Thirty-one, Thrifty & Thriving

Weekly Weigh-In (PP) Week 10

2012-01-30T21:47:00.000Z

It was time this morning to face the music as to my holiday food indulgences - I ate very healthily except for some gummy sweets but I also ate A LOT! But I lost!!!!

Week 8.5 - 13 st 1 lb or 183 lbs
Week 10 - 12 st 13 lbs or 181 lbs

So not only a loss but I reached my first weight loss goal! So on Wednesday morning I'll be renewing my ki-fit to aid my journey on. I'm almost back to where I was last year before I gained due to pregnancy - hooray! It's really helping that I'm now completely off dairy including chocolate as well as a multitude of other things, not for weight loss but to help ease my wee Bundle's immature digestion. It can only help to try after all. Here's to a week of figuring out my new diet and trying to map Bundle's rhythm so I can ease us both into more of a routine. FYI Bundle's only really up once a night now as by his next feed it's simply early morning, around 6/7 - hooray for more sleep!

Holiday Buffet Breakfast

2012-01-26T12:22:00.000Z

This morning I ate . . .

1 peach
1 1/2 pears
2 slices watermelon
2 slices melon
2 mandarin oranges
1 kiwi
1 glass watermelon juice
1 glass orange juice
4 tbsp porridge oats
2 1/2 slices brown baguette bread
1 wee dish of honey

It's been two hours since brekky - no wonder I'm hungry!!

Weekly Weigh-In (PP) Week 8.5

2012-01-26T09:50:00.000Z

Sorry this is late going up, meant to get it ip on Friday past - time for another accountability session - my diet is much improved this week in terms of healthful content but alas still full of the bad stuff too.

Week 7 - 13 st 1 lb or 183 lbs
Week 8.5 - 13 st 1 lb or 183 lbs

Thought I'd weigh-in at eight-and-a-half weeks as my next weigh-in won't be until ten weeks because of our holiday. Hopefully it won't show a (much) bigger number!

Weekly Weigh-In (PP) Week 7

2012-01-09T20:33:00.000Z

Time for this week's weigh-in and despite resolving to stop ingesting chocolate I've had chocolate everyday - oops - I have eaten less though so I did still lose . . .

Week 6 - 13 st 3 lbs or 185 lbs
Week 7 - 13 st 1 lb or 183 lbs

Here's hoping the weight-loss will continue as we're off on a week's jolly holiday to Fuertaventura on Saturday week. Taking our by then nine week old Bundle on a four-and-a-half hour flight to foreign climes - are we mad?!?

The New Year's List 2012

2012-01-02T21:21:00.000Z

I just re-read last year's list and things are so different now . . .

Last year . . .
I wrote my list in the sunny climes of Lanzarote, managing to post it on the 31st of December
I had a mission of reaching my goal weight by my thirtieth birthday without going on the biggest loser
I didn't put "have a baby" on my thirty things to do before I turn thirty list because I really was starting to doubt that we'd be so blessed
I was sure I would read through the whole of the Bible by May
I was certain I'd complete my wedding album
I thought I'd never know what it was to feel healthy most days, plagued as I was by sinusitis, hayfever, animal allergies and chronic rhinitis - minor as those ailments are

This year . . .
I'm amazingly going to get my list up on the second of January, writing it on my sofa/sat up in bed in the cold but surprisingly mild Norn Iron
I accept that I have no chance of reaching my goal weight but will be aiming to remove about twenty pounds of the excess by my 30th because . . .
We were gloriously blessed with our beautiful Bundle in Novemebr (6 weeks yesterday)
My lack of self-discipline, not to mention lack of concentration with pregnancy and now baby brain, won through and I'm still wading through the Old Testament. I pray I'm able to instil much better Bible reading skills in my Bundle than I've thus far managed for myself
I've still done nothing of my wedding album
Our Lanzarote holiday cleared my system and imbued me with many months of healthiness before being pregnant gave me ten months practically sneeze free. I fear the effects of both have worn thin, either that or I just have a cold, but hopefully we'll be taking a wee winter week to Fuertaventura in January deo volente and that will give me another few months grace - I must say I enjoy the snot-free me much more! TMI I know!

Anywho here's this year's list that I will probably only return to next New Year's having ignored it for most of the year once more . . . except that it also incorporates the most likely to be accomplished elements of my "Thirty List" which I have been fairly consistent in working toward. Some of this list I am more than willing to forego in favour of the more important activity of rearing my gorgeousness Bundle.

Spiritual
1. Pray, read and meditate on the Word daily, for as little or as long as I'm able to
2. Participate in a church prayer day, with Bundle naturally, this involves manning the church prayer room for an hour on the last Saturday of the month
3. Daily pray for my husband and our marriage
4. Daily pray for and over my son
5. Pray often for unsaved immediate family - my son, nieces and nephews, 2 BILs, SIL, MIL and FIL
6. Pray often for the well being of my estranged sister and her family and for family healing

Organisational
1. Build a better morning routine for Bundle and I, including my spiritual daily goals
2. Build a better bedtime routine for Bundle and I, including the laying out of clothes
3. Continue good habits, now well-established
- to leave out clothes for Bundle and I, along with (re-)stocking the baby bag nightly
- to make the bed first thing
- to open the blinds first thing
- to wash and dress myself first thing and to dress Bundle
- to oil Bundle nightly until no longer required to offset his dry skin
- to do laundry six days a week as necessary and to dry it, fold it and put it away asap
- to keep the nursery, lounge and guest bath tidy at all times
4. Build on and add to established good habits
- to add small daily cleaning tasks in order to clean and then maintain my home
- to re-start menu planning in order to nourish my family
- to daily wipe down the kitchen counters and sink
- to take my son out for daily walks to help my physical goal of weight loss and also perk up my mental state
- to practice pelvic floor exercises as I feed
- to have laundry washed and in the dryer/hung up by noon
- to implement a regular Saturday night bath routine for Bundle and I
5. Keep better account of my time, using routines and daily tasks and also my watch, the timer on my phone/microwave and our family calendar/diary

Bloggy
1. Blog every day for a month
2. Continue to put up a decluttering post at the start of each month, whether the link ups at a slob comes clean continue or not - I've gotten rid of so much *stuff* using the link-ups over the past two years and it's been so therapeutic and my home looks all the better for it.
3. Continue to blog my weekly weigh-ins

Physical
1. Continue weekly weigh-ins
2. Daily exercise, beginning gently and gradually increasing
3. Work to lose an overall average of a pound a week until my birthday (pregnancy and gall bladder operation permitting) i.e. at least twenty pounds in the next twenty weeks, as of today I have 53 lbs to lose to reach my goal, read - healthy, weight. I'll use my Ki-fit to help.
4. Work to lose a further (pregnancy etc. permitting) twenty pounds across the remainder of the year. Yes I am setting this deliberately low, this is to allow for holidays and the associated gain, off-days/weeks and plateaus*.
5. To practice my pelvic floor/Kiegel exercises daily
6. To work daily on some aspect of my personal grooming
7. To work to reduce my "jelly belly"

Intellectual/Mental/Commitment Goals
1. Work on my family tree every day for a month
2. Work on my tax return daily beginning ASAP until it is completed (deadline being Jan 31st)
3. Read at least twelve books across the year
4. Complete at least four puzzle books across the year
5. Play the piano every day for a month and learn a new tune
6. Work on our wedding album every day for a month or until completed
7. Declutter an average of at least four things a day across the year. (Sounds a big ask except I decluttered an average of ? Things a day across 2011 and ? /day across 2010).
8. Grow my nails and get a French manicure to celebrate

Parental
1. Work to continue feeding Bundle across the year
2. Work to almost exclusively use reusable nappies on him
3. Research Elimination Communication more thoroughly and try to incorporate it
4. Introduce sign to Bundle and be committed to incorporating it into our days
5. Do blanket training with Bundle to better enable my return to work in August, since he will be going to work with me
6. Develop routines and daily interactive activites to decrease the likelihood of PPD, general depresssion or attachment problems between us, also to keep my focus on his development for specific periods of time each day thus not allowing me to get caught p in non-Bundle activites for the duration of whole days - I know how easily distracted I am and how little sense of time I have.
7. Develop my knowledge of scripture and catechise myself in order to later catechise Bundle
8. To endeavour to make use of all of Bundle's many (over 120) baby gifts and to send out thank you picture postcards to all who sent cards and/or gifts
9. To fill out one of Bundle's many gifted baby books
10. To take lots of photographs of Bundle
11. To attend a baby massage course, if possible, and practice the skills learnt

Homely
1. Make a patchwork quilt or similar
2. Decorate the house for the "seasons"
3. Maintain the already in place systems and develop new organisational, tidying and cleaning systems to improve the look, feel and use of our home
4. Work on improving storage within and use of the barn, laundry and freezer areas as well as tidying and decluttering the barn

Happy New Year Blogosphere!

*As a complete aside I doubted myself as I typed the word plateaus, after all its origins are French and therefore shouldn't the plural require the addition of an -x instead of the English -s. The dictionary assures me however that either spelling is correct as the word has become such a part of the English language.

Post-partum Weighing-In etc. Weeks 0-6

2012-01-02T09:56:00.000Z

As part and parcel of participating in a diet and weight-loss study for new mums I was weighed the day I gave birth. so to the best of my memory here are my weigh-ins so far since having Bundle.

41 weeks pregnant - 14 st 13 lbs or 209 lbs
~~42 weeks pregnant~~ 0 weeks Post-Partum - 14 st 7 lbs or 203 lbs
1 week PP - 14 st 1 lb or 197 lbs
2 weeks PP - 13 st 11 lbs or 193 lbs
3 weeks PP - 13 st 7 lbs or 189 lbs
4 weeks PP - 13 st 4 lbs or 186 lbs
5 weeks PP - 13 st 4 lbs or 186 lbs
6 weeks PP - 13 st 3 lbs or 185 lbs

So today (Monday of course) marks the beginning of the gentle exercise phase of things and the no chocolate stage also (boo hoo).

Since having Bundle I've lost the pain of the carpal tunnel but still have reduced feeling in the tips of my first three digits. I suffered with passing a gall stone at 10 days PP and we (Bundle and I) had two nights in the hospital, an ultrasound and an MRI as a result, I'm due back to the surgical clinic to chat about a date for removing my gall bladder in about three months. The operation doesn't scare me - at this point having to go in and leave my baby and have my hubs have to give him all his feeds as EBM for about a week post-operatively is the terrifying thought process so much so I actually have had a nightmare about it - attachment parenting has its downsides. I also have the joy of epidural side-effect headaches and gall bladder pain when I eat the wrong foods - only I don't know which foods are wrong until they cause me pain, oh and paracetemol doesn't touch either pain.

All those complaints aside and I really can set them aside I am loving being Mum to Bundle - so much it hurts.

So the big my diet starts on Monday thing, as a real A-type personality I *NEED* a little structure in my life, BF-ing on cue does not that structure provide - sleep is gotten when it can be, meals are eaten at odd hours of the day and night and laundry is constant and constantly left in the washer or dryer for long stretches of the day as I find myself glued to the sofa or headed to bed. Some days my accomplishments have been as few as got washed, dressed and ate lunch! Feeding does seem to be lessening in its time required element so hopefully more solid patterns to my days will emerge - in the meantime - here are my aims:-

- Drink water, lots of water
- Eat healthily, cook from scratch, lots of vegetables
- Kiegel exercises as I feed
- Go for a walk with Bundle in the sling/pram everyday, unless it's blowing a gale or tipping it down (raining)
- Try to get enough sleep
- Use my ki-fit to monitor calories in, energy out and sleep
- See also my page above marked Daily Do List (Post-Partum Edition) which I'll be putting up shortly

My best new habit ever is really paying off - having both mine and Bundle's clothes ready the night before and having alternative outfits sitting out for him and his baby bag always stocked and ready to go has greatly added to the ease of our lives and also allowed us to be better on time for church as a family than we ever were when I was just organising myself - really hope these are habits I keep up.

Wish me monsters (luck)!

Beautiful Baby Boy

2011-12-15T01:29:00.004Z

Born 20.11.2011 at 02.28am weighing 7 lb 4 oz

I'm sitting here enjoying a wee cuddle with my Bundle though I should be sleeping - he is and will hopefully continue to when I lay him down - after all it is half one in the morning.

Anyway he's here and he's adorable and we're over the moon.

More info to folllow at some stage but for now I love being his Mammy and for the record seeing his Daddy be his Daddy has made me love him all the more.

Welcome to the world Bundle

Forty-one and counting . . .

2011-11-17T00:02:00.000Z

Still waiting . . .

Hospital appt. tomorrow to see if baby fancies being born soon, their size etc. This appt. is one I hoped never to attend - ah well, they'll arrive when they want unless docs want to induce me

Weighed-in Monday as usual but forgot to update here - oops

40 weeks - 14 st 11 lbs or 207 lbs
41 weeks - 14 st 13 lbs or 209 lbs

First post-partum weigh-in next week???

Hope sore numb hands will go with baba's arrival, we shall see . . .

Bringing Home Baby (November 10th)

2011-11-10T09:12:00.004Z

So of course I've continued to prepare but my daily achievements are little and I still haven't completed the to-do list I set myself this day week ago!

Ah well, I don't even have the energy to properly berate myself . . .

Today I need to . . .

Have a personal quiet time and prayer time before I do anything else

Complete my Bible study for tomorrow morning (labour permitting)

Put on and then hang up a white wash

Research online and ring local suppliers re a tumble dryer hose for our new-to-us purchase

Remake my already stripped bed (in time that I can . . . )

Take a nap - carpal tunnel was bad overnight so I got up at quarter to six

Dust!

Put away uploaded and already alphabetised CDs

(Just heard that my hubby's great-aunt passed away - she was a lovely lady whose body was outlasting her mind so . . . )

Write sympathy cards for my hubby's relatives

Write thank you card for friend who gave us her set of (unused) reusable nappies

Write sympathy card for my Mum's friend

Move wrapped gifts to our gift cupboard/Christmas present storage area at Mum's

Put away gift wrapping supplies, handbags and box of fancy dress clothes

Book reflexology for tomorrow afternoon

Book lift to said appt with my folks

Eat more fresh pineapple, drink more RLT, salsa dance around the house and watch TV on all fours etc etc - can you tell I'd like things to get started?!?

Tidy bedroom of those where do they come from "piles"

If i get a chance re-shelve our single wardrobe unit and store contents properly

Probably won't do the half of this but it's good to have a list to cross off nonetheless

Forty and counting . . .

2011-11-10T08:20:00.000Z

Totally forgot to weigh-in til Tuesday and kept putting off and then forgetting to post - I think I can officially blame baby brain and on that note still no baby . . .

39 weeks - 14 st 11 lbs or 207 lbs
40 weeks - same despite having a middle of the night meal before I weighed-in in the morning

Here's hoping next week will be the first post-partum weigh-in this carpal tunnel and therefore lack of sleep is starting to wear me out . . .

Bringing Home Baby (November 3rd)

2011-11-03T08:00:00.003Z

Last night I did:

drink my last cup of raspberry leaf tea for the day

prepare a sample for tomorrow's antenatal appt.

pack my handbag for tomorrow's appt.

lay out my clothes for tomorrow

shelve two sets of books in our library

gather the couple of double copies from above (place these in my hall for my sis) and note these down on a new decluttering sheet to go into my home management binder

wrap one more gift

and watch an episode of the Duggars.

Today I plan to:

have a (badly neglected) quiet time with scripture memorisation and prayer included,

finish all currently possible wrapping,

move wrapped gifts to launch pad, my Mum's house for storing until Christmas or my gift cupboard,

shelve all the (now uploaded) CDs back into their alphabetised spots,

upload and shelve two CDs for the Hubby and sync these to the iPad,

change out the rest of the tablecloths in lounge,

dust the house,

clean guest bathroom,

quick tidy the house for girlie get together this evening,

prep food for this evening,

attend antenatal appointment,

watch the end of the DVD Mimi lent me so I can return it tonight,

fold dry laundry,

do a dark wash (including my jeans),

work for fifteen minutes on my hospital bag,

NAP! and

lay out my clothes for tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

Bringing Home Baby (November 2nd)

2011-11-02T22:30:00.000Z

Last night and across today I managed to:

put up a weigh-in post and update the weigh-in page

put up a decluttering post (and link to Nony when she put her's up)

check email

get dressed

text/phone my girlfriends re Thursday night - can't wait for this girlie evening

fold dry laundry

put on and hang up a white wash and subsequently flip the laundry on the radiators

make dinner for Hubby and I

wrap some of the books that were delivered yesterday which are presents

finish cleaning the car seat, add cover and affix to base in the car

launder and replace one of my lounge tablecloths
uploaded a random selection of CDs to the computer and am currently syncing them to our iPad for use on shuffle during labouring (everything from Ben Folds Five to Skunk Anansie to Keith & Kirsten Getty to Spice Girls - it's going to be random that's for sure)

lay out clothes for today

book and attend a reflexology session - very relaxing

chill out a little between tasks with baby programmes and a random kids' movie from our digital TV recorder

Didn't do it all but did some and that's quite enough at the moment!

Before bed tonight I plan to:

drink my last cup of raspberry leaf tea for the day

prepare a sample for tomorrow's antenatal appt.

pack my handbag for tomorrow's appt.

lay out my clothes for tomorrow

shelve two sets of books in our library

gather the couple of double copies from above (place these in my hall for my sis) and note these down on a new decluttering sheet to go into my home management binder

wrap one more gift

and watch an episode of the Duggars - ta da!

Decluttering Commitment for 2011 – October

2011-11-01T16:48:00.001Z

I’m linking up once again to Nony @ A Slob Comes Clean to account for what I’ve done to declutter my home.

In Auigust I surpassed my year-long goal to Declutter 1825 Things in 365 Days (five things/day) so now I’m just tallying how many things I can declutter across the whole year.

Thanks again for hosting Nony and well done for the thirty-one days of details - you certainly challenged me - I managed a very lowly number of posts across the month and like you I faff about the details when in fact they take such a small amount of time to deal with.

I doubt I'll link up next month as our little bundle is "due" in FIVE DAYS! but I'll certainly try to link up at the end of December/start January to see out the year. Despite my pregnancy bulk I definitely feel lighter as a result of continuing this decluttering. I still have a long way to go (coming from a line of packrats) but I'm so pleased with where I am today versus where I was when I started out on this journey early last year.

My biggest accomplishment for the month was to go through ALL my books (I have thousands - literally - I'd be scared to actually tally them up) - I may not have gotten shot of many but now that they are organised and accessible I am just over the moon!
So here's this month’s numbers . . .

Charity = 44

32 books

2 dimmer light switches (brand new)

2 audio cassettes

2 pillowcases

1 address book (unused)

1 “happy birthday” tin

1 lantern holder

1 lampshade

1 poster

1 bra

Mum = 47

44 sheets/sets of tissue paper

2 piece vase set

1 purse

Dad = 1

1 manual

Sporty Sis = 30

30 books

The Robinsons = 1

1 flip-flop notebook

Miss Jewellery = 81

39 Christmas card attachments

15 beads

14 ribbons

5 sheets of tissue paper

2 sections of mirror beading

2 sections of bead curtain

2 rolls of beading

2 gift boxes

Recycling = 37

24 catalogues

6 books

2 pieces of “Tupperware”

2 unused credit cards

2 magazines

1 metal cutlery drainer (rusted)

Dumped = 3

1 ceramic coaster (broken)

1 bottle brush (ruined)

1 whisk (broken)

244/31 Total for the Month/Total No. of Days

October Average = Nearly 8 things/day

659 January

28 February

67 March

764 April-July

332 August

377 September

244 October

“So far this year” Average = Just over 8 things/day

*2471 ITEMS DECLUTTERED - 646 OVER MY GOAL!*

Thirty-nine and counting . . .

2011-11-01T15:55:00.000Z

Still making healthy food choices alongside my junk choices.

Definitely getting more sleep - my scratchy throat is still hanging around but hasn't developed into anything PTL - my hands are painful throughout the night and I'm up several times to go to the bathroom but am resting for an hour or two in between and no longer getting up at dark-thirty daily (though I was up Sunday/Monday night).

Excited to meet the baby and lose about a stone at the drop of a hat!
38 weeks - 14 st 10 lbs or 206 lbs
39 weeks - 14 st 11 lbs or 207 lbs

Here's to a week of continuing preparations for the big day alternating with resting and eating and drinking!

Thirty-one days of bringing home baby - Days End

2011-11-01T15:48:00.000Z

So I dropped off the radar once more but I have the best of excuses - the forthcoming baba and all the excess fluid involved in their growth has given me serious carpal tunnel and I can't feel my thumbs and first two fingers about ninety percent of the time - this makes typing and using a computer mouse LOTS OF FUN - not!

The blogging about it may have ceased but I did (more or less) keep up with my thirty-one days plan so, here's my round-up . . .

The nursery is ready bar the putting up of the black-out blind, curtain pole, curtains and picture frames.

The hospital bag is 90% ready and if all else failed would suffice for the hospital stay.

I completely overhauled the many thousands of books we own - even managing to recycle, donate or gift some of them. The "library" is now fully organised, books are findable and this Mum-to-be is not constantly annoyed by the look of precariously stacked and stuffed in bookshelves.

I also overhauled our gift cupboards, DVDs, CDs, audio cassettes, tablecloths and candle storage.

I have now purchased and wrapped Christmas and birthdays (until late January) excepting a few vouchers we've yet to have delivered and the books that were delivered today but will be wrapped by tonight.

I haven't yet done my tax return - don't think I'll get this done pre-baby but it's not due done until the end of January.

There are some piles of paperwork and books to be gone through in our bedroom and several things I need to read/re-read before the new arrival.

Still in need of some "wet bags" for being out and about with a cloth-nappied baba and a nappy bucket (though my Dad's on the case of that - if he's remembered), otherwise I'm debating a feeding pillow - might pick one up tomorrow just-in-case but I've really got everything - I think and hope.

Still haven't done playlists for labour so might try to do that tonight.

Have continued drinking gallons of raspberry leaf tea and am really hoping it will make the second stage (pushing) quicker - let us hope.

