Sunshine!

It's such a rarity to have a day without rain, or gale force winds, and even more rare to have a warm day.  Today, unusually, we had a beautiful dry and warm day.  It is probably the only dry and warm day we have had for months, and life will be back to normal tomorrow with the return of the wind and rain :(

Needless to say, my back "garden" a.k.a. jungle, hasn't seen a lawnmower all year.  Until today when we had the annual ritual of the first cut of the year, closely followed by me complaining all night about aches and pains and how flippin' exhausted I feel.  In other words, the usual.

The little fitness regime does seem to be paying off though, as I am actually beginning to feel fitter and today I was able to walk uphill and downhill without the aid of the knee support bandages.  Getting there slowly but surely!!

I get knocked down, but I get up again.

Recent weeks haven't been great.  I've been experiencing lots of stress and anxiety, or more to the point I've been struggling to deal with it.  Last week was particularly distressing as I was 'nominated' to speak at a work event in front of a very large group of people in a large hall. It was a pretty embarrassing experience all in all, but I'm beginning to laugh about it now.  Which is a big change from last week, when I couldn't laugh about anything.

My mood swings are on the up again, and I'm getting back to my usual upbeat cheery self (although still increasingly grumpy about almost everyone and everything in the world).  I have so much to be thankful for and that keeps me on the bright side.

I'm heading into one of my favourite times of year, the spring holiday.  Although it couldn't be more different this year... Out goes the short break and in comes a week long Eastern Mediterranean cruise!  Just a few hours after the credits roll on the Eurovision final, we'll be heading off on our adventure.  It's a whole new experience for us and of course I'll be writing my travel journal every step of the way and publishing excerpts from the cruise diaries over at EuropeCrazy.

In the meantime, there's lots of planning and preparation to be getting on with, so that's what I'm concentrating on this weekend!

Snow is falling all around me...

....well not actually at the minute, but the fact remains that the last few weeks have been pretty freaky on the weather front as we had a lot of snow, which as usual managed to bring the place to a standstill, and some very icy winds which made Scotland feel more like Siberia.  Last week it was snowy and sunny at the same time.  You know all about that British obsession with the weather? Well, who can blame us when it's so unpredictable!  At least the snow has stayed away for Easter weekend.

During one of the coldest spells a couple of weeks ago, the boiler at EuropeCrazy HQ developed a major fault which resulted in us being left with no heating/hot water for various periods of time and a continuous 48 hour spell.  No wonder I was comfort eating (more about that later....)

I thought it would be a good opportunity to post a pic of my two little Easter chicks.  Aren't they cute?  These are knitted by the mum of one of my friends at work, who is shortly due to deliver a little chick of her own in May.  There's a massive baby boom in my office at the moment which makes me wonder -was the TV really that bad a few months ago?? :)

So what happened to the fitness regime, I hear you ask?  Well, sad to say, it crashed and burned.    The snow/bad weather put paid to my long outdoor walks, I've been comfort eating and snacking relentlessly, and some days I'm so mentally and physically exhausted that I have no energy to exercise after work. 

But with only 7 weeks to go until my holiday, can it be turned around?  I think it can, although not with as significant results as I'd hoped for.  If I'd continued the February fitness regime I might have been looking at a dropped dress size by now.  Oh well these things happen....as that well-known saying goes, "the diet starts tomorrow" and it'll once again be time to start paying in sweat.  And that's no April Fool! 

Weight loss and fitness 2013: Part 5 - Crikey! More good news.

Bit late with this one as I should have published it last Friday but anyway here goes....

I tried very hard to keep the momentum going and got yet another good result, with another 2lbs off, making it a total of 5lbs lost in 2 weeks.

My fitness levels are on the up, as demonstrated by a 2.5 mile lunchtime walk in town last Wednesday which took 30 minutes and involved some rather steep climbs.  However since Friday, my willpower seems to have taken some time out and I've decided to take a break from the scales this week.  Next weigh-in will now be on 15th March.

Weight loss and fitness 2013: Part 4 - Shock Result!

A lot has happened in the 7 days since my last post.  After the long walk last Saturday I threw myself into a pretty punishing exercise regime involving aerobics, dancing, weights, drinking water, walking and long sessions on the mini stepper, with the help of the sauna belt/shorts which I bought last week.  It wasn't all work and no play though, as I set out to prove this week that the only thing which really works for me is exercise, and that I could continue to have a few treats along the way.

By Thursday, my body ached all over, but there was no pain when I took to the scales to discover that I had lost no less than 3lbs this week!  That's a shock result, as I'm not one of those people who loses a lot of weight very quickly - as all those years on Weight Watchers Online would testify.

Needless to day I'm very happy with the rewarding end to what's been a non-stop week.

I'm not walking today as it's snowing outside and there's lots of housework waiting to be done :( however I'll be back into the exercise routine again today after a couple of days' break from it.  Not expecting to lose so much weight next week but will start to focus on inch loss: after all, that's my main goal this time so that I can get back into my holiday clothes for the cruise which is now just 3 months away....

Weight loss & fitness 2013: Part 3 - Keep on Walking!

Let's be truthful: it's not going well.  For every one step forward there has been several steps back.  And there has been weight gain.

However I have been galvanised this week for one very good reason: the holiday is booked.  As I mentioned the other day over at EuropeCrazy, we're going on a cruise and I'll need to get myself ship-shape (groan). 

I've decided to focus on improving my fitness and losing inches over the next three months, and thanks to the offers of the week in Lidl I now have two extra weapons in my war on weight!  Ladies and gentlemen: sauna shorts and sauna belt!

 

I do a lot of walking in my day to day life: I'm lucky enough to work in the town where I live so I walk to and from work, and at lunchtime.  However despite all this walking I still don't feel as if my fitness is as good as it should be.

 

So I have decided to introduce longer walks into the fitness regime, and I'm just back from the first of these today.  Thanks to Google maps, I drew up a 2.4 mile route taking me around various streets in town.  It only took 35 minutes for me to walk the route, and was surprisingly effortless!

Weight loss and fitness 2013: Part 2

It was weigh-in week this week, and no real surprise that I haven't lost anything.  But a nice surprise was that I haven't gained anything either.

I have had an utterly miserable week, my mood's been at rock bottom and when I feel like that I can't stand being around people (with a couple of notable exceptions).   I have also been experiencing nasty headaches and needless to say there has been a whole lot of comfort eating, no exercise and no self-discipline.  I hate feeling like this, but I've been there a million times before and know that this feeling will only be temporary. 

So I have decided yet again to make another fresh start, as time's getting on, chop chop, we're almost at the end of January!

Next update in 2 weeks.

What's in a name?

In one of my many paradoxes and contradictions, I'm not in the maternal camp, yet I'm always pretty fascinated by the issue of baby names.  Every year, lists of the most popular names for new babies are published, causing us to throw our hands up in the air in horror at the latest naming fashions, from chavvy horror to traditional to just quite frankly bonkers. 

Today The Local (link) published the list of the most popular baby names in Sweden for 2012.  What immediately strikes me is that many of the names in the list don't sound that "Swedish" at all - William is top of the boys' list, where you can also names like Elliot, Kevin, Julian, Colin, Levi, Eddie and - wait for it - Elton (!). 

Meanwhile, Alice tops the girls list where there are more conventional Swedish girls' names alongside the likes of Nellie, Tyra, Alicia, Nova and Siri. 

On the whole though, some sense has prevailed, unlike in my own country where there is a horrendous fashion for mis-spelling names to make them that bit more original.  Why call your daughter Abigail when you can call her...oh...Abbiegayle? Abi-Gale? Abby-Gail?  Sounds like an Abi-fail to me. 

Or maybe you want to keep it brief.  Why give your son a name when you can call him AJ? CJ? DJ? TJ? Tee-Jay?  Tea-Jae?  Tea-Bag? (right, that's enough!!)

And don't start me on that 2012 crop of Kayden, Jayden, Jaydyn, Cian, Kayleb, Kristofer, Maddisyn, Mirren, Murron, Summer, Storm, Rain, Willow....the list is endless.  And I pity those poor schoolteachers having to differentiate between Jaden, Jayden and Jaydyn!

What the hell, maybe I'm just bitter and twisted because Laura is out of fashion :)))

Anyway I'll stop now and direct you to a really funny old website http://www.stupidkidnames.com/ which truly does what it says on the tin.

