Autumn has always been my favourite time of year. Even from the days of being in primary school. I have always loved the fresh start of a new term and school year when all my uniform was new, my stationary was fresh and new and everything was at the beginning. I love when the leaves start to change with all the colours and how it becomes cooler but the sun still remains warm. I used to love harvest festival, looking forward to my birthday and how the build up to Christmas was just around the corner.
The other day I was waiting to turn onto the motorway and I started to smile to myself as I realised that time had come. The sun was shining and things felt good as I felt that I was in a place in my life that I really was happy. That happy feeling has stayed with me for the few days following that moment.
On Thursday evening I received a phonecall informing me that my best friend has died.
Autumn has lost that rosey glow, I have lost a real friend, and the world has lost an amazing person.
Saturday 10 October 2009
Friday 28 August 2009
Feeling Fab!!!
Ok so I have to tell you that it has offically all been worth it! I was not too sure about it at first, there was the cost, the having to stop Thursday night Stitch and Bitch for a while, and of course the lack of real food, but this diet has been worth it! I am not at a goal weight yet but I have so far lost 4st 3.5lb, dropped nearly 4 dress sizes, and I feel fantastic!!!
I have been feeling a lot better in general over the last few weeks anyway but this week has really made a difference. The first thing was that I got my before and after pictures. I have not really seen a difference in myself over the weeks other than feeling that my clothes were a little baggy but even I was gobsmacked when I saw the difference and let me tell you it was a real ego boost. The other thing that has made me feel great this week has been the shopping. For the first time in my life I have been able to shop in places like Jane Norman and not only that but I have tired on and bought clothes that no only fit but are also not the largest size in the shop. I cannot tell you how, after so many years of hating and avoiding clothes shopping, great this actually feels.
This diet has put me (and the rest of my family) through hell as well as making me put my life on hold but right now it is worth ever moment.
I have been feeling a lot better in general over the last few weeks anyway but this week has really made a difference. The first thing was that I got my before and after pictures. I have not really seen a difference in myself over the weeks other than feeling that my clothes were a little baggy but even I was gobsmacked when I saw the difference and let me tell you it was a real ego boost. The other thing that has made me feel great this week has been the shopping. For the first time in my life I have been able to shop in places like Jane Norman and not only that but I have tired on and bought clothes that no only fit but are also not the largest size in the shop. I cannot tell you how, after so many years of hating and avoiding clothes shopping, great this actually feels.
This diet has put me (and the rest of my family) through hell as well as making me put my life on hold but right now it is worth ever moment.
Thursday 20 August 2009
Learning from one's mistakes!
We all know that we learn from our mistakes, well this is the mistake that I am going to learn from today... until this diet is over I am going to stay away from steam rooms!
Now that I have started to lose weight I have also invested in a personal trainer once a week and so this morning off I set to the gym for my training session. Well the session itself was not that great, although I seem to be making some progress in a few things I am really dissappointed in myself when it comes to the running machine as I do not seem to be getting any better.
After my training session I decided that I would enjoy a little swim being that I was already there, had my swimming stuff with me, and also that my charity swim starts in a month and so I need to prepare. Also now that I have dropped three dress sizes I have also bought myself a new swimming costume that needed to be christened! Well the swim was a bit of a mistake as the pool was so busy (I usually swim last thing at night as there are not as many people around and if I am very lucky I can even get a lane to myself!) and there was no happy medium either, they were either swimming at 2 or 200 miles per hour.
So after a little while I got fed up of ducking and weaving in and amoungst the general population and decided to leave the pool but felt that with all my hard effort of the morning I deserved to have a little steam before I went and got showered and changed (also it is weigh-in tonight and therefore losing a little bit more fluid could only help with the scales). Well this my friends was my final mistake of the day so far as yes the steam was very nice and very relaxing but it then did result in my actually passing out in the shower afterwards (probably due to a combination of dehydration and low blood sugar) which I have to tell you has not been the best feeling I have ever experienced. Thankfully when I had started to feel dizzy I had actually sat down so I didn't have too far to fall and also the showers are individual private cubicles so even more importantly nobody else witnessed this (it really would not have been a pretty sight).
Needless to say I have learned from my mistake and will be staying away from steam rooms for the near future!!!