Stretch marks have alas not been thwarted but I'm still loving my HUGE bump and got the proof that I'm literally just bump in terms of excess weight when I tried on my pre-pregnancy jeans the other night - and they fit - I couldn't do them up obviously but with my bump band could wear them even now - yay! My face has puffed up a little the last few days but generally I'm hale and hearty and baby is moving plenty. Our next antenatal appt is on Thursday, pending no arrivals prior to then and I'm just excited to meet this little one.

Got down to visit my Granda last Thursday which I was glad of, hadn't visited since June, so he's anxious for news and was pleased to hear our boy's name which includes his name.

Hoping to have the girls round for the evening on Thursday night to let them see bump and just to enjoy some grown-up girl time pre-baby.

The house needs a wee "spit and shine" over the next couple of days - especially the bathrooms - because if we end up with a baba in the next few hours I'd be mortified at the dust everywhere! I don't want that to be something that could remotely pop in to my head.

The best habit I've gotten into across these thirty-one days though has to be laying out my clothes the night before! This has made such a difference to my mornings, especially as my hands can be at their worst first thing and with such interrupted sleep I just don't have the brain power to think through "what to wear" in the morning. I really hope I keep up with this habit as it has made all the difference to my days of late.

Plans for the rest of the day are:

put up a weigh-in post and update the weigh-in page

put up a decluttering post (and link to Nony when she puts her's up)

check email

get dressed (cos I've been having a majorly lazy pj's day)

text/phone my girlfriends re Thursday night

fold dry laundry

put on and hang up a white wash

make dinner for Hubby and I

wrap the books that were delivered today which are presents

put away the books that are for our own library

spend at least fifteen minutes on the hospital bag

spend at least fifteen minutes on the paperwork piles in the bedroom

finish cleaning the car seat (when dry, add cover and affix to base in the car)

dust lounge and change out tablecloths

clean guest bathroom

write out (if not upload) some playlists for labouring

lay out clothes for tomorrow

book a reflexology session

and chill out in between tasks with baby programmes from our digital TV recorder

I've a lot in my head to do still despite being essentially "ready" so the days of bringing home baby will of course not be over until baby is actually, you know - home!

Thirty-eight and counting . . .

2011-10-25T13:38:00.000+01:00

Definitely made some healthier choices this week, still plenty of chocolate and desserts but lots of eggs and fruit and veg too. Feeling very run down now as we approach the finish/starting line; sleep and rest are fairly elusive as I'm uncomfortable lying down and sitting down and my throat's been really sore the last three or four days. Most days are starting at dark-thirty and continuing til about midnight but on the plus side I've been using my "awake" time to reorganise our HUGE library of books. The downside of that is with the books organised and on the shelves neatly they don't all fit anymore - still working on this! Okay onto the weighty issue of the day, alright of yesterday but I totally forgot it was Monday yesterday so I'm a day late and not a pound short but two pounds heavier . . .

37 weeks - 14 st 8 lbs or 204 lbs
38 weeks - 14 st 10 lbs or 206 lbs

Here's to a week of rest and recovery and house-cleaning before the, hopefully coming soon, BIG day!

*Wedding last Thursday was beautiful fyi and the food was fab!

Thirty-seven and counting . . .

2011-10-17T18:46:00.000+01:00

So putting on weight is continuing as you'd expect, my diet is not as it should be and this kid is gonna be born a chocoholic. Must try to make some healthier choices this week.

36 weeks - 14 st 5 lbs or 201 lbs
37 weeks - 14 st 8 lbs or 204 lbs

Here's to a week of nourishing my growing babe, including a wedding on Thursday which should certainly involve yummy food!

Thirty-one days of bringing home baby - Day 12

2011-10-12T10:40:00.000+01:00

Image from wwww.isisparenting.com

So of yesterday's six list I did . . .
1. NOT fill out the last of my forms with my sis cos she was busy
2. Book acupuncture sessions for myself and my mother
3. Use up the mushrooms in an ommelette - dinner for me and supper for the Hubby
4. NOT go through all our bedding and declutter cos I spent so long in the bath
5. NOT text my SIL re her operation cos she ended up in recovery for ages until she went to sleep - all went well though
6. Have my first pregnant belly bath, which I enjoyed for about two hours but baby was silent throughout unfortunately

Today's "six" list (I'm already breaking the rules) is . . .
1. Tutor Tammy-Girl, prepare for her next session and text her Mama re bringing car seat
2. Order books for Christmas/birthday giftsa
3. Shop the new superstore for staples, use voucher, get small gift for SIL
4. Make a birthday cake for my Hubby and clean up the kitchen afterwards! Wrap his gift and write his card
5. Do a load of white washing
6. Text SIL some encouragement and pray for her
7. Complete maternity forms with my sister
8. Check if paint on nursery radiator needs another coat or just varnished
9. Fold and put away dry laundry

Thirty-one days of bringing home baby - Day 11

2011-10-11T17:33:00.000+01:00

Image from wwww.isisparenting.com

Yesterday evening I did . . .
rebuild our cake stand,
hang up my second load of laundry,
drink about five glasses of water,
drink another cup of raspberry leaf tea,
light lamps but not candles to welcome my Hubby home,
NOT arrange acupuncture for myself and my mum,
make and eat dinner with The Husband,
prepare the Bible study for today with my Hubby,
attend our final antenatal/parenting class,
lay out my clothes for today,
change for our class,
pack handbag for class and
pray for but NOT text my SIL re her operation (today).

Today I've done very little beyond attending our small group Bible study and completing much of my basic to-do list*, after a night of little sleep I'm fairly unmotivated.

*Rather than writing out the same list everyday I've added a "Basic To-Do List" as a page above and I'm going to focus on up to six additional tasks daily to help me get prepared for baby. Streamlining, simplifying . . .

So here's my six list for the rest of the day . . .
1. Fill out the last of my maternity forms with my sister and the helpline advisor
2. Book acupuncture sessions for myself and my mother
3. Use up the mushrooms in an ommelette
4. Go through all our bedding and declutter
5. Text my SIL re her operation
6. Have my first pregnant belly bath, relax and enjoy

Here's hoping I can manage all six . . .

Thirty-one days of bringing home baby - Day 10

2011-10-10T17:03:00.000+01:00

Image from wwww.isisparenting.com

So life got busy and blogging about wasn't quite as necessary as you know - living it . . .

On Day 5 I did:

get up about nine but The Husband got up with me,

oil bump and perineum,

get dressed first thing,

eat breakfast, lunch and dinner,

drink three cups of raspberry leaf tea,

have my quiet time along with scripture memorisation but DID NOT pray - not good

do another dark wash,

check email,

mark our bedroom walls for two of the six things (the other four requiring my husband to finish painting) and mark the nursery walls for NOT one BUT two things,

return my brand-new driving licence which arrived yesterday with the wrong address on it,

NOT research and complete maternity form with my sister,

prep for my tutoring session with Tammy-Girl (this avo) and the one with Little Miss on Friday,

work on clearing the “junk” in the living room for at least an hour,

NOT make lunch for my Hubby as he chose to head to the gym instead,

fold and put away dry laundry,

prep white washing,

NOT have a nap after Hubby leaves for work,

spend my usual “working hours” BEGINNING TO GET our kitchen, small sitting room, dining room, hallway and guest bathroom “company ready” for the baby shower on Saturday,

tutor Tammy-Girl,

prepare a sample for tomorrow’s midwife appointment,

NOT write a definite Ikea shopping list for our imminent shopping trip (measure up for shelving, storage unit etc),

NOT place a book order for Christmas and birthday gifts,

NOT watch last section of hospital DVD with Hubby,

lay out clothes, jewellery, make-up etc. for tomorrow’s wedding do and

lay out clothes for tomorrow generally.

And I didn't get a chance to call to the new "superstore" either cos I wasted my time instead.

Since Day 5 I have . . .
continued to oil my bump and perineum, make my bed, open my blinds and get dressed first thing - this has really improved how each and every one of my days have gone,
eaten with regularity if not healthfully and drank bucket loads of raspberry leaf tea,
neglected my quiet time quite shockingly (only done it twice in five days),
attended morning service,
continued the practice of laying out my clothes each evening which has greatly improved my mornings also,
enjoyed a wedding evening do and was one of the last to leave!
shopped in ikea with my Mama and got lovely nursery curtains and a blackout blind etc.
checked email,
done laundry,
thoroughly enjoyed my baby shower (if not the manic amount of tidying and preparation that preceded it),
not enjoyed the preparations for said baby shower but have thoroughly enjoyed the fact that our home is tidy, organised and clean following said preparations,
as mentioned thoroughly tidied, organised and cleaned our house,
tutored Little Miss and prepped for this Fri avo,
prepped tutoring for Tammy-Girl for this Weds avo,
cleared all the "junk" from our living room (hiding it downstairs in our storage room counts right?),
attended another midwife appt - all is well,
neglected my naps and
watched the last of the hospital DVD with my Hubby.

Today (Day 10) I have wasted a good proportion of the day but have:
made bed, opened blinds,
gotten dressed, oiled bump and perineum,
eaten regularly, drunk two cups of raspberry leaf tea,
weighed-in and posted about it,
exchanged baby shower gifts for larger sizes or alternatives,
visited with my folks,
done two loads of laundry, hung one up,
filled dishwasher,
text my sister back,
tidied as I've gone and
updated my thirty-one days series.

I still plan to . . .
rebuild our cake stand,
hang up my second load of laundry,
drink about five glasses of water,
drink another cup of raspberry leaf tea,
light lamps and candles to welcome my Hubby home,
arrange acupuncture for myself and my mum,
make and eat dinner with The Husband,
prepare the Bible study for tomorrow with my Hubby,
attend our final antenatal/parenting class,
lay out my clothes for tomorrow,
change for tonight's class,
pack handbag for tonight and
pray for and text my SIL re her operation (tomorrow).

I hope to post again tomorrow and keep up with this series, as it definitely helps me to prioritise appropriately rather than just attend to the urgent.

Thirty-six and counting . . .

2011-10-10T16:51:00.000+01:00

Success (ahem) after a week of brioche and pain au chocolat gobbling I have gained weight! HA! Okay that wasn't exactly my goal but makes sense since I am you know ready to pop.

Baby is near fully cooked and I am not sleeping well.

I plan to lose about a stone (14 lbs) in a few weeks just so you know (my sister assures me giving birth ought to help me accomplish that feat pretty easily).

In other news my little sister has started going to the gym (for the first time ever) and I have never known anyone to be so thrilled that their entire body aches. Personally my weight loss plans will always focus more on diet than sweating (which I hate) or pain (of which I am also not a fan).

35 weeks - 14 st 3 lbs or 199 lbs
36 weeks - 14 st 5 lbs or 201 lbs

Coming up next, a long overdue thirty-one days post . . .

Thirty-one days of bringing home baby - Day 5

2011-10-05T09:52:00.000+01:00

Image from wwww.isisparenting.com

Yesterday I :

made the bed, opened the blinds and aired the house,
oiled bump and perineum,
got dressed first thing,
ate breakfast, lunch and dinner,
drank two cups of raspberry leaf tea,
had my quiet time along with scripture memorisation but FORGOT to pray for baby and us as soon-to be parents REMEMBERED though to pray for my SIL as she faces her long-awaited operation on Monday,
did a dark wash,
prepped a second dark wash for today,
checked my email,
tried to complete the maternity form for government and realised I also have to get my sister to fill part of it in - have moved this to today's list,
began preparation on my English-centric tutoring for yesterday evening and then rearranged the session for this afternoon,

didn't work on clearing the “junk” in the living room,

took Mama to work again to prepare her for starting solo today,

didn't tutor Tammy-Girl (see above),
moved in all of the nursery furniture, except the cot which is still being painted, moved in all of the baby's things (so far) and some of the decorations and made up the single bed as much as I could - it looks so cute!!!
didn't mark our bedroom wall for anything but
did lay out my clothes for today.

Today I plan to:

get up about nine and leave the husband to enjoy a well-earned lie-in,

oil bump and perineum,

get dressed first thing,

eat breakfast, lunch and dinner,

drink three cups of raspberry leaf tea,

have my quiet time along with scripture memorisation and prayer for baby, us as soon-to be parents and my SIL for her operation on Monday,

do another dark wash,

check email,

mark bedroom walls for six things and nursery walls for one,

return my brand-new driving licence which arrived yesterday with the wrong address on it,

research and complete maternity form with my sister,

prep for my tutoring session with Tammy-Girl (this avo) and the one with Little Miss on Friday,

work on clearing the “junk” in the living room for at least an hour,

make lunch for my Hubby,

fold and put away dry laundry,

prep white washing,

have a nap after Hubby leaves for work,

spend my usual “working hours” getting our kitchen, small sitting room, dining room, hallway and guest bathroom “company ready” for the baby shower on Saturday,

tutor Tammy-Girl,

prepare a sample for tomorrow’s midwife appointment,

write a definite Ikea shopping list for our imminent shopping trip (measure up for shelving, storage unit etc),

place a book order for Christmas and birthday gifts,

watch last section of hospital DVD with Hubby,

lay out clothes, jewellery, make-up etc. for tomorrow’s wedding do and

lay out clothes for tomorrow generally.

If I get a chance I might nip to the new "superstore" near us to get a mattress protector and single sheet-sets for the single bed in the nursery - all my single sheets were blue and of course the nursery is green!

How are you doing on your thirty-one day goals????

Thirty-one days of bringing home baby - Day 4

2011-10-04T13:29:00.001+01:00

Image from wwww.isisparenting.com

Thirty-one days of bringing home baby – Day 4

Yesterday I . . .

got up with my husband, made the bed, opened the blinds and aired the house,

oiled bump and perineum,

got dressed first thing,

ate breakfast and drank raspberry leaf tea,

had my quiet time along with prayer for baby and us as soon-to be parents,

folded and put away dry laundry,

fully cleared my bedside area of all those piles,

situated our family crib at said bedside BUT couldn't make it up as my lovely lemon sheets had marks on them from the cardboard packaging - they've been added to the laundry and if the marks don't come out, well . . . I'm glad I kept the receipt,
did a first draft of packing my (gorgeous pink) trolley case for the hospital but certainly didn't complete this or finalise a list of what to add at the last minute (phones etc.),

worked on clearing the “junk” in the living room for half-an-hour,

didn't nap before work because I faffed so much and didn't have time,

took Mama to work,

attended our first (of two) antenatal/parenting classes and was scared by the drop in standard of our maternity system as anecdotally evidenced by our (supposed to be encouraging us) midwife,

didn't move in any nursery furniture but should make a start on that tonight and

laid out my clothes for today

I did however also:
start back into a routine of scripture memorisation using my handy-dandy scripture index box,
check and fully declutter my email,
sew three long neglected items of clothing,
drink a second cup of raspberry leaf tea,
prep a dark wash for today,
pre-soak two items of clothing (to go in today's wash) and
print off the extra maternity form I need to complete.

Today I planned lots but slept in so my list is not so long today. I will . . .

make the bed, open blinds and air the house,

oil bump and perineum,

get dressed first thing,

eat breakfast, lunch and dinner,
drink at least two cups of raspberry leaf tea,

have my quiet time along with scripture memorisation and prayer for baby and us as soon-to be parents,

do a dark wash,
prep a second dark wash for tomorrow,
check my email,

complete maternity form for government,

prepare my English-centric tutoring for this evening,

work on clearing the “junk” in the living room for at least half-an-hour,

take Mama to work again to prepare her for starting tomorrow,

tutor Tammy-Girl,

move in some of the nursery furniture
mark bedroom wall for four pictures and hanging decoration and

lay out my clothes for tomorrow.

Here's hoping I clear today's list - as I've just been informed the total count for the baby shower (being held in my living room on Saturday) is around 30!!!!

I seriously need to get the house in order and cleaned by then - AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Thirty-one days of bringing home baby - Day 3

2011-10-03T12:48:00.000+01:00

Image from wwww.isisparenting.com

So yesterday we had family visitors and I:

did a quiet time

didn't attend church - rested out the morning service and enjoyed visiting instead of a nap therefore leaving me with the knowledge I'd never stay awake during the evening service, the visiting continued instead and we got the chance to witness to my great-uncle so not a total fail

showered, cleansed, toned and moisturised, oiled my perineum and drank my raspberry leaf tea

put up a decluttering post for September

tidied my toiletries

laid out today’s clothes

made a “Waffle Berry Pudding” and

visited ~~some~~ lots

Today bringing home baby will involve:

getting up with my husband and making bed, opening blinds and airing house,

oiling bump and perineum,

getting dressed first thing,

eating breakfast and drinking raspberry leaf tea,

having my quiet time along with prayer for baby and us as soon-to be parents,

folding and putting away dry laundry,

fully clearing my bedside area of all the “piles” that gather there of their own accord – nothing whatsoever to do with me,

situating the crib at said bedside and making it up with lovely lemon (couldn’t get white alas) crib sheets (thanks Mama)

packing the bag(s) for hospital and finalising a list of what to add at the last minute (iPad, camera, phones, chargers etc)

working on clearing the “junk” in the living room for at least half-an-hour

napping before going to work

taking my Mama to work to show her the ropes as she’s covering my maternity leave,

attending our first (of two) antenatal/parenting classes,

putting some of the nursery furniture in (as time allows, I’m not doing the lifting obviously) and

laying out my clothes for tomorrow

Tomorrow I'll check in on today for accountability and give myself a new to do list for the day.

Check out The Nester for 31 days of lovely limitations or A Slob Comes Clean for 31 days of details.

Thirty-five and counting . . .

2011-10-03T12:29:00.000+01:00

Time for the weekly weigh-in once more and the weirdness continues - no weight gain or loss . . .

34 weeks - 14 st 3 lbs or 199 lbs
35 weeks - 14 st 3 lbs or 199 lbs

Next up thirty-one days of bringing home baby – Day 3

Thirty-one days of bringing home baby – Day 2

2011-10-02T21:32:00.000+01:00

Image from wwww.isisparenting.com

So despite a wobbly day yesterday and being unbelievably tired I completed my (albeit short) to-do list.

Yesterday I:

made my bed

got dressed

hung up my wet laundry

emptied the dishwasher

cooked for my husband and enjoyed a lovely evening with him including playing “Unscrabble,” a very lovely way to pack away your “Scrabble” game and

marked the wall for three pictures/frames and was very shocked by how much that took out of me physically

I also:

drank my raspberry leaf tea (to help soften one’s cervix – gulp)

prepped the “Waffle Berry Pudding” (didn't use this recipe, but a similar one) for today’s dessert and

laid out all my clothes and packed my handbag for today

Not exactly my most productive day to date but productive enough nonetheless.

Today since it’s the Sabbath my list is more physical preparation than anything. I have planned to:

do a quiet time (which I have sorely neglected the last couple of days)

attend church

shower, cleanse, tone and moisturise (esp. the bump)

anoint my perineum with oil (I know, I know TMI)

drink my raspberry leaf tea

put up a decluttering post for September

quick tidy my toiletries sitting out in the bathroom to improve the look of the place

finish making the “Waffle Berry Pudding” and

visit with my folks and some elderly family members

My Weekly Weigh-In post will be up in the morning (hopefully)

Decluttering Commitment for 2011 – September

2011-10-02T13:58:00.000+01:00

I’m linking up once again to Nony @ A Slob Comes Clean to account for what I’ve done to declutter my home.

Last month I surpassed my year-long goal to Declutter 1825 Things in 365 Days (five things/day) so now I’m just tallying how many things I can declutter across the whole year.

Thanks again for hosting Nony!

This month’s update . . .

Charity = 105

14 purchased video cassettes

11 piece ice lolly set

10 cut-glass spirit glasses (never used and never going to be)

10 bracelets

7 individual jelly moulds

5 necklaces

4 postcards

3 wall-hangers for plates

3 pairs of slipper socks

3 pairs of socks

2 “character sheep” ornaments (an engagement gift I disliked but kept for two-and-a-half years, more than long enough methinks)

2 fabric quarters (that I won’t use)

2 pairs of tracksuit bottoms

2 perfumed drawer sachets

2 sets of fabric flowers

2 number decorations

2 frosted glass vases

2 piece candle lamp

2 piece vase set

2 brassieres

1 turquoise blue serving dish

1 spare ice cream scoop

1 plastic measuring jug

1 decorative glass bowl

1 floral decorated jug

1 kitchen roll holder

1 “magic eight” ball

1 pair of pyjamas

1 teddy’s jumper

1 jewellery box

1 picture frame

1 rape alarm

1 bandanna

1 pill box

1 dress

Mum = 5

5 cranberry coloured wine glasses

Dad = 1

1 pen keyring

Sporty Sis = 1

1 screwdriver set keyring

Miss Thing = 40

40 piece vintage dinner set

The Robinsons = 20

12 hair decorations

7 polypockets

1 jewellery (ring) display

Miss Jewellery = 79

63 plastic card wraps

11 feathers

4 gift bags

1 band of sequins

Miss B (my parents' dog) = 2

2 round dishes

Mrs JG (my SIL) = 11

11 character figures

Recycling = 107

96 video cassettes

3 postcards

2 “Tupperware” lids

1 pile of storage boxes

1 maternity magazine

1 “Tupperware” box

1 pile of candle wax

1 pile of papers

1 diary

Dumped = 6

4 hair decorations

1 dusty melted tealight

1 lonely earring

377/30 Total for the Month/Total No. of Days

September Average = Over 12½ things/day

659 January

28 February

67 March

764 April-July

332 August

377 September

“So far this year” Average = Just over 8 things/day

*2227 ITEMS DECLUTTERED - 402 OVER MY GOAL!*

A good month for clearing out (and actually delivering said items to the charity shop etc. - thank you The Husband). Still lots that needs to go though and it's now just over a month until the baby's due - how exciting!!!!

Next up will be Day 2 of Thirty-one days of . . . bringing home baby, you know if I can get my internet to work . . . stupid technology . . .

Thirty-one days of . . . bringing home baby

2011-10-01T16:21:00.001+01:00

Image from wwww.isisparenting.com

Day 1

I dipped in and out of the various thirty-one days series last year and will no doubt do similar this year, but with one added extra - this year I'm going to join in . . .