Weight loss and fitness 2013: Part 1

Since my previous post when I announced that I was quitting dieting, I have honed my plan and set out my targets for the year ahead. 

Initially I wasn't going to weigh myself but changed my mind and now the weigh-ins will take place fortnightly and I will measure on alternate weeks. 

Almost three weeks in and things are going reasonably well, considering that I'm still polishing off the great post-Christmas mountain of sweets!  I have lost 2lbs so far, but am particularly delighted that I've lost 4 inches from various places.  That's probably thanks to the mini-stepper and the extra walking. 

It's only the beginning and there is a long long way to go, I'm not expecting miracles overnight but I'm hoping for some big results by the time of my holiday in May.  (I'm very excited about that: expect an announcement within the next four weeks or so, all being well). My plan will have three phases: between now and May, between May and September, and between September and Christmas.

January hasn't really been easy though.  Stress, almost daily headaches and a nasty sinus infection so far.  I've also been very tired, too tired to blog.  Nice things have happened too, though, and on the whole I'm keeping the January blues at bay.

Fortnightly updates to follow....

Well, hello 2013!

But firstly, we had the unfinished business of closing the story of 2012. As usual, the Hogmanay tradition of a meal with faithful travelling companion at our favourite local Cantonese restaurant, followed by a couple of Kopparbergs pear ciders at Wetherspoons.

The days of staying up all night after the bells are now long gone: these days, staying power is in very short supply so I retired very early to listen to Radio Five Live for a while and then it was lights out just after 1.00 am. Living life on the edge eh!!!

I finished work on Christmas Eve and have been on holiday since then: it's been a brilliant, relaxing time but all good things have to come to an end.  Talking of which, the dismantling of the EuropeCrazy HQ Christmas tree (pictured above) ceremony also took place today.  It's like the closing ceremony of the Olympics, only without the flag being lowered, or a speech from Seb Coe, or numerous rotten musical performances.  (Although with regard to the latter, we did have a 'top tunes of 2012' show playing on one of the music channels: insert witty remark here...!)

Tomorrow is the last day of my Christmas and New Year leave and then it's back to work on Thursday :(  I feel completely unwound, but no doubt that feeling will be short-lived once Thursday morning comes!

As ever, I got my hopes up for the sales but only Boots and Matalan delivered: I'm sorted for bath stuff, perfume and cut-price knitwear for the rest of the year :)

Over the past 6 months I lost my dieting-mojo and the weight-gain went out of control.  As usual, the shops are full of fitness DVDs and the newspapers are full of the usual old 'new year, new you'-style rubbish. Yes I absolutely do need to lose weight and get fit, but this year however I'm flying solo on the dieting front and not following any official weight-loss plan: only the EuropeCrazy Frank Sinatra "I Did It My Way" diet and exercise plan between now and the end of April.  No crash diets here folks: just a sustained period of healthy eating and sensible exercise, punctuated by the good things in life - this time of the year is dark and depressing enough without denying yourself some treats!  I will only weigh myself on the last day of every month, so check back here on 31st January for a progress report. 

So what's ahead in 2013?  Well, it's an odd-numbered year so there's no Olympics and no summer football tournament to distract us: let's just hope that the weather is better this year so that there will be lots of exciting adventures to write about over the summer months. And then there's the small matter of our spring and summer holidays to plan :)))))

Decem-brrrrrr.

So here we are in a new month, and it's started just as the last one ended - sooooo cold.  Even my usually cosy living room feels colder than usual, and I'm sitting here with a great big scarf round my neck, to supplement my Matalan-version-of-the-Sarah-Lund-jumper (as opposed to the original iconic garment, pictured above).

One encouraging thing I've noticed over the last couple of years is that people are finally coming round to dressing to suit the season.  Of course, it is a peculiarly British trait to be inappropriately dressed for the weather.  Check out any town/city centre on a Friday/Saturday night for evidence of that.  It may only be a fashion trend, but knitwear is back, back, back.  I'm not sure if it's due to winters becoming colder, or the nation's recent obsession with all things Scandinavian, but much to my delight the shops are now full of winter-themed knits, for men, women and children.  Even the much-reviled "Christmas jumper" is back on the rails.

Even if the nights are dark, the weather is freezing and the SAD lamp is back in circulation, we might as well embrace winter.  That's something else we can learn from our Scandinavian friends.  So with that in mind, I'm all prepared: lots of knitwear, hats, scarves, gloves, big winter boots, wellies, snow grips, snow shovel etc etc....now all we can hope for is that this country doesn't collapse into an even bigger mess than it's in already, when the first snowflakes arrive.

The big decision: I'm quitting dieting

It's hard to stand up and admit defeat when something hasn't worked out, yet that's what I'm doing today. 

Since an illness a few years ago threw my metabolism into chaos, I've been fighting the weight loss war ever since, with mixed results.  Of all the weight loss plans around, I would definitely say that Weight Watchers Online is the very best, the easiest to follow, and it does bring definite results. I would always defend it in an argument when those followers of other weight loss plans tried to convince me that their diet was right and mine was wrong.  What any weight loss plan requires is constant commitment for it to work, and unfortunately, for whatever reason, I can't manage that level of commitment any more.

Since returning to WW exactly two years ago this month, I worked hard and by the spring of 2011 I'd reached my own preferred target weight and did the impossible - dropped a dress size. 

It wasn't long before the good work was undone and I proceeded to comfort-eat my way through the past 18 months.  There were brief bursts of effort but for every two steps forward there were three steps back.  I'm just not mentally focused on the rules of dieting any more, and the weekly weigh-in has become a thing of dread. 

Which is why I've made a big decision: to quit dieting and the weekly weigh-in.  I am stressed and anxious enough as it is, without the added tyranny of the scales.  Why do we torture ourselves in this way? 

That's not to say that I have given up on losing weight and getting fit: the method is just going to be a bit different, that's all, and I know what I need to do to get back into my "thinner" clothes again.   I know it may sound trivial but you can become obsessed with what weight you are.  What really matters is being fit and healthy.  Here goes....

Cleaning up at EuropeCrazy HQ

Today I became the proud owner of that must-have gadget which I've been saving up for - a cordless Dyson vacuum cleaner.  It's pretty fab too.  The down side is that you have to charge the battery unit for a while and only get 15 mins hoovering (or should that be Dysoning?) in return.  But on the plus side it just means that you have to move pretty fast to get all your cleaning done before the battery runs out.  But look on the bright side....it cuts the housework time down and leaves more time for fun stuff! 

Weight Watching goes back to basics!

As the great Neil Diamond once sang, "hello again, hello".

Where have the last few weeks gone?  One week is racing into another and I've been either too busy or just too tired to blog, as it's been quite a busy (and slightly stressful) time.

Inevitably I'll be dragging  the SAD lamp out of the cupboard soon - yet another unavoidable symptom of "summer" (although we didn't have one) turning into autumn and winter.  However I am tackling it head-on with a diet and fitness regime to take my mind off it all.

Drastic measures had to be taken, so over the past three weeks I've gone back to basics with the combination which works best: doing Weight Watchers Online combined with lots of walking and exercise.  There have also been social events, lunches, dinners etc, so it hasn't been easy!  I have lost 2lbs in 3 weeks, which maybe doesn't sound much to those people who lose about 5lbs in a week, but I like to go at my own pace and that just suits me fine.  Most importantly I've lost 4" from various places (!) in the past 3 weeks.  Early days, but so far, so good.

Grumpy old woman post #1: Turn it down!

Strictly speaking of course, my particular gripe isn't a sign of getting older as it's something which would equally have annoyed me 20 or 30 years ago.

Now, I love music, always have done, always will do. And lots of that music demands to be played loud (although as a long-time flat-dweller that also has to be balanced against respect for your neighbours and avoiding an ASBO).

Then there is the issue of personal music through headphones: when I'm out walking with the iPod on, the volume is only ever at background-music level and I'm always aware of the surrounding street noises. As I sit here typing this post, I am listening to a random set of tunes through a powerful, high-quality pair of headphones but at a lower and more bearable volume which allows me to think at the same time.

