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Week 10 – Monday Round-up

March 9, 2015 by Bel

Well it’s been a busy week, I can tell you! I can’t quite believe it’s gone past already! Anyway, here is my brief run down of the week – as I remember it!

Monday to Friday was school and work for the girls and Chris. I don’t honestly remember what I did most days but I’ll give it a bash when something sticks out! I do remember that I won a competition on Twitter on Monday, with BooHoo.com – getting me an outfit worth £100 that arrived later in the week. Otherwise I think it was probably just a day of housework and blogging. The girls had singing stars after school and so it was late when we all got home and had dinner. The girls and I made a Queen of Hearts bow before Lily had to go to bed and Megan and I worked on her cake. We’d started it on Sunday but knowing we only had a couple of hours each day, meant we had to do a little bit every day.

On Tuesday again the girls were at school and when they got home we had to fit in two Disney tasks as they were busy the following night. We watched The Princess Diaries and read some of the new Never Girls book, all before Lily went to bed. After she did, Megan and I worked on Lily’s cake again. Next day Chris was off work and the girls were going to their dad’s after school. This meant a really leisurely day because I didn’t really need to be anywhere at any particular time. I don’t remember an awful lot of what we did but I do know we were naughty and had takeaway for dinner, just before the kids came home! Again, after Lily was in bed, Megan and I worked on her cake. We got it finished and I was really proud of it!

Megan wrapped Lily’s presents and then headed to bed, while I also wrapped Lily’s presents and wrote her card. For once I felt pretty organised which is a nice change these days! Thursday was Lily’s birthday and she woke us all at 6.30am. We opened presents in bed before getting up and having breakfast, then getting ready for school. The girls were both going dressed up for World Book Day and they were also both going as Harry Potter characters. Megan was Luna Lovegood and had Ravenclaw robes, while Lily was Hermione Granger and had Gryffindor robes. From what I can gather they had a good day! After school I picked them both up and we went for dinner at Pizza Express. The food was delicious but the girls were tired and I wasn’t feeling very well, so there was definitely a disappointing vibe.

After that we went to Sainsbury’s though and the girls had their savings with them and I’d emptied out my weightloss savings box in order to change the money into dollars. We all did ours individually – Megan having the most, Lily next and then me (no surprise!). We then headed home and Nat arrived for a visit just a little while later. I let Lily stay up so she could open her present and then both girls went to bed. Nat stayed for quite a while but not too late as I was feeling a bit rough and was dying to go to sleep!

On Friday neither girl really wanted to go to school but I packed them off, knowing it was only one more day to get through. At midday I took Chris to work, called at Morrisons and then went to see my mum. She had been away in Israel for a week and a half so it was really nice to see her. I picked the girls up from school but we all had dinner with mum before heading home. When we got back there were quite a lot of parcels waiting for us which was pretty exciting. One of them was my BooHoo delivery which was my outfit worth £100. There was a dress, a handbag, some shoes and a shirt. The next day was Saturday and we had a trip to Leeds and X Factor planned, but in the morning we tidied the girls room and sorted out some more packing for Florida. Another parcel arrived from BooHoo which also went with my parcel from the day before, this time a pair of black trousers. Over lunch we watched Sleeping Beauty and then we got ready for going out. We finally left the house around 4pm but we needed to call at Tesco and also get some petrol. We had a fairly uneventful journey to Leeds and got there around 6pm. However traffic was horrendous and it took half an hour just to do 3 miles. We eventually parked, found McDonalds and had something to eat. Afterwards we made our way to First Direct Arena and settled in for the show.

At first I think it was a bit loud for the girls but they soon settled in and began enjoying themselves. Lily spent most of the second half stood up and dancing so that was lovely to see. It was 10pm by the time we left and we rushed back to the car as we’d been warned it could be a long wait afterwards. Unfortunately we didn’t miss the queues and instead sat still in the car for almost an hour, without even moving an inch. Finally at around 11pm we got out of the car park and headed home. I missed a few turnings and sadly put about 10 minutes on our journey and it was 12.20am before we got back. The girls went straight to bed and Chris and I sat for a while before we did too.