Obviously the biggest things in my life at present are the ever-expanding bump and the eagerly expected babe within - that said the eagerly expected babe needs somewhere to sleep, feed, be cuddled and doted upon by the many expected visitors when it chooses to leave said ever-expanding bump and said visitors will appreciate clean and clear seating when they visit and the space to manoeuver through our home without tremendous feats of acrobatics, oh and they might like a clean loo to be able to visit also and to eat and drink from our kitchen without fear of poisoning . . . so . . . ahem . . . it is most definitely time to nest and clean house!!!!!

Baby is "due" on the 13th of November and whilst I've been placing my bets on a later date many others, including Miss Thing are imagining an earlier birthday and I don't want to disgrace myself or my husband by having visitors seeing the our home in its current state.

The status quo is slightly unkempt and in need of a dust throughout with many things piled high in our living room and bedroom that are bound for the attic, recycling, the bin, the charity shop, the walls (many picture frames), who knows where or the nursery. The nursery is freshly painted, thank you Daddy, with only a couple of touch-ups required and we'll be "filling it" from Monday on.

I need to get my head and body in gear and make lots of decisions about where everything is to go, what stays, what goes and where to put holes in the walls.

I need to make a trip to Ikea to get shelving for the kitchen - to finally display my beautiful Clarice Cliff plate collection, a bathroom cabinet - to replace our rusted towel rail, and a blackout blind and curtains for the nursery.

I need to finish organising our bedroom wardrobes.

I need to organise the nursery.

Oh yeah and did I mention, I need to do most of the cleaning and clearing by next Saturday as we're having our baby shower in our house as it is fantastic for hosting big groups. Help!

Today I've made melba toast for my Mama's guests for tomorrow, filled and run the dishwasher, washed a load of laundry but have yet to hang it up and have yet to get dressed or make my bed. Why? Because the eagerly expected babe was being suspiciously quiet and this worried mama-to-be wanted to be still and encourage some comforting kicks. Thank the Lord for strong kicks and flutters and wiggles. With a now eased mind and it now being after four! I think it's about time to make a start on the never-ending to-do list.

Today I'm "bringing home baby" by:

finishing off my laundry,
making my bed,
getting dressed,
cooking for my beloved and enjoying a board game with him,
emptying the dishwasher and
deciding where to put three pictures on my walls.

If I can go to bed having accomplished this list I will be happy.

Come back tomorrow for my decluttering post for September and Day 2 of my Thirty-one days of bringing home baby . . .

Thirty-four and counting . . .

2011-09-26T16:28:00.000+01:00

Actually remembered this week! Weirdly once more I've lost another pound?!?! When I took a sneak peek at my weight on Sunday I'd gained three pounds but by Monday morning I'd lost a pound, I don't pretend to understand it because I've not been cutting down, if anything I've been eating more, anywho . . .

33 weeks - 14 st 4 lbs or 200 lbs
34 weeks - 14 st 3 lbs or 199 lbs

Can't believe I'm going to be a Mummy soon . . .

Thirty-three and counting . . .

2011-09-21T15:54:00.000+01:00

Completely forgot to weigh-in on Monday and only remembered late on on Tuesday so I finally weighed in on Wednesday - phew!

Weirdly despite the mammoth amount of chocolate I've lost weight!?!? I have no idea what's going on there but here's the update anywho . . .

32 weeks - 14 st 5 lbs or 201 lbs
33 weeks - 14 st 4 lbs or 200 lbs

This week I'll be trying to eat more healthily, you know to balance out the chocolate, that I'll still be eating - ahem!

Gratitude - One Thousand Gifts #41-44

2011-09-12T08:39:00.001+01:00

#41 Waking up just before my alarm so my husband isn't disturbed

#42 Pleasant convos with the 11YO and 12-and-a-half YO

#43 For a generous mama who just returned from a holiday to France with no less than eleven gorgeous babygros

#44 For apps that translate French to English so I could find out what the babygros above said - I studied Spanish not French!

Thirty-two and counting . . .

2011-09-12T06:45:00.000+01:00

Oooh not a good weigh-in, we were away for the weekend and let's just put it this way - the place served pain au chocolat for breakfast!

31 weeks - 14 st 1 lb or 197 lbs
32 weeks - 14 st 5 lbs or 201 lbs

My first time ever in the two hundreds and although I'd thought I'd instantly dissolve into tears at the sight of it - I'm really not bothered - I'm keeping well, my babe is growing well, my weight is mostly bump and man that pain au chocolat was totally worth it! :)

Twenty-nine, Thirty, Thirty-one and counting

2011-09-05T12:19:00.000+01:00

Time for a three week weigh-in update . . .

28 weeks - 192lbs or 13st 10lbs
29 weeks - 194lbs or 13st 12lbs
30 weeks - 196lbs or 14st
31 weeks - 197lbs or 14st 1 lb

So I'm still under my start of the year weight but won't be for long, with nine weeks to go I'll not achieve my goal to not weigh more than 203lbs and I know I'll be gutted once I hit that 200lbs mark BUT my baby's growing well and how can I complain about that :)

Decluttering Commitment for 2011 – August

2011-09-01T21:37:00.000+01:00

I’m linking up once again to Nony @ A Slob Comes Clean to account for how I’ve done on the decluttering challenge to (in my case):

Declutter 1825 Things in 365 Days (that’s five-a-day)

Thanks again for hosting Nony!

Whew what a month - I've done a lot but still have lots to go! This month actually includes a whole pile of clothing and shoes that I actually decluttered in July but totally forgot to add to my list - doh!

The biggest decluttering focus this month has been the study/craft room and its (very) slow transition into a nursery for our first-born. Here's hoping we'll actually have the nursery ready before the bairn arrives (nine/ten weeks to go now!).

I've now passed my original goal for the year and I know I still have lots more to shift from my clutterbug domain - I'm not going to change my goal but will keep up the tally to see just how many things I can get rid of this year! I want to end this year much lighter - in my spirit, on the scales and within my house.

Charity = 98

19 belts

13 scarves/shawls

11 pencil sharpeners

11 pairs of trousers

9 CDs (I don’t enjoy)

8 board games (that we don’t enjoy or are incomplete)

5 pairs of fancy heels I no longer wear

3 purses

2 home-made cards (I won’t use)

2 jackets/cardigans

2 camisoles

2 dresses

2 tops

1 DVD (I’ll never watch)

1 jigsaw (I didn’t enjoy)

1 pack of playing cards

1 scarf hanger

1 set square

1 ornament

1 handbag

1 skirt

1 hat

Mum = 6

2 letter-writing pads (I don’t use)

2 organising baskets

1 weight watchers’ file (that Mum will make use of)

1 recipe booklet

Dad = 36

34 stubby pencils

1 retractable pencil

1 pen

Sporty Sis = 28

9 notebooks

8 laminated cards (for handwriting practice)

4 cot-size fitted sheets

4 pencil sharpeners

2 incomplete packs of playing cards (for my nephews)

1 notebook (with sticker-decorated pages for my nephews)

Miss Thing = 1

1 clothes airer

Auntie TLC = 2

1 set of face paints (for her grandchildren)

I handbag sunglasses case

The Robinsons = 13

7 plastic pockets

5 home decorating magazines

1 pencil case (for use in a lever arch file)

Miss Jewellery = 40

30 net circles for making gift bags

5 plastic card wraps

4 gift bags/boxes

1 string of beads

Recycling = 79

42 catalogues/magazines

9 (box) files’ contents (including work from university)

9 jigsaw pieces that don’t belong

7 board game/jigsaw boxes

3 old metal pencil cases

3 craft boxes

3 magazines

2 membership manuals (to societies I left)

1 CD storage box (broken)

Dumped = 29

12 erasers

5 dried-up glue sticks

3 groups of iTunes sermons (adding up to 300+ sermons that I’d never have time to listen to)

3 dried up paints

2 plastic toys

1 non-burning candle

1 colouring pencil

1 broken button

1 pen

332/31 Total for the Month/Total No. of Days

August Average = Over 10.7 things/day

659 January

28 February

67 March

764 April-July

332 August

“So far this year” Average = Over 7.6 things/day

*1850 ITEMS DECLUTTERED - 25 OVER MY GOAL!*

GMG - Monday 15th August 2011

2011-08-15T05:00:00.000+01:00

This morning's reading was Ephesians ch 1 v 1-2:

S: Ephesians ch1 v1-2 (KJV)

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ

O: I love that we are all part of this greeting, from that original congregation at Ephesus down through the ages to us - a group of ladies spread across the globe and united under one Father and that Paul sets off from the outset to state that he is writing to them with a message from God.

A: I used to attend the brethren church/gospel hall and I loved how when someone visited a congregation (whilst on holiday in the area) they came with a letter of introduction from their congregation - it always began to the saints at . . . and continued in the vein of we commend our brother and sister to you in the name of the Lord . . .the ideology behind it was alas to ensure they were welcomed to the Lord's table at the hall they visited but I always loved how they used the pattern of the New Testament letters to welcome each other in God's name.

The closest I've come to this sort of thing is signing off an email or letter with "yours in Christ" but the application I'm taking away is that we should always consider ourselves one church, one body under our uniting Father God and that we should not be afraid to claim our spiritual heritage as Paul does. We're unlikely to greet new people with a "Hi, I'm G, a disciple of Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you in God's name" but we should claim our Father and Saviour and let it be known that we are part of their family - with words or otherwise

P: Lord - help me to claim my stand, strong in my faith today and witness for you in all my words and actions, showing You as Lord and being bold in my spiritual heritage. Amen

Twenty-eight and counting . . .

2011-08-15T04:34:00.000+01:00

Weekly Weigh-In was this morning so here goes nothing . . .

28 weeks - 192 lbs or 13 st 10 lbs
27 weeks - 192 lbs or 13 st 10 lbs

I was very naughty and continued to indulge my sweet tooth a little too much this week but there were plenty of healthy nutritious foods to balance out and I've maintained - hurrah!

GMG post will be up soon . . .

W/E Sat 20th August 2011 (PBP)

2011-08-14T19:53:00.001+01:00

Diary
New Good Morning Girls (GMG) session begins (Mon)
Working (Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri)
Tin Man and Dorothy’s Wedding (Weds)
Bible Study (Thurs)
Tutoring Tammy (Sat AM)
Sun
- Prep Weekly Weigh-In post and GMG post
- Text Miss Kitty re meeting up this Monday or Saturday avo or on a future Saturday if that suits her or in early September as I need to be realistic and will be on a full wok load for the rest of the month
- Text Uni Girl re meeting Monday avo or Saturday avo week
- Text Mrs PC re my Aunt’s order for a stone baker
- Write thank you card for Mum and Dad re helping with painting our home to accompany meal voucher
- Declutter boxes of pencils, rulers and sharpeners
- Deliver thank you card, printed out travel tickets and decluttered items for Dad
- Deliver decluttered items for Sporty Sis to Mum’s for collection tomorrow
- Borrow building blocks from Mum for tutoring
- Complete forms for updating savings book – address and stamp
- Address and stamp voucher for a free reusable nappy
- Prep dark washing last thing
- Lay out clothes and toiletries for the morning
- Lay out Bible for GMG start
Mon
- Get up early

- Weigh-In

- Put on dark washing (including brassiere)

- Start PC

- Shower

- GMG study, post, email

- Write up Weekly Weigh-In

- Begin to clear kitchen for painting (Tues)

- Hang washing up or out (before work)

- Deliver decluttered items to Robinsons (work)
- Ring dentist to make an appointment for September
- Finish tacking dress for wedding at work and try on
- Tutoring and tutoring prep for the week (including my other student Tammy)
- Ask CMAG what she’d like for her impending birthday
- Continue reading modern Maternity magazine
- Post anniversary card to Ennis and Dung and voucher for free nappy on way home
- Post off savings books (recorded delivery)
- Put petrol in car on way home
- Finish clearing kitchen for painting
- Trim excess fabric from dress – check length with Mum
- Pack black thread for hemming dress and navy for mending my Hubby’s pyjamas
- Pack eyebrow tweezers and enlarging hand-mirror
- Lay out clothes for morning
- Read GMG emails and prep GMG email/post for tomorrow
Tues
- Turn on PC then wash, dress, eat
- GMG - read, post, email
- Hem wedding outfit properly (at work)
- Mend Hubby’s pyjamas too
- Tutoring
- Continue reading modern Maternity magazine (at work)
- Shape eyebrows (at work)
- Charge camera ready for wedding
- Complete wedding outfit, lay out clothing, makeup etc
- Re-house sundry items in dining room
- Move green crockery set downstairs (from dining room)
- Finish prepping apples
- Read GMG emails, prep for tomorrow
Weds
- GMG - read, post, email, prep for tomorrow
- Attend wedding and enjoy ourselves!
- Take pictures of me with bump for posterity, oh and the bride of course!
Thurs
- Take iPad to work
- Read GMG emails from yesterday
- GMG - read, post, email, prep for tomorrow
- Tutoring
- Go over Bible study for this evening (at work)
- Continue reading modern Maternity magazine until complete then recycle (at work)
- Put Hippy Girl’s birthday card through her door on way home from work with a note to have her call me to set up a lunch date in September
- Take down, fold and put away dark washing
- Lay out clothes for morning
- Attend Bible study
Fri
- Take iPad to work
- Read GMG emails from yesterday
- GMG read, post, email, prep for Monday
- Tutoring
- Read more of current "hippy" maternity magazine
- Research (and order) VHS to DVD software
- Decide on book people order
- Complete maternity allowance forms (after work)
- Do a load of whites washing and hang up or out
- Lay out clothes for the morning
Sat
- Have Hubby post completed maternity forms
- Tutoring Tammy (11am)
- Make a start on tax return!
- Work on study

- Minimum one hour

- Move charity donations downstairs to clear space

- Ditch broken shredder downstairs

- Find room for gift wrapping supplies in my double wardrobe

- Move eBay box downstairs

- All videotapes to be sorted and re-housed

- Donate to car boot – downstairs

- Keep for transfer to DVD - base of my double wardrobe

- Lay out clothes for church

Hopefully I've gone for just the right level of ambition for this week - it is very detailed but again hopefully this will be a positive to help me get it all done.

My Weekly Weigh-In post and the first GMG post of the session will be up tomorrow . . .

Accountability - W/E Sat 13th August 2011 (PBP)

2011-08-14T17:43:00.000+01:00

Diary
Our Lough Boat Tour on last Sunday was fab and informative if very rocky and chilly, the Husband really shouldn't have gone though as two hours on the inland water did nothing to improve his chest infection!

Dentist was quick and painless - because I have to go back to get a(nother) tooth filled.

I got finished work a little early on Tuesday which was great as I the sickly Husband at home needed lots of TLC, I added in an afternoon of munchkin minding on Wednesday (2YO & 4YO), worked til two-ish on Thursday and then babysat the munchkins that night - fairly exhausted all round as the Hubby was preparing me for life with a newborn - up at twelve, one, two, three, four and six - he really has a bad dose.

I cancelled crafting with Miss Jewellery on Saturday as I'd not gotten very much sleep and didn't want the Hubs to infect her.

Blackberry picking was a non-starter as they need another week or two but I did gather in some apples, peeled, chopped and flash-froze them for making pies, crumbles and sponges when the mood takes me. Still have some to prepare but they were an easy no-brainer thing to do as I sat down of a night.

Alas Hubs wasn't well enough to go on the stag do and has been going stir and sleep crazy so I didn't get most of my jobs done (either because they were too noisy or a surprise for him or simply because I hadn't the mental capacity for them after so much broken sleep.

So the To Do/Done List is as follows:
Daily
- Kept on top of laundry except that I should have done a load yesterday - will get it done tomorrow morning before work

- Carry out a 26-fix on the study (i.e. dump, recycle, tidy or donate 26 items) - Did this on Monday but didn't count through things the rest of the week

- DIDN'T work on our wedding album
Mon

- Weighed-In and blogged about it
- Dentist appointment attended though I need to make another one alas and alack
- Text Farmer’s Daughter, Uni Girl, Angel, Mrs Kitty and Gerta re catching-up etc - though nothing ended up being arranged
- DIDN'T complete forms for maternity allowance

- DIDN'T finalise accessories for wedding outfit

- DIDN'T measure up windows for curtain length and measure curtains for lining

- DIDN'T purchase blackout lining/interlining after dentist appointment

- Wrote cards for Mr Thing’s birthday, Ennis and Dung's anniversary, Char and Cook's anniversary, Best Man's birthday, my cousin's to accompany a small gift we're posting over and for Hippy Girl’s birthday

- Went for a walk to see if there are any ripe blackberries ready for picking

- Took down, folded and put away white washing

- Retrieved general card boxes from Miss Thing and put them away

Tues and Thurs

- DIDN'T post maternity allowance forms (Tues)
- DIDN'T research and order VHS to DVD software (Tues)

- Started the tacking of the wedding maxi dress at work

- Tutoring prep and tutored at work

- Read MORE of modern maternity mag but DIDN'T finish it
- Haven't text Hippy Girl, Miss Kitty etc. re catching up next week

Weds
- Added in three hours of toddler herding - exhausting at this point of pregnancy I must say
- DIDN'T move green crockery set downstairs (from dining room)
- DIDN'T work on the study for an hour THIS day
Fri
- DIDN'T begin weekend work (a big surprise for my Hubby - since he was home)
- Worked on the study and especially on organising, decluttering and repackaging the games and puzzles
Sat
- Wrapped gift for Best Man’s birthday
- Did out my bank lodgement (making for a happy Hubby)
- Cancelled crafting but continued to work in study for the day (and night - couldn't sleep so worked in their from half one until half four AM - decluttering paperwork). Re-housed the now organised games and puzzles and also worked to organise my Mum's too (next door). Exhausted myself!

So my very ambitious (for me) plans didn't (at) all get accomplished but my Hubby was well taken care of and allowed to sleep as much as he needed in a quiet home with hot drinks on tap so I think my real work for the week was fully accomplished.

To see my plans for this coming week - check out my next post . . .

Twenty-seven and counting . . .

2011-08-08T12:14:00.000+01:00

Twenty-seven weeks as of yesterday if you believe my sonographer, and I weighed-in this morning:

27 weeks - 192 lbs or 13 st 10 lbs
26 weeks - 190 lbs or 13 st 8 lbs

I know I overindulged on the sweetnesses this week and it shows - sugar on my cereal, sugary and fatty treats at my lotions and potions party (which was very relaxing FYI - not least because I got a facial during it) - but whoops - will definitely be striving to eat healthier this week or I'll be Jabba the Gut by the time nine months rolls around and I'll definitely be well above my start of the year 198 lbs high especially considering the baba puts on about a week themselves during the last month or so and I reckon I'm not as far along as they reckon.

Here's to a week of less sugar, lower-fat and much more healthful foods.

W/E Sat 13th August 2011 (PBP)

2011-08-07T12:21:00.002+01:00

Diary
Lough Boat Tour (Sun)
Dentist (Mon)
Working – until two/three (Tues and Thurs)
Babysitting (Thurs)
Hubby away for a stag weekend (Fri- Sun)
Crafting with Miss Jewellery (Sat)
Blackberry picking (if possible)

To Do List
Daily

- Keep on top of laundry

- Carry out a 26-fix on the study (i.e. dump, recycle, tidy or donate 26 items)

- Work at least fifteen minutes on our wedding album

Mon
- Weekly Weigh-In
- Write blog post about weigh-in
- Dentist appointment
- Text “Farmer’s Daughter” re meeting up for coffee/good hols

- Text “Uni Girl” re meeting up for coffee/good hols

- Complete forms for maternity allowance

- Finalise accessories for wedding outfit

- Measure up windows for curtain length and measure curtains for lining

- Purchase blackout lining/interlining after dentist appointment

- Write card for Mr Thing’s birthday (Thurs)

- Go for walk to see if there are any ripe blackberries ready for picking

- Blackberry picking if possible
- Wash and freeze any fruit gathered

- Take down, fold and put away white washing

- Retrieve general card boxes from Miss Thing

- Note down number she is keeping

- Put boxes away in assigned home

Tues and Thurs

- Post maternity allowance forms (Tues)
- Research and order VHS to DVD software (Tues)

- Hem wedding maxi dress at work

- Tutoring prep and tutoring at work

- Read rest of modern maternity mag and recycle (at babysitting)

- Once next week’s hours are agreed:

- Text "Hippy Girl" re meeting up for her birthday (Fri next)

- Text Miss Kitty re catching up next week

Weds
- Move green crockery set downstairs (from dining room)
- Blackberry picking with Hubby if possible
- Wash and freeze any fruit gathered
- Study

- Minimum one hour

- Move charity donations downstairs to clear space

- Empty “lidl” bag

- Ditch broken shredder downstairs

- Any books to be moved to library

- Tidy gift wrapping supplies and move (all but rolls) into gift cupboard

- Move eBay box downstairs

- All videotapes to be sorted and re-housed

- Keep for transfer to DVD – base of my double wardrobe

- Donate to car boot – downstairs

Fri
- Write cards for “Ennis and Dung” and “Char and Cook” for their first anniversaries
- Write card for Hippy Girl’s birthday
- Write card and wrap gift for “Best Man’s” birthday
- Begin weekend work (a big surprise for my Hubby)
- Study
- Minimum half an hour
- Pigeonholes focus
Sat
- Christmas card crafting (I have a box of cut-outs from last year's cards along with other tit-bits all ready and waiting)
- Blackberry picking with Miss Jewellery if possible
- Wash and freeze any fruit gathered
Weekend Work (with plenty of TV saved up to watch throughout)
- Hem curtains for lounge
- Add blackout lining/interlining to back of lounge curtains
- Launder curtains and iron
- Once dry, re-iron curtains
- Hopefully hang curtains before Hubby returns from stag weekend (and see how long it takes him to notice)

Hopefully my very ambitious (for me) plans will all get accomplished and my Hubby will come home to curtains he has sorely missed.

The things kids say #6

2011-08-07T11:04:00.001+01:00

Please excuse the bowel movement references but they are unavoidable . . .

Between my friend G and her niece little g (age four) whilst on the toilet . . .

G: Are you finished little g?

g: No I have to do poo-poos

G: Weren't your poo-poos runny yesterday?

g: Yes (giggling) but they're not like that today. They don't want to come out today, they just want to stay in their little house.

Bless!