So what is all this leading to, I hear you ask?  I refer, ladies and gentlemen, to the curse of noise.  Specifically, the need for music to be played at as ear-shatteringly loud as possible within the most confined space in any social setting.  That was probably one of the main reasons I quit the social scene - my hearing isn't great and I don't have a loud voice, so it's double-difficult to attempt a conversation or hear what someone else is saying as they try to compete with 10 million decibels.  Some people seem to manage, but over the years I haven't yet mastered the art of conducting a conversation all night whilst being blissfully unaware of the racket. By the end of the evening your throat is wrecked by shouting and you end up with a voice as deep as Barry White's.

But what if the DJ turns it up even louder, the thumping hum starts to feel as if it's vibrating through your stomach, and unpleasantness turns to distress?  Where's the fun in that?  Call me a killjoy, but when that happens it stops being fun for me.

It's a shame really, as many a good night in good company is ruined by the volume being turned up to the max :(

Socca!

One of the best things about going to Nice for a holiday is, of course, the food.  I particularly like the local speciality, Socca, which is a savoury pancake made from chickpea flour.  

Needless to say I like it so much that I vowed to recreate the experience at home.  After scouring the country and finally getting my hands on the elusive chickpea flour (otherwise known as gram flour if you're looking for it), it was time to put my grand plan into action.  My first effort, made about an hour ago, is pictured above.  And if I may say so, a fine first effort.  It looks like Socca, it tastes like Socca - success!!

(Unfortunately it's quite high in Weight Watchers points so I'll just have to work it into my weekly allowance and cut out a few other things....)

à la rentrée

So, my annual mid-September holiday-fortnight is almost over.  Tomorrow it's back to work, back to reality, back to dieting, back to all the mundane day-to-day stuff.

It's been great fun - our few days in Nice was the absolute highlight of course (blog post and pics coming very soon over at EuropeCrazy), as well as a couple of rather good days in Edinburgh and Glasgow, when the weather actually stayed dry and bright for a change. 

Time at home was a bit more unsettled due to circumstances outwith our control - work going on inside and outside our home, so there were less opportunities to just laze around and relax.  I did get some though, so it wasn't all bad.  Even enjoying the simplest of pleasures like having a double espresso and a Danish pastry is a joy.

But as Debbie Allen might have said in 'Fame', "Danish pastries cost, and here's where you start paying - in sweat".  I have gained a ridiculous amount of weight over recent months, so I am about to begin yet another dieting journey where I will commit myself to losing 14 lbs over a realistic period of 7 months.  All this whilst still enjoying all the good (bad) things in life.  But it can be done!  It worked for me two years ago and it will work again!!

Holiday time, and my big fat weight gain :(

So here we go.  The annual mid-September two weeks off work, which this year will be a mixture of vacation and staycation, all of which I'm looking forward to more than I could ever describe.

Unfortunately things haven't gone so well on the weight watching front.  Comfort-eating my way through spring and summer has meant that I am now 16lbs heavier than when I reached my goal weight (and blogged about it on here) back in April 2011.  Actually putting this down in black and white is pretty shocking, but then again I need to shock myself into taking action.  So after my holiday I'm going to take the same approach which I did from November 2010-April 2011, which involved six months of exercise and very hard work, but which brought rewards = I dropped a dress size, felt fitter, happier and more confident. 

But now my BMI is back up to 29, which means that I am officially overweight but teetering on the edge of the obese category.  So that's it.  Enough is enough.  Time for a fresh start after my holiday.

In the meantime, the "fat clothes" are in the suitcase. It is a holiday after all, so I want to feel comfortable whilst leaving room for all that pasta, pizza and wine consumption in France, where the last time I looked, there were no fat people.  But do you know what?  I'm going to leave the hang-ups at home this time and relax and have fun.

The real challenge will come at home during the staycation-part of the fortnight, however there will be plenty of time to exercise and hopefully the 'holiday weight' won't stick around too long. 

Bought this on Saturday...

 

Love it!  Good old Matalan!  With an added 10% off too, what's not to like??



But you got cookie...so share it maybe!

"Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.  You will probably have heard it by now.  Actually, you will probably be sick to death of it by now as it's been one of the year's biggest (and most overplayed) international hits.

It's also been one of the most spoofed.  Whilst watching the Vuelta a Espana on ITV4 the other night, they showed a spoof video of cyclists lip-synching to that song.  However, a few weeks ago I discovered the definitive spoof which my friend at work initially introduced me to, however we were talking about it again the other day so I thought it would be well worth a mention on here.  Enjoy!

It's a jungle out there

No really, it is.  As it has pretty much rained constantly for the last 6 weeks, the back garden has forgot what  a lawnmower looks like.  I probably say this every year, but this really is the wettest summer, I mean non-summer, ever.

This evening there has been a slight breakthrough as it managed to remain dry for approximately five hours which was enough for me to go and cut down some hedges.  Or "topiary" as I like to call it :)

I am finally beginning to come out of that dark tunnel of depression and fatigue which started in April and hit a rotten low in June.  After a sickness bug it felt as if I ceased to function.  I lost interest in almost everything, and had no energy for weeks.  It has now been a week and a half, early days I know, but it feels like I'm finally getting the old me back again.

Unfortunately I gained a lot of weight during that time, but I'm working on it and lost 2lbs last week.  Again, early days but the motivation is back.  I'm enjoying getting fit again.

Purple lace dress

I bought this today.  Totally love it.

(picture courtesy of http://www.matalan.co.uk/)

The last week in June

Have already decided that this whole taking-a-week-off-in-June-but-not-going-abroad thing is pretty wonderful.

I've posted my very brief review of our day at Stirling over at EuropeCrazy, and over the next few days I'm finally going to write something about our recent holiday in Turkey.

Busy doing nothing

My self-imposed blogging/tweeting exile so far hasn't really yielded much results.  I haven't finished reading  any books, the telly backlog is still piling up (although I'm making inroads), and the painting/decorating...oh forget it. 

Checking out the odd bit of football when I can - from what I've seen so far, Euro 2012 has been an inevitable disappointment so far, with very few outstanding performances.  Germany are my hot tip to win the whole thing, which has probably jinxed their chances :)

Since that sickness bug, my energy levels have been shot to pieces, and I've been so down in the dumps over the past week that you wouldn't believe, for one reason or another.  On the plus side though, I've got a week off next week which will hopefully be sprinkled with sunshine rather than showers!

Weight Watching Weekly Update: fresh start

Last week, before I got sick, I decided to go back to square one and start all over again with the weight loss efforts.

A week and a half later, I have lost 3lbs which is a massive achievement.  Of course I'm still recovering from that sickness bug, but it's still a good start all in all.

Onwards and down with the weight :)

The fight for fun and the war on forced jollity

What truly makes you happy?  Everyone who reads this will have a different answer, from the sublime to the ridiculous.  But I'll bet one thing that whatever it is, it will be something that you like to do, that you choose to do, rather than something someone suggested would be 'fun' or 'oh come on, it'll be a laugh!'.

The older and more grumpier and intolerant I get, the more it never ceases to amaze me how other people seem to think that they know more than you do about what you'll enjoy.  After all, one man/woman's enjoyable experience is another man/woman's idea of hell.  It's the strict social code of expectations.  It's like North Korea, only with fake tans/false nails/hair extensions. 

Everything from "team building" to the dreaded "social event" is a disaster waiting to happen.  Don't-be-such-a-killjoy/You need-to-go-to-this-cause-it'll-be-a-great-laugh, they say.

No thank you. 

Oh and by the way, we're not killjoys, we know how to have fun too: just don't force it on us.

Sickness bug :(

OK, so I'm on an official-blog-break, but I've sneaked over here for a quick post.  Or two, who knows?

This week, I was ill.  Very ill, actually, as 48 hours ago I fell victim to one of the worst bouts of sickness I've ever had.  I won't go into detail, suffice to say that a full night of projectile vomiting etc resulted in an overnight weight loss of 4lbs and a further 24 hours of extreme nausea where I couldn't even sit up or stand up, not to mention the headache from hell. 

Happily, I'm slowly beginning to recover and am beginning to reintroduce my body to food again.  Hoping that progress continues tomorrow and that I can return to work on Monday after my first day off sick in 3 years!

If you've had this horrible bug, you have my deepest sympathy....and if you haven't had it yet, then I really, really, really hope you manage to escape it!