On Sunday we managed a bit of a lie-in but I also had to get up and get on as I was spending the day at mum’s. Chris needed to be at work for 12pm and as there are no trains back in time, I arranged to stay at mum’s and wait for him, while the girls went to bed there too. As such we needed everything to occupy us for the afternoon, along with school clothes etc for the next day. It was a pretty hectic morning making sure we had everything and then we needed to leave around 11.30am. Mum wasn’t in when we first got there but eventually she turned up and we had lunch. The afternoon was spent with Megan doing her homework and Megan and Lily making a Lego Rapunzel tower with mum – all while I dozed on the sofa. Later Lily had a bath while mum made dinner and then we all sat down to a roast chicken dinner. Afterwards Megan had a shower and I put Lily to bed. Megan went to bed about an hour later and it wasn’t long after that before I headed out to get Chris. Together we headed home, watched some TV together and then I blogged while he went on his Xbox. We eventually headed to bed at just gone 12am.

It’s been a good week but its gone by so fast. As of today it’s 23 days until we go to Florida and I honestly don’t even know where the time is going! This coming week and the next are going to be busy so I apologise in advance if my blog posts are lacking!

Disney Countdown – Days 51 – 45

February 15, 2015 by Bel

Monday (51) – Feb 9th – Read a Disney book
Tuesday (50) – Feb 10th – Play a Disney game
Wednesday (49) – Feb 11th – Make or Draw Disney
Thursday (48) – Feb 12th – Paint Aurora peg-doll
Friday (47) – Feb 13th – Make Disney inspired food
Saturday (46) – Feb 14th – Dress up Disney
Sunday (45) – Feb 15th – ~~Watch Hunchback of Notre Dame~~

So this week has been a bit higgly piggly. Due to us being so busy, we’ve had to switch around tasks depending on where we are and what we’re doing. Majority of the week has been a different day’s task but we’ve mostly managed something at least each day! Monday was read a Disney book which we actually managed. We’re still carrying on with book 3 from the Never Girl series. Tuesday was play a Disney game, which we also managed – despite it being a Daddy day. The girls played on Disney Infinity in the car on the way to school. On Wednesday we were supposed to paint a peg-doll but switched it with the next day as the girls were staying at Grandma’s overnight. Instead on Wednesday they had to make or draw Disney which seems to have become a thing at Grandma’s recently! On Thursday when they were home, Megan painted the Aurora peg-doll, though she seems to be less and less happy with how they come out.

On Friday the kids were due to go to mum’s house overnight and she had planned to do some sort of Disney cake mix packet from Sainsbury’s. However the girls ended up off school for the day and not at mum’s, so I bought a packet mix instead and we made Mallow Minnie’s. On Saturday it was dress up Disney which we squeezed in between about 11.30am and 3.30pm. The girls had to get dressed regularly in the morning as we were going out for breakfast, then come home and change into dress-up clothes, before finally getting changed again as Lily had a party to go to. Finally came Sunday and we were set to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame. However we had to take Chris to work (leaving around 11.30am), go out for lunch, go to my mum’s, fit in the movie in the afternoon, before taking Megan to a party at 4pm. Unfortunately when we got to mum’s, she had a friend there, who didn’t leave for almost another hour. This meant we couldn’t watch our DVD. As the girls went to their dad’s after Megan’s party, we were unable to watch it later too. As such, its been suspended till Tuesday when hopefully we’ll fit it in.

Get Fit Friday – Week 4

January 30, 2015 by Bel

This week has been a tough one and I’m not really sure why. It started off great – my friend Amy coming to visit (she’s dieting too) – and we all ate well the whole weekend, despite the birthday party we were celebrating. But by Monday and Tuesday I was beginning to feel in a bit of a rut and while I didn’t particularly eat badly, I did sit around doing pretty much nothing. By about Thursday I think I’d shaken myself out of it, but unfortunately that was most of the week gone. This week I’ve fancied chocolate, I’ve fancied takeaway and most of all I’ve just wanted to lounge around. I’ve lacked motivation – not just in dieting and keeping fit, but really in the whole of my life. I’d like to say that today is the start of a whole new week and woohoo!!! But perhaps I’ll wait and see about that one!