Now that I have started to lose weight I have also invested in a personal trainer once a week and so this morning off I set to the gym for my training session. Well the session itself was not that great, although I seem to be making some progress in a few things I am really dissappointed in myself when it comes to the running machine as I do not seem to be getting any better.
After my training session I decided that I would enjoy a little swim being that I was already there, had my swimming stuff with me, and also that my charity swim starts in a month and so I need to prepare. Also now that I have dropped three dress sizes I have also bought myself a new swimming costume that needed to be christened! Well the swim was a bit of a mistake as the pool was so busy (I usually swim last thing at night as there are not as many people around and if I am very lucky I can even get a lane to myself!) and there was no happy medium either, they were either swimming at 2 or 200 miles per hour.
So after a little while I got fed up of ducking and weaving in and amoungst the general population and decided to leave the pool but felt that with all my hard effort of the morning I deserved to have a little steam before I went and got showered and changed (also it is weigh-in tonight and therefore losing a little bit more fluid could only help with the scales). Well this my friends was my final mistake of the day so far as yes the steam was very nice and very relaxing but it then did result in my actually passing out in the shower afterwards (probably due to a combination of dehydration and low blood sugar) which I have to tell you has not been the best feeling I have ever experienced. Thankfully when I had started to feel dizzy I had actually sat down so I didn't have too far to fall and also the showers are individual private cubicles so even more importantly nobody else witnessed this (it really would not have been a pretty sight).
Needless to say I have learned from my mistake and will be staying away from steam rooms for the near future!!!
Tuesday 11 August 2009
A never-ending challenge!
This new diet is messing with my head. Now don't get me wrong this is mostly a positive thing as I really am starting to feel like a new woman with all the energy and the happy. The problem is that I am taking things to extremes. What started as a little tidying up has now turned into a full blown spring clean (yes I know it is nearly autumn but in true traditional "lex-time" I am a little late). This little challenge I swear will be the death of me! I am not usually good with the whole throw away bit - not to the extreme that you see on "Grime Britain" when a pile of newspaper has toppled and crushed them to death but I always feel guilty about throwing away perfectly good things and I tend to hold onto a lot of things for sentimental value. So I am trying to be strong with myself and get rid of all this stuff but it is harder than I thought.
I decided to start with anything paper and so out came the shredder. It was never ending! Every time I thought I had finished I found yet more. The poor shredder is now looking into retirement homes it is that over-used! I decided to throw away most of my old university stuff as well. I qualified 5 years ago this autumn and not only did I have all my paperwork from those 3 years that I kept in the hope that I would continue to read them and update my skills from time to time and that have since been looked at approximately never (most of it is now out of date anyway and I also have this bad, planet-destroying habit of just reprinting a required article off the internet so that I can scribble and highlight over it) but I also had all the paperwork from all the courses and also my degree that I have done since then. Now I ask you who would get sentimental about paper? Me of course! I want to throw it away, I have no use for it, it takes up room that can otherwise be used for something else but my mind starts off with all the usual sayings like "but that was all your hard work" or "you never know you might just be able to use it." Well it is all now in about 5 binbags and waiting to go to the tip.
So you think the paper incident was bad? Well that was nothing when we hit clothes country! Thanks to this diet I have now lost over 3 and a half stone and therefore dropped a few dress sizes and therefore most of the clothing in my wardrobes no longer fits. Now the majority of people would be jumping with joy and gladly throwing it all out to make room for new smaller and more fashionable clothes but no not me I start to worry instead. Should I throw/give them all away but what if I gain weight again and well I didn't buy that top very long ago.
I took a big deep breath, I took a binbag, and then I started to throw them all away. I was doing so well but then my gran found out what I was doing. All my binbags of clothes are now currently sat in her house! Do you see people what I am dealing with? It is not my fault I am the way I am because it is all down to my genetics!!! My gran is less than half the size that I was and yet she is going to wear those clothes! The clothes that she is not going to wear she will pass on to her friends for them to wear. I am actually waiting to see which one of these elderly ladies will be going out wearing my French Connection t-shirt that says "I may not be totally perfect but parts of me are fcuking brilliant."