Accountability - W/E Sat 6th August 2011 (PBP)

2011-08-07T10:14:00.001+01:00

All went according to plan in the diary except that my sis cancelled the Bible study cos I hadn't confirmed I was coming to that session - oops! Got to spend a little time with her and the boys though so that was great and since I did get the study done I'm all organised for the postponed Bible study in two weeks time.

To Do List - Accountability
- Kept on top of laundry
- Didn't spend much time in the study - boo - only worked in there for about three-quarters of an hour this week instead of two hours
- Booked dentist appointment for Monday avo - which is good because the broken tooth has started to get sensitive
- Booked eye appointment for mid-Sept
- Ordered modesty panels and was gutted to find on arrival that they won't affix onto the extra wide straps of my maternity bra, hopefully my Mum might be able to use them
- Ordered Moby sling (using Swagbucks - my referral link)
- Marked hem length on wedding outfit
- Arranged a crafting session with Miss Jewellery for Sat 13th
- Got in contact with Miss Kitty and will have to text her again this week once I know my working hours for next week
- Complete Bible study
- Decided to keep maternity pj's and return sleep bras
- Tutoring prep and tutoring at work
- Cleaned house in preparation for lotions and potions party

o Clean kitchen surfaces and hob - scrubbed!

o Vacuum lounge rug

o Brushed floor (mostly)

o Cleaned bathroom and replaced towel

o Dusted lounge

o Rearranged furniture alone - not smart
o Decluttered coffee table shelf completely

o Put away CDs and DVDs on floor by shelving as well as all others randomly laying about the house - re-alphabetised them all - proud of self!

o Plan party menu - left this almost entirely up to the husband who did an awesome job

DIDN'T

. . . read the rest of the maternity magazine I'd bought and recycle it

. . . hang picture on wall by TV - totally forgot but think I'd prefer a nice verse of Scripture painted onto the wall anyway

W/E Sat 6th August 2011 (PBP)

2011-08-02T21:45:00.005+01:00

I'm taking a leaf out of Nony's book here and using my blogging for accountability.
This month I'm back to work and will be working longer hours as the kids (that I mind/borrow) are still off school and their Dad is back to work. I have tonnes to do in the house to prepare for our newest member's arrival in November so I thought I'd write myself a list of what to do (and by when) for this month and the rest preceding the wee one's birth. Of course the list was somewhat extensive so I'm gonna take it a week at a time instead.

We have an extra (because of fibroids – see Weekly Weigh-in Page) 28-week scan to check on baby and fibroids growth. Just had an antenatal appointment with all thing’s being good - bp, heartbeat, fundal height etc. so hopefully all will be well with scan also.

We also have friends of ours getting married so one of my (many) jobs is to take up the dress I’ll be wearing to their shindig (it’s about a foot too long at the moment). I’ve still to figure out all my accessories (bright colours are a must as the dress is black) and I also have to order a little lacy (attaches to your bra straps) fake camisole thing as the maternity bra and clothing companies are not talking to one another – basically all of my tops/tunics/dresses have a neckline that is about two inches South of where my (enormous but very comfy) maternity bra stops.

Over this week I’ll be at a monthly women’s Bible study group, hosted by my sis, a babysitting job for a 2YO and 4YO and I’ll be hosting a Tupperware-style lotions and potions selling party for my rep friend Mrs Kitty. On Sunday we’re off on a boat tour of the local lough - I’m praying for good sailing weather as last year they had to cancel. I’ve also got several errands so this is my week:

Diary
Working – morning only (Thurs)
Bible study (Thurs)
Babysitting (Fri)
Mrs Kitty’s lotions and potions party (Sat)

To Do List
Daily

- Keep on top of laundry
- Work for at last half an hour a day on study/craft room/soon-to-be-nursery

Weds

- Book dentist appointment
- Book eye appointment

- Order (attach to bra straps) fake camisoles

- Order Moby sling through Amazon, thanks to Swagbucks (referral link) I’ll be getting this for only a couple of pounds rather than over thirty!

- Mark hem length on wedding outfit

- Arrange to meet Miss Jewellery for coffee/crafting

- Arrange to meet Miss Kitty for coffee/catch-up

Thurs

- Complete Bible study

- Decide to keep (and wear) maternity clothing or return it (after work)

- Tutoring prep and tutoring at work

- Read the rest of the maternity magazine I bought and recycle it

Fri/Sat

- Clean house in preparation for lotions and potions party

o Clean kitchen surfaces and hob

o Vacuum lounge rug

o Brush floor

o Clean bathroom and replace towel

o Dust lounge

o Rearrange furniture with Hubs

o Declutter coffee table shelf

o Put away CDs and DVDs on floor by shelving

o Hang picture on wall by TV

o Plan party menu

This gives me a basic picture of what the rest of this week should look like so here’s hoping I stick to it!

Decluttering Commitment for 2011 – April-July

2011-08-02T19:03:00.002+01:00

I’m linking up once again to Nony @ A Slob Comes Clean to account for how I’ve done on the decluttering challenge to (in my case):

Declutter 1825 Things in 365 Days (that’s five-a-day)

Thanks again for hosting Nony!

This month’s update will actually be four months’ worth of decluttering as between morning sickness and general pregnancy fatigue I took a sabbatical from the decluttering and time online. I came back with a vengeance this month though!

Charity = 303

250 cards for all occasions that I don’t think I’d ever use (most of them homemade)

44 postcards

2 porcelain dolls (that were dearly loved in my youth)

2 letter writing sets

1 jigsaw (I don’t want to do again)

1 woollen wrap (I don’t wear)

1 miniature picture frame

1 letter writing notepad

1 sheet of stickers

Mum = 127

59 homemade/bought cards

50 C6 envelopes

10 blank post cards

5 general cards

2 letter writing sets

1 notelet set

Dad = 6

6 retractable pencils

Sporty Sis = 37

14 pencils

11 colouring pencils

9 paint brushes

1 lego-themed picture

1 roll (paper)

1 roll (card)

Auntie TLC = 1

1 fairy poster for her granddaughter

Miss Jewellery = 262

125 plastic card wraps

74 boxes of beads and jewellery making accessories

48 sets of sequins and confetti

6 gift bags

3 sets of sparkly bead attachments

3 gift boxes

1 jar of semi-precious stones

1 box of feathers

1 jar of beads

Recycling = 23

8 puzzle books

3 pounds worth of shredded confidential papers (compost)

3 instruction Manuals for appliances I no longer own

3 jigsaw boxes (re-housed these in zip-lock-esque bags

2 whole heaps of random papers from my filing system/crafting

2 colouring pencil boxes

1 university programme (from my graduation which I didn’t attend)

1 office shredder that doesn’t shred (catch-all basket has become the new bin)

Dumped = 5

3 “invisible” pens

1 idea that I’d ever use all the jewellery making craft supplies I’d hoarded

1 pile of unusable crafting supplies

764/122 Total for the Months/Total No. of Days

April-July Average = Just over 6 ¼ things/day

659 January

28 February

67 March

764 April-July

“So far this year” Average = Just over 7 things/day

Glad I’m ahead of my goal so far as I don’t think decluttering will be top priority once our first baby arrives around November :)

*1518 Down, 307 to Go!*

Pregnancy News

2011-08-01T00:05:00.000+01:00

Although I put up on my Weight Page about being pregnant I still hadn't put it up on the blog proper so here you are - we are expecting, with child and have one in the oven.

Yes - ONE - despite the fact I'm a little bump-heavy - I have fibroids - okay!!!??

LOL - I am lovely my rounded shape - this time for good reason as opposed to too much chocolate.

Funnily enough I have gained weight but at 26 weeks or thereabouts I am still eight pounds lighter than I was at the start of the year so - yay me!

I was sick from about six weeks until about twenty and if I eat too much for dinner/tea I'm in agony and sick so I'm really having to watch the food intake after lunch time but haven't been sick for oh nine days so - yay once more!

We are so excited to meet this little one and although the more I think about the whole birthing process, the more I freak out, I'm still really hoping for a natural delivery. We opted against a home birth because of all the difficulties my Mum and sisters had (all but one of ten births ended in sections and two of the ten almost died) and I'd just come to terms with our decision to go into the hospital when I was dealt the blow that due to fibroids on my womb (of which I was unaware until my 20-week scan) I would have to go under a doctor's care rather than enjoy the "home from home" comforts of the midwife-led unit - needless to say I struggled not to cry at my antenatal appointment and burst into tears as soon as I got into the car for the journey home. Tears are very therapeutic but I soon found my silver lining - the position of the fibroids still allows for a natural delivery - they could so easily have meant an automatic section if they'd been positioned lower.

I know I could well end up with a section when it comes down to it and I am okay with that - things go wrong all too easily but at this stage there is still hope - and for that I am glad.

I love how over-the-moon happy my Hubs is!

The nursery is coming along slowly but surely - I'm converting our craft room/study/storage/dumping room so there is a lot of tat to wade through - on that note - check out my next blog post - a decluttering update - four months worth to boot!

Excuse the waffliness of this post please - I have baby brain and I'm not afraid to flaunt it!

P.S. Baby names are picked, we're not finding out the gender and I'm praying the baby takes after Daddy's side (teeny six/seven pounders as opposed to my side's big eight-ten pounders).

Weekly Weigh-In #14

2011-04-09T11:37:00.000+01:00

Time to weigh-in again with Kris!

I'm seriously late in weighing-in this week - but I did Weigh-In on Monday - no change.

I was a bit gutted as I'd had a sneak peek on Sunday and was down a pound (while wearing slippers and pjs) but ah well.

Still 13 st 3 lbs = 185 lbs so still 53 pounds to go.

Check out eclipsed to see how everyone else did - commiserations Kris on the gain.

Decluttering Commitment for 2011 - March

2011-04-01T20:36:00.000+01:00

I’m linking up once again to Nony @ A Slob Comes Clean to account for how I’ve done on the decluttering challenge to (in my case):

Declutter 1825 Things in 365 Days (that’s five-a-day)

Thanks again for hosting Nony!

Charity = 60

20 piece cranberry beaded napkin ring set (that I’ve never once used)

11 piece mini glass bottle set

8 piece “Friends” themed coffee set

5 piece espresso set

3 piece antique-look tea set

2 piece junior duvet and pillow set (cute but I won’t use it ever)

2 micro-fibre dusters (hate that scratchy feeling)

2 paperback novels

2 slings

1 wooden hand-painted egg cup

1 pink “swirly-design” plastic picnic jug

1 black bandanna

1 plastic teether

1 toy figurine

Mum = 7

3 sets of Christmas themed napkins (didn’t even look at them last Noel)

2 riding hats

1 silver goblet

1 violin

67/31 Total for the Month/Total No. of Days

March Average = Just over two things/day

659 January

28 February

67 March

“So far this year” Average = Over eight-and-one-third things/day

Haven't been really working hard at the decluttering this month but still chucked a lot of stuff so I'm a happy bunny - lots more to go though! Thank you for the motivation to get this post up Nony - I was thinking I'll get to it tomorrow or whenever but your chock full post motivated me to get this written up and decluttered from my brain.

*754 Down, 1071 to Go!*

Weekly Weigh-In #13

2011-03-31T08:58:00.000+01:00

Time for another Weekly Weigh-In with Kris!

I'm down three pounds this week!

Don't feel like I ate less or exercised more but I did drink a tonne more water so I think I just de-toxed.

I'm now 13 st 3 lbs or 185 lbs and have met my first mini-goal!!!!

I get to buy myself some digital food scales and having hit thirteen pounds loss since Jan I'm now one pound into my second goal of a further ten pounds off and some new clothes.

Not too excited to blog this as I've had a very sore neck all week, have hardly moved, slept lots, broken lent and just feel sick-y. Fun!

53 lbs to go . . .

Organising Weekly Challenge #9 (DECLUTTER WEEK)

2011-03-27T18:46:00.000+01:00

Toni @ A Bowl Full of Lemons is continuing her weekly challenges for 2011 with a challenge to . . .

DECLUTTER

This is a task I worked on steadily last year and have been working on again all this year - if you have a look at my decluttering page (tab up above) you'll see I'm working on removing an awful lot of items from my home this year!

One thousand eight hundred and twenty five things to be precise - that's an average of five a day!

Nony the Slob from A Slob Comes Clean will be hosting the monthly decluttering link-up on the first of April and I'll be there with bells on - to link up how I've done in my decluttering across March.

I'm loving Toni's challenge though because I've been a little lax in my decluttering this month so this just might be the motivation I need to pitch more items this week before the monthly check-in.

Join in the fun and come back on Friday to see how many items I've ditched, donated, recycled or otherwise dumped.

Weekly Weigh-In #12

2011-03-23T00:05:00.003Z

Kris @ Eclipsed is once more encouraging us to face up to our scales for the Weekly Weigh-In!

This week I am 13 st 6 lbs down one pound on last week so exactly four stone to go (or 56 pounds).

Haven't been consistent in noting down what I've been eating but have been consistent in eating the right foods and not too much of them.

Have been continually wearing my ki fit and monitoring my activity level and calorie burn and these two things together have helped me enormously - one pound may not be a "biggest loser" amount but I am thrilled that the scale is moving in the right direction (or that I have at least maintained) each week.

I finally feel sure that this weight WILL come off, that I WILL reach my goal weight. I may not meet my dated goal (my target to reach my goal weight by my 30th birthday) BUT I don't even care - I WILL BE A NORMAL WEIGHT eventually and that's enough for me!

Do or Do Not Challenge #12

2011-03-21T23:32:00.000Z

Last week Kris @ Eclipsed had challenged us to Do or Do Not:

1. Share one of your favorite healthy recipes.
2. Add to your regular workout routine exercises designed to increase your flexibility.

But I did neither - why - because work-outs have gone by the way-side with my current crazy work schedule and well I'd have a go now at the healthy recipe - but I'm pretty sure no one else would want to eat most of the healthy concotions I dream up - even I don't want to eat them half the time!

So sorry Kris I'm opting out from last week altogether - this week the Do or Do Not challenges are:

1. Totally change up your routine this week.
2. Encourage someone via email or phone this week

For my excuses as to why I'm not doing #1 see above!

Checked off number two by emailing my accountability partner and when I opened up my email I actually found an encouraging email from her! Not weight loss related but just pure loveliness - she's an absolute dote! I only hope my words were a quarter as encouraging as her own. Thanks Ines!

Check in with Kris on Weds to link up how your doing with the weekly weigh-in!

Menu Plan Monday #12

2011-03-21T00:05:00.002Z

Time once again to link up our menu plan for the week with Laura @ Organising Junkie.

I'm just loving Menu Plan Monday!

M (Hubby late shift - Me two shifts and ladies meeting)

DH
find your own
freezer meal

Me
weetabix and apple juice/orange
fridge leftovers
supernoodles with veg and nuts

Tu (Hubby late shift - Me two shifts, appt and Bible study)

DH
find your own
freezer meal

Me
weetabix with apple juice/apple
find your own
beans with cream cheese

W (Hubby early shift - Me two shifts - Open House)

DH
fm

Me
weetabix with apple juice/snack box
soup and bread

Us
Hubby's choice and make

Th (Hubby early shift - Me two shifts and Bible study )

Me
weetabix with apple juice/snack box

Us
chicken salad sandwiches
Hubby's choice and make

F (Hubby early shift - Me three shifts - Us FIL's 60th birthday dinner)

DH
freezer meal
Me
weetabix/snack box
soup and salad

Us
60th birthday dinner (Italian)

Sa (Hubby off and prayer room - Me tutoring and ladies charity spa day - Us visiting relatives and Come Dine with Me penultimate dinner)

Us
find your own
Come Dine with Me dinner
(Slow cook black-eyed beans and flash freeze/lift out lasagne)

Sunday (Us - church)
Us
lasagne, bread and salad
light supper

Yum!

Weekly Weigh-In #11

2011-03-20T11:57:00.000Z

Putting this up very late this week but I lost another pound - hurrah!

Just hadn't felt like blogging much this week!

9 lbs down, 57 to go!

Now at 13st 7lbs or 189lbs!

Check in on how everyone else did @ Eclipsed.

Organising Weekly Challenge #8

2011-03-20T11:54:00.000Z

Toni @ A Bowl Full of Lemons is continuing her weekly challenges for 2011 with a challenge to . . .

ORGANISE YOUR SCHEDULE

I love the Maxwell Family's Managers of their homes and have wanted so much to get on board with scheduling AND did for a little while, while I was childminding from home - but then I let it all slide and well my house is a disaster and so am I!

So here's to a week when I actually work out a new schedule/routine and start to stick to it - I mean really stick to it! INCLUDING the cleaning routines!!!

Will post again as it all takes shape!

Organising Weekly Challenge #7 Parts 2-6

2011-03-20T10:52:00.000Z

Just to link to Toni's excellent posts on the organise your finances challenge. Here are the rest:

PART 2 ENVELOPE SYSTEM

PART 3 BUDGET BOX

PART 4 DEBT SNOWBALL

PART 5 DAVE RAMSEY INTERVIEW

PART 6 DEBT FREE STORIES

We are debt free apart from out mortgage PTL but I definitely need to take the time to go through our (lack of budget) over the next while - but working four jobs this week ran me out of energy for financial organising alas.

I'm hoping to revisit this challenge soon!

Menu Plan Monday #11

2011-03-14T00:05:00.004Z

Time once again to link up our menu plan for the week with Laura @ Organising Junkie.

I'm just loving Menu Plan Monday!

M (Hubby late shift - Me three shifts)

DH
Sunday lunch leftovers and pumpkin muffins and ham sarnies

Me
weetabix/snack box
pumpkin muffin and salad
Sunday lunch leftovers

Tu (Hubby early shift - Me five! shifts)

DH
freezer meal (fm)/pumpkin muffins
chicken pie and chips

Me
weetabix/snack box
pumpkin muffin and salad
beans with cream cheese

W (Hubby early shift - Me four shifts - Open House)

DH
fm

Me
weetabix/snack box
soup and bread

Us
Hubby's choice and make

Th (Hubby and I are both off for St. Pat's - Yay!)

DH
curried chix sarnies and salad

Me
weetabix/snack box
cheese and onion crisp sarnies and salad

Us
probably pizza and chips or takeaway

F (Hubby late shift - Me three shifts)

DH
fm x2

Me
weetabix/snack box
cheesy tuna on toast
soup and bread

Sa (Hubby early shift - Me tutoring and very overdue house cleaning - possibly visitors night)

DH
fm

Me
tuna and couscous soup
(Slow cook black-eyed beans and flash freeze)

Us
Chinese takeaway

Su (Church)
Us
Chinese takeaway leftovers
soup and bread

Yum!

Organising Weekly Challenge #7

2011-03-13T23:14:00.000Z

Toni @ A Bowl Full of Lemons is continuing her weekly challenges for 2011 with a challenge to . . .

ORGANISE YOUR FINANCES

I skipped last week's challenge (digital photos) as I had no real need of it (or time to do it) and I was sorely tempted to skip this week's too since I know our finances are in pretty great shape BUT . . .

. . . there is always room for improvement so I'm picking up the torch and running with it.

We are debt free apart from a mortgage, having paid off hubby's bachelor days' home improvement loan and my student loan within the first six months after we got married!

I only use my credit card to make purchases online (as it's not linked to a bank account) that we already have the money in the bank to pay for. Hubs uses his to get petrol (giving us 2p off each litre - which all counts when you consider we're now paying around £1.30 a litre). Both cards are paid off when we get the bill (if not by direct debit automatically). I'd love to scrap the credit cards but they are useful for the protection they provide for online purchases and for the added money off at the pump.

All our bills (phones, electric etc) are paid by direct debit and since I'm paid cash we start out each week with £20 each (with purses and wallets emptied of change into our change jars) and it is only very occasionally we go over out "budget" and purchase things on our debit cards.

I don't go shopping very often (which saves us a lot of money straight away) but when I do I am always thinking ahead to upcoming birthdays etc and to stocking up the gift cupboard and I have been know to purchase birthday presents more than a year in advance!

I am also building up a stock of amazon vouchers through taking surveys and using Swagbucks (referral link).

I bulk cook and freeze (using less electricity for cooking in the process). I menu plan so I don't waste food and I stretch meaty meals by blending my minced meat, using turkey instead of beef (cheaper and healthier) and adding beans to everything.

I try to be frugal in the extreme without it affecting our lives negatively BUT I know I waste a lot of money by not being as careful when it comes to indulgences (chocolate, presents for my hubby and family and truth be told myself).

I am going to create a workable zero-ing out budget tomorrow (at work, since I'll have some downtime while the children are working independently at their homework) since it's now my bedtime and I'll be aiming to try and follow along with all Toni's challenges this week:

Day 1 - Set up a budget, track all spending for entire 6 day challenge & Enter Giveaway
Day 2 - Learn about & set up an envelope system
Day 3 - Create a "Budget Box"
Day 4 - Create your debt snowball & learn about free budgeting software
Day 5 - Dave Ramsey interview questions answered
Day 6 - Giveaway Winner & debt free stories
Getting your house in order must start with knowing you have the money to get those bills paid and keep the roof over your head. I firmly believe God provides all the wherewithal (money) I have BUT He also demands that I am a good steward of all He has given me.

Thanks again for the challenges Toni!

Lent 2011

2011-03-13T00:05:00.006Z

This year in a bid to help me with my excesses in life and to keep my FOCUS ON GOD and less on food I'm being strict with myself over lent. Food and TV are the order of the day. My hubs is giving up coffee (this is a HUGE thing for him).

Here are my Lenten strictures:

FASTING ON ASH WEDNESDAY

Black tea and plenty of water were the order of the day

NO UNNECESSARY SUGAR

I'll allow sugar on weetabix to make it palatable
No chocolate
No sweets (except soothers)
No cupcakes
No muffins (except pumpkin ones because I need to use up flour and make these - limit to one a day)
No tray bakes
No birthday cake etc

NO UNNECESSARY DAIRY

I will allow a little milk on cereal
I'll allow a little cheese (not cheddar) on food
No other dairy, not even milk in tea!

TV LIMIT

No more than one hour daily!!!!!
This includes online TV

NO OVEREATING

No exceeding of 1800kcals daily limit!!!!!!

This is going to be very hard for me (for one thing we'll be attending two BIG birthday bashes and I have NO willpower and a POOR memory and will be suffering big-time sugar and chocolate withdrawal. I will hate it and temptation will be round every corner BUT isn't that sort of the point.

