Fancy a cuppa?

I meant to mention a few weeks ago that my old espresso machine decided after three years that it didn't want to be my espresso machine any more and conked out. So the search began for a replacement. I was pretty shocked to find that you couldn't get a half decent machine for 30 quid anymore - and that the going rate is now (at the very least) double that. After all my price comparisons it was John Lewis which delivered the best deal on my very handsome new DeLonghi espresso/cappuccino maker, which is pictured above, and which has now had pride of place in my kitchen for the last month or so.

It makes top quality espresso and thanks to that little tampering gadget it also produces the 'crema' which you get in proper espresso bought in proper coffee shops so I'm well pleased. Hope I get at least another three years out of it :)

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but cakes and chips excite me

The title of this post came to me on Saturday night, whilst watching the tedious parade of chart rubbish on one of the music channels with faithful travelling companion, who is rather partial to that Rihanna person. The bad pun will probably escape you if you're not familiar with her latest single - y'know, the 'controversial' one about Marks & Spencer (tee hee).

Anyway I digress. 'Self-destruct week' came to a grand finale on Saturday with some of my most favourite cake from my favourite local bakery. These photos don't even come close to doing it justice, but what the heck, let's try. It's basically as much cream as it humanly possible to fit on a cake, interrupted by strawberries and some sponge.

Let's hear it for big plastic boxes!

On the plus side, a major phase of my ongoing decluttering exercise at EuropeCrazy HQ was completed today, as I finally finished clearing out my big bedroom cupboard. Result: lots of shoes and bags off to the charity shops, lots of old hoarded paperwork destroyed or scanned in my "paperless office", lots of shoe boxes gone to the recycling bin, and the remaining shoes, boots, trainers and bags all stored in four of Poundstretcher's finest big plastic 40 litre storage boxes (2 for £8.00, what a bargain!) plus I've now been able to move the boxes of old videos which were skyscraping from the top of my wardrobes, into the freed-up space in the cupboard.

Result!

Nothing left in the tank

A little continuation of the previous post....it's been a week of self-destruction in dieting terms, as I completely quit for a whole week and proceeded to eat and drink all the things I really shouldn't have been eating and drinking. It was fun though...but you get tired of it too, so in time-honoured fashion, tomorrow is another day and it starts all over again...lots of home-made soup, water, fruit and other healthy things, as the double chin is beginning to reappear as is that spare tyre :(

I guess I made the decision to go off the rails for a week for comfort eating purposes, as I'm feeling really stressed at the moment, well between Mondays and Fridays anyway. I'm involved in a piece of work which is pretty demanding and time-limited, and basically I haven't got anywhere with it. What do you do when there's nothing left in the tank? When you start thinking but your mind feels empty? How can I overcome that....and explain to a group of people who are looking to me for ideas, that I don't have any? I've only got tomorrow to come up with something: let's just say I'll be a lot happier when Tuesday is over.

EDIT 28.02.2011: I got a little bit of inspiration and a couple of ideas: let's hope it's enough.

In search of the blogging mojo and time management skills

I'm a little lost on both fronts at the moment....had hoped that my little blogging-break in January would bring all the hunger and inspiration back. OK, they came back, but I'm still struggling with a lack of time, as I continue to catch-up with various other things which were put on hold over that last, manic, crazy, wonderful 12 months. And despite having lots to blog about, for some reason, everything seems to go a blank when I sit down at the computer....

Been a bit run-down/stressed of late and that's not helping matters. Then there was the two weeks when I was literally brought to a standstill by that crippling lower back nerve pain. Then (cue ad voice-over!) I discovered Voltarol Emulgel, which if you'll pardon the pun, has brought me "back" again to fitness levels approaching some kind of normality at last. Today I walked to and from work without any pain, and not even one crippling twinge. It's (hopefully) getting better at last....!

Meanwhile, back at EuropeCrazy HQ...

...the main news has been my continuing weight loss, currently totalling 8lbs, and which I'm really really really delighted about! There was a brief blip, but we're allowed that from time to time, and it wasn't long till I was back on track. Still a little bit to go yet, but reaching my lowest weight for about 15 years is, as the ad says....priceless.

Of course we don't need any excuse to go shopping for new clothes, although I'm 'between sizes' at the minute, especially when it comes to trousers/jeans. Anyway I bought a couple of new coats in George (Asda) a couple of weeks ago, which are very nice indeed. Pictures courtesy of www.asda.com.

Bidding January a fond farewell.

So I guess that's it then, my month-long blog break is officially over and it's back to blogging again. Of course I did manage to sneak in a few posts on the three blogs, but these couldn't wait! I'm going to try this experiment where I'll have two months blogging then one month off so expect some down-time in April, July and October this year. That's the plan.

Anyway I rather enjoyed the "break" which was a mixture of work and play. I started decluttering at home, although this is a massive job with no end in sight any time soon. On the 'play' side it was a chance to watch a backlog of movies and start working my way through box sets (current status: Boston Legal Season 1, One Tree Hill Season 5. Sounds like a football result.)

On the down side, there still hasn't been any time to read any of the books on my bookshelves which continue to scream "read me!" Maybe I'll do 'book month' on the next blog break in April :)

All in all, January was pretty ok. The weather wasn't too bad, after the infamous snow of November/December, and I got some weight loss too. After a spectacular fall off the wagon over last weekend, I'm back on track and entering what you would call 'phase 2' where the focus is going to be on improving fitness. Again....that's the plan. Now all I need is to stick with it :)))