

in the years to come.

My grandchildren bring me such JOY,

this weeked the JOY is overflowing.

I'm Bursting With Pride

This is a photo of my wonderful grandson Conor taken today by his very proud mum.

He has been in the army six weeks now, today was Parent's Day and his very proud parent's

are enjoying a great day with him.

I will get to see him later on tonight when he comes home for a week.

I am bursting with pride.

God Bless every Soldier serving his Queen and Country.

My Last Day....

Today was my last day of full time working....
YIPPPEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....

From Monday I will be working five hours a day instead of eight. 
I have all sorts of plans for my extra free time. Most of it focussing on getting fitter.
I can go to the gym at a more reasonable time, I can take Titch out for longer walks.

We are planning to do our food shopping differently too, instead of a big shop at the weekend I plan to shop at local markets for fresh fruit, veg and meat. We have a couple of market days around here I have not been able to visit unless I was on holiday.  So I am looking forward going every week.

I am looking to stop wasting food.  As I said to my lovely mother in law this evening I plan to shop like a pensioner....that's what I am now..LOL

I lost a pound this week, hope to triple that next week.

Have a Great Weekend!! 

Back on a Different Track

As I said yesterday, after having discussions with my other half yesterday over Fish & Chips.
I have revised my plan. I am not going to be consummed
by battling for an unrealistic weigh loss.
Ok I had wanted 60 by 60 but didn't get it.
Now my priorities have change, yes I want to lose the weight,
but more than that.  I want to feel healthier and fitter,
I know healthier and fitter go hand in hand with weight loss.
It might seem like I am ducking out, I am not.
I am changing my plan of attack.

While we were walking around Southport yesterday,
I was struck by the amount of elderlywomen out shopping.
More than half of them overweight and needing to use a walking stick.
I went into a shoe shop and I looked up from the pair of shoes
I was admiring and looked around.at that moment there were
25 people in the shop, 5 were men, 4 were sales staff
the rest were white haired women of a certain age.!!
With the exception of 2 teenager's who were with a
lady a assume was their grandmother.

It was this that made me aware of the increasing
number of elderly people in the world now.
I have known since childhood that Southport
is a popular place to retire, but it hit all of a sudden yesterday...

I AM a pensioner....I could be one of those retired ladies. 
It scared the living daylight's out of me!!!

So, pardon me for wondering off...it's my age you know...
I need to re-focus, I need to get stronger and fitter.
I need to colour my hair!!!

So My New Plan

1. Keep moving.
    Get back into my walking, Wii Fit and the Gym

2. Eat healthily.
    The word DIET is banned.
    We are eating healthier foods from  today.

3. I will weigh in weekly until   Tammy's Challenge is over.              
   Then I will weigh in on the first Saturday of the  month along with my man.
   There will be NO moaning or whinging about loss or gain.

4.Colour my hair, vanity it is yes, but I am not ready to look like a pensioner yet.


I have change my ticker tape and put on a goal of 20 pounds. 
I am not giving myselfa time scale in which to lose the 20
and when I get there if I feel I need to lose more
I will re evaluate the situation.

I realise with this change of direction I may lose some followers
and if that is so Que sera, sera.
I have to do this for me, 
I am tired of chasing pounds and ounces,
checking calories and fat content.
For me the most important thing now is to
enjoy my food,
enjoy my life,
enjoy keeping mobile
and exercising my brain,
my mind and my body and soul equally.

Life for me right now is FabulouS.

I have my darling husband and we are happier than I ever dreamed I could be.
I have my wonderful children and amazing grandchildren.
I have my fantastic BezzyMate Trish and many other friends that I can now enjoy.
This was not always possible in my previous life (Before Ralph)
I have my health, Diabetes is well under control.
I have my little nutter of of a dog Titch.
I have our little Shoebox.
I have my new crafting shed.
I have my job, part time becomes on Monday.
I have my Blogland friends, who are an amazing inspiration for everyday life.
I have my renewed faith in the Good Lord and I thank Him every day for the blessings listed above.

This new chapter in my life is going to be about the JOY of living an authentic and honest life.

A Fab Day

We had a lovely time is Southport....

Ralph had his well deserved treat of Fish and Chips and he bought lots of sweets from the old fashioned sweet shop, to take into work.  I did have fish and chips and enjoyed every morsel.  This was it, the last day of my semi retirement days off together. So I enjoyed my food with my man.  We talked about our eating habits and exercise regime and we have had a rethink of our plans but that is for another post.  Let's just say there has been some radical thinking and action is about to be taken.

I think I have been getting away from the purpose of this blog over the past two months with so many distractions, starting with Emily being so ill.  Then my birthday followed by my new shed.  Writing about healthy eating and exercise has been sidelined.  Well that all finishes tonight.  Starting tomorrow this blog will be more centred on my quest for a healthier lifestyle. My other blogs will continue to tell the stories of my crafting, my food and my life in general. They will not be daily blogs as this one is but if anyone is interested in any of the other aspect's of my life, here are the links:

SheReallyLovesFood

Finally Me

She's Scrappy Shack

So tomorrow is WIW and I am not expecting a loss and I am hoping not to have gained.

What ever the result, it will be the start of the road back to healthy. I am not setting goals.

Even though there is a holiday on the horizon and a wedding coming up in a few months, then my

Big Holiday in October/November. What will be will be and this time my mantra is going to be

NO PRESSURE.

No pressure but plenty of pleasure....

 

Here Sheilagh Lays..

