Slow progress...for the fruit loop!!

Our summer holidays have not turned out quite how we expected (see Accidents will happen) but they have given us, well me, K and H, an opportunity to kickback and do very little!! Well, except the fact that I keep planning...everything, so far I'm up to 2015, holidays, races, anything that could possibly be planned!!

First things first, H is doing very well, movement nearly back to normal, he wanted to go out on his bike yesterday, only thwarted by the fact that he had a flat tyre...I must admit, I did breathe a little sigh of relief, he might be ready but I'm not sure I am.

K, unfortunately, is still fighting a "virus" which is making her thoroughly miserable, although still manage to shop effectively on Monday!!

My 'progress' is, disappointingly, very slow!! Unfortunately, as Mr W consistently points out, patience is not one of my virtues...once I've set my heart on something I'd quite like it to happen, right away, we all have our faults!!

The area in which I'm struggling is running *coughs quietly - I think it's more of a gentle jog! I need to get back to work to stop myself signing up for races...slight change of tactic due to the fact that the more people I speak/tweet/Facebook with the more plans I make. I have now committed to do The Tatton Yule Yomp (December oddly enough) swiftly followed by The Island Race - Angelsey's scenic/undulating) Half Marathon on my 40th Birthday, the actual day... I know, positively certifiable!! I have also purchased, with K, our Race for Life Early bird Voucher for 2014, hopefully to do the new Pretty Muddy Race with AW and MW!! I have pre-registered for Mudderalla (the girlie version of Tough Mudder) and also Tough Mudder, challenges both!! The biggest positive is that I plan on doing all this nuttiness for charity, with exception of R4L, I shall be participating for The Joshua Tree/ @joshuatreekids, hopefully helping them to achieve their ambitions. I am actively as a volunteer for this charity, please take a look at their website...it's amazing! 

This all serves to confirm the midlife crisis theory I think, and in discussion with Mumsontherunuk and on Twitter, I find it a little reassuring that I'm not the only one!!

On the up side, I'm the fittest, strongest, healthiest and most positive I think I've ever been, so it's win - win for the fruit loop!! 

Lx

Accidents will happen!!

Hmmmm! Sadly not quite the summer holidays we had planned this year!!

At 7ish o'clock on Saturday 20th July I received the worst phone call I've ever had. K, now 13, frantically informing me that H had had an accident! My freshly poured Pimms was quickly abandoned...all I knew was that he had a big cut after falling off his bike, there was lots of blood and that my Ex had called an ambulance and that she was obviously very distressed by it all!!

There are many times that I have cursed that my ex and I only live in the next village to each other but that night I was truly grateful, the fact that they were on they're way to the pub we were in made it even better!!

The time it took to get to H's side felt like an eternity, a lot of what happened is still hazy but I could not of imagined the feelings that go through your head whilst waiting for the Paramedics to arrive...hurry the f*** up being top of the list!!

To cut a long story short H is one very lucky boy, after 2.5 hours surgery he was back on the ward, having, amazingly, done no lasting damage (his wound missed all manner of things that would have been life changing)!!

After an eventful week in hospital, severe drug reaction included, we came home, just the car journey wore him out and he still had to face the stairs!! 

The whole experience has been a massive lesson to me and my family! Mr W was an absolute rock, he was everything I needed him to be, strong, sensitive and organised enough to take over the things that were beyond my control-freakish ways whilst confined to a cubicle!! (He even gave the ex a lift home after H was out of surgery...). K very quickly accepted that she would not be going away, and without any drama, changed her countdown on her iPhone to Lanzarote in October! She mother-hens H in my absence, confirming that she does really care about him and has actually been remarkably pleasant through the whole thing! H, being forced to abandon his dog-like approach to life (see previous blog) was a star in hospital and although quite obviously bored and frustrated by everything remains up beat and cheerful (until the end of the day when it all becomes too much for him). I have learnt that I do NOT like being the other side of the hospital bed, that life is incredibly precious, that I need to work out how to move forward now, flashbacks and what-ifs still haunt me, that its true what they say about finding out who your real friends are in times of crisis and that the ordeal has strengthened my love for my children and husband!!

