Sunday, 9 June 2013

New Moon... new beginnings, doing it my way!

Last night was a New Moon, a time for new beginnings, new endeavours. A time in which I have a couple of new starts that I'm making. Firstly, a new direction with my jewellery and a new brand name and home for my blog all tied in, you'll see the changes appearing soon!
Secondly, this:


Yep, this is me, at a family BBQ last weekend. I am only about 5"4 and 9 to 9 and a half stone (57-60 kilos) is what I should weigh in at and feel my most comfortable at. I got on the scales this morning and I was nudging 10.5 stone (almost 67kg). Ouch. I don't look good and I don't feel good and in six weeks time I have to be a bridesmaid without resembling a beached whale.
I am a typical apple shape so I literally carry most of the weight in my thighs, stomach & boobs (they've gotten ridiculously large, ha ha!). I have battled with IBS-related bloating for years but the added weight is sitting uncomfortably.

However, I've never been on a diet in my life. Yes, you read that right, I'm 35 and I've never dieted. I've never had to & I don't believe in them. I know how I got here (too many takeaways, too much reliancy on carbohydrate filled foods & lack of exercise) and I don't intend to try any fad diets or live on celery alone in order to get back to where I want to be. Please don't misunderstand me, 10.5 stone is not a lot but on me it sits badly and I feel awkward and have to dress to hide my middle so my self-confidence is on a slippery-slope. I don't want to eat in a way where I feel restricted or guilty and I don't want to feel as though I'm battling with myself.

So what I am going to do is eat less carbs, more vegetables, cut out fizzy drinks and try to cut back on sugar in general and move, in some way, every single day. I want to feel like the me I am used to being and I want to feel energetic and not fatigued constantly.

I started yesterday and will share my progress with you here, let's see if I can lose a stone and gain some extra vitality in six weeks my way!


Monday, 27 May 2013

My Fantasy Dinner Party...

I saw this over on This Girl Is... and thought it would be fun to put together my own version. A fantasy dinner party says a lot about who you are, right?


My five dinner guests would be...
*Louis de Bernieres ~ because I love his books.
*Ashley LeMieux ~ because this girl is such a huge inspiration
*Harrison Ford ~ no explanation needed
*Jeff Goldblum ~ because I have a huge geek crush on him
*Toni Morrison ~ author of Beloved, an incredible, haunting & beautiful book.

What would be on the menu? Well now that it's finally a wee bit summery here (whispers so that the weather-man doesn't hear) we'd eat al fresco on a large wooden table with oodles of white wine and the menu would be...

*oven roasted peppers filled with rice & goats' cheese
*lemon & lime chicken with salad & new potatoes
*lemon tart or lemon meringue

I love lemon.

Who would you have at your fantasy dinner party?




Sunday, 26 May 2013

Life lately via instagram


Life lately has been a crazy mish-mash of work, visiting my dad, flying out to Vegas for a hen-do, awful jet lag and severe sleep shortage, hanging out in the sun and punting down the river. The house is gearing up for a barbecue as I type... we Brits are an optimistic race ;)

I painted on Friday evening for the first time in months. It felt good.

I have eaten so much meat lately that it is crazy. Americans like meat. And lots of it. 

I have photos of the Grand Canyon to post... as well as about a 1000 dolphin photos. Not even kidding.

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Life Lately...

I keep pondering the difference between a job and a career.

With a job you clock in, do your thang and clock out. You go home, you don't think about it, you do your whatever it is that you like to do, or you take care of your family, or both.

With a career it is all you think about. You dream about it. You think about it whilst your making dinner. You work late. You work on projects and answer your emails from home. You go in to work early to catch quiet time to work uninterrupted. You don't go out.  You kinda forget to blog.

The role that I took on in September has evolved beyond what I thought it was when I accepted it. In a good way. I have gained skills and learnt a lot. I love it. But I've got to admit, I'm pretty exhausted, ha ha! I am enjoying growing into my new career, I'm enjoying using my brain in new ways, thinking differently, working on new challenges.

I don't really know quite where this blog has ever been going on it's meandering path but whatever I hoped it would be, I guess it's probably going to be more reflective, more personal and maybe a little quiet these days.

Finally… Warm weather & daisies :) http://bit.ly/14MXylv
I may be addicted to Pret #popcorn! http://bit.ly/11X0rLH
A perfect Sunday afternoon read, #SimpleThings. Other magazine favourites include Frankie & Oh Comely. What are your favourites? http://bit.ly/10rHrZ8
And that is what life lately looks like when I'm not working like crazy... sunshine, popcorn and Simple Things.



Sunday, 31 March 2013

Happy Easter!


A birds nest I made with Fimo yesterday... I'm very proud of it, I've not tried Fimo since I was a kid. I'll confess that this is the second attempt, the first mutated after 6 minutes in the oven on double the correct temperature, ooppps!

Happy Easter to you all folks... ours will be chilled, enjoying the sun (yep, it's made an appearance), crafting, tea-drinking and of course, exchanging chocolate eggs. Have a lovely one!

*******************************************************************************

PS. I'm sure you're all aware that GFC is disappearing forever in July so make sure to follow me on Hello Cotton or Bloglovin!