There has been one item of clothing that I am unsure about - my magic cardigan. This cardigan was knitted for me by my gran (yes the same gran that is currently wearing all my clothes) back when I was a student nurse to keep me warm during the long night shifts. It has served me well over the years. Now it is magic not because it has wonderful healing powers or that it can make the night shift pass faster but because after a little malfunction with the washing machine it now has the ability to grow. Every time I put this cardigan on it seems to have grown that little bit more - it is huge! A few people can actually huddle together for warmth in it. In short it is now much use at work any longer. The trouble is that my gran knitted it for me and it was my first work cardigan and I don't feel I can get rid of it for sentimental reasons however it is so big that it will not stay on a hanger it is so big. I don't know what to do with it.
I have also hit the kitchen cupboards. Not for food because food is not allowed unless it comes in dust formation at the moment. How myself and my family have not had some mad illness before now is beyond me. I think the best expiry date I found was 1997. Now I do not get too worked up about expiry dates in general (unless dairy or meat) but there is a limit.
This challenge is never ending and I wish I had not started it but I have to keep going because there will be a great feeling of satisfaction once it is done. There have been some positives in that I have finally found my birth certificate and I found £10 that I did not know I had (already spent!). I am not sure the mental anguish is worth it though and I still do not know what to do about the magic cardigan!
Anyway off to the tip I go!
I decided to start with anything paper and so out came the shredder. It was never ending! Every time I thought I had finished I found yet more. The poor shredder is now looking into retirement homes it is that over-used! I decided to throw away most of my old university stuff as well. I qualified 5 years ago this autumn and not only did I have all my paperwork from those 3 years that I kept in the hope that I would continue to read them and update my skills from time to time and that have since been looked at approximately never (most of it is now out of date anyway and I also have this bad, planet-destroying habit of just reprinting a required article off the internet so that I can scribble and highlight over it) but I also had all the paperwork from all the courses and also my degree that I have done since then. Now I ask you who would get sentimental about paper? Me of course! I want to throw it away, I have no use for it, it takes up room that can otherwise be used for something else but my mind starts off with all the usual sayings like "but that was all your hard work" or "you never know you might just be able to use it." Well it is all now in about 5 binbags and waiting to go to the tip.
So you think the paper incident was bad? Well that was nothing when we hit clothes country! Thanks to this diet I have now lost over 3 and a half stone and therefore dropped a few dress sizes and therefore most of the clothing in my wardrobes no longer fits. Now the majority of people would be jumping with joy and gladly throwing it all out to make room for new smaller and more fashionable clothes but no not me I start to worry instead. Should I throw/give them all away but what if I gain weight again and well I didn't buy that top very long ago.
I took a big deep breath, I took a binbag, and then I started to throw them all away. I was doing so well but then my gran found out what I was doing. All my binbags of clothes are now currently sat in her house! Do you see people what I am dealing with? It is not my fault I am the way I am because it is all down to my genetics!!! My gran is less than half the size that I was and yet she is going to wear those clothes! The clothes that she is not going to wear she will pass on to her friends for them to wear. I am actually waiting to see which one of these elderly ladies will be going out wearing my French Connection t-shirt that says "I may not be totally perfect but parts of me are fcuking brilliant."
There has been one item of clothing that I am unsure about - my magic cardigan. This cardigan was knitted for me by my gran (yes the same gran that is currently wearing all my clothes) back when I was a student nurse to keep me warm during the long night shifts. It has served me well over the years. Now it is magic not because it has wonderful healing powers or that it can make the night shift pass faster but because after a little malfunction with the washing machine it now has the ability to grow. Every time I put this cardigan on it seems to have grown that little bit more - it is huge! A few people can actually huddle together for warmth in it. In short it is now much use at work any longer. The trouble is that my gran knitted it for me and it was my first work cardigan and I don't feel I can get rid of it for sentimental reasons however it is so big that it will not stay on a hanger it is so big. I don't know what to do with it.
I have also hit the kitchen cupboards. Not for food because food is not allowed unless it comes in dust formation at the moment. How myself and my family have not had some mad illness before now is beyond me. I think the best expiry date I found was 1997. Now I do not get too worked up about expiry dates in general (unless dairy or meat) but there is a limit.