Oh boy what a busy day we have had, I am wiped out, this new craft room of mine is taking longer than we thought to get sorted. We had to go to IKEA for one more set of shelves. When we came out of there we popped into M&S and bought some delicious salads and low cal meals for me for the next few days. Then we came back home and got stuck in straight away, building the shelving.

Ralph has started to put the electric's in but hit a problem with the lights and we had to go an get a different kind, so that held things up. I have got some of my books and stamps in, oh and some of my tools.

Food wise we have been eating healthily mostly.  We had sandwiches at lunchtime, which I regret, but we needed something quick and easy as there was so much to be done. I think I have stayed just inside my calorie allowance, been pretty good the past couple of days.

We are having a day out tomorrow, a treat for Ralph to thank him for all his hard work this past couple of weeks.  It all depends on the weather as to where we go, I am looking forward to some relaxed time with him. He has been an absolute STAR.

Food - Good
Mood - Relaxed and happy.

Now I lay me down to sleep......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Further Progress Photo's

We have both worked hard today and I must say I am Tickled Pink

with how everything is working out.

Blank Canvas

Update on my shed:o)

Here is my blank canvas views of all four walls.

My Wonderful Handyman Husband.

Hopefully all the furniture will be in by this afternoon

and I can start putting all of my stuff in to it's permanent new home.

I cannot wait to see it all finished. 

 Below are some pictures of how and where my craft stuff is at the moment:o(

As you can see I have my work cut out, these are just a few pictures, haven't shown what is in the bedroom or the bin cupboard!!!

Food Fabulous

Mood Fabulous

Hope you are having a Great Sunny Weekend.

Spice Girls

Here are my Curry Night Girls

Left to Right...Me...Lorraine...Ann...Jean...Norma

We had a good night last night, the food was delicious, the company was

good fun and the wine flowed but not my way....

I am getting back in the groove, finally, after three weeks of

eating delicious but rather unhealthy food.

I was disappointed to just lose 2 pounds this week,

but I have gotten over that now. Two pound a week would be great

and I might just manage to complete Tammy's Challenge.

I am getting back to  the gym on Monday,

 we will be lifting loads of weight's over the weekend furnishing my shed,

but getting back to some regular exercise next week is

imperitive for my physical and mental health.

Sliding back into bad habits is not going to continue.

It is almost a year since I started this blog

and getting back in the groove has got to happen before then,

 with a noticable weight loss. 

At least get back to where I was before my birthday.

 So I would absolutley love to get to

Onederland by April 30th.

Can I do it?

YES I CAN

Will I Do it?

YES I WILL

Weigh In Wednesday

I lost two pounds, was hoping for more. Hey Ho it was a loss....so why do I feel

Here It Is!!

Here is my shed, finally, it arrived at 1pm and by 1:30pm it was up and ready to go. Ralph has waterproofed it inside and out. We went to B&Q to get a shed alarm and locks. Then to IKEA to suss out what was needed for storage and worktops.

We had our tea at IKEA I had meatballs which were delicious.  Ralph had fish and chips. We came home with a few bit's and pieces, but left the ordering of the big stuff until Saturday.

I am really itching to get out there now and get it sorted, but Ralph has been feeling rough since we got back ,so I have had to hold my horses so he can rest.  He went to the Doctor this morning, we thought he had a chest infection but the doc says his chest is clear, he just has a severe head cold.

I am wanting to stream line my storage and workspace in this new shed and not have it all higgledy piggledy as in my previous shed.  Any scrapbookers/papercrafters out there got any hints. Have looked at a couple of books on Amazon and I am tempted by one or two.

This is my shopping list for Saturday at IKEA  for some of my storage and workspace. there have been lot's of "discussion's" between my man and myself re: what is required.

I hope I am not boring you with all this shed business but I am really excited and really really want to get going with it...


I have only had two meals today, breakfast and then a late lunch/early tea at IKEA.  I have no idea of the calories ate there so I am going to guestimate 650. so with breakfast at 320 I haven't had enough calories again today.  I will have something for supper but will really get organised food wise tomorrow when Ralph goes back to work.  This working only two day's a week is playing havoc with my eating habits.
I must get a grip if I am to succeed in Tammy's Challenge. Weigh in day tomorrow and I don't feel like I have done much this week.


Now come on I need a cute name to go on this shed, give me some idea's please, pretty please?

Easter Monday

Wellies at the ready this morning, it was raining when we woke and I was not impressed.  The base for my shed had to be finished today, ready for the delivery tomorrow.

Ralph is still poorly, so Mike came over and did the heavy work as Ralph directed and in no time it was sorted.  Thanks Mike, you are a Star.



So here it is ready and waiting, I just hope there is no delay with the delivery after all the hard word put in by Ralph and the boys.

I was talking with Trish, my BezzyMate tonight about what to call my shed. I  can't come up with a name that I like so she suggested I ask my fellow bloggers for some idea's. So what do you think? Any idea's?
The best original idea will win a little gift from me:o)

The Easter holiday is drawing to a close tonight, I hope you all had a happy time and are now looking forward to fresh starts, new beginnings and have refreshed hearts, minds and souls.

Look, Look, I have finally learned how to link to names, Yippee...

Fabulous Easter Sunday

It has been a great day, I will let my pictures show you...

A miscellany of images from a lovely day, the only thing to spoil it, my husband is poorly with a really bad cough, cold and sore throat. Otherwise one of those perfect day's.

                                                             HAPPY EASTER