To recognise our idols (overeating, zoning out for long periods in front of the telly) and to fight them (with God's help).

To use the period up to Easter to reflect on Jesus' journey to the cross.

To use it to spend some time in true repentance for those sins for which He died.

To spend time in a valley in contemplation as we build-up to the celebration of Christ's act of pardon and grace for us, His resurrection, His defeat over death, His ultimate sacrifice for us - by my small sacrifice for Him.

As this post is scheduled I'll already be a couple of days in and no doubt struggling and failing already. Thank God for His grace and forgiveness of sins and failings and human frailty and weakness of spirit. Praise the Lord for His graciousness. Amen

I'll endeavour to be accountable here on Sundays throughout Lent - I hope you'll join in, in trying to kick to the kerb your eating (or other) idols.

Gratitude - One Thousand Gifts #36-40

2011-03-11T00:05:00.000Z

One thousand gifts was begun by Ann @ Holy Experience

I'm going to aim to thank Him for one thousand things this year because we are called to count our blessings and name them one by one and so . . . I will . . .

36. Stationery - can't explain it but I heart office supplies - the variety of styles from the simple notebook to the heart-shaped sticky notes.

37. Grown-up Animated Movies - from Shrek to Gnomeo and Juliet - I just love them - they can have much more flexibility and I always appreciate a happy ending. I'm hoping to see Up and Despicable Me soon and am hoping they are just as fun (though I know Up begins sadly)

38. Sunday School - I went to a wonderful SS that encouraged the memorisation of many scriptures and the learning through of all the stories, the teenage Bible class encouraged in-depth study and we looked at topics in great detail - a wonderful thing to learn so much of God

39. Hidden Scriptures - those verses that come to mind in all or part because they have been hidden away in my heart through years of SS study - how these lift you - I will definitely cover memory verses with any future children we have

40. The Journey - Kisses from Katie - such a God-inspired girl - go read her blog - her whole blog - and bring tissues! Oh and your paypal account to support the work of the charity she started in Uganda - Amazima.

Short and sweet this week as I'm pushed for time but many are the blessings not counted here . . .

Weekly Weigh-In #10

2011-03-09T00:05:00.026Z

Kris @ Eclipsed is once more encouraging us to face up to our scales for the Weekly Weigh-In!

I have been maintaining SO MANY weeks but after a week of much less exercise excepting Saturday(emotionally low as I was and just bone-tired) and pretty bad eating, though not eating very much (I used the excuse a lot that my ki fit wasn't uploading to not record my food intake) I was pleasantly surprised on the scales.

Apparently the whole feeling rubbish has actually led to a loss of two pounds, taking me to 190lbs or 13st 8lbs.

Only another four to go to hit my first mini-goal (and finally get my digital scales).

How did you do this week?

Wives and Lovers

2011-03-09T00:05:00.022Z

We attended an 80th birthday party a couple of weeks ago and the music selection was wonderful - everything from show tunes (Oklahoma) to Radiohead (that one was random but a favourite of mine) to classic Sinatra.

One classic Sinatra tune in particular stuck out for me - Wives and Lovers.

Here are the lyrics:

"Hey, little girl, comb your hair, fix your make-up, soon he will open the door,
Don't think because there's a ring on your finger, you needn't try any more.
For wives should always be lovers too,
Run to his arms the moment that he comes home to you.
I'm warning you,
Day after day, there are girls at the office and the men will always be men,
Don't stand him up, with your hair still in curlers, you may not see him again.
Wives should always be lovers too,
Run to his arms the moment he comes home to you.
He's almost here, hey, little girl, better wear something pretty,
Something you wear to go to the city,
Dim all the lights, pour the wine, start the music, time to get ready for love.
Time to get ready for love, yes it's time to get ready for love,
It's time to get ready, kick your shoes off, baby..."
Definitely this song would be considered sexist and old-fashioned now in its ideals and whilst I don't think of men as animals you cannot deny that they are very visually driven.

It struck me that either my husband gets home before me (and I arrive in dishevelled) or that when I'm home before him I don't even get up from the sofa to greet him - he has to come to me and I never look my best by that late hour.

I'll be endeavouring to meet him at the door (as he often does me) and to make a little more effort before he sees me - if ever I can. I don't wear make-up, ever really and hubs prefers it that way but I think a wee comb through my hair wouldn't go amiss.

How do you greet your hubby after a long day "at the office," would you want to come home to you?

Do or Do Not Challenge #10

2011-03-07T11:22:00.000Z

This week Kris @ Eclipsed has challenged us to Do or Do Not:

1. Plan a week's worth of healthy meals this week.

I have been menu planning since the beginning of the Do or Do Not Challenge but this week I'd already kicked it up a notch by including what I planned to have for breakfast and snacks on it :) Great minds think alike eh?

This week I'm aiming to have lower calorie "meals" much more often throughout the day - when I get hungry I don't necessarily choose healthily.

I'm starting off Lent on Wednesday with a day's fast and then avoiding sugar and really cutting back on dairy for the duration (post scheduled for Sunday on this). It'll be hard but definitely worth it - I'll be feeling less lethargic and less sniffly (dairy weakens my immune system terribly) so here's to a healthier spring.

2. Try a new exercise routine or DVD this week

I have been avoiding my exercise DVDs like the plague of late but I will try to fit one in this week - not promising though.

Last week our challenges were:

1. To get 7-8 hours of sleep a night

I set myself the challenge of being in bed by half ten with lights out by eleven instead of the usual of screen time until after midnight and then roll out of bed startled by the alarm at half six. I managed a whole three nights of good sleep which is definite progress compared to the couple of months preceding this past week. Hoping to do beter this week.

2. To eat fruit or veg with every meal

This was not a tough challenge for me at all and I enjoyed noting that every meal contained at least one portion if not more!

I added another 363 minutes of exercise to my 14,365 minutes target (over two hours more than my 215mins goal for the week - see my ticker in the sidebar), but I didn't achieve all my goals for the week.
I only managed to hit 35mins of exercise 4/5 days and twenty minutes 1/2 days

I set myself the following challenges across the week:
1. Track my food intake on ki fit EVERYDAY BIG FAIL!
2. Upload my ki fit data EVERYDAY BIG FAIL! Though in part this was caused by the computer not uploading the data a couple of days - I didn't even try uploading everyday
3. Keep to a calorie budget of 2000kcals daily BIG FAIL!
4. Walk everyday
At work (M-Th), before work (F), during ad breaks and before lunch (Sa), with my hubs (Su).
BIG FAIL - I only "walked properly" three days at work, didn't walk at all on Friday or Sunday BUT went for a fabulous long walk with some girlfriends on Saturday (even hitting a new personal best for vigorous activity).
5. Air Glide
Five solid minutes (M-Sa) BIG FAIL - didn't go on this once!
6. Fifty sit-ups everyday Don't think I did any - another big fail!
7. Strength Training
Thirty bicep reps and thirty tricep reps on each arm (M-Sa) Yet another big fail!
8. Steps
10,000 (M-Th) 7,000 (F) 5,000 (Sa-Su) Only managed 3 days over 10,000 steps and two others over 7,000 - not great but not awful.
9. Calorie Burn
2700 (M-Th) Check! 2600 (F) Only just over 2400 on Friday. 2400 (Sa-Su) Only hit just over 2000 Sunday BUT hit over 3300 Saturday
10. Post encouraging messages in prominent places
Finally did this on Sunday night!

So I definitely have a ways to go but I'm so much more active than I was at the start of this journey - it is hard not to feel a little proud of myself over just how far I've come.

This week I'll be aiming for the same goals as last week as well as trying to add in that exercise DVD too.

Thanks again for the challenges and accountability Kris!

Menu Plan Monday #10

2011-03-07T00:05:00.004Z

Time once again to link up our menu plan for the week with Laura @ Organising Junkie.

I'm just loving Menu Plan Monday!

M (Hubby late shift - Me split shift and helping to babysit my nephews)

DH
Sunday lunch leftovers x2

Me
weetabix/snack box
beans on toast/rice pot
soup and bread/jelly

Tu (Hubby early shift - Me split shift and helping to babysit my nephews - Us - home group Bible study)

DH
freezer meal (fm)
pancakes

Me
weetabix/snack box
beans on toast
pancakes

W (Hubby early shift - Me split shift and babysitting nephews - Open House)

DH
fm
chix pie with gravy, veg and chips

Me
fasting for Lent

Th (Hubby off but helping me with one of my jobs - Me three separate shifts and ladies Bible study)

DH
curried chix sarnies and salad
whatever he wants to make

Me
weetabix/snack box
cheese and onion crisp sarnies and salad
whatever hubs makes
(Make pumpkin muffins before Bible study)

F (Hubby late shift - Me two shifts and getting a crochet lesson from my hubby's aunt)

DH
fm x2 and pumpkin muffin

Me
weetabix/snack box
pumpkin muffin and salad
cheesy tuna on toast

Sa (Hubby early shift - Me youth group coffee morning, tutoring, errands and afternoon shift - Us 40th birthday bash)

DH - fm

Me - beans and tuna on toast
(Cook sausages and freeze most of them)
(Slow cook black-eyed beans and flash freeze)

Us - sausages and (bought) chips with black-eyed beans in tomato sauce

Su (Church) TBC

Us
Roast chicken with potatoes, gravy and veg
Chicken sandwiches
(Freeze remainder of chicken except what's needed for Monday/Make stock in oven)

Yum!

Why submit?

2011-03-06T00:05:00.000Z

Why submit?

Number 1
The Bible tells us to. Period.

Number 2
It's God's plan for us - never an easy thing to follow but always rewarding because then we get NOT the world's best but GOD'S BEST - infinitely better!

Number 3
The Bible also says we should submit to Christ - we don't question this so why would we question submitting to our husbands?

Number 4
The Bible also says we should submit to Biblical teaching - we don't question this as a rule so why do we question it when it comes to submitting to our husbands?

Number 5
It is part of Biblical teaching so we should do it. Period.
Biblical teaching is not just about “don’t do this, don't do that”. It's also about the loving and yes the submitting. The dos are just as important as the don'ts.

Number 6

If we show ourselves submissive to our husbands we show our children God’s ways and we show our children how to submit to God-given authority (their Daddy’s, church leaders and any other authoritative adults, older siblings when they have been put in charge and also US. When we show our children we can submit to our husbands we show them how to submit to us. If we moan and groan about doing our husband’s bidding – how can we complain when our children offer us the same attitude.

As a Christian I try to submit to my Saviour. As a wife I am to submit to my husband.

Of course I fall very short of this mark – EVERYDAY – and I don’t yet have children to show my example to (thank goodness because they would not get the example I would wish for them). This is an area that I really need to work on – how about you?

Organising Weekly Challenge #5 Part 2

2011-03-05T22:00:00.000Z

Toni @ A Bowl Full of Lemons is continuing her weekly challenges for 2011 with a challenge to . . .

ORGANISE MY KITCHEN

This is my part deux this week - an update on how I did fulfilling the plans I set myself!

This week I set plans to:
1. Scrub out and recycle my broken compost caddy and replace with lidded round bowl (find a spot for this under the sink) Done
2. Cook up a storm and make lots of mess in the kitchen (beef casserole and lasagne are amongst my bulk cooking for the freezer plans) Done and also enjoyed eating some of both of them too!
3. Clean up said mess and give whole kitchen a good old scrub - finally getting to the grim job of cleaning the fronts of my top cupboards as well as scrubbing down my tiles and floor (jobs I'd been majorly putting off)
I've spot cleaned so far while hubby brushed and mopped the floor.
4. Finally tackle Day 5s under the kitchen sink task Cleaned and beautifully organised, moved the tools downstairs - I've yet to organise them but under the sink is looking fabby!
5. Finally decide which trays I'm keeping/donating from the above Tupperware post and find them a home
Still not done.
6. Finally remove from the corner (with help) the un-plumbed-in dishwasher that is taking up a ton of room
Instead we swapped the dishwasher over with the fridge and had the dishwasher plumbed in on Thursday morning - yay!
To allow for enough space to access the fridge we moved the food cupboard/sideboard into the hall (alas demolishing my launch pad). We still need to swap over the door on the fridge so it opens the other direction.
The drawers in my sideboard now also contain my gloves (which were in my launch pad drawers) but there isn't any space for the "things to be taken to other people" stuff that always collects at out door - I'm thinking we might just keep that "pile" in the guest bedroom so at least it is handy to the door - but this puts it "out of sight out of mind" - we'll have to live it a while and see how it all works.
7. Find a home for my handy-dandy cupboard pull-out organiser that I found at B&M last week (so hard to find organisers like this in N.I. but fortunately they are catching on) Found a perfect use for it - under the sink!
8. Completely clear and scrub my windowsills and replant my herbs (in the hope that they may survive a little longer) Still not done.
9. Re-jig, re-boot, re-organise Working on it

My plans for the near-future for the kitchen are to:
1. Measure up for my plate display shelf (and purchase it)
2. Purchase hooks for behind the door/back of the door for my apron collection
3. Purchase hooks for my teatowels for "I don't currently know where" in the kitchen
4. Purchase additional plant pots for my herbs (all of these purchases will be IKEA)
5. Choose a new colour scheme for the kitchen, using my fab Clarice Cliff plate collection as inspiration (did not remember the colours of these correctly and was somewhat surprised when I dug them out) - need to pick a colour for the walls, another for the ceiling and another for the door/skirting/door trim/hatch trim - this will be tricky as the colours have to work with the wee room (that you see through the hatch) and the hallway (which connects and that you can see through the glass-panelled door). There will certainly be yellow involved in the new colour scheme, the plates also favour oranges, browns and cornflower blues and along with my other vintage crockery - most colours are featured so I think I could go for anything really. Window treatments are definitely going to be trickier to choose now but I also have a great collection of vintage fabrics so maybe a little patchwork pelmet might work? We shall see?!?
6. Clear the kitchen of its additional furniture and stuff to allow for Dad and Hubby to do their tasks

For the next section of this list each job begins with have Dad and Hubby . . .
(They are my go-to guys but Dad comes first since he's more likely to actually tackle these) . . .

7. Complete the challenge of fixing my broken pull-out cabinet Dad was not keen on this challenge
8. Fix the holes in my wall (currently hidden by my sideboard) that were caused by the swift removal by a friend's sons of my fold-out table (couldn't blame the kids since my Hubs! and his friend let them climb on it)Thanks Daddy - he did this job after it only being mentioned to him in passing - arrived at the door while I was finishing up cooking dinner and had it finished before we'd cleared our plates
9. Paint kitchen and woodwork
10. Install the above mentioned hooks
11. Install the plate display shelf
12. Repaint (and fortify) my food cupboard/sideboard. Going to add some fretwork/lattice details to the panels and some new white porcelain/wood handles and paint it to match in with my beautiful French white-painted-mahogany-and-glass armoire

How have the rest of you done on your kitchen organising? Are any of you getting the itch to re-decorate also?

Gratitude - One Thousand Gifts #16-35

2011-03-04T00:05:00.003Z

One thousand gifts was begun by Ann @ Holy Experience

I'm going to aim to thank Him for one thousand things this year because we are called to count our blessings and name them one by one and so . . . I will . . .

16. Good Morning Girls - the blog that put me in touch with a wonderful group by email. We send an email each weekday morning with what we read for our quiet time and what we learned from it. We pray for one another, share our hearts and it is just so awesome getting to know sisters in Christ who I may never meet this side of eternity but who are family.

17. Having clean drinking water, from a tap, in my very own house - I am truly blessed

18. Chocolate = bad, but oh so very good. I'll be setting it aside for lent this year but I am thankful for this yumminess

19. Financial stability - having enough that our bills are paid, we can save and splurge and give back - we are very fortunate despite not being considered rich in our community

20. Internet Search Engines - I can find information at the touch of a button

21. Wikipedia - sharing the knowledge, written by those who want to share it

22. Education - I was educated under the British school system (free until university), a system renowned throughout the world, my parents were both educators and taught me many wonderful things. I love to learn and I have been given many fantastic opportunities to do so

23. Reading for Christian growth - I love reading and my mother passed on her love of great books to me - I am currently reading a Moody Classic on George Mueller and his reliance on God to provide for the work he did with orphans - truly inspiring

24. Reading for pleasure - because sometimes it is just nice to escape

25. Reading for knowledge - whether it is THE good book (Bible) or any number of informative works on any number of informative topics - housekeeping, to nutrition, to keeping bees, to starting your own business

26. IMDB - the Internet Movie Data-Base - a bit of a focus on the internet on this list but I heart this website and the ability to find out what else that actor was in or who played that character

27. Scrabble - the word making game that has charmed me from an early age - the hubs and I enjoyed a game of UNSCRABBLE the other night to take apart our previous game - very entertaining

28. Blogging - for me the ability to let of steam, share the knowledge, the journey, the hopes and fears of my daily life and a way for me to focus my thoughts.

29. Bible Gateway - a fabulous resource for searching through multiple translations of the Word, the keyword search can be brilliant for that verse you just can't quite remember or the verse whose reference you've forgotten

30. iTunes - especially for the free downloadable sermons

31. Girlfriends - having fabulous friends makes your days sweeter and many evenings gigglier, they offer more shoulders to cry on, friendly faces to brighten your world and company to the things your husband wouldn't be seen dead at

32. Poetry, Prose and Puns - any fancy shmancy ways of using words are A-OK with me

33. Colourful Language - not the sort that springs to mind either - but delicious, tantalising, invigorating words that excite the tongue, imagination, soul. I love words like amalgamation, mellifluous, masticate, ponder, muse, theorise. English is such a beautiful language we should pepper our speech with beauties and fortify our vocabulary sporadically.

34. Free Press - having newspapers that can print tabloid drivel is irritating but I'm glad we have a free press that can extol the virtues of a woman's ahem assets so that we can also have press that can debate the real issues

35. Sky+ (or DVR - the ability to record, pause, rewind TV) I LOVE LOVE LOVE this - I haven't watched adverts in forever - bliss and I almost never miss my favourite shows and if I missed what that character said I can rewind and replay and I can turn off the box if someone arrives and not miss my programme - sigh - I love this invention (very new to this country)

More soon . . .

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

2011-03-03T00:05:00.004Z

Just had to link to an article about Dr Seuss today - it would be his 107th birthday if he was still alive and I just love his books. It is also my little niece's 5th birthday today and since I can't wish her a happy birthday - I'll share something about an author I know she'd love instead.

"Mr. Geisel/Dr. Seuss was inspired to write his first children's book, And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, by the rhythmic sound of a ship's engine."

"In 1937, Mr. Geisel and his wife, Helen, were returning to the United States from an ocean trip to Europe when the rhythmic sound of the ship's engine suggested to him the idea of writing an equally rhythmic text for a children's book. The result was his first foray into children's literature, And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street."

Go here to read the rest or if you'd rather watch - here's seven minutes of wonderful Seuss cartoon-y-ness:

Enjoy!

Weekly Weigh-In #9

2011-03-02T22:40:00.000Z

Kris @ Eclipsed is once more encouraging us to face up to our scales for the Weekly Weigh-In!

This week I did even better about my exercise (see my Do or Do Not post from yesterday) but yet again my eating was up the left (off-kilter - i.e. bad).

So the big reveal - 192 - STILL.

I've taken maintaining to a whole new level - I've literally managed to counteract all the ever-increasing exercise I've been doing by eating myself into an early grave - AAHHHH - it is so frustrating!

And yet . . . it's not a gain so YAY!

Next week will be a loss, you know if I ever curb my unhealthy eating . . .
I thought it was about time I checked in with my waist measurements etc. again too:

(The first measurements were taken on the 18th of January and the second set were taken yesterday - the 28th of February).

Waist Measurement #1 - 99cm or 38,98"
Waist Measurement #2 - NO CHANGE

Stomach Measurement #1 - 119cm or 46.85"
Stomach Measurement #2 - 118cm or 46.46" a small start at least

Bottom Measurement #1 - 118.5cm or 46.65"
Bottom Measurement #2 - 118cm or 46.46" a very small start but a start nonetheless

A great ways to go but at least I'm now going in the right direction!

Thanks for the accountability Kris and well done on your two pound loss!

What if . . .

2011-03-02T00:05:00.000Z

What if you saw your child as wounded or confused instead of wrong?

What if you saw the mistakes your child makes today as a learning opportunity?

What if you saw the behaviour your child is exhibiting as age appropriate?

What if you saw your child today as unfinished and simply on the road to becoming who he or she is going to become?

What if you saw your child’s behaviour as a cry for help?

What if you saw your child today as a child of God?

What if you saw your child as a teacher who is offering you a lesson?

What if you saw your child’s behaviour as perfect for helping him learn what he needs to learn right now?

What if you saw your child for who she is rather than whom you want her to be?

What if you saw your child as being in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, right now?

Decluttering Commitment for 2011 - February

2011-03-01T06:49:00.000Z

I’m linking up once again to Nony @ A Slob Comes Clean to account for how I’ve done on the decluttering challenge to (in my case):

Declutter 1825 Things in 365 Days (that’s five-a-day)

Thanks again for hosting Nony and well done for the further decluttering of spaces alreay tackled - I'm always surprised that there are MORE things to chuck when I've JUST done a space! My stuff hasn't left my house either - the charity pile is ever-growing until hubs gets sick of it and takes it OUT of the house - am very thankful for him!

Charity = 16

9 cookie cutters

4 unused micro-fibre cleaning cloths (I just can’t stand the feel of them)

2 wind chime decorations

1 pair bootie-style slippers

Mum = 1

1 wedding gift vase (much more suited to her house and style – Mum will appreciate – us not so much, it came from a relative who we know will never visit and yet I still feel guilty – ugh)

The Robinsons = 2

2 pale pink pom-poms from my fancy-dress-party days

Mrs Kitty = 1

1 CD

Miss Kitty = 3

3 hello kitty hairclips

Angel = 1

1 hand lotion

Dumped = 4

3 cleaning cloths I hated

1 fear of raw meat (this week I tackled a raw chicken with a pair of kitchen scissors and some bef steak - hurrah)

28/28 Total for the Month/Total No. of Days

February Average = one thing/day

This was definitely a slower month but I'm going to be redoing my kitchen over the next month so I'm hoping that task is going to generate lots of decluttering . . .