Like I said, I’ve been eating pretty well this week. In the middle of last week I decided I would make more of an effort to eat fresh and healthy, not just healthy. I switched from the M&S ready meals I was living on before (and letting Chris fend for himself) to cooking some Rosemary Conley low G.I. recipes that have been my go-to for the last 2-3 times I’ve dieted. What I didn’t end up sharing with you last week, is that my partner Chris is also now on a health kick. If he ever reads this, I hope he won’t be offended by me saying he’s a big guy. When I met him he was this way though, so that has no effect on how I feel about him. I fell in love with him the size he is (just like he did with me) and I continue to look at him in exactly the same way. However for part of last year he started dieting with me, realising he was over-weight and wanted to do something about it. I believe he started at around 19 stone 6lb, but I can’t quite remember what he got down to – I think he said 17 something. Over Christmas he just gave up however and honestly, I sort of let him. It’s really hard to keep someone else motivated without making them feel bad about themselves, so while I give a gentle nudge here and there, I did tend to just leave him to it.

Please excuse the terrible picture but it sort of shows our size!

Anyway a couple of weeks ago I persuaded Chris to get back on the scales and keep trying again. He was pretty disappointed with the results but they actually weren’t as bad as I’d feared. I was pretty sure he’d be right back where he started and while I think it felt like he was, from Chris’ point of view, when he told me he was 18 something, I was grateful he hadn’t slipped back into the 19s. It was the kick he needed though and ever since then we’ve been tackling eating better together. Instead of taking 2 bags of crisps to work now, he just takes one – instead of taking 2 chocolate bars, he just takes one cereal bar. I’m honestly very proud of him and its paid off as this week he told me this morning that he’s lost 4lbs.

So basically instead of just calorie counting for myself, I’ve been cooking fresh for the both of us, using these low G.I. recipes. We’ve had all sorts from Stuffed Chicken with Mozzarella, wrapped in Parma Ham (with homemade chips), to Boozy Beef with mushrooms and rice, to Shepherd’s Pie and sweetcorn. Majority of the recipes are meant to serve 4 so I either make half quantities, or I made the full thing and freeze half. Chris’ daily allowance of calories is 2000 where mine is 1200, so I do have to be more careful than he does. Anyway, its been going well and its nice to know I’m helping him and not just me.

However, whatever rut or funk I’ve been in this week, has definitely not helped me to exercise. I’ve done nothing for the majority of the week and despite telling myself I would go swimming, go for another run, or exercise on the Wii/Xbox, it just hasn’t happened. On Wednesday night I tested out a couple of games on the Kinect and it was a lot of fun, motivating me to try a few more. Yesterday I actually turned on the Xbox and played a couple of things, though nothing we had really motivated me to keep going. Perhaps the key is to finding something I’ll like, or perhaps its really just to giving myself a kick and just trying harder. As always, when you start to lose weight the first few pounds come off easier and as the weight goes, it becomes harder to shift those lesser pounds. With 20lbs still to go I know I’m going to have to up my game, but do I really really (deep down) have the motivation for it? I hope so.

Start weight: 13st 3lb
Last weigh in: 11st 6lb
Current weight: 11st 6lb
Change: 0lb
Total Loss: 25lb (1 stone 11lb)

Disappointing results but I can’t really say I’m surprised either. I’ve definitely hit that slump in reality where although I’ve lost some weight, I’m still not as “thin” as I thought. I’ve tried on a couple of dresses this week that didn’t look great and a pair of jeans that didn’t fit. I can’t even hand on heart say I’m a 14 yet, despite several size 14 items of clothing fitting and many of my 16s being far too big. Hopefully this is the reality check I need because I really need to try harder. Please bring on the slightly warmer weather so I just don’t sit snuggled up on the sofa.

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday Wishlist – Weight Loss

January 28, 2015 by Bel

For weeks and weeks now I’ve been wanting to make a wishlist – Disney, or Florida planning, just something. However I seem to always end up busy on a Wednesday. Today I’ve found the time and I’m going to give you my Wednesday Wishlist of Weight Loss products and supplements.

Obviously it goes without saying, that Weight Loss itself is on my Wishlist. I’ve been trying to lose weight now and while it’s been slow going, I’m gradually getting there. I have 20lbs more that I’d like to lose before my Florida holiday happens, but even if I don’t manage it, I’ll keep on going when I get back. However, if you really want to have significant weight loss in a short period of time, you might want to consider undergoing a weight loss surgery or taking prescription weight loss supplements to help you achieve the flat stomach of your dreams. Here is my wishlist of things I’d love to help me on this journey!