Muddled.

Best describes my state of mind at the moment.  Feel as if I can't think straight, can't think of the right words to say.  It's as if a fog has descended.  Not coping with even the most simple stuff.  'Senior moments' are becoming more and more frequent.   Recently I've been in a bit of a dark place, for various reasons, and it's affected me in different ways.  During a random discussion at work today I happened to say that I find it impossible to relax at any time, which was probably a bit of a shocking statement.  On the surface I seem to be this chilled out, laid back, easy going person when I'm really a control freak in a constant state of underlying anxiety.

However, there is so much to be grateful for.  Being lucky enough to love (and being loved by) the people who matter.  Reasonably good (physical) health.  And then the small matter of going on holiday in a couple of weeks. Who knows?  I might even learn to relax. 

Weight Watching Weekly Update: Week 3

Another pound off!  That's all.  Good news anyway.

Weight Watching Weekly Update: Week 2

Belatedly posting last week's update with some great news on the weight-loss front: another week of sticking solidly to the plan resulted in 2lbs weight loss.  Which might not seem much to some, but it's a massive achievement for your humble blogger so I'm absolutely delighted. 

Now over halfway through week 3 and coping well with it, although my body's starting to feel a bit fragile from all the extra exercise, combined with post-painting muscle strain :( 

Next weigh-in: Friday 27th April. Onwards and hopefully downwards - weight wise of course!  

♪♪ Together in Electric Dreams... ♪♪

This is probably my favourite ad on telly at the moment - I'd forgotten just how poptastic that song is!  I want one of those little "blobs" please - it's sooooo sweet :)

Potato Wedges!!

Regular readers of my Twitter stream (quick plug - www.twitter.com/europecrazy) will already be aware that Saturday night ain't Saturday night without potato wedges.  For a long time my favourites were McCain's Salt & Cracked Black Pepper flavour, however these were soon beaten by Morrisons' own brand Southern Fried flavour. 

This year however I have set myself a challenge to make some home-made versions of some of my favourite foods - so far the delights include minestrone soup and veggie sausage rolls, and tonight these have been joined by my very own home-made Cajun spice flavoured potato wedges, and very yummy they were too!  Even better news is that you can also get more for your WW points by making your own than making the frozen variety :)

Edit 24.04.12:  Made them again tonight.  The previous batch were made using King Edwards, tonight I used  Rooster potatoes and the result was equally as successful!

Weight watching: weekly update - Week 1

I meant to post this on Friday as that's my weigh-in day, but better late than never :))

I worked very hard to lose 1lb this week - stuck to counting my points and did lots of walking and exercise and drinking lots of water.  It was also a very difficult week work-wise which messed with my mind but I was strong enough to resist comfort eating.  

The weekend always brings challenges for any dieter of course, but I'll just have to work even harder from Monday to Friday!

Something to cheer us all up

We're all a bit fed up at the moment but this never fails to cheer us up.  All together now.. ♪♪"Onedirect dot ie, dubladubladubla" ♪♪♪♪

Sew what!I

This trend for doing it yourself in these recession-hit times, whether it's baking your own cakes or making your own clothes, or 'upcycling' - changing your existing clothes to give them a different look - has raised a wry smile on our faces here at EuropeCrazy HQ, as we were doing all that stuff a long time ago. 

However, we've downsized our old sewing machine to a very neat and pretty spiffy mini model from John Lewis.  They come in a variety of colours, but with our love of purple there was no contest.  

It's summer fragrance time again!

A couple of weeks ago it felt like summer....but now it feels like a long way away.  As I type this post it's dull and rainy outside and it's feeling much colder.

In the absence of good weather, let's have something which smells like summer!  I have previously posted about how much I look forward to the annual release of the summer fragrances.  My favourite summer fragrance is Escada, and this year they've decided to bring out not one but three of their old favourites to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their summer fragrances: Sexy Graffiti, Island Kiss, and Rockin' Rio.  All three are variations on the same theme, however the latter is my absolute favourite so I didn't have too tough a decision to make yesterday when I made my purchase!

Happy Easter!

This is my 300th Random Ramblings post so I'm using it to wish all the readers of this and my other two blogs a very happy Easter.  Whether you are celebrating the religious significance, or just enjoying the extra time off work, or using it as an excuse to eat copious amounts of Easter eggs...whatever way you're spending it - enjoy!!

Fighting losing battles in the inch war

Rewind to 12 months ago.  After 6 reasonably successful months of following WeightWatchers, I finally achieved what had been unachievable for so long: I reached my target weight and dropped a dress size. It would probably still be considered ''overweight" and outwith the healthy BMI range for my small height, but it was my target and I was very happy with that.  The following months saw a spectacular fall off the wagon which has continued to this day.  11lbs, one dress size and several inches later, the time has finally come to sort this thing out.  After Easter weekend of course :)

If all is well I will be heading off with faithful travelling companion for a short break to an as-yet-undecided European destination in just over 6 weeks' time, so if that isn't motivation then I don't know what is!!

From next Friday onwards, I'll post weekly updates on here about my progress.  It won't be all work and no play though, just need to get the balance right :)

The feelgood factor

I'd have to say it was one of my smarter decisions, putting in for a day off work today. When I made this decision a couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be a good idea to take a long weekend to unwind and chill out after a few quite stressful weeks.

What I wasn't expecting was the beautiful, warm sunny weather and temperatures approaching 20 degrees! It was yet another gorgeous day which started off with me doing the annual springtime ritual of becoming "flame haired" again. Then I put on some summery clothing - including sandals!! - for a day out for some retail therapy with mum, rather than the kind of day I expected - sitting indoors, staring out at the rain battering off the window.

Everyone in their summer gear (and some pretty scary sights too - the fashion atrocities must have gone into treble figures today!) Remind me what month it is????

Of course it won't last and it will all be over by the end of this week, because the weathermen told us so. Guess we'd better enjoy our summer whilst we can :))

On the down side, I can't describe how much my legs are still hurting after Saturday's gardening marathon :((

Summertime!!

Here in my part of the world, we usually only have two seasons: the cold rainy one and the slightly less cold but still rainy one.

So it is a very pleasant surprise to be sitting here at the end of March enjoying completely unseasonable summer-type weather. For the past 4 days the temperatures have risen, we can finally switch the heating off, and the sunshine is giving our spirits a much-needed lift.

I guess we will have to make the most of it, as come June/July it will be the usual "summer" weather.

Yesterday I spent four hours out in the garden, cutting grass and doing some intensive weeding work which I'm seriously paying for today, as I can hardly walk :(

Taking yet another great leap forward

It's not very often we get to say this, only every four years to be precise...but tomorrow is 29th February. Nothing spectacular planned though, it's just another day, and we'll be at work....

On the plus side though, I'm feeling much more on the mend after that viral infection in January which left me feeling pretty worn out, then I got a sinus infection which made me sick for a while, and to add to that I'd gained a lot of weight in a very short time.

So now it's time to get back to full fitness and shed those extra pounds. I'm in full get-fit mode, with early nights, lots and lots of walking and exercise and fruit and drinking water, although it's a pretty selfish fitness plan as it still includes crisps and weekend red wine. You need some luxuries don't you :) After just a few days I'm already feeling a difference. If they had an Olympic power walking event, I'd be right in there :)

Hoop hoop hooray!

It's January, and it's time to shake off the extra pounds which I've gained not just over recent weeks, but over recent months. So far, so good: I'm back following Weight Watchers Online and have lost 3lbs since the beginning of the year.

Unfortunately the year didn't start too well healthwise: two weeks ago I was floored by a virus infection which started off as a cold and left me feeling extremely fatigued. The very same thing happened to my mum and faithful travelling companion who are both trying to recover from it at the moment.

It's only now that I'm feeling ready to get fit again. Who needs to pay a hefty gym membership fee to join a gym in these times of economic gloom, when you can buy a couple of bits of equipment which you can easily use at home? Over the last couple of years I've particularly found the Reebok Mini Stepper as an effective way to get fit and has also helped to relieve my lower back pain too.



Yesterday I bought a hula hoop. The whole thing started off as a bit of a joke, but then I thought about how this could really help me tone up and get my waist back again :)



I had a hula hoop as a child and loved it, but back then it was possible to achieve more than the 7 or 8 revolutions I struggled to achieve yesterday. It was a good laugh using it though!