659 January

28 February

“So far this year” Average = Over 11-and-a-half things/day

*687 Down, 1138 to Go!*

Do or Do Not Challenge #9

2011-02-28T14:29:00.000Z

This week Kris @ Eclipsed has challenged us to Do or Do Not:

1. Make sure you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night this week. You owe it to yourself!

A couple of years ago I would have laughed at this suggestion - I was the queen of getting my NINE (or more) hours sleep a night.

I am like a bear with a sore head if I don't get my sleep and yet since I've gotten married, I've let sleep lose priority (I'm usually not in bed until midnight or later - my hubby's bedtime) and with my new morning job starting so early - I've been averaging about six hours - and it shows.

I don't have bags under my eyes - I have a set of luggage - my normally very fresh skin has been dry and flaky and I am just TIRED! Worn out. Exhausted.

Time to get serious about going to bed at a sensible hour - which since I need to be up at half six - gulp - will have to be in bed by ten, half ten with lights out by eleven at the latest. I am going to have to get my hubby involved in this. I may not want him to be my diet police but I could sure do with a sleep(ing) policeman. LOL

No more screen time until midnight and then getting ready for the next day - no more screen time after ten would I think be a sensible route - bah I hate being sensible but my body has been crying out for this - thank you for this challenge Kris - I really needed that boot up the backside.

2. Eat at least one serving of fruits and/or veggies with each meal every day this week.
Yay - finally a challenge I'll be good at - I eat dried fruit for brekky (most mornings) and already include vegetables with nearly every meal - I love my veg. This will make me more conscientious about making sure it really is every meal (and snack) though - looking forward to this one!
Last week Kris challenged us to think about how to deal with cravings and to add in strength training. I did neither of them but I'll be trying to catch-up this week by adding in thirty reps (biceps and triceps) after my sit-ups in the morning (see below for my solution to my chocolate cravings).

Last week I set out my aims to:
1. Walk everyday
Monday to Thursday at my morning job, Friday before my afternoon job, Saturday during commercials and Sunday with my hubby
Hurrah! I walked and walked and walked and can really see my fitness level improving! So can my hubby who had to ask me to slow down when we shared a walk (and a naughty chip) at a seaside town on Saturday. Walked at the floodgates near our home on Sunday - yay!
2. Air walk/glide Monday - Saturday
Use my Mum's airwalker thingy for five solid minutes, Mon-Thurs when I get home from my morning job, Friday and Saturday before 10am
Okay so I did this about every other day and didn't keep to the times for when to do it, and hated it and it made my knees hurt but I'm going to stick with it for at least another week.
3. Do 25 sit-ups every morning
First thing every day!
First day I did the harder version so really felt it, skipped the second day, did double the third day, skipped the fourth day, did double the fifth day, skipped the sixth day and did double on Sunday - not exactly consistent but I'll keep working at it. I'll up it to fifty sit-ups a day since I'm clearly capable of that having done it every other day this week
4. Log my food intake
Not being consistent in this has led to VERY bad eating - NEED to do this
Was NOT consistent with this again and really overdid the eating AGAIN and AAAHHH am so frustrated with myself!!! Will do better this week! Have make up my calorie-counted snack boxes, will stick to my planned meals and will make myself drink a glass of water every time I fancy some chocolate (in the hope my body will be hydrated enough and the craving will subside).

Last week I said I'd love to:
Hit 10,000 steps Mon-Thurs,7,000 Fri. and 5,000 Sat and Sun
Went over Weds and Thurs and hit 10,000 on average (M-Th), hit goal Fri, and broke way through it Sat and Sun thanks to walks with hubs!
Hit 35minutes of moderate activity Mon-Thurs, 30 Fri and 20 Sat and Sun
Hit all my goals for activity - in fact I blew right through them - yay!
Hit a burn of 2600 Mon-Thurs, 2400 Fri and 2200 Sat and Sun
Hit all my burns and again blew right through them!
Not exceed a calorie intake of 1500 Mon-Fri and 1700 Sat and Sun
Busticated all my calories and estimated (high) a couple of days - gutted with myself!

I've decided to add up all my minutes of exercise (as calculated by my Ki Fit) from Monday past right through to my 30th birthday (end of May 2012) and I set up a tickerfactory.com counter on my sidebar.

My aim is to do 35mins of exercise daily (Monday to Friday) with twenty minutes daily (Saturday and Sunday) totalling 14,365 minutes. I'm already 376 minutes in.

So this week I want to:

1. Track my food intake on ki fit EVERYDAY
2. Upload my ki fit data EVERYDAY
3. Keep to a calorie budget of 2000kcals daily
Yes that is the most we're supposed to eat, ever, but I've been blowing this budget consistently over the last few weeks and have really been struggling, so I'm going to aim low this week so I will actually succeed. Ideally my budget would be 1500 (M-F) and 1700 (Sa-Su).
4. Walk everyday
At work (M-Th), before work (F), during ad breaks and before lunch (Sa), with my hubs (Su).
5. Air Glide
Five solid minutes (M-Sa)
6. Fifty sit-ups everyday
7. Strength Training
Thirty bicep reps and thirty tricep reps on each arm (M-Sa)
8. Steps
10,000 (M-Th) 7,000 (F) 5,000 (Sa-Su)
9. Calorie Burn
2700 (M-Th) 2600 (F) 2400 (Sa-Su)
10. Post encouraging messages in prominent places
I was a little embarrassed to do this - after all we regularly have people over to our house but I figured I can keep them in prominent (private) places so I'll finally be doing this challenge from Week 7.

Here's to a more consistent week ahead . . .

Menu Plan Monday #9

2011-02-28T00:05:00.003Z

Time once again to link up our menu plan for the week with Laura @ Organising Junkie. I'm just loving Menu Plan Monday!

M (Hubby early shift - Me split shift)
Us - fridge gathering/leftover chicken couscous soup
(Prep lasagne in the oven)
Us - Lasagne (two portions to go in fridge and leftovers into freezer)
(Prep beef casserole in the slow cooker and ciabatta in the oven)

Tu (Hubby early shift - Me split shift)
Us - soup and ciabatta
Us - beef casserole
(Box up leftovers for freezing)

W (Hubby late shift - Me split shift - Open House)
Us - Lasagne and ciabatta/fridge gathering

Th (Hubby off - Me split shift)
Us - Salmon Veg Omelettes
Us - Sausages (cook whole packet and freeze half cooked) with potatoes, and beans
(Bake a batch of my frozen dough cookies)
F (Hubby early shift - Me afternoon only and girls' night out for a friend's birthday)
DH - Freezer Meal/Chicken pie with veg, gravy and chips
Me - Beans on toast/Eating Out

Sa (Hubby early shift and work night out - Me morning only)
DH - Freezer Meal/Eating Out
Me - Soup and Bread/Beans with cream cheese
Su (Church)
Us - Roast chicken with potatoes, gravy and veg
Us - Chicken sandwiches
(Freeze remainder of chicken except what's needed for Monday/Make stock in oven)

Yum!

Organising Weekly Challenge #5

2011-02-27T12:02:00.000Z

Toni @ A Bowl Full of Lemons is continuing her weekly challenges for 2011 with a challenge to . . .

ORGANISE MY KITCHEN

Toni spoke about the 21-day Organising Challenges that looked at the kitchen, here are mine:

DAY 7 (and Day 1) THE PANTRY (and the junk drawer)

DAY 9 (and Day 3) BAKING SUPPLIES (and Tupperware cupboard)
I've since re-tidied the Tupperware cupboard so it is still fabby!

DAY 11 THE FREEZER (Mine isn't actually in my kitchen but whatever)

DAY 12 SPICES AND BAKING INGREDIENTS AND STAPLES CUPBOARD

DAY 13 MEDICINE CABINET (Mine's now in my kitchen)

DAY 16 (actually supposed to be Day 14) THE FRIDGE

I missed Day 5s clearing under my kitchen sink (a job I NEEDED to do) since I didn't join the 21-day challenge until Day 6 but this week I'll tackle that as well as telling my hubs the good news of all that I have planned for the kitchen over the next few weeks.

This week I set plans to:
1. Scrub out and recycle my broken compost caddy and replace with lidded round bowl (find a spot for this under the sink)
2. Cook up a storm and make lots of mess in the kitchen (beef casserole and lasagne are amongst my bulk cooking for the freezer plans)
3. Clean up said mess and give whole kitchen a good old scrub - finally getting to the grim job of cleaning the fronts of my top cupboards as well as scrubbing down my tiles and floor (jobs I'd been majorly putting off)
4. Finally tackle Day 5s under the kitchen sink task
5. Finally decide which trays I'm keeping/donating from the above Tupperware post and find them a home
6. Finally remove from the corner (with help) the un-plumbed-in dishwasher that is taking up a ton of room
7. Find a home for my handy-dandy cupboard pull-out organiser that I found at B&M last week (so hard to find organisers like this in N.I. but fortunately they are catching on)
8. Completely clear and scrub my windowsills and replant my herbs (in the hope that they may survive a little longer)
9. Re-jig, re-boot, re-organise

My plans for the near-future for the kitchen are to:
1. Measure up for my plate display shelf (and purchase it)
2. Purchase hooks for behind the door/back of the door for my apron collection
3. Purchase hooks for my teatowels for "I don't currently know where" in the kitchen
4. Purchase additional plant pots for my herbs (all of these purchases will be IKEA)
5. Choose a new colour scheme for the kitchen, using my fab Clarice Cliff plate collection as inspiration - need to pick a colour for the walls, another for the ceiling and another for the door/skirting/door trim/hatch trim - this will be tricky as the colours have to work with the wee room (that you see through the hatch) and the hallway (which connects and that you can see through the glass-panelled door).
6. Clear the kitchen of its additional furniture and stuff to allow for Dad and Hubby to do their tasks

For the next section of this list each job begins with have Dad and Hubby . . .
(They are my go-to guys but Dad comes first since he's more likely to actually tackle these) . . .

7. Complete the challenge of fixing my broken pull-out cabinet
8. Fix the holes in my wall (currently hidden by my sideboard) that were caused by the swift removal by a friend's sons of my fold-out table (couldn't blame the kids since my Hubs! and his friend let them climb on it)9. Paint kitchen and woodwork
10. Install the above mentioned hooks
11. Install the plate display shelf
12. Repaint (and fortify) my food cupboard/sideboard

My final job will be to put everything back and enjoy my new kitchen!

With all the bulk cooking and freezing I've been doing, a few days of painting won't be too disruptive, all we'll need is a microwave to reheat the home-cooked goodness and a kettle for hubby's cups of tea and coffee of course :)

This will be a busy week of preparation work to allow for all of the above so wish me well . . . especially in the persuading of the hubby that he does want to repaint!

Still unsure what to do with regard to window treatments as the (raw silk) blinds I got from my sister a few months ago work with my kitchen as it stands but won't work with a repaint - this will need some puzzling out.

Thanks again for these fabulous challenges Toni!

Organising Weekly Challenge #4

2011-02-27T11:27:00.000Z

Toni @ A Bowl Full of Lemons is continuing her weekly challenges for 2011 with a challenge to . . .

CREATE A GIFT WRAPPING STATION

I have dreamt of the wonderful armoires of gift-wrapping excellence that I've seen across the blogosphere. The best I could accomplish was an old laundry basket with three sections chock full of gift bags, ribbons, bows and tissue paper and every time I went to wrap a gift I chose a bag and some tissue or just wrapped it with paper and sellotape and away I went. I could very rarely be bothered with all the frou-frou so I decluttered - big style!

I decluttered most of the tissue, bags and bows etc to my Mum, all the small jewellery gift boxes and pouches to my friend who makes and sells jewellery and used Christmas wrapping to get rid of a lot too. I felt freer than I had for years.

I now have only a handful of rolls in a pretty wastepaper basket (kept together with a simple ribbon, with each roll kept neat by an elastic band at either end). I have a few strings and ribbons, bows, tags and bags but they are containerised into a slightly worn but very beautiful gift bag that we got a wedding gift in. If they don't fit in that bag - they don't stay - simple as that!

My sellotape and scissors have a home on a small counter space to the left of my craft cupboard and that is all I need or want at this stage of life.

I still dream of those beautiful gift wrapping stations that others have done but for now this is all I need.

I should add that I have a couple of cupboards in my living room for sale-bought gifts, hostess gifts and early-gift-purchases. I keep the two completely separate at this moment in time - but I am thinking of amalgamating them again but need to clear out some of the gifts first.

When they are together again I'll be turning the gift cupboards into more book cupboards and then I can begin to (yet again) try and make sense of our very crazy book collection.

*Updates*

My Home Management Binder (here's the post on it) is progressing nicely now that my Hubs has fixed the printer! :)

Hymn

2011-02-27T00:05:00.001Z

A beautiful hymn I had planned to post before but obviously totally forgotten about - words that make you think . . .

O Jesus, I Have Promised

Text: John E. Bode, 1816-1874
Music: Arthur H. Mann, 1850-1929
Tune: ANGEL'S STORY, Meter: 76.76 D

1. O Jesus, I have promised 
 to serve thee to the end; 
 be thou forever near me, 
 my Master and my friend. 
 I shall not fear the battle 
 if thou art by my side, 
 nor wander from the pathway 
 if thou wilt be my guide. 

2. O let me feel thee near me! 
 The world is ever near; 
 I see the sights that dazzle, 
 the tempting sounds I hear; 
 my foes are ever near me, 
 around me and within; 
 but Jesus, draw thou nearer, 
 and shield my soul from sin. 

3. O let me hear thee speaking 
 in accents clear and still, 
 above the storms of passion, 
 the murmurs of self-will. 
 O speak to reassure me, 
 to hasten or control; 
 O speak, and make me listen, 
 thou guardian of my soul. 

4. O Jesus, thou hast promised 
 to all who follow thee 
 that where thou art in glory 
 there shall thy servant be. 
 And Jesus, I have promised 
 to serve thee to the end; 
 O give me grace to follow, 
 my Master and my Friend.

Gratitude - One Thousand Gifts #1-15

2011-02-25T00:05:00.002Z

One thousand gifts was begun by Ann @ Holy Experience

I'm going to aim to thank Him for one thousand things this year because we are called to count our blessings and name them one by one and so . . . I will . . .

1. God

2. Jesus

3. The Holy Spirit

4. Salvation through Christ Jesus

5. The Bible, God's manual which I don't cherish enough

6. The freedom to own many copies of the Bible and to read them at my leisure which I don't do often enough

7. The freedom to attend church

8. The sheer number of Bible believing churches I have access to

9. My home church which I do not attend often enough

10. Communion, the Eucharist, Mass, the Lord's Supper, God's breakfast which I so appreciate as a time of remembering and confession and His love manifest

11. My Mum's friend Dot who invited her along to our local Baptist church which led to my Mum's salvation (about twnty-five years ago)

12. Our local Baptist church that put me to sleep many Sunday mornings and evenings but taught me about grace and salvation and led to my own salvation at around the age of four as well as household salvation for my immediate family

13. My Mum - she'll no doubt feature plenty of times on this list but for now to say thank You Lord for her strength and compassion in raising up myself and my sisters and many others along the way

14. My Dad for our similarities and differences, for the fact that we drive each other crazy but that at the end of the day he is there for me and I him and for the model of a father-daughter relationship he gave me that showed me humanly a small part of my heavenly Father's love for me

15. My sweet blessing of a husband who I love more each day, even as he drives me mad or I feel he is nagging. Thank You Lord for his leading and gentle, insistent encouragement, for his soft shoulder on which to lay my head and his hot soft lips to soothe me.

More soon . . .

Shine Your . . .

2011-02-24T00:05:00.002Z

I'm sure most of you have heard of FlyLady - if you haven't where have you been?!?!

She explains a series of baby steps to build up to a clean and organised home and for those who you who use and have succeeded with her system - well done - but it isn't for me.

Each day we are to shine our sink(s) because apparently a clean and shiny sink will get us motivated. Now I love a shiny sink but I'd have to agree more with my fellow-blogger Briana that a shiny sink is not the only motivator and sometimes certain things can demotivate us too.

Read Brianna's take at her blog Heart(h) Management.

Unfortunately for the blogosphere (but fortunately for her family so she can keep her home fires burning) Brianna hasn't posted in an age but I'd highly suggest reading through her archive (as I've been doing on and off) because she's so very real and inspirational.

My answers to her queries are very similar to her own:

The things that motivate me are:

An empty laundry hamper

A made bed

Clear spaces

The things that make me stagnate:

Cluttered or crumb-covered kitchen counters

Piles of dishes

An unmade bed

Piles of laundry

Unopened blinds/curtains

Cluttered spaces

No shiny sinks to be found on my list - what about yours?

What motivates or demotivates you about your home?

Links I Love

2011-02-23T00:05:00.003Z

Might well have shared these before but cannot be bothered going through my archives to find out!

Enjoy these links to all and sundry:

Light-hearted & Lovely Links

The most beautiful birth story, not because of all-natural, birthed by the ocean no-drugs but because of love. (Hat-tip to Kristen @ We Are THAT Family)

http://enjoyingthesmallthings.blogspot.com/2010/01/nella-cordelia-birth-story.html

Funny:

http://www.owlhaven.net/2010/02/22/possibly-the-funniest-commercial-ever/

A great game that will make your mind work and will earn rice for very poor people

http://www.freerice.com/index.php

Cute story:

http://ourlittletongginator.blogspot.com/2009/04/another-tongginator-moment.html

Classic story:

http://ourlittletongginator.blogspot.com/2010/01/wild-word.html

Challenging Links

The most honest mirror:

http://www.thetraintocrazy.com/2010/02/the-mirror.html

Blogging links:

Frugality:

http://www.smockityfrocks.com/2008/05/frugal-philosophy.html

Weekly Weigh-In #8

2011-02-22T00:05:00.006Z

*Updated to add weigh-in post link and additional comments at the end!*

Kris @ Eclipsed is once more encouraging us to face up to our scales for the Weekly Weigh-In!

I knew my scales were not going to be my friend this week, much more my informant . . .

I've switched back to weighing in on Monday (instead of Tuesday) so it hasn't quite been a week but I knew that the results were not going to be pretty. In an effort to stave off nausea while fighting a stomach bug I ate and ate and well you get the idea . . . and I had this post all ready to go with space to put in how many pounds I'd gained . . . except I didn't! I didn't gain!

The last three weeks I think most days have had a calorie estimate - I haven't tracked what I've eaten but in tracking my burn I know I've burned a lot so I can only guess that they did in fact cancel each other out - this week I'm really hoping the burn will exceed the intake - I guess we'll have to wait and see.

This week I didn't change, keeping me at 13st 10lbs (192 lbs). That is 60 lbs from my goal weight and (still but thankfully only) 6 lbs from achieving my first weight goal of 186lbs.

As I posted yesterday I am making that much more effort this week (though any would be an improvement on last week) and I know how much better I feel eating the better foods and doing exercise so I hope I will stick with it.

Thanks again for this weekly accountability Kris - I hate it but I NEED it - and thanks for the encouraging comment - I have no idea how to reply to comments made on the blog so I'll just reply here instead - thanks!

Oh and I totally have to confess I've already blown a couple of days calories - so bad because I'm relaxed and compromising all the time because I lost six pounds like yeah me - only 60 to go - I need to wise up and start back into the good choices again and stay there for a considerable amount of time - basically I need to grow up!

Do or Do Not Challenge #8

2011-02-21T13:40:00.000Z

This week Kris @ Eclipsed has challenged us to Do or Do Not:

1. Plan for how you're going to deal with those inevitable cravings
I had thought keeping chocolate in the house was a good plan - obviously not because well I eat it so this one well, I'm not sure how to conquer it. I got in some cheaper (lower cal) chocolate that I don't like so well so we'll see how that goes.

2. Add in strength training to your workout routine
I'm meant to have a routine? Yeah the exercise part is kicking me, except for walking I haven't really done any. Okay I'm off to my Mum's to use her airwalker that I totally forgot to do earlier and then I'll try some reps with a tin of beans

I've really been falling behind on these challenges and my whole minding what I eat thing. I've been exercising, walking at work as part of my job but probably wouldn't be walking if it weren't for that. I've been ill and down and this week it is time less for recalculating my GPS but for making a U-turn not just when it's safe to do so but because it isn't safe to continue down this road.

This week I aim to:
1. Walk everyday
Monday to Thursday at my morning job, Friday before my afternoon job, Saturday during commercials and Sunday with my hubby
2. Air walk Monday - Saturday
Use my Mum's airwalker thingy for five solid minutes, Mon-Thurs when I get home from my morning job, Friday and Saturday before 10am
3. Do 25 sit-ups every morning
First thing every day!
4. Log my food intake
Not being consistent in this has led to VERY bad eating - NEED to do this

I'd love to:
Hit 10,000 steps Mon-Thurs, 7,000 Fri. and 5,000 Sat and Sun
Hit 35minutes of moderate activity Mon-Thurs, 30 Fri and 20 Sat and Sun
Hit a burn of 2600 Mon-Thurs, 2400 Fri and 2200 Sat and Sun
Not exceed a calorie intake of 1500 Mon-Fri and 1700 Sat and Sun

Honestly though any step in the right direction is a good one right now and I'll see how I go. I've decided to change weigh-in day back to a Monday and the results well . . . check out my Weekly Weigh-In post tomorrow to find out.

Thanks for the challenges Kris!

Menu Plan Monday #8

2011-02-21T00:05:00.002Z

Time once again to link up our menu plan for the week with Laura @ Organising Junkie. I'm just loving Menu Plan Monday!