A. Trainers – these particular pair are from Asda and they are a really reasonable price. I’m not really one for labels and brands, so these at £8.00 from George are just perfect. They’re bright and they scream “GET FIT!”. B. FitBit – Have you ever heard of FitBit? I hadn’t until I started using My Fitness Pal. They are a great way to track your fitness and even better they sync with the My Fitness Pal app, which I use to count my calories. As my phone is sometimes too clumpy to carry around with me, or I’m wearing something without pockets, I’d like to get a FitBit – either the zip type or a bracelet. However with prices starting at £30 and going upwards of £100, its just not something I can afford at the moment. C. Leggings – alright, so the Hogwarts part of this isn’t essential, but what a good excuse to get them. These particular leggings are from Hot Topic and as you all know, I have an addiction to that place. When going for a run or working out in the lounge, it would be good to have something comfy to wear. I don’t know about you but I always find tracksuit bottoms to shrink in the wash!

D. Diet Books – At the beginning of my diet, I just tried calorie counting but still eating what I wanted. However since the beginning of this year I’ve switched to Rosemary Conley’s G.I. Diet. It’s a diet I’ve used twice before and always found to be successful. I’m currently cooking meals from her books G.I. Jeans, Ultimate G.I. Jeans and G.I. Hip and Thigh. To give me some motivation, I’d like to also purchase one (or both) of these books – The Fab Diet and Amazing Inch Loss Plan. E. Xbox Games – The girls have been playing Xbox recently and more importantly they’ve been using the Kinect. We barely put the Wii on any more and so I’m finding it hard to motivate myself to use it. I’ve been thinking if I bought a Fitness game for the Xbox, perhaps I’d be more likely to use it. I think a Zumba fitness game would be good for that. F. Stepper – I once had a stepper machine and I actually used it a lot. This would be good for just standing in front of the TV (sorry, I know that’s terrible, but true) and getting in some exercise! G. Leg Weights – I also used to own some of these and while I can’t honestly tell you if they worked or not, I feel like they would be a good (and easy) way to tone my legs, while pretty much getting on with my every day. They’re easy to just put on in the morning and then get on with the rest of the day.

As well as the things I’ve listed, I’d like to get myself swimming some more and also out on a run again. I have this awesome top from House of Fraser, by Lorna Jane, which I wore last time I went for a run. It sells for £29.00* and reads “Follow Your Dreams” on the front, then “Your Dreams Know The Way”. I liked it because I felt like is sounded Disney-esque.

The bright colour made me feel energised as soon as I put it on. I coupled it with some tracksuit bottoms (that really have seen better days) and a blue jacket. I then strapped on my arm phone holder, pulled on my trainers and went for a run.

Though it was cold outside, I was definitely warm enough while I was running. At the same time, when I got home I felt really warm, but not sweaty. I love this top and it was definitely a great pick. I’ve actually been looking to get myself some trousers or shorts to go with it but I couldn’t decide which so it’s not on the wishlist!

Cross your fingers for a Weight Loss this Friday – look out for Get Fit Friday, to find out!

Disney Countdown – Days 72 to 66

January 25, 2015 by Bel

Monday (72) – Jan 19th – Play a Disney Game
Tuesday (71) – Jan 20th – Read a Disney book
Wednesday (70) – Jan 21st – Make Disney themed food
Thursday (69) – Jan 22nd – Make or Draw something Disney
Friday (68) – Jan 23rd – Watch a random Disney movie (Peter Pan)
Saturday (67) – Jan 24th – Dress up Disney
Sunday (66) – Jan 25th– Watch Alice in Wonderland

Right now I’m sat with the girls, watching Alice in Wonderland. It’s that time of the week that I round up our Disney tasks, meaning we’re yet another week nearer to Florida. As of today we’re 9 and a half weeks and I still can’t really believe it!