Each day sees H a little stronger and we are hoping he will be right as rain to start high school in September!!

Lx

Mid-life Crisis ahead....

I bet you all thought I'd disappeared off the face of the planet? Not entirely sure where I've been but I am going to try and make a more consistent approach to my blog from now on!!

I have been considering a rebranding due to the changes that have gone on since my last post but first let me explain where I'm coming from.

Last year, probably about October time, I developed a tremor, it wasn't particularly noticeable but at times I felt like my arms and legs were out of control. This, understandably, was quite worrying for me and my family. Thankfully I kept it hidden from K and H and only a few, very discreet colleagues (thank you KH in particular) knew what was happening. I ended up seeing a Neurologist who identified my symptoms as stress related, he suggested I went away, figured out what was causing the stress and remove it or learn to deal with it more effectively!! A huge relief I can tell you.

The problem was that I couldn't I identify anything in particular, we had moved house a month or so before, I had been unsuccessful at interview and the normal everyday rubbish that comes with me and Mr W both having Exes, but nothing overly remarkable or that I felt like I was particularly stressed out about.

Anyway then it was Christmas, New Year, busy times, my birthday (March) and hurtling towards Easter. By this point I was still having frequent tremor episodes and still hadn't really changed my lifestyle. Why? Who knows!!

Change of focus. Over the Easter break Mr W and I decided that we needed to lose some weight. We both, independently of each other, discovered the MyFitnessPal app..what a fabulous find this was!!! And it's FREE!! The app is basically a calorie counter, it has pretty much every food, ever, in it's memory and a facility to add should you find somthing it doesn't recognise, it also allows you to earn more calories through exercise. In two and a half months Mr W has lost over two stone and I have lost 20lbs, and both feeling pretty good about it!!

Now, I know that you know (BLOG POST) that I've lost weight before with a well known diet company so what's different this time? I think the fact that I am rapidly approaching 40 has unleashed something in me!! I am determined to lose the weight and get fit this time, not just slim down!! It started with K asking to join me in this years Race for Life on the condition that I ran it all and has snowballed from there, raising concern for whether I'm having a Mid-Life Crisis...I think not!!

I am now lighter and feel fitter and healthier than I have done in a long time. I have become a little obsessed but devloping good habits and healthy eating can't hurt if you do it properly. I have rediscovered an old friendship (SMS - that's you), I have many plans reaching upto 2015 which I shall fill you in on next time and most importantly in the last two weeks I have not noticed any Tremor!!

Look out for the new blog name (if I figure out how to do it) and I'll reveal what lies ahead

Be Happy and Healthy

L x

A sobering thought

Happy New Year to all my followers! I hope you all had a lovely, peaceful Christmas and are raring to go for the year ahead?

January is officially depressing and I have made mine somewhat worse by joining in with both Dry January and New Year, New Body at the same time...glutton for punishment!!

Dry January is going well, although I am not feeling it as much as I hoped! I have found it increasingly difficult to get to sleep, am having the most bizarre dreams and still feel groggy in the mornings. Scarily I didn't think I drank that much for it to have a massive impact on me either physically or mentally, I only did it to try to boost the New Body thing!! A wake up call for sure.

The New Year,  New Body thing is really the same resolution I make every year, only phrased slightly differently. I would really like NOT to make it next year! I have plenty to aim for this year, two of my best friends turn 40 and both are having parties, we have two holidays booked and one, Lanzarote, will require revealing flesh and I promised myself and my best friend that when I do the Race for Life this year I would do the 10k, instead of the 5k, as I want to do it before I turn 40 (looming) I really need to pull my finger out!!

So, what to do you do when you have plenty of motivating factors but no actual motivation...blog about it!