This challenge is never ending and I wish I had not started it but I have to keep going because there will be a great feeling of satisfaction once it is done. There have been some positives in that I have finally found my birth certificate and I found £10 that I did not know I had (already spent!). I am not sure the mental anguish is worth it though and I still do not know what to do about the magic cardigan!
Anyway off to the tip I go!
Monday 1 June 2009
So much wool, so little time!
I think I have a problem! I can't stop buying wool, I just can't help myself! My stash box is full to the brim (well more than full to the brim since I bought those 400g balls!) and yet I go out looking for more!! I have projects upon projects waiting to be started. In my defence if wool is on sale then really it would be stupid NOT to get it - take for instance my alpaca wool - no I have no idea what I am going to use it for but it is alpaca, it is soft, it is cream and I got it for £21 instead of around £70 - in this current economic crisis I think that was a rather sensible move! Still I need t find some inspiration to sit and actually knit these things!
I have currently (though temporarily) had to stop attending stitch and bitch due to a clash in my diary - it's a real pain but unavoidable at the minute and I am really missing it! It is going to be August at least before I am able to attend again!
Right I am off to pick up the needles and sit in the sun - I am making the most of my days off since there are very few windows at work!!!
I have currently (though temporarily) had to stop attending stitch and bitch due to a clash in my diary - it's a real pain but unavoidable at the minute and I am really missing it! It is going to be August at least before I am able to attend again!
Right I am off to pick up the needles and sit in the sun - I am making the most of my days off since there are very few windows at work!!!
Saturday 14 March 2009
It all starts here...
Ok so it all starts here...
I have been knitting now for what must be coming up to a year. I have to tell you that my mother and my grandmother have tried for many many years to get me to do so. They have both been knitters since they were little (along with my paternal grandmother) and so growing up I was never without home-made knitting ettire (from "Postman Pat," "Shoe People," and "Rainbow Brite" jumpers to that bright pink cardigan from said paternal grandmother to which my brother owned a matching bright blue that still gives me flashbacks) and I still own the Jean Greenhowe "Sam Scarecrow" somewhere in the loft. I remember back in the good old 1980's when my friends were learning to knit, asking my mum to teach me however I have never been blessed with patience and therefore found it more entertaining to play "Star Wars" with the knitting needles with my brother (the boy has always been trouble) because they made that fantastic clicking sounds that real knitters made when knitting on the t.v.
Well a year ago it all changed... I discovered John Lewis! A nice evening wandering around the Trafford Centre spending hard-earned money with my mum when she leaves me at Starbucks to buy my caffine-fix (the only coffee I drink comes in a Starbucks cup) and decides to have a wander around this large store ahead of her. So out she comes (after what was an eternity) having decided after having a wander around the wool section that she is going to take up knitting again and me in my infinate wisdom decides that I will join her! So off we trail to the haberdashery section looking for an easy pattern (oh no I could not simply start off with a scarf like normal people, I need something different) and some wool. I come out (best part of £40 lighter) with a simple cardigan pattern and some green wool (practical - I can wear it on my break and on nights) and so the obsession begins...
One year on... I can do the basics; knit, purl, cast on, cast off, increase, and decrease. The cardigan is still not completed (it is going to my gran for completion once I have located it) however, I have completed a doll (it really does not look quite right and to be honest with you it is a bit of a floozy as her skirt will not stay up but she does have a cracking pair of purple knickers on), and a scarf (a Christmas present for a friend), I have a button band to complete on a baby cardigan (I got fed-up of grown-up sized items as they took too long to complete), I have the sleeves and yoke to complete on a chunky cardigan for myself, and I am knitting premature baby hats (very simple) on the side. Lined up I have a teddy bear, a baby cardigan (I am going to learn cable stitch), a pair of socks (the sock needles came little plastic socks to hold them in place), a rabbit (a Christmas present from a friend) and as of tonight a rainbow blanket (I am going to learn to make stripes) and I am also considering making the matching bolero to the hats that I am knitting.
Just over a month ago I joined a Stitch and Bitch in Preston. I LOVE it. They are the nicest set of people you ever wish to meet. I was really nervous as I never usual do something alone (for the first week at least I normally take along a friend or family member for moral support) but as my mum works late on a Thursday and my gran goes out with her friends I decide that it is something that I must simply "man-up" to and do alone. I am so glad that I did because they are a fantastic set of people. If anyone is ever in two minds on whether to join such a group then I would tell them not to hesitate. I found out about them through Ravelry which is a fantastic little site (although I have to tell you have still not managed to rid me of my Facebook addiction).