This week we started off with “play a disney game”. As we’d already played a board game the day before, the girls picked an Xbox game, but surprisingly not Disney Infinity. This time its actually Disneyland Adventures which is a Kinnect game which allows the girls to walk around Disneyland Paris. They love it and spent all evening on it – not to mention several other evenings too. On Tuesday the girls were with their dad but when they came home we had to read Disney. We enjoyed yet another chapter of Never Girls, still on the second book. On Wednesday the girls were staying at my mum’s so I’d agreed to tackle Disney themed food by myself. This was largely because I had Olivia’s cake to make and it was going to be Toy Story themed. Sadly I wasn’t very well and didn’t actually manage to make a start on it to the next day. Thursday was make something Disney and since I still had the cake to finish, Megan came to help me with it as doing her task. She helped with the Sheriff badge, the belt and just generally moral support. On Friday, Amy and Olivia arrived. We showed Olivia her finished cake and she seemed pretty pleased with it. We also had the task of watch a random Disney movie and the girls picked Peter Pan, which they all sat nicely to watch together. On Saturday it was dress up Disney (as you may have seen from my 52 Project photo) and all three girls had fun doing that too. In the afternoon they even did some Disney jigsaws, even though that was nothing to do with a task. Finally on Sunday, after Amy and Olivia had left, the girls and I settled down to watch Alice in Wonderland (that’s now). It’s been a good week and I find myself looking forward to whatever the next Disney task may be!

Olivia’s finished “Woody” cake

Week 3 – Monday Round-up

January 19, 2015 by Bel

I both love and hate this Monday round-up thing. It feels like such a chore to actually write (not to mention I feel like everyone except Amy skips over it) but at the same time I’m always glad to have it as a reference! Second week back at school this week and this time a full week. The girls coped a bit better, not being so tired, but it still felt like a struggle at times. Chris is still working Monday to Friday, 9am till 5.30pm, so that keeps life very much in a routine.

After taking the kids to school on Monday, I spent the whole day taking pictures of my jewellery. It seemed to take forever but I knew I had to get it done in the daylight. I obviously stopped for dinner and briefly to check mail (and place a Disney Store order) but otherwise it was a full day of photography. At the end of school I went to pick up the kids and we all headed home. I made the girls and myself some dinner, while also starting on Chris’ so it was ready when he got home. The girls also wanted to make another hair bow for their “make Disney” task and so we made a Baymax bow. In the evening I spent time catching up on my blog but ultimately I was so tired that Chris and I headed to bed early. I was very close to finishing my book “Allegiant” so I got that read and then we went to sleep. Tuesday started off the same, getting up and ready, then dropping the kids off at school. Their dad was having them after school which meant I had a whole day to myself without having to think about turning out to pick them up. I headed into town, once I got back to Gainsborough, and had a wander around. I visited the ribbon lady on the market as well as calling into Boyes for a few bits too. I also went to Boots and weighed myself, along with Heron for some food shopping. After that I went to M&S for some healthy ready meals and then headed home. The rest of the day I spent listing my jewellery on Etsy, though I hated it so much that I got easily distracted and procrastinated lots. I made myself dinner and got dinner ready for Chris too. When the girls got home they pretty much headed straight to bed and Chris and I spent the evening watching TV.

On Wednesday I tried to plough on with getting my jewellery listed and once I’d got majority of it done, I started listing some things on Ebay. I got quite into it, sorting out a load of stuff, only to realise I could only list 20 things for free before getting charged 35p each (I do hate that!). However by the time I’d had lunch and got as much listed as I could, it wasn’t far off the time I needed to go get the kids so I headed out and picked them up from school. When we got back, the girls went to get changed as their disney task was to dress up. I then made dinner for us all and some for Chris when he got home, before settling down to watch some TV. I had good intentions to sit down and blog that evening but ended up getting myself distracted. My eye also started to hurt so after spending majority of the evening looking at Wedding dresses – I just made a simple post about some Disney dresses I found.

Thursday I took the girls to school again and this time my mum was having them overnight. I popped to her house to drop off Megan’s iPad and a disney book, stayed for a cup of tea but then headed home. My eye had really puffed up and I was starting to feel a bit down, so I ended up bumming around the house all day, not really getting much achieved. I watched movies back to back all day – Sharknado, then Snow White & the Huntsman, then Step Up. I did make some progress with Olivia’s “Woody” dress, but not much. Chris was a sweetheart though and on his way home he called at Aldi. He brought my roses, cookies and chocolate which made me cry but only because it was so sweet. He then insisted on spending the whole evening with me – to look after me – so we sat watching TV and then watched a movie called “In Time” which was actually better than I expected.