M (Hubby off - Me split shift and ladies meeting)
Us - fridge gathering
Us - Sunday lunch leftovers
(Prep carrot and barley soup in slow cooker)

Tu (Hubby early shift - Me split shift - Us church Bible study)
DH - freezer meal
Me - fridge gathering
Us - carrot and barley soup
(Box up leftovers for freezing)

W (Hubby late shift - Me split shift - Open House)
DH - freezer meal x2
Me - beans on toast/soup

Th (Hubby early shift - Me split shift - Us surprise 80th birthday party)
DH - freezer meal
Me - beans on toast
Us - pizza, chips and veg

F (Hubby late shift - Me afternoon only)
DH - freezer meal x2
Me - salmon and veg omelette/soup
(Prep small chicken in slow cooker and bake a batch of my frozen dough cookies)

Sa (Hubby early shift - Me morning only)
(Pull apart chicken, make chicken curry, make chicken stock in slow cooker, make pot of rice with extra to freeze, box up chicken curry for freezing)
DH - freezer meal/chicken curry and rice
Me - salmon and veg omelette/chicken and mayo sandwiches

Su (Church)
(Put chicken stock in fridge to cool and harden fat for removal for dog/Make chicken couscous soup)
Us - pink salmon and mayo sandwiches with salad
Us - chicken couscous soup (box up and freeze extra portions)

Yummy!

Temptation

2011-02-20T20:41:00.000Z

Think I got this from one of GMG girls - though really not sure - again apologies to whoever authored this - if you let me know in comments I'll link to you:

When we come to God and ask Him to forgive us we stand before God as a still rock pool - there is a layer of sand at the bottom but when it is STILL you can see clearly down to the bottom and it is totally spotless. But because there is sand at the bottom, when the tide comes in it takes very little effort to swirl up the sand and make the water murky and muddy. This is like us - the devil takes very little effort to dig up our dirt and muddy our water! We have lots to stir up and hang temptation on.

Just Be Real!

2011-02-20T20:38:00.002Z

Not sure where I got this so apologies to whoever authored it - I found it copied into a word document as I was decluttering through them.

(If you wrote it - please comment below and I'll update the post to include a link to your writing).

What If???

What if you were very much in love with the Lord...
But you had your own idea of what success and happiness looked like?

What if you knew that you should strive to serve the Lord in all area...
But you spent too much time thinking about other things?

What if you had an idea of what your life should look like...
But it wasn't that at all?

What if you looked to yourself to form your priorities...
And all if brought was disorganization?

What if you looked to your own abilities and strength to "find happiness"...
And all you got was suffering and condemnation?

What if you finally sought the Lord for help...
And he told you to do something you did not want to do?

BE REAL...

What if you bottled up all of your "failures"...
And put on a happy face?

What if everyone who met you...
Thought you were "superwoman", the one who had it all together?

What if that made you feel really good about yourself...
So you kept on doing it?

What if as soon as you got home...
Your smile disappeared and you were depressed and overwhelmed by your "messy circumstances" and "misrepresentations"?

What if you sought the Lord again...
And his answer was the same as before???

JUST BE REAL...

What if you portrayed a perfect picture...
And people believed you?

What if someone looked up to you...
And thought she could never compare to what you are???

What if secretly you liked that???

What if you strived for a "perfect home" when people came over...
And never allowed anyone in unless it was just so???

What if you pleaded with the Lord for help...
And this time he was silent?

Because you chose not to be REAL???

What if in your "rebellion" ,
You missed A WORD that the Lord wanted to give you?

What if in doing so,
You had missed the opportunity to bless a weary Momma.

What if in "pretending" to be perfect,
You missed being able to be blessed by someone else?

What if the WHOLE time,
Your little ones were watching Momma.

Each time learning a little more how not to seek the Lord. How not to allow the Lord to show us that "his ways are not our ways" but that they certainly are better than our own feeble attempts to look like we have it all together.

You see, the reason my home is 5-10 minutes away from being "visitor ready" is because that person up there was me! I missed the mark because of my own ideas of what a home should be, a family should look, and success should be. The Lord brought me down to real life and showed me what his standards were for my life! The "high" standards I used to have have been thrown out, and replaced what the Lord has given me.

A desire to be used by Him.

Yes, my home is usually really clean. But that is just because I have sought the Lord for my priorities. And because the Lord taught me to train our children to help. Because He is a God of peace and order, and peace is not found in disorder.

Yes, it may look like we do not have any toys lying around. But that is only because I allowed the Lord to organize our home. I sought the Lord for how much my children should have. I always tell the children that having too much sometimes stops us from being used by the Lord. I tell them that the more time we spend cleaning, the more time we take away from being "usable" and even from having spontaneous fun!

Yes, we still clean our home before we have company, but it is done with much prayer and always reasonably. Part of welcoming people into your home requires preparing it for them. But what are you filling it with? Frustration to get the house "presentable"? or the cheerful and loving medley of a family preparing to welcome guests into Gods home.

Do you think your home is God's home? Or is He a guest in the home He blessed you with?

We did not always live in a larger home. We started out in a VERY small home! It was there that the Lord taught us how to entertain! It was there in our "cozy quarters" that we met the needs of others. It was there that we laughed about not all fitting at the table while we sat on the floor eating.

Gone are the days I value a freshly mopped floor over the chance to strengthen and encourage a weary Momma.

We do a large amount of entertaining! We have an open door policy and it has been a bigger blessing than I had ever imagined!

If you come to my home on any given day...yes...you will see a clean home...
But you may also see...
dishes in the sink...
or laundry to fold...
or clothes to iron...
or a semi-dirty floor...

Do I feel nervous about this...

Yes sometimes. But I see people relax. I see them walk into our home and feel like they can sit on the couch. They feel like they can open up about things. The smile, they are refreshed.

EXAMPLE:
When I had the privilege of meeting Bridget and her family, her husband sat on the couch with the children (amidst a pile of clothing in need of ironing) and he took a little nap. What a blessing to see a friendship the Lord has created when two families that had never met can be that comfortable together!

Do you know what a blessing it is to know that a person can walk into your home and relax???
Oh there will never be words to describe.
Does this come from me and my preparations or from a perfect home???
No, it is the presence of the Lord!
The presence of the Lord amidst the "non-perfect" in our eyes.

JUST BE REAL!!!!!!!

Organising Weekly Challenge #3

2011-02-20T11:36:00.000Z

Toni @ A Bowl Full of Lemons is continuing her weekly challenges for 2011 with a challenge to . . .

CREATE A RECIPE BINDER

I actually incorporated some of this challenge into my home management binder challenge. I gathered together some of our recipe books and my (momAgenda.com) Menu Planning notebook into a cute green rattan basket along with my HM binder but I've never gathered up all those loose sheet recipes that I've gathered up over the years (including the chicken curry recipe from my my home economics class when I was fourteen - my husband swears it's wonderful).

I already had empty (not cute but practical) binders sitting by the basket just ready to be filled so one has now been deemed the loose recipe binder.

My categories will be few, because that's how I wanted it, namely - Savouries and Sweets.

I haven't rewritten any of the recipes because I like having the different writing styles of myself, down through the ages, and my friends and family.

I have some lovely recipes from my hen night written out (and in many cases decorated) by those I cherish - a wonderful idea my sister had to have everyone bring a recipe and a piece of advice for married life. I had these in an index box but that can easily be repurposed into a craft box and the recipes will be used a lot more in my recipe binder I feel.

Thanks for another great challenge Toni!

*Meant to get this up earlier in the week but totally forgot!*

Weekly Weigh-In #6 & #7

2011-02-16T07:21:00.000Z

Go check-out Kris @ Eclipsed for everyone's results this week (or last)

I took somewhat of a pass last week and didn't post though I did weigh-in. No change - I was unhappy so I didn't change my ways and whilst my calorie burn was high so was my calorie intake so again this week no change - still 192 (13st 10lbs). Am raging with myself because if I had eaten correctly then I would definitely have lost!

I'm now away for a couple of days break so I doubt there'll be any loss - I want to enjoy it and yes that does mean ignoring calories for a few days. I have packed healthy choices for picnic lunches though so that'll help, doubt I'll be getting in a whole lot of exercise either - this hotel has no gym and the weather's bad and excuses excuses we'll probably just spend the next couple of days reading rather than moving.

Okay pity-party over - I will get some walking in and come the weekend I'll jump back on the wagon and head into a week of strict calorie counting - no treats, no cheats! I'll prep some calorie counted snack boxes for the week, take Kris' advice and divvy up my daily calorie budget into meals and snacks and try to include protein in as many of them as I can. There will be walking with work and some cardio air walking at home.

There is no messing about any more - I can't take three weeks off and expect to hit my goal weight by May next year - it just won't work - I HAVE TO WORK - out, hard and at curbing the eating gene.

192 but with some hard work hopefully not for long!

Menu Plan Monday #7

2011-02-14T16:34:00.001Z

Time once again to link up our menu plan for the week with Laura @ Organising Junkie. I'm just loving Menu Plan Monday!

Not only is this menu planning really helping me to be thrifty but it's also helping us to eat more healthily and saves us from lots of "what's for tea?" time-wasting!

This is a very easy week for cooking as we're away for a wee hotel break with my parents - how lovely and yummy - lots of local, organic produce and ingredients in the two restaurants that we'll be eating in, and one dinner is already pre-paid!

Last week's menu went down the plug-hole since life got so busy - thank goodness for all the freezer meals that came in mighty handy! As a result I'll be making that promised chicken curry and rice tonight for my hubs to enjoy tomorrow and in the near future (freezing the bulk).

Monday
Us - cooked breakfast/brunch/lunch for st. val's - yummy!
DH - leftover amalgamation
Me - leftover amalgamation
(Making chicken curry)

Tuesday (have to buy cake for my Mum)
(Making carrot and celery soup to use up veg in fridge)
(Bake frozen cookie dough for packed lunches)
DH - chicken curry and rice
Me - above soup (freeze the rest)
Us - birthday tea for my mum at my sister's

Wednesday (off for a mid-week break)
Us - packed lunch (sarnies with pink salmon and cucumber etc.)
Us - birthday dinner for mum at our hotel

Thursday
Us - packed lunch (snack boxes, dried fruit and nuts, fruit, carrot sticks etc.)
Us - dinner at golf club near the hotel

Friday
Us - packed lunch (crisp sandwiches, fruit etc.)
Us - something quick and easy from the freezer (pizza, chips and garlic bread most probably)

Saturday (friends visiting for a board games tournament with simple nibbles)
Us - soup and bread
Us - chinese takeaway

Sunday
Us - lunch at my parent's house
Us - something light if anything

Since it so isn't happening this week, bulk-baking some boiled cakes for the freezer will hopefully happen next week.

Menu Plan Monday #6

2011-02-08T12:01:00.001Z

Hey there chickles!

Time once again to link up to Laura @ Organising Junkie for yet another Menu Plan Monday!

This week's menu still includes lots of homemade freezer meals (for this season of life FM really suit our work patterns) and I'm hoping to do some bulk cooking to re-stock the freezer.

Breakfasts for me will be calorie-counted snack boxes, single plain scrambled eggs, yoghurt with added dried fruit and pears. For DH they will be porridge, weetabix or none - but he'll supplement with suppers since he prefers them to breakfast :)

Monday
DH: Vegetable Pasta Dish (Freezer Meal)
Me: Beetroot Soup (FM) with added couscous
Us: Hubby's making grilled gammon steaks with pineapple rings, mushy peas, coleslaw and boiled potatoes

Tuesday
Us: Onion Soup (FM) with leftover boiled potatoes
Us: Tomato-ey Aduki Bean Celery Mince Mix in Tortilla Wraps with coleslaw
Us: Ice-cream and pineapple rings for dessert

Wednesday
Us: Tortillas with our own choice of fillings
Us: Hubby's Pick and Make (using leftover cooked mince)
Us: Semolina (pudding)
I'll prepare a slow-cook beef casserole for tomorrow night (spuds, stewing steak, kidney beans, celery, onions, carrots)

Thursday
DH: Freezer Meal
Me: Omelette with veg
Us: Slow-cooked Beef Casserole (freeze any leftovers beyond those I'll use)
Us: Semolina leftovers with tinned peaches

Friday
DH: Leftover Beef Casserole
Me: I'll be cooking whatever's available at work, for myself and my off-school-charge
DH: Casserole with milk rolls and any other bits and pieces needed to make up a meal (he loves a mish-mash meal)
Me: Leftover Beef Casserole (and any remaining tinned peaches for a dessert)
Us: I'll be making ciabatta plaited bread which will make a lovely fresh supper

Saturday
DH: Ciabatta Bread with FM Soup
Me: Ciabatta with FM Soup
DH: Fresh Homemade Chicken Curry (this will use already cooked and frozen roast chicken) and Rice
I'll be bulk cooking this and freezing portions for future meals, I'll also freeze portions of rice.
Me: Ciabatta Bread with Packet Soup with added chicken (as I can't eat curry)

Sunday
Us: Lunch @ my folks'
Us: Light supper of any remaining ciabatta bread etc.

Next week might include garlic bread, baking up some of my frozen cookie dough, bulk-baking some boiled cakes for the freezer and who knows what else?!

Looking forward to these comforting, thrifty meals!

Organising Weekly Challenge #2 - Launch Pad

2011-02-07T14:17:00.000Z

Toni @ A Bowl Full of Lemons is continuing her weekly challenges for 2011 with a guest challenge from Laurie @ Handy Man, Crafty Woman.

This week's challenge is the . . .

LAUNCH PAD

I always thought a launch pad was something other people needed - except you know everything gets dumped on the old church pew (gorgeous it is) at our ~~back~~ ~~front~~ only door and I never remember to take things with me or can find my handbag . . . so I guess I just realised that I REALLY NEED a launch pad too!

We live in a first-floor apartment so after you've hiked it up the steps with all your bags/shopping/laundry (our washing machine's downstairs) you enter through our only door and are straight into the (not huge but not tiny) hallway.

To your right is the bathroom door and wall and in the corner the place where we keep (slightly broken but still usable) umbrellas for when we need to nip outside/downstairs/next door.

To your left is our key holder (an engagement gift) which I really must make myself use EVERY single time and then an armoire which holds all our fancy glasses, dessert bowls and vases (extra pretty because you can see right through) and then doors off to the kitchen and my hubs' wee room.

In front of you is a gorgeous painting by my multi-talented wee sis and beneath it the pew I mentioned above.

On into the "long" part of the hall is simply corridor to the lounge door and guest room door and this was to soon include a console for our two re-housed lamps (that were as I began sitting on Christmas decoration boxes!).

Our pew had mismatched cushions on to make it look cosier and shoes underneath, lately I added a rather ugly but practical box to the top to contain all the things that were to leave the house, things to go to friends & family so that they were by the door for when we were going to visit said individuals. I had set up an impromptu launch pad without even thinking about it.

The process involved more than I'd expected as once I started I just couldn't stop and by the time my Husband got home, it was to an all-new hallway and after discussions, even more moving-about-of-furniture was done until - ta-da! My brand-new-without-spending-a-penny hallway and launch pad!

Now as you enter ahead of you is a three-drawer wicker unit with a re-housed lamp atop it and a painted chair beside it all nestled beneath my sister's painting. (The Husband solved the problem of wires by running the lamp cable into the guest room to plug it in - clever man!) The drawers contain things to go to other people and the bottom one holds my vast collection of gloves. The chair will be my go-to spot for my current handbag and also balances the space under the picture. A big positive is we now have the light we needed in the spot we needed it and more room in the "wide" part of the hall, really two lamps was one too many and we get to appreciate our white glass lamp in a new setting.

The shoes from under the pew were purged down to my clogs (for popping outside when the ground's wet) and the Husband's trainers (better to keep them in the airy hall than stink up the whole wardrobe). They are now underneath the armoire in the now decluttered space that I'd shoved some might-be-useful-someday cardboard boxes into before.

The "long" part of the hall now beautifully displays my Grandmother's spinning wheel (which I really must wipe down and wax some day soon) and otherwise is a clear space.

The pew has found a new home in the Husband's wee room and though it has lost its cushions I'm hoping to get some foam cut to a template to fit it so that I can upholster to match the different decor. The pew also needs a good wipe down and wax session.

Hubs also got a ~~new~~ rehoused lamp in one corner of his space and we moved his floor lamp to a different corner and decluttered the windowsill. So he got a "new" room too.

The two lamps from the hall moved into the lounge to replace the ones that went into the hall and wee room and this led to dusting and moving frames and vases and wires and the stereo and well a whole new lounge too!

It is a whole new house and I am delighted - it makes all things new and adds to the church-y feel of my husband's little room. It now has an old church pew to add to the church-themed pictures and framed scriptures! It is wonderful what a little furniture removal can do for the soul as well as the decor!

Thanks for the challenge ladies!

*Update*

I (finally) re-visited Day 11 of the Organising 21-day Challenge and added my two (now empty after some sorting and decluttering) milk crates to my freezer - one now contains all our FM - freezer meals) and the other all our bread - I moved our frozen vegetables in with our other bread products into a hanging basket and I am delighted with the results! An easy to navigate freezer really adds to its usefulness!

Organising Weekly Challenge #1 - Home Management Binder

2011-02-06T00:53:00.000Z

Toni @ A Bowl Full of Lemons is continuing in the style of the Organising 21-day Challenge and is doing weekly challenges for 2011.

This week the challenge is to . . .

CREATE OR REMAKE A HOME MANAGEMENT BINDER (FOLDER)

Every blog I read raves about the home management/family binder (folder) and I've tried to catch the bug - I've started one and then another one and well I just never got into the habit of actually using one - I'm hoping to mend my slob-ish ways though and really set up a system that works for my life.

I did a lot of thinking after Toni set this challenge and I dug out my TWO "current" so-have-not-been-used-that-much-binders. I thought through what I actually need to do everyday and what I actually do. All the many goals and desires I have for this year and my near-future, as well as all the practical stuff I wanted to cobble together in one place. Suddenly the challenge grew from one binder to an accumulation of binders and files and baskets and well organising my house!

I decided to start with MY binder – my “thinking on paper” folder, a “brain storm collection” with lots of lists and hopes and prayers; it will begin (of course) with a pretty title page (once our printer’s working) and because I can’t fit it all into a binder, it is actually a binder in a basket full of books!

MY folder itself isn't pretty but immensely practical. When I have the chance I intend to cover it with many beautiful images, or scrapbook paper with a good layer of PVA glue (or similar) to set it. Alas the beautifying will have to wait as I’ve been flat out this week and that looks set to continue.

Instead of a “pretty” binder my purchase for this challenge will be a label maker – I’ve loved the idea of them forever but I’m really struggling to pick one!

MY folder will live in its basket on our HUGE study desk alongside our “household diary” and the household (bills) accordion file and however many other binders required to fit in all the “extras.”

MY folder includes or will include the following sections and sub-sections:
Bible
- Any useful Bible reading notes
- Bibles (from The Message to KJV)
- Church Small Group Bible Study Book (fortnightly)
- Circle of Friends’ Bible Study Book (monthly)
- "Good Morning Girls" Email Group with a page for each “girl” with contact information, family names and dates (birthdays etc)
- My journal as I read through the Word including my GMG emails
- Our Bible Commentary that we got as a wedding gift
- Sister’s SIL’s Bible Study Book (weekly-ish)
Lists
- Blogging Goals for the year
- Computer To-Do List (Declutter Word Doc’s, Back-up Files etc)
- Daily Computer Sites (because I'm very forgetful) e.g. Moodscope, Ki Fit, Swagbucks (I've "earned" £20 through Swagbucks already! This leads to my referral).
- Decluttering List for the month (to be posted on my blog)
- Favourite Blogs*
- "Thirty Things to do Before I'm Thirty" list (with notations in pencil so I don’t have to constantly reprint it)
- TV Viewing Schedule*
Menu Planning
- A recipe book we got for a wedding present (for ideas) which I will interchange with the others we own (and also got as wedding gifts)
- List of ideas of things to make, or things that need used up
- Menu Planning Notebook with perforated shopping lists (from momAgenda). Love this - thanks sis!
- My ~~stolen~~ borrowed and adapted freezer inventory lists (can’t remember where I got them)
Prayer
- Monthly Prayer Topics (31 days of praying for your pastor, spouse etc)
- Prayer Diary (including any requests from friends etc.)
- Prayer Schedule (because I NEED lists)
Financials
- Accounting (I’m self-employed)
- Expenses Receipts and details
- Tax Account Details
Routines and Schedules
- Morning Routine
- Ready-to-Leave-the-House Routine
- Just-in-from-Work Routine
- Just-before-Bed Routine
- Sunday-Avo-Ready-for-the-Week Routine
Wishes
- Travel Wish List (local – day trips and wee weekends away with my hubs)
- Travel Wish List (international)
- Wish List of purchases (for when I have the money or a birthday)

* I know writing up a list of my favourite blogs and TV programmes may seem very silly BUT by writing down what I’m committed to viewing and reading online I really thought through each choice and was able to declutter some unworthy things that I can "live without."

OUR folder will include:
Address Book
Our Account Information including Direct Debits and when they come out etc.
Our Financial Plans (purchases we need/want to make, things to save for etc)
Phone Contacts (Mine and the Hubby’s)
Vouchers⁺

⁺ The vouchers section (gift vouchers as coupons aren’t really offered here in the UK) at this point (still) contains wedding vouchers for a household shop as well as birthday/Christmas gifts of vouchers for acupuncture, the cinema and any Groupon vouchers. Once any sessions to be paid for with vouchers are booked, the vouchers move into our "household diary.”

Our “household diary” is literally a landscape A4 page for each week with each day heading up a column (top for hubs, bottom for me). At the base of the landscape page is a couple of lines left for notes (I've added in things like blackberry and apple picking for late August/September in this section so I don't forget). The pages are in plastic pockets so any important vouchers/tickets etc. can go in behind that week's diary.

The HOUSE folder will include lots of lists:
Decorating Calendar ^ (plans for when to decorate for each holiday/season)
Decorating Plan (how to decorate each room for each holiday/season)
Detailed Information about what is in each room - furniture, ornaments, soft furnishings, pictures, what colour the walls are and the big one - what is stored where in the room and in which container/drawer
Each Room’s “Down to the Nitty Gritty” Cleaning
Each Room’s Snag List and Improvement Ideas List

^ I love decorating for each season or holiday (winter has sort of been overlooked this year and I haven't yet put Valentine's up because I've been working overtime but I'll get there). I decided to organise my decorating and wrote myself out a yearly plan (when to put up/take down decorations) and then I diarised all the relevant dates.

I also wrote a decorating plan for each holiday/season for each room e.g. Valentine's - Lounge - string of hearts hangs between the two adjacent curtain poles

Obviously I have an A-type personality :) but I loved/am loving this task. I don't think I'll have it finished for a few weeks but I don't think you can ever finish a household binder - I'll give it a darn good try though!