(pictures courtesy of www.argos.co.uk)

It's a no from me for the eggs factor*

Christmas time, mistletoe and wine. It was fun, but it was all gone in a flash, just like the Christmas trees which were blown down in Tuesday's 100 mph gales. Although our local Christmas tree defiantly remains upright and fully lit!

Even though a few hardy souls still have their trees up and strings of lights round their windows, most of the motorised reindeers have nodded their last, the trees and baubles are put away, we marvel at a set of lights actually lasting for four weeks (before they're put away to mysteriously fail before the first weekend of December 2012) and the cards are consigned to the Morrisons recyling bin. Yes folks, Christmas is over for another year, most of us are back to work - although no-one told a certain bus monopoly which has been operating a limited service since Christmas!

Anyway I digress. We need to take stock, to clear the decks, to declutter our minds and detox our bodies, and generally catch our breath after the Christmas rush.

What we do not need is Easter eggs on the 5th of January! Not so much egg-on-face as in-your-face the minute you walk into your nearest supermarket. And don't even start me on the Valentine cards...

Why can't we just let time pass naturally?

* I do love Mini Eggs, so that's the reason for the picture. Just don't buy me any till April :)

The "big year" (yawn)

Two days into 2012 and I'm already bored with the London-centric media's obsession over this "big year". Which of course means only two things: the London 2012 Olympics and the Queen's Jubilee. Both have a lot in common: in a time where there seems to be no solution in sight to the national (and worldwide) recession which is still spiralling out of control, both are a luxury which this country can't afford.

I have always loved the Olympics, yet the idea of them coming to this country still leaves me cold. Don't ask me to explain why, as I honestly don't know, but when I look at some of the practical aspects it all becomes a bit clearer.

Competitors and spectators from all over the world will descend on not just London, but also some other British cities too. No doubts they will be made very welcome by the majority of the population, but after the summer's so-called "riots" I would worry that they may be a target for the scum/low-lifes who despite the recession will always find money for drink, drugs and designer goods "by any means necessary". I've visited many countries over the years, but all of them felt safer than this one.

Then there's the poor transport system in this country. Having travelled all over Europe, the one thing I never fail to notice is the impressive transport infrastructure in place in many countries, even those with a lower standard of living to our own. Arrive in some European countries by air and you can take a train directly from the airport into the city, where you are then faced with a choice of buses and trams which run from stops which clearly state when the next bus/tram is coming, and it might even arrive on time. Transport in Britain is a shambles - bus and train companies whose timetables aren't worth the paper they're written on, poor services, rising fares etc. And don't even ask a bus driver why the bus was late or why you've been waiting for about 40 minutes since the last one, when it's allegedly a 10 minute service - you'll only get a grunt at best, or a torrent of abuse.

Finally, there's our climate. The Olympics is a summer showpiece, so why give it to a country where the weather is an obsession, probably because it's so rubbish most of the time?

Then of course there is the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Never mind that this country is going to hell, that the government is killing off public services and making us work till we drop, that's if we'll all still have jobs, that is. No, let's wave a flag and be proud to be British, for just one day let's forget how crap this country is. There is one good thing about it though: as with the royal wedding last year we're getting an extra day's bank holiday. Now that is worth celebrating.

Goodbye 2011!

I came across this the other day and it really appealed to me. New York has a "Good Riddance Day" at the end of the year which gives people a chance to say "good riddance" to the things about the past year which they're glad to see the back of.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/New-Yorkers-Say-Good-Riddance-to-2011-136402413.html

Personally I'll also be glad to say "good riddance" to 2011 for so many reasons, both personal and on a wider scale. However it wasn't all bad - no year is all bad, and good things do happen.

I have so much to be thankful for - good health, a happy home life, a relationship which is stronger than it's ever been, a job which I genuinely enjoy doing, and having just enough money to get by. We had a couple of very good holidays in Pisa and Dublin this year. Earlier in the year I finally reached my target weight and dropped a dress size for the first time in about 20 years. I know that's totally irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, but it was a major achievement for me. (I put it all on again in the second half of the year of course, but that's only a temporary blip).

Just like my weight, my own health was up and down this past year, but I end the year with the crippling back pain under control - although that right knee is still very dodgy :( Meanwhile my mum, who has had a pretty rubbish year healthwise, ends the year in, touch wood, a reasonable state of health by her standards.

I'm not into all this new year resolution nonsense, as they are doomed to fail, but the new year gives us a blank page to make some new, hopefully happy, memories. I'll be sharing them on this blog of course, and I hope that all the readers of this and my other two blogs get the chance to make lots of happy memories of your own in 2012.

Lots of love and best wishes for the new year ahead!


Laura xx

....but you can never leave.

If someone asked me to describe this wonderful, life-changing experience which is blogging, I'd borrow from those great philosophers The Eagles and say it's a bit like the Hotel California - you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

2011 has been particularly horrible for a lot of reasons, some very close to home, others in a wider world context. Meanwhile in blogland, there were several moments over the past year when I seriously considered quitting blogging, one of the reasons being that I felt I wasn't delivering on the promises and (what turned out to be unreasonable) targets which I'd mentally set myself. And that's not what blogging should be about. It should be spontaneous, and fun, and all the things which resulted in me keeping three blogs going, as I still do.

The other problem was that it was impossible to keep EuropeCrazy topical and up to date, due to time constraints. A lot of blogging is about 'the now' and topicality is everything. Writing an album review a year after its release wouldn't exactly go down too well in music blogland, for example. So I had all these little unwritten posts in my head, but when the time came around to publish them, I just felt they weren't relevant anymore.

If you think all this is leading up to an "I've decided to quit blogging" announcement, well....it's not. Let's go back to The Eagles, because I'm going to check out for a while but have no intention of leaving. Because I love blogging, and I want to keep on doing it. I want to celebrate the 5th birthday of my first-born blog EuropeCrazy in March 2012. I want to take Planet Salem (which is 4 years old tomorrow) into its fifth year. And as long as there's food to eat and clothes to buy, there's a lot of life left in good ol' Random Ramblings too.

The big difference is that I'll be blogging a lot less than I used to, and won't be promising anything which I can't deliver. After the 2011-50 ends over at EuropeCrazy, I'm going to step away from the computer for a little while, however will still write the odd blog post. And that time will hopefully come when I've caught up with myself, when all the jobs are done, and I'll be ready to throw myself back into blogland with a vengeance.

Retail therapy (again, I know)

Off to Matalan with mum this afternoon, and what a very productive day it was for both of us: mum was very lucky to finally get the new pair of boots she was looking for, we got some Christmas wrapping paper, oh and I bought two new coats. Not one but two. A black one and a purple one.

Now I like coats, and I like purple coats, and there are probably not enough purple coats in the world so here is another one for my collection. Although it's probably more "grape" than purple I guess.

Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan...

Made this, just over an hour ago - my first attempt at some speciality Irish cuisine...potato pancakes which are better known as boxty. It was OK, although my mashed potato to grated potato ratio needs some work as the end result was a bit soggy. Nevertheless I'm glad I tried it!

It'll be a while before I try it again though, as I'll need to sustain my good work on the diet front. I worked hard and lost 2lbs last week, which has probably been undone by the boxty :)

Like it!

Loving this new Aldi ad with the wine-loving parrot. Hope you "like it" too :)

Champiñones al Ajillo

I've been too busy to blog lately, so only just getting round to publishing this. It was actually a couple of weeks ago that I took the plunge into cooking one of my favourite tapas dishes at home. And rather yummy it was too, although the garlic aroma was circling around my house for several days afterwards :)

Who said anything about a diet??

As you know I'm a crisp addict rather than a chocolate fan, but this is well worth getting excited about.

The other week one of my friends at work introduced me to Thorntons Ginger and Chilli chocolate, which is pretty amazing. Especially if you like your chocolate with a fiery kick, this will be right up your street. Yum.

Goodbye CRT, hello LED

It was the end of an era this week at EuropeCrazy HQ, as we finally took the great leap forward into the digital TV revolution. Our trusty old 28" flat screen CRT TV...

which was once state of the art back in the day, made way for a 37" LED TV...

It wasn't a spur of the moment decision but it's been researched for ages, and whilst I'm in 'life's too short' mode, now is as good a time as any to take that step.