On Friday, because Mum had the girls overnight, I got a lay in. Sadly the postman woke me at 9am but it was okay as it was mail I wanted. I felt a bit miserable to begin with as my eye was still hurting but I pulled myself together and tried to have a constructive day. I went out for my first every run and while I didn’t run much of it (unfit and asthma) I was at least proud to have tried. I did 1.64 miles there and back so at least it was some exercise! Mum brought the kids home for me and stayed for a cup of tea – but then after she left we realised we still had a Disney task to do. We watched “The Little Mermaid” and had dinner, before the girls headed to bed (along with a chapter of the Never Girls, since we’d missed out on reading together the night before). Once Chris was home I assured him I felt better today and he could spend the evening on his computer, so I vegged out and watched more TV, as well as finally watching “Friends with Benefits”. I spent the evening sewing Amy’s “Kiss the Girl” dress too, so that will be ready this coming weekend for her to try on!

On Saturday we had to be woken by the alarm at 9am, because Chris had his second driving lesson at 10am. We all got up and while Chris was out on his lesson, the girls and I wrote a list for Florida – all the things we need to take with us and buy before we go. When Chris got home, I made pancakes for us all and we all sat down together to eat them. I’ll admit we were very naughty and all had sweet pancakes, so it was a terrible lunch really! During the day my Disney Store order arrived and sadly the towel I ordered for Megan was damaged. I rang to sort it out though and I’m glad to say that as of today (Monday) its all been dealt with fast and efficiently (go Disney!). I don’t really remember what we all ended up doing in the afternoon but I know it went by fast. The girls and I realised we had Disney themed food to make and after much deliberation, made honey and vanilla Pooh Bear biscuits. Megan didn’t like them and I don’t really like honey (plus dieting) so we forced Chris to eat them all. In the end, even he objected! Nat came around in the evening (can you believe its been 4 weeks since I last saw here?!) and we had a much overdue catch up. It was almost midnight by the time she left but it was great to finally see each other. I went to bed straight after she left though as I was exhausted!

Finally Sunday and we had nothing at all planned. Chris turned on the Xbox and started to play Ms Splosion Man, only to capture both the girls’ interest. He ended up spending the morning playing with them, till we all stopped for lunch at around 12.30pm. While they were all playing, I was sewing, but it was nice to all be in the same room at the same time. After lunch, it was suggested we could play a board game and so we did. First came “Game of Life” – an electronic version called Twists and Turns, which we played for 20 years (that sounds like a long time lol). I won! Afterwards we picked Disney DVD Trivial Pursuit, which we teamed up for. Lily and I were together on one team and Megan and Chris on the other. We were pretty neck and neck for most of the game but Lily and I stole it at the end – largely because my dice rolling was better than Megan’s (and because I know more Disney stuff than Chris and Megan combined!). By the time we finished it was 5.30pm and I was feeling too lazy to cook and so we were all naughty and ordered takeaway. Since Chris is now being careful with what he eats (I’ll update in my Get Fit Friday this week), we were really careful and ordered the bare minimum. While we were waiting for takeaway to arrive we watched The Bee Movie, and then continued to watch while we ate etc. Afterwards it was time for Lily to go to bed and so Megan settled down to paint her peg doll and then update her blog. Finally my eye was feeling a bit better so I went back to sewing and got the majority of Olivia’s dress finished.

Afterwards I sat and looked through Hot Topic for the bazillionth time, then finally got around to posting my 52 Project photos and also my Disney Countdown catch up.

It’s been a pretty busy week but at the same time I know its not half as busy as it used to be when I was working. I feel like I have so many things I want to do but only end up doing about a third of it. Hopefully over time I’ll sieve my way through everything. Now my jewellery is mostly listed, that’s one thing less to do. I need to get some dresses sewn, and some more things listed on Ebay. After that I’ll hopefully be able to concentrate more on my blog and maybe even get around to writing my book! Back next week, for another round up!