Thanks for the challenge Toni – it is really improving the look of my home and the fog in my brain is starting to clear!

Weekly Weigh-In #5 / Do or Do Not Challenge: Week 5

2011-02-03T12:29:00.000Z

Check out Kris @ Eclipsed to see what it's all about!

I'm really late posting this week just couldn't get myself motivated for blogging - sleep deprivation will do that to you - but a nap yesterday and a lie-in (til 8am) this morning have helped me push through!

Do or Do Not Challenge: Week 5

This week's challenges are:

1. Change your cardio routine this week (and next)
Yeah I'm pretty sure this would require me to actually workout, although I've been walking I can't really "count" that as it's for work. I'm going to try out my Mum's airwalker thingy for a few minutes a day - it sounds like I'm not committed - I am - I'm just also lazy and unfit!

*Update to say went on the air walker for a couple of minutes this morning - nearly killed me!*

2. Find two or three healthy breakfasts that fit your lifestyle.
No problemo - it is my favourite meal, I have loved me my cereal a little too much so now I'm loving a microwaved scrambled egg, a calorie counted snack box (dried fruits and nuts and seeds, sometimes slightly soft broken biscuits, by which of course I mean cookies, creamy yoghurt - yum), porridge (oatmeal) or one weetabix breakfast also make for healthy filling options and taste even better with a smidge of honey/jam or fruit juice in the mix.

As for the re-cap on last week's challenges - I still haven't found myself a low-cal option from my fave chinese - because I didn't even begin looking - will try to get to that this week. Have been emailing my accountability partner though about exercising so that's one check.

As for the exercising for thirty minutes five days a week - I actually did it this last week! Yay! I even managed to get my activity for the day at well over an hour and busted through 10,000 steps too - which is amazing when you think that when I first got my kifit there were plenty of days I barely broke 2,000 steps!

Still haven't gotten to the point of publishing my emotional journey but I'm still writing it so that's a step in the right direction too.

Weekly Weigh-In #5

Hurrah! I lost another pound this week!

Weekly Weigh-In #1 - 14st 2lbs or 198lbs
Weekly Weigh-In #2 - 13st 13lbs or 195lbs
Weekly Weigh-In #3 - 13st 11lbs or 193lbs
Weekly Weigh-In #4 - 13st 11lbs or 193lbs
Weekly Weigh-In #5 - 13st 10lbs or 192lbs

On the plus side - the scale numbers went in the right direction and I haven't been this weight since the start of last summer!

On the downside - I was really hoping for two - I worked really hard this week, watching what I ate and going for energetic walks (am definitely getting fitter) pushing one or two little babes in the buggy.

I did have a big foodie splurge on Saturday night at a Come Dine With Me style dinner party (the third of five) and I enjoyed every bite (bruschetta + penne + sun-dried tomatoes + biscotti = yummy). I'm pretty sure Saturday night alone cost me that second pound.

Looking forward to next week's weigh-in though - I will lose two pounds!

Glad you're not letting a bad week get you down Kris!

Decluttering Commitment for 2011 - January

2011-02-01T07:26:00.000Z

Amy from The Finer Things in Life has passed on the gauntlet of the decluttering linky to "Nony the Slob" of A Slob Comes Clean.

Thanks for hosting this year Nony and well done for all your decluttering this month!

Go here to link up or just go read up to see how everyone else did this month with their own decluttering goals.

My goal has had to be upped since last year's goal to declutter 1095 things (an average of three things per day) was met and since I did so darn much this month!

This year my aim is: To Declutter 1825 Things in 365 Days, an average of five things a day!

My house is NOT too small, it does not NOT have inadequate storage only TOO MUCH STUFF!

I realise no one will want to read my way too detailed list - but the details are for me - they are a big part of the letting go process.
Here are my January listings (feel free to skip to the end):

Charity = 240
60 VHS videos (now obsolete – alas and alack)
31 pair tights (pantyhose)
27 pairs of unmentionables
16 t-shirts/tops
12 promotional CDs
7 piece pencil box (I could never bring myself to use)
5 pyjama tops and bottoms
4 piece summer-y plastic serving set (love this but we have so many “nice” dishes that it’s time to let this go)
4 pairs of slippers (how did I have so many?!?)
4 booklets
4 casters
3 pairs of knee-highs
3 paperback books
3 pairs of socks
3 bras
2 sets unused plasters (band-aids – I just had far too many)
2 over-bright cushions I haven’t used for eight years
2 pairs (too-small) tracksuit bottoms
2 piece set of “Barbie” hinged boxes
2 exfoliating gloves
2 charity badges
2 musical books
1 Cello music book (I haven’t played for over a decade and don’t even own an instrument)
1 never-could-see-the-point-in-it-got-it-from-my-sister-originally-v-tech toy
1 blender (we got another for our wedding and I haven’t used this one since)
1 umbrella-shaped cookie cutter (because amazingly I already have one)
1 rattan blind I had on my window as a teenager and had kept ever since
1 well-loved “hoodie” (hooded sweatshirt) from my only music festival
1 beautiful lavender soap cube that was a gift (I prefer bars)
1 Halloween sign (that was left here by a party-goer)
1 star-shaped cookie cutter (too small for my liking)
1 pink polka dot sandwich tray (that we never use)
1 pair green slippers (that I’ve never really worn)
1 decorative tin plate that I’ve sadly outgrown
1 pink flip-top bin with heart-shaped opening
1 beautiful silk scarf (I never wear)
1 small Mother-of-pearl inlaid box
1 wrap-around pyjama cardigan
1 bowl from an old set of scales
1 musical jungle tree house toy
1 potato masher (have another)
1 week’s tablet organiser
1 overly flexible spatula
1 shower puff (unused)
1 cool dude beanie toy
1 fake rose decoration
1 pair of slipper socks
1 “Tinkerbell” anklet
1 set of headphones
1 empty video box
1 “pez” dispenser
1 small floral box
1 jack-in-the-box
1 roll/crawl toy
1 ballet jumper
1 Claire's ring
1 card-holder
1 fitted sheet
1 badge (pin)
1 wash-bag
1 sun-mat
1 necklace and earring set I got from my birthday (and hated)
*Feel bad donating this but at least this way someone will make use of it*

Mum = 10
4 reusable doilies (lovely but I’ve just never gotten around to using them)
1 “megablocks” children’s boat toy (for use by the grandchildren)
1 beautiful heart-shaped papier maché box
1 gorgeous red hat (that makes me itch)
1 jar of garlic powder (that I won't use)
1 beautiful dolls house cardboard box
1 roll of freezer bags (I prefer boxes)

Dad = 8
5 plastic pegs/bag grips
1 paperback (Nurse on Call - not quite what I'd expected but a good read nonetheless)
1 not really fit for purpose guillotine
1 jar of decongestant lotion

Sporty Sis = 13
10 "jiffy"envelopes
2 piece candle lamp
1 slightly broken laundry basket (that she can still make use of)

Miss Thing = 1
1 jar of garlic powder (that I won't use)

Auntie TLC = 11
10 Purses and Dress-up things for her grand-kids
1 top-up voucher I couldn’t use for my phone

The Robinsons = 157
145 multi-punched plastic file (binder) pockets and holder
11 glow-in-the-dark stick-up stars
1 roll of sandwich bags (that I would never use)

Mimi = 6
6 Travel Size Toiletry Bottles

Miss Jewellery = 13
5 gift boxes
4 small jewellery pouches
4 children’s posters

Gerta = 3
2 sets organic teabags (chamomile and peppermint – I had too many)
1 packet cinnamon and orange rooibos tea (I had too much)

Miss B (my parents' dog) = 3
2 out-of-date stuffing sachets
1 packet of chicken gravy granules (out-of-date remnants)

Miss Kitty = 2
2 Hello Kitty gift bags

Recycling = 181
105 magazines/catalogues/university booklets/theatre programmes (that had been gathering dust)
14 plastic containers (that I was hoping to reuse but never did)
9 glass bottles (that I was hoping to reuse but never did)
8 Plastic Bottles (I was able to empty out/had no more use for)
8 plastic spoons (that I’ve never found a use for)
8 herbs/spices containers
4 Perfume Bottles
3 Pink Cardboard Boxes (cute set I’d used for toiletries that were broken)
2 lbs of puzzle pieces (kept for crafting and never used)
2 pairs linen trousers that had given out (into rags)
2 glass dishes (that are too small to be useful)
2 plastic place mats (hearts and strawberries)
2 sauce containers
1 huge pile of recycling from my university thesis/dissertation (an emotional load off)
1 pile of “starter choices” slips from our wedding (September 09)
1 hand wash container (from my bathroom to the bathroom in our barn)
1 huge pile of recycling from a university teaching file (binder)
1 huge pile of recycling from a university ethics class
1 huge pile of recycling from a university maths class
1 book of vouchers (that I’ll never use)
1 unmatched plastic “Tupperware” lid
1 big old pile of papers and packaging
1 pair of jammy bottoms (into rags)
1 empty video box
1 mug storage box

Dumped = 11
3 sheets packing material
1 destroyed laundry basket (not sure how I break so many of these – am starting to think tripping on my steps and landing on top of them is not good for their health – alas I’m a klutz)
1 sachet mini-marshmallows (out-of-date and very unappetising)
1 cinnamon soap that didn’t clean well
1 packet raw quinoa (out-of-date)
1 worn-out fake flower spray
1 gold elasticated-hair-band
1 storage bag (broken)
1 broken storage box

659/31 Total for the Month/Total No. of Days

January Average = Just over 21-and-a-quarter things/day

*659 Down, 1166 to Go!*

Whew I decluttered a LOT this month, especially lots of emotionally draining, drag-me-down STUFF!

I'm finally starting to clear the years of clutter - the piles of theatre programmes, magazines I'll never re-read, university files and my thesis which remind me of a very emotionally bad time in my life. I'm getting rid of the crud, the gunge and this year I will find the space in my HUGE for only two people apartment.

You never know I might be able to see enough of my apartment to clean it soon too!

Hope youse (Norn/Northern Irish for you plural) were able to make a good start on your decluttering this month too!

Gx

Menu Plan Monday #5

2011-01-31T21:37:00.001Z

I'm linking up once more to Laura @ Organising Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Planning ahead what we'll eat is really helping me work our way down the freezer and through the food stuffs in the house, it also takes away having to think about it every morning and evening.

Menu planning is really working for me and The Husband too - who is getting fed and watered much better than he had been!

Next week will include mushy peas, semolina, chicken curry and home-baked ciabatta - what a combination - eh?

This week's menu is:

Monday
DH - pumpkin/squash soup
Me - veg omelette
Us - mince (from the freezer), potatoes and veg

Tuesday
Us - mince, potatoes and veg
Us - mince, potatoes and veg with packet/tinned soup for starter if needed

Wednesday
DH - veg pasta from the freezer
Me - beans and veg
Us - chips on way home from our massage appointments

Thursday
DH - freezer meals x2
Me - beans and veg then soup, stock and couscous

Friday
DH - freezer meal
Me - freezer pumpkin/squash soup
Us - Hubby's choice and make

Saturday
Us - out for lunch using wedding vouchers
Us - take away tea (chinese)

Sunday
Us - lunch at my parents
Us - light tea/supper, if any

Yummy!

Weekly Weigh-In #4 / Do or Do Not Challenge: Week 4

2011-01-25T22:35:00.000Z

Kris @ Eclipsed has set the Do or Do Not Challenge: Week 4

First an update on how I did over the last week - Do or Do Not Challenge: Week 3

Kris challenged us to exercise for thirty minutes five days a week, I wanted to be sure my kifit was really tracking only useful activity levels (yeah because I so wasn't ready for "exercise" people - though that's a-changing) so I upped the METs level on moderate activity so I had to work harder to earn those minutes.

Tuesday 28 mins
Wednesday 42 mins
Thursday 7 mins
Friday 18 mins
Saturday 22 mins
Sunday 22 mins
Monday 46 mins (I hit 9500 steps and over 3000kcals yesterday - woohoo!)

FAIL - I only hit over thirty minutes activity twice, though really getting over twenty minutes for five days of the week is a pretty huge achievement for me. This week I KNOW I'll do better - mostly cause I've promised my accountability partner Ines (see below) that I'll actually do three proper workouts this week and I'm working a tonne of extra hours (many of which will be spent pacing with a fussy newborn, or walking the newborn's one year old brother).

That challenge was hard but the next was harder - writing about the emotional aspect of why I'm fat?

I put that in a separate post because I couldn't believe how much I wrote.

I ate really badly this week - my emotions got the best of me or rather I let them so I'm . . .

RECALCULATING!

This week's challenges are:

1. To Find an Accountability Partner

This is a tricky one - I love my hubs but when I'm accountable to him I feel like he's watching what I eat all the time so I was thinking I'd need to give this some thought but actually on Friday I was emailing Ines one of my "Good Morning Girls" email group about us keeping each accountable about exercising so I've actually got this one sorted without even thinking about it.

2. Eat out challenge - to find a meal that you can enjoy at your favourite restaurant and keep it at 500kcals or less.

We don't eat out too often (it's not really culturally as big of a thing here in N.I.) but we did eat out Saturday night and I blew my calories big style! I did eat less during the day to allow for a bit of a splurge but even just the dinner (and dessert) would have blown my calorie "budget." It was yummy though.

Since we don't eat out often I was struggling to think of a "favourite restaurant" - but then I remembered take away. We would quite often order in Chinese so my challenge will be to find a calorie budget friendly meal to order from our favourite (by that of course I mean we have a discount card as well as it being yummy and not using msg) Chinese. Mmm I think this is going to be tough!

Now the . . . Weekly Weigh-In

Weekly Weigh-In #1 - 14st 2lbs or 198lbs
Weekly Weigh-In #2 - 13st 13lbs or 195lbs
Weekly Weigh-In #3 - 13st 11lbs or 193lbs
Weekly Weigh-In #4 - 13st 11lbs or 193lbs

Yip not up or down - didn't do great on the eating as I said above - mostly I hovered a little over my budget but then two days I splurged and I didn't do the necessary exercise to counteract that - in fact with feeling kind of rubbish I moved very little comparatively.

Next week that number will be down!!!

I'll check-in on my measurements next week or the week after because I don't think there'll be any change for a little bit and quite frankly at half six this morning (before I left for a very long day) I really didn't feel like wrestling with a tape measure.

How was your week? Go check-out Eclipsed to see how everyone else did.

Kris had a fab week with another pound down and her move from obese to overweight! Definitely something to be celebrated!! Well done Kris!!!

P.S. Can I suggest a (microwaved) scrambled egg for part of your brekky - it's high in protein - keeps you fuller for longer than carbs and is only 80 kcals or so - egg white omelettes are even better with egg whites being only around 12 kcals each

Menu Plan Monday #4

2011-01-24T13:33:00.001Z

Once again I'm linking up to Laura @ Organising Junkie.

This week my hubs is on lots of early shifts (as am I - yawn) so we'll eat together quite a bit. Buckwheat tabbouleh did not happen last week so it's on tonight's menu, I've done all the prep so hopefully it won't be too difficult for my hubs.

Monday
DH - packed lunch
Me - baked beans/jelly
Us - Buckwheat Tabbouleh

Tuesday
Us - Leftover Buckwheat Tabbouleh
Us - Hubby's choice and make

Wednesday
DH - Freezer Meal x2
Me - Salmon/Onion/Garlic Ommelette (lunch) Soup with Couscous (tea)

Thursday
DH - Freezer Meal
Me - Salmon and Mayo Sandwiches
Us - Hubby's choice and make

Friday
DH - Freezer Meal
Me - Lemon Chicken Millet with veg
Us - Hubby's choice and make

Saturday
DH - Freezer Meal
Me - Baked beans with leftovers
Us - "Come Dine With Me" style (non-televised) dinner party - yummy

Sunday
Us - Light (leftovers) Lunch
Us - Dinner with the in-laws for the MIL's birthday

Yum!

A Sporting Hero

2011-01-20T13:27:00.000Z

So often the media celebrate medicrity, celebrity or body parts. It was lovely to come across this, albeit short, article on humble sportsmen.

The article mentioned a familiar name to me - Jesse Jackson - I remembered him coming up in history when I studied the lead-up to WWII. Jackson was the black sportsman who proved Hitler's theories of Aryan superiority wrong, while the world watched.

Go here to read more about this man who gained "freedom" at a time when freedom was hard to be found for someone of his ethnicity.

Organising 21-day Challenge - Day 16 (a little late)

2011-01-20T11:47:00.001Z

Today's challenge is to organise the mail but this is unnecessary for us - we sort as we open - into filing/recycling/rubbish - we pay most things direct debit so we never have "bills to pay." Hadn't done yesterday's so here goes:

On Wednesday Toni @ A Bowl Full of Lemons was challenging everyone to clean out and organise the . . .

FRIDGE

Boys-a-dear (Northern Irish for WOW) this was a job in need of doing!

My fridge was pretty gruesome!

I emptied it out, including removing all the shelves, baskets (none too useful as they're hard to get at) and door bits and pieces.

Filling the sink with hot soap water I scrubbed (yes, I needed to) all the bits and left them to air dry, this gave me time to sort through the contents.

Fortunately our climate is mild so we don't have to put everything in the fridge, fortunately because we have an integrated under-the-counter model (read small).

Nothing needed thrown out thankfully - I HATE waste so we don't buy more than we'll use - if we know we won't eat it all, my parents or siblings can usually help us out - they live next door and close by so it's extra handy.

I put like with like, wiped and dried the bottoms of everything (how do they get so gross?) and set them to one side until the fittings were dry (all except the milk which went straight back in).

Once dry I re-assembled the fridge, re-stocked it and called it a job well done!

Didn't need to add any additional storage as - with all the lovely baskets coming into my house - I already had! I added a bright orange basket to house the vegetables (celery, cucumber, onions, carrots, "unopened" garlic) earlier this week.

TIP - I've always kept my "open/in-use" garlic in a small open plastic dish to cut down on the mess it causes.

Done and dusted - thanks again Toni for being such an inspiration to all of us slobs!

Organising 21-day Challenge - Day 14 (and Day 4)

2011-01-19T11:39:00.001Z

Today's challenge from Toni @ A Bowl Full of Lemons is to clean out and organise the fridge (need to do this and hope to get to it over the next few days), yesterday's was to organise all your medicine/vitamin storage (I got all that done on Day 13).

Since I didn't get Monday's challenge finished today I'll continue to organise . . .

. . . UNDER THE BATHROOM SINK

and since it totally linked in (for me) I've also added in Day 4's challenge to organise the

. . . LINEN CLOSET

(that's the hot press to me - an Irish term for the linen closet - and mine happens to be in my bathroom)

My hot press has always been my pride and joy - I am very fastidious about my folding, so my towels and bed linen are always sitting just so (even if the rest of the house is falling down round me, as it quite often is, less so since I got married though).

When we got married, with the influx of towels, I had to move my (becoming ours of course) bed linen, so our hot press became a towels only spot. The bed linen meanwhile moved into the ottoman/linen chest at the end of the bed, and I keep it in sets of pillowcases, sheets & duvet cover all tied up with matching ribbon in a pretty bundle. I heart those bundles! I gave the chest a little look-see and a wee shuffle but it was pretty neat.

After re-housing the bed linen I had gotten sick of our toiletries sitting out in the bathroom so I moved most of them into the hot press (probably not considered the best idea to put all your lotions and potions - minus perfume and makeup - into a boiler heated cupboard, but anyway). As a result, with the exception of the neat stacks of towels, the hot press became a well-organised but very cluttered space and a thorn in my side - until today!

The bathroom as a whole was just looking messy! The toiletries from our holiday (we came home two weeks ago yesterday) and all the new toiletries from Christmas were all sitting about the place and driving me crazy - truly they were my big tackle for the day and the equivalent of an under-sink cupboard as I don't have one.

I also have a small storage space at the end of the bath; I was using this space to hide spare cleaning supplies, boxes of tissues and spare toilet rolls (TP) but thought I should clear it out too. I emptied it and gave the (unfinished) floor a sweep - wowie the dust.

I then moved to the hot press - removing everything (oh the MESS!), sweeping the (unfinished) floor (and choking with the dust), replacing the towels (with a little re-jigging) and putting the spare tp etc in here. Some toiletries went back in and some containerising happened but mostly I kept out the toiletries to be sorted out and had to call it a day (after all by now it was after midnight).

Yesterday I went back to task and did some sorting. I put like with like, some things went into the over-the-door storage hanger in the hot press, some were decanted in together and a few bottles got recycled. Some sorting though was left till today.

Today I went back to task and finished off the sorting through. If I have time I may even start on the fridge before work, but this evening I'll be tackling my tax return - organising will have to wait!

I'll be stopping off on my way to work to get some clear boxes to replace my worn-out pink cardboard storage (all of it broken somewhere or other). IKEA will also be getting a visit soon as their dinky little stacking craft boxes are the perfect size for cotton buds (q-tips) etc. not to mention the rest of the list I have for my next visit there.

Thanks for challenging us Toni - my home and husband are really reaping the benefits!

WFMW #1: Calorie Counted Snack Boxes

2011-01-19T11:20:00.000Z

This is my very first Works-For-Me-Wednesday post though I've been reading them for years.

Go check-out everyone's tips with Kristin @ We Are THAT Family!
This week what works for me is: Calorie Counted Snack Boxes.

I'm trying to lose all that extra blubber and I know my weaknesses - I am a grazer - I like to eat all day everyday.

So how can I do this and still lose weight? Easy!

I did the shopping last week and got some of the yummy dried fruits, nuts and the extra creamy yummy yogurt I love and when I got them home I gathered up all of my little "tupperware" containers and made some yummy snacks:

Mango, Papaya and Passion Fruit Yogurt with pecan nut crumbs, hulled sesame seeds, dried cranberries and dried apricots - yum! I did very rough calculations on weight so although I reckon they're closer to 110 kcals, I'm counting them as 150.

I also made up some little boxes of cashew nuts (ten) and grabbed some little kid snack bags of chocolate animal biscuits (less than 110 kcals).

Having a little of something I love, in a caloric amount my diet can cope with, definitely works for me!

N.B. Creamy yogurt + dried fruit = creamy re-hydrated fruit :)