It's not just a flat screen TV, it's one of these "smart tvs" which you can get BBC iPlayer and YouTube on. And it's got Freeview HD as well.

It is extremely fab and I hope we get as many happy viewing years out of our new TV as our old one gave us. I'll just need to tear myself away from it to write a few blog posts now and then :)

This time, we'll get it right

For some bizarre reason, I'm borrowing the post title from the England World Cup Squad football song from 1982. They weren't singing about Christmas shopping of course, but I thought it was an appropriate title tonight.

Today saw part 2 of my Christmas shopping bonanza. In 2011, I have decided to be even more organised than ever and get as much Christmas shopping done as early as possible. Today, like last Saturday, was very productive. A jewellery blitz in Next was followed by a card/gift bag blitz in Card Factory and then it was on to Boots for a 3 for 2 on Champneys spa stuff. Finally. I've moved on from all the Sanctuary goodies to something new :)

It's been a good weekend all in all. Last night, we finally made it to our favourite local Indian restaurant for my birthday meal, 2 week later than planned as I hadn't been too well around that time. Happily the work-stress is finally starting to ease off, but it's still the worst time of year for that....roll on January!

October

As months go, October is probably one of my least favourites. It really hasn't got much going for it: the holidays are over and there's not much to look forward to, the weather gets colder, the days get darker, Christmas is being foisted on us by every high street store before it's even Halloween, the fireworks start going on sale for all the anti-social low lifes to let off every night between now and 5th November, making our streets even more of a no-go area than they are already. My mood sinks so low that I end up comfort eating, getting fat, gaining weight, getting angry that I'm getting fat. And don't start me about work...

Anyway being the optimist I am, I'm trying to think of something good about October. Then I remembered that this is probably my favourite time of the year for clothes. I might have said on this blog before now that I love autumn fashion, and that's still the same. You can forget all the trendy designer shops - my favourite clothes shop is the magnificent Matalan. Good quality clothes at reasonable prices, you can't go wrong.

One of my major autumn/winter obsessions is boots. When you live in a country with a climate as utterly dire as this one, you can't have enough boots of course. On Saturday I headed for Matalan with my birthday money and bought not one but two new pairs of boots for the winter. One of them is a knee-high dark grey pair, the other is a mid-calf brown pair (pictured above). Today was like a winter's day, so I wore the brown pair to work, and they passed the test.

Last word on my birthday - I did very well this year...two pairs of boots, a new skirt, a Father Ted DVD box set, a crystal bracelet, two bottles of red wine and still some money left to spend. Result!

Seamus the Sheep

Meet my new friend from Dublin :)

Hilarious Irish TV ad

This is an ad for One Direct car insurance which I saw on TV whilst over in Dublin, I still think the guy's singing is side-splittingly hilarious - can we swap him for the Go Compare guy???

Wacky Woollies!!

If you go to Dublin (and probably anywhere else in Ireland I guess) and go into a gift shop, you won't be able to avoid the various souvenirs featuring a multi-coloured array of mad Irish sheep. They are called Wacky Woollies, and I totally love them! Yes I know I'm probably far too old for what is probably a 21st century Irish update/variation on the Mr Men, but who cares? They're fab. The picture you see above is of a Wacky Woollies shopping bag which I bought whilst in Dublin two weeks ago.

You'll find everything wacky and woolly at Carroll's Irish Gift Stores, there are tons of these shops in Dublin and they're online at http://www.carrollsirishgifts.com/category/COLLECTABLEScollectables/COLLECTABLESWackyWoollies

(nearly) September 30th

It's my birthday tomorrow, so I thought I'd check out who will also be blowing out the candles on their cake tomorrow. Of course another year older means that there is inevitably more candles than there's space on the cake ;)

Anyway, I'm impressed that I'm sharing my big day with the likes of Barbara Knox, Johnny Mathis, the late Marc Bolan, Rula Lenska, the fab Basia Trzetrzelewska, Monica Bellucci, Marion Cotillard, Star Academy 2's Georges-Alain Jones, and Ola Jordan.

So happy birthday to all of them, happy birthday to me, and if tomorrow's your big day then happy birthday to you!!

Unfortunately I've decided to postpone my annual birthday dinner at my favourite local Indian restaurant as I'm not in tip top health at the moment...however it shouldn't be too long till our usual annual treat!

Linda Pritchard Pizza!

I wonder if the person in charge of pizza-naming at Asda was inspired by Linda Pritchard's 2010 Melodifestivalen entry, "You're Making Me Hot-Hot-Hot" when they were thinking of a name for their absolutely delicious spicy veg pizza?

Note to chief of labelling: your pizza is impressive, your spelling is not. Jamacian? Hmph :(

Turn again to life

The governor of New Jersey just read this out at one of the 9/11 commemorations and I wanted to share it here.

Turn Again To Life
Mary Lee Hall

If I should die and
Leave you here awhile
Be not like others sore undone,
Who keep long vigils
By the silent dust and weep.
For my sake turn again
To life and smile
Nerving thy heart
And trembling hand to do
Something to comfort
Other hearts than thine.
Complete these dear
Unfinished Tasks of mine,
And I, perchance
May therein comfort you.

9/11 remembered, ten years on

As with all major events/tragedies, people always ask the question, "where were you when ......happened?" We all have our stories, and as we commemorate the 10th anniversary of that shocking, tragic day, I thought I’d share my own personal story here.

On 11th September 2001, I was heading off to Barcelona with faithful travelling companion for our annual summer holiday. Sitting in a departure lounge in Luton airport, surrounded by a vast majority of Spanish citizens, we were completely unaware that the attacks had taken place. Flights continued to depart and by the time we boarded the flight from Luton airport, the Twin Towers had fallen, and we still didn’t even know.

Our flight was probably one of the last to leave the UK, before airspace was closed and all flights were suspended. We arrived in Barcelona, still completely unaware. September 11th had a different meaning for the Catalans - it was (and remains) Catalunya’s National Day. After checking into our hotel we headed out on that hot, sunny Tuesday evening. The streets, bars and restaurants of Barcelona were buzzing and busier than ever due to the public holiday, and we wanted to be part of it. We joined in the party atmosphere, still unaware of the events which unfolded.

It wasn’t till very, very late that evening that we finally found out. On our way home, people were handing out free newspapers in the street - a Spanish-language equivalent of the Metro newspaper. On the front page, there was a picture of two skyscrapers, on fire, and a headline about the USA. I couldn’t understand a word of Spanish, so couldn’t really make sense of it. Back at the hotel, I got a message to phone home - when my mother finally told me about the terrifying events in New York.

One week later it was time to go home. It was a difficult journey home for many reasons, including missing our connecting flight due to long (but very necessary) delays/security measures. But we got home eventually, back to a changed world when things would never be the same again.

It will never get any easier watching the images of what happened that day, watching them over and over again in the numerous commemorative documentaries which have been screened over the past two weeks. Today many commemorative events are taking place to remember those who lost their lives on September 11th, and who will always be remembered in the hearts of their loved ones. My thoughts are with you.

The countdown is on

One more working day left and then it will be time for my annual two weeks off, which will put a much-needed smile on my face. Unlike previous years there will be no traditional 'summer holiday' but I'm determined that the approaching 'staycation' (to use that very 21st century term) will provide some necessary rest and relaxation and may yet bring some surprises. And, no doubt, a trip to Matalan.

I'd like to say that there would be some kind of blogging bonanza, but right now I'm struggling to recover the blogging mojo. I'll try and do a post or two though...

Did I hear jingle bells???

Yes it's the 17th of August.

SO WHY ARE THERE BOXES OF CHRISTMAS CARDS ON THE SHELVES IN BIRTHDAYS???

Sorry for shouting, but this kind of thing just makes me so grumpy and sends me into despair.

Christmas in August? Bah humbug. Some of us have still to go on our summer holidays.

When I am through with you

These showery days and chilly nights make it feel like summer is over :( however two days off work is good no matter what time of year it is. Apart from the retail therapy mentioned in the previous post, my long weekend also involved some decluttering and charity bagging, and actually finishing a book for a change - Mark Cavendish's "Boy Racer". Oh, and I've even made serious inroads into the "Damages" season 1 boxset at last, currently on loan from faithful travelling companion. This programme is very addictive viewing, and after each episode I just want to see the next one. Also, the theme tune (which gives this post its title) is very good too.