So here we are that is an introduction to me. Not exciting I know but hey I am happy in my own little world! I am most excited this evening because I have joined Rowan International and also will be heading off to Stash in Chester with my gran and my mum this Wednesday (but before you start to judge we will be hitting Cheshire Oaks too) and today we went to a really nice little LYS in St Helens which is a bit different as we usually head to Black Sheep in Culcheth (another fantastic LYS) as John Lewis is a bit more on the expensive side.
Anyway I am off to bed...
I have been knitting now for what must be coming up to a year. I have to tell you that my mother and my grandmother have tried for many many years to get me to do so. They have both been knitters since they were little (along with my paternal grandmother) and so growing up I was never without home-made knitting ettire (from "Postman Pat," "Shoe People," and "Rainbow Brite" jumpers to that bright pink cardigan from said paternal grandmother to which my brother owned a matching bright blue that still gives me flashbacks) and I still own the Jean Greenhowe "Sam Scarecrow" somewhere in the loft. I remember back in the good old 1980's when my friends were learning to knit, asking my mum to teach me however I have never been blessed with patience and therefore found it more entertaining to play "Star Wars" with the knitting needles with my brother (the boy has always been trouble) because they made that fantastic clicking sounds that real knitters made when knitting on the t.v.
Well a year ago it all changed... I discovered John Lewis! A nice evening wandering around the Trafford Centre spending hard-earned money with my mum when she leaves me at Starbucks to buy my caffine-fix (the only coffee I drink comes in a Starbucks cup) and decides to have a wander around this large store ahead of her. So out she comes (after what was an eternity) having decided after having a wander around the wool section that she is going to take up knitting again and me in my infinate wisdom decides that I will join her! So off we trail to the haberdashery section looking for an easy pattern (oh no I could not simply start off with a scarf like normal people, I need something different) and some wool. I come out (best part of £40 lighter) with a simple cardigan pattern and some green wool (practical - I can wear it on my break and on nights) and so the obsession begins...
One year on... I can do the basics; knit, purl, cast on, cast off, increase, and decrease. The cardigan is still not completed (it is going to my gran for completion once I have located it) however, I have completed a doll (it really does not look quite right and to be honest with you it is a bit of a floozy as her skirt will not stay up but she does have a cracking pair of purple knickers on), and a scarf (a Christmas present for a friend), I have a button band to complete on a baby cardigan (I got fed-up of grown-up sized items as they took too long to complete), I have the sleeves and yoke to complete on a chunky cardigan for myself, and I am knitting premature baby hats (very simple) on the side. Lined up I have a teddy bear, a baby cardigan (I am going to learn cable stitch), a pair of socks (the sock needles came little plastic socks to hold them in place), a rabbit (a Christmas present from a friend) and as of tonight a rainbow blanket (I am going to learn to make stripes) and I am also considering making the matching bolero to the hats that I am knitting.
Just over a month ago I joined a Stitch and Bitch in Preston. I LOVE it. They are the nicest set of people you ever wish to meet. I was really nervous as I never usual do something alone (for the first week at least I normally take along a friend or family member for moral support) but as my mum works late on a Thursday and my gran goes out with her friends I decide that it is something that I must simply "man-up" to and do alone. I am so glad that I did because they are a fantastic set of people. If anyone is ever in two minds on whether to join such a group then I would tell them not to hesitate. I found out about them through Ravelry which is a fantastic little site (although I have to tell you have still not managed to rid me of my Facebook addiction).
So here we are that is an introduction to me. Not exciting I know but hey I am happy in my own little world! I am most excited this evening because I have joined Rowan International and also will be heading off to Stash in Chester with my gran and my mum this Wednesday (but before you start to judge we will be hitting Cheshire Oaks too) and today we went to a really nice little LYS in St Helens which is a bit different as we usually head to Black Sheep in Culcheth (another fantastic LYS) as John Lewis is a bit more on the expensive side.
Anyway I am off to bed...
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