I'm certainly not stuck for things to do during this blogging break. Work, rest, and play. On Monday I even slotted in a game of Beehive Bedlam at teatime and got to level 13 then decided to quit whilst I was ahead. Not for me the complicated world of modern gaming (although my fondness for The Sims will never die) but give me Bloobs or Beehive Bedlam and I'll be happy for the rest of the day.

The revenge of the maxi dress, and some other stuff.

I spent the early stages of this (so-called) summer on an elusive search for the maxi dress, the one which doesn't make me look like an elephant, or a 4-person tent, or a multicoloured explosion in a paint shop. Needless to say I gave up, with the realisation that they're all made for tall people and I'd have to cut a few inches off the bottom of a very, very long dress.

So it was a massive surprise today to finally meet the maxi dress of my dreams, perfect in every way. And even better, it was reduced in a sale!! Of course I bought it! Had a very nice day of retail therapy.

Now I'm no fashionista, but I do like clothes. A lot. However, why do the shops persist in trying to sell us such ludicrous "looks"? This year, it's been 'colour blocking'. Whoever thought of putting pink and red together? What were they on?

The other fashion issue which continues to irritate me: if our nation is becoming the obesity capital of Europe, then where are all the big sizes? Why do the more affordable fashion stores persist on overstocking size 8s and 10s which remain unsold? It's time the size-discrimination stopped.

Big girls want fashionable, affordable clothing too!

Unfortunately in recent years there is a generation (of all shapes and sizes) who have grown up with ill-fitting low-cut T-shirts, low-slung tattoo-flashing jeans, tracksuit bottoms and hooded tops, and those people will sadly take a bit more persuading to smarten themselves up if the opportunity ever arose. The chav style is here to stay, it seems, which is very sad indeed.

I've been off work today and tomorrow, for what I call a couple of days' "sanity leave" to (a) clear my head and (b) get things done. So far I haven't been able to achieve either of these objectives :) oh well there's always tomorrow I suppose! Right - off to bed!

What's the world coming to?

I am still shocked and saddened by the events in Norway yesterday: the Oslo bomb, followed by the Utøya massacre. I wanted to write something about it, yet it's impossible to find the words to describe my anger, shock, revulsion at an act which appears to have been carried out by a lone, sick individual.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all in that beautiful northern land. May you all stay strong and let no-one destroy your spirit.

Sinus infection, day three hundred and forty five

OK it's only 10 days, but it feels a lot longer....

As Madonna might have sung, "mucus makes the people come together" but enough bad puns, because it's no laughing matter. I'm fed up with constantly blowing my nose. I'm fed up going deaf every time I blow my nose. I'm fed up with the face-pain, with the dizziness, with the headaches. And then the hayfever attacks come, and that triggers the recurring sinus infection, and it all starts all over again.

Having practically no sense of smell is bad enough anyway, but I could really do without all of the above as well. And don't even start me on how worn out and tired I'm feeling right now. So I'm too tired to blog at the moment.

Back to the rules :(

Those (mainly) rotten, busy and stressful couple of weeks, inevitably led to comfort eating on a big scale. The diet took a hammering and the scales went up. My ear/sinus infection of the past week didn't help either - I'm still trying to shake that off, by the way.

But over the last few days we've had, to use that well-used phrase "closure" in a way. So it's a good time to get a grip and get on with it. Even though it's "summer" and I should really be relaxing. But of course September is my "summer", when faithful travelling companion and I hit sunnier climes for a week. So I need to get in shape!

Our 2011 summer destination is, as yet, unannounced but there are a few ideas kicking around. News to follow in a few weeks....

In other news...

It's been a while since I blogged, so I thought it was about time to dip my toes into the blogging pool once again.

"Summer" has been a non-event so far, weather-wise; whilst people in some parts of Britain were sweltering, we still had the central heating and were reaching for extra clothing layers, and the most essential item in our summer wardrobe was a waterproof jacket. Summer up here is like wintertime, only with lighter nights. It's been a nice surprise then to have two rain-free days, yesterday and today, with nice warm temperatures to match. And some sun.

The past week has been pretty surreal. There has been time off work, leisurely lunches and lovely days out, notably at Ayr (pictured above)which is my favourite Scottish seaside town. It also has some great shops for some much-needed retail therapy and the sales (usually a disappointment) provided some nice bargains.

However something much more unpleasant also happened a week ago; I can't say much as it's still being investigated, but all I will say is that we have been victims of vandalism and all in all it has been a horrible experience which we can only hope was a one-off.

In the totally-crap-year sweepstake, 2011 is galloping past previous winner 2008 and already winning by several lengths. (There has been a lot of personal darkness in this year so far, some things I haven't written about on here out of respect to loved ones).

Yet I am always trying to stay upbeat in spite of everything, trying to keep things moving along and being strong for everyone. "Keep calm and carry on" could be my catchphrase. But even glass half full people like me will inevitably crash and burn eventually, before picking themselves up as we do. I had that moment on Friday night, but having got through the weekend I'm feeling better and ready to move on again.

But what happens if you can't?

You know, I learned something today.

I learned that maxi dresses are not for me: after three attempts at trying them on, I've decided it's three strikes and they're out. After losing all this weight and not thinking of myself as the fat girl anymore, the last thing I want is to buy clothes which make me look like a beached whale.

Oh, and I also learned that it's ok to eat a big Indian meal, a high-points risotto, and a great big Magnum ice-cream lolly, and stay the same weight I was last week.

Boot camp sucks.

That's the verdict after two days. Of the 15 rules of boot camp, the one which completely floored me was the 2 litres of water per day thing, which resulted in a total humdinger of a headache. It's not as if I'm detoxing - I love my strong coffee and diet fizzy drinks too much to give them up, do you want to push me completely over the edge???? - but that headache was a total stinker and ruined my whole day.

However the exercise element is going very well, so it's not all bad.

And anyway tomorrow night is Indian night! Mushroom pakora, chicken tikka masala, rice and nan. Who said anything about boot camp???

The first rule of Boot Camp is...

...let's talk about Boot Camp!

For the next 21 days* I've declared war on the wobbly bits and decided to tone up, get fit, get healthier.

That's the plan anyway.

So day 1 is over, and it's gone well. 20 days to go....

*Needless to say, this plan does not include the fab Indian meal which I'm going to have on Wednesday, or the nice big lunch I'm going to have on Saturday. Well you've got to have something to look forward to, haven't you??!!!

Mushroom Risotto!

Tonight I made my first ever mushroom risotto, which was if I might say so a very successful first attempt. Arborio rice and chestnut mushrooms - yum. And very filling too.

All good so far: until I put it into the recipe builder on Weight Watchers Online....18 points.

EIGHTEEN FLIPPIN' POINTS! You're only allowed 29 per day! It was, of course, the olive oil to blame, so next time I'll be substituting Fry Light. And admittedly it was a massive, dinner-sized portion, a bit too much for supper time!!

Happy Friday and the sun is shining

A rarity here: a dry day, some sun to go along with it, and allegedly 25 degrees. Which is about the hottest I can stand - any higher and it gets unbearable. We're never happy :)

Anyway, I lost 1lb this week, despite the excesses of the bank holiday weekend....going in the right direction.

Finally getting better.

Not counting my chickens or anything, but I've been free of back pain for exactly one week. The back pain which has over the past 18 months at times been so crippling that I haven't been able to function at all, and which has stopped me doing a lot of things I wanted to do/should be doing.

What made it better? Believe it or not, 10 minutes every day on my mini-stepper which seems to be great physiotherapy. And so far, it's working. It may not always work, but I'm enjoying it so far. It's also had a very positive effect on my mood too. Now I just need to shift these extra pounds - lost 1lb this week so heading in the right direction :)

The ups and downs of the numbers game

This week, it's been all about the numbers, and the ups and downs.

Quite appropriate in a way...a big chunk of my daily nine-to-five involves producing stats in various shapes and forms, and strangely enough I remain just a little fascinated by stats, even when the working day is over.

So....

This has been a record-breaking and totally amazing week over at EuropeCrazy, mainly thanks to a certain annual song contest :) so thank you all for visiting my blog during that time - and if you like what you saw, don't forget to call back regularly as you will be very welcome!

Now the bad news :(

I gained another pound this week, which is probably more of my holiday weight...oh well I need to work hard, no in fact I need to work much, much harder to lose all the weight I've gained over the last 4 weeks. After all, it's only 4 months till our next holiday. Destination unknown (at the moment).

Four pounds :(

Three weeks' break from Weight Watchers, five days in Italy. It was inevitable that there would be weight gain. And there was. Four pounds, to be precise.

But what the heck, it was fun while it lasted!!!

Tomorrow the fun ends....back on the diet, however I'm feeling confident that I'm going to succeed. Back to work tomorrow too....oh well.

R**** W******

For some people, it was the highlight of their year, whilst for others it was all too much - like that little scene-stealing flower girl above! (picture courtesy of www.mirror.co.uk)

I refer of course to the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton which took place two days ago. I'm no royalist by any means, and my own view is that the British royal family are an unaffordable luxury, especially all the hangers-on. And why do royal weddings always take place during recessions, when, allegedly "Britain needs a feelgood factor"? When in fact they actually mean "Britain needs a smokescreen to make people forget about how s**t this country is".

Let's 'go compare'.....

1973: Tory government, recession, strikes, 3 day week, Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips, ends in divorce.

1981: Tory government, recession, riots, mass unemployment, Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer, ends in divorce.

1986: Tory government, massive gap between haves and have nots, Prince Andrew marries Sarah Ferguson, ends in divorce.

2011: Tory government, recession, mass unemployment, Prince William marries Kate Middleton....

Of course the best thing about it was getting an extra day off work, turning this into an extremely fab 4 day weekend. Again, despite my cynicism, I did tune in for curiosity value, to see "the dress" and the important parts of the ceremony. Kate was a stylish and graceful bride in a classic, timeless dress which was a million miles away from the bizarre creations of "Big Fat Gypsy Weddings" or indeed for that matter, Princess Diana's creased taffeta disaster from 30 years ago.

The most annoying thing for me about any royal wedding is the flag-waving lunacy, the street parties, and TV presenters knocking themselves out to see who can suck up to the royal family the most. It's the Last Night of The Proms gone mad, and the kind of "Britishness" which I just can't identify with, even though I'm a British citizen.

Despite my cynicism, I have to say that I wish the couple well and hope that they have a long and happy marriage which will weather the storm of life in the spotlight. The couple's relationship seems to be more 'real' and is built on a stronger foundation than some previous royal couplings, so maybe this one will work out and the fairytale wedding will have a happy ending.

Goodbye work, hello relaxation (well for a couple of weeks anyway...!)

So although I'm not a royalist by any means, I thought it was most considerate of Wills 'n' Kate to tack their wedding on to a public holiday weekend = et voilà, the four day weekend (for all those of us lucky enough to get that...and apologies to everyone having to work it).


In something totally unrelated, I'm still loving Yankee Candles and treated myself to some new ones this week, although tonight I'm burning an old familiar aroma: baby powder.

(picture above courtesy of www.yankeecandle.co.uk)

Tomorrow: pre-holiday stuff all day and all the control-freak-military-precision that involves, combined with a curious eye on that big event.

Long weekends and holidays

2011 has been pretty rubbish so far, in many many ways, yet I'm feeling some optimism now. Easter always seems to signal a positive turning point, and although it's been a long time coming, it is almost here at last. So there's a nice long weekend to look forward to, followed by a three day working week, followed by another nice long weekend which nicely rolls into a week off. This usually involves a short break in a European city: I guarantee that there will be an announcement this weekend!!

It's been a very stressful time of late as I've been involved in updating my training course at work, which has been very rewarding but which along with other life/work stuff has mentally and physically taken its toll :( I was involved in delivering the first of the new updated courses yesterday and today, which went well, however I'm going through yet another bout of fatigue where I'm tired all the time, even after a good night's sleep. Therefore I'm welcoming this holiday period as an opportunity to unwind. There are so many outstanding household tasks demanding my attention at the moment but I'll have to prioritise them - after all, you know what they say...'all work and no play' etc.

So there will be time for fun, and retail therapy, and pre-holiday planning, and getting out and enjoying this rare spell of dry warm weather too. And maybe even a little bit of blogging over the weekend :))

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!

Reached my goal weight today, so I thought I'd rope in one of those fab South American football commentators to announce it! It's been hard work, but achievable, and I didn't need to make too many sacrifices either - just a few small but significant changes. The journey continues though, as I've given myself another two pounds to lose - but there's no rush to lose it. Meanwhile this weekend it's time for celebration :))))

Dropped a dress size!!

My WeightWatchers journey continues, and I'm now (yet again) 1lb off my target weight. Even better news is that I have now officially dropped a dress size after 6 months of my latest dieting adventure.

I'm beyond excited....if only for the reason that I'm not exactly the most committed to any weight loss plan as (a) I love my treats and (b) my social life almost exclusively revolves around eating out. The other important point is that, this time, I've lost weight and dropped a size despite months of pretty horrendous ongoing back pain which has prevented me from doing my usual aerobics etc...it's the first time ever that I've managed to lose weight by following a plan alone.

So, let's hear it for the WeightWatchers ProPoints plan. It really works if you stick to it. And if it works for me, it should work for anyone.

Onwards into April...

So a new month starts tomorrow, and it's going to be a mentally draining one work-wise, and a physically draining one at home so it's time to clear the decks again and I'm going to take another month off blogging. Meanwhile the diet continues...to be honest it hasn't been so successful over the last few weeks, but I'm trying very hard and trying to eat more fruit and make lots of home-made soup (specialities: carrot and lentil / parsnip and red pepper) and resurrecting my old tomato and chargrilled vegetable pasta sauce recipe, throw in some pasta twists and voila! Here it is. Another attempt to get into Blogs of Note.



There will be a diet update at the end of April. There is still some motivation as I'd usually be due to be going on holiday at the beginning of May, however due to personal circumstances at the moment this could change and could be delayed or maybe not. Anyway when there is a holiday announcement...it'll be announced!!

Smells like summer.

British Summer Time is here. Hooray!! And for once it actually started with bright skies, dry weather and a bit of sunshine. No I'm not hallucinating!!

One thing I particularly love about summer is the summer fragrance: those special editions of perfume which try to capture the feel of the season with light, fruity scents. My favourite summer fragrances are made by Escada, and this year's edition is Taj Sunset which boasts their trademark mango aroma. I bought it yesterday in The Perfume Shop, which is currently doing a special promotion where you also get a free cosmetic bag along with the 30 ml bottle for £19.99. More info here.

Recently it has been a personally difficult time for different reasons. I'm not going to write about that part of my life, if only out of respect to my loved ones, but I only mentioned this to put in context why I maybe haven't had the time, the inclination or the energy to blog so much of late. But I am filled with hope and welcome the change of season.

Even if 'summer' inevitably fails to deliver on the weather front, I love it when the days get longer, the nights get lighter and you suddenly feel like you have all this extra time on your hands. Which will inevitably be devoted to damage limitation in the garden and catching up on all that painting and decorating which I totally neglected in the summer of 2010. My plan for a blog break every three months is going well and I'll be taking another month off in April.

Sniff.

Laura the red-nosed blogger
Had a very drippy nose
She's had the cold for two days
Now she wishes it would go

She's blogging from her sick bed
But her schedule's very tight
Lots on at work tomorrow
So she'll need to get an early night (that's a first ha ha!).

Stayed the same....

....this week. Didn't gain weight, didn't lose weight. Fine by me as there were lots of treats around mum's birthday last weekend, and believe me I wasn't even thinking about dieting back then!

I wasn't thinking about dieting tonight either. Just back from a very nice evening of dining out with some friends....lovely food and lovely company = my perfect kind of night.

And then I'm lunching tomorrow!! So needless to say it's back to "drastic measures" from Sunday onwards, with hopefully some good news to report one week from now.

...plus one.

Gained 1lb since my last weigh-in two weeks ago. Which isn't too bad considering I got a lot for it :) anyway there was probably more damage done but it was probably damage-limited by the good work I've done over the last five days.

Definition of this week: focused and hectic. But enjoyable in a strange way. Very tiring though.

Zzzzzzz....