I have made other resolutions too, some of which depend on other things falling into place and others which are solely down to me. The most important is to spend more time with my family, doing family things. K and H are growing up (far too) quickly and I know that in a blink of an eye we will just become a transport system and (even more of a) cash point and they won't want to be with us as much. I think the answer may help with another resolution too, Skiing! Mr W is a big fan, I, and the children have never done it, mainly due to my dyspraxic tendencies, but I have agreed to give it a go and have some lessons, maybe I will surprise myself and it will be my sport (I think this highly unlikely and comfort myself with the fact that there will be the apres ski to partake of!!)

So by next year I expect to report that I have the body I always wanted, have remained teetotal after being horrified by the side effects of one months abstinence and am a ski fiend! Watch this Space

L x

Parents Evening

I am about to head off to H's parents evening appointment and the same sense of dread spreads over me that I used to get as a child, why is that?

My school days were fairly average, a B/C girl, a plodder, my Mum kindly called me, nothing remarkable, except the episode mentioned in a previous blog (Avoidance Tactics). I was in the top sets but usually at the bottom wishing I was top of the second set!! Sixth form was a similar experience, I think the most productive thing I achieved whilst there was a poem I wrote in my British History mock exam, on a tissue, that was later published, in a proper book (I still have it and went on to get another published too)

I think the dread comes of wanting more for my children, to achieve more  than I did, to have better prospects in this dog-eat-dog world, to shine amongst their peers and to be well liked all at the same time. Too much to ask? Probably but I think if most of us were honest that's the truth!

Don't get me wrong I am incredibly happy with my lot, as I have said before, I have an amazing family and circle of friends, I do the job I love and live a good life  so what do I want for my children? Do I want to be told they are exceeding all targets, excelling in every subject or that they are happy, helpful and work hard? Definitely the latter!

K's current choice of job when she leaves school is to be a personal shopper, although I am not entirely convinced she has grasped the concept wholly, and to marry someone rich...hang on to that thought honey they're are not many of them about, not ones you would like to marry anyway! So glad to see she has taken on board the values I have worked hard to instil in her!!!

H on the other hand harbours an ambition to be a paramedic, a job well suited to his non-stop personality!! (See 'Live life as a dog) A much more solid choice of profession and I think he would be brilliant at it!! Time to face the teachers...

L x

P.S

Wow!! H's teachers want a class full of hims!! I must admit I felt immense pride in my son tonight, hearing how he is helpful, attentive, tries hard, works steadily, how he has settled in beautifully at his new school and is the sort of boy you want your daughter to marry. Mr W and I must be doing something right then :D

Happy with Lumpy??

No, I am not talking about custard! When I joined weight watchers at the beginning of the summer holidays, in order to become stick-like for a Christmas do, this is how my friend described us! SN you know it was you and I didn't take offence.

I did really well initially, 6lbs in the first week. Then, having very nearly reached my target, I went back to work... and so began the downward spiral!! I am now very sad to report I am back at my pre-diet weight, the only pounds I have lost are the £££ I paid for the ritual weigh-in every Monday, and that the 'do' it was all in aid of is now less than two weeks away.Where did I go wrong? I am not entirely sure, although I think my love of food does not help my cause.

Don't get me wrong, I have been bigger, nearly two stone heavier when I got married (so he must really love me) and when I returned from the year-that-never-was at University I was even heavier than that, but I would love to be thinner, just a bit!!

My children, in the days when you couldn't shower alone, once gave me a brutal joint analysis on my body. Apparently my tummy wobbled when I moved (H), as did my bottom (K) and my arms when I clap * mental note to self to never applaud in public, and I was, at that time over a stone lighter than I am now!!

Now, I am very aware that I have a pre-teen girl in the house and I should be very careful about how I lose weight. Endless questions about the 'point' value of foods at meal times demonstrated that my dietary needs were influencing my whole family and that, I considered, was not healthy! We try teach our children about the important aspects of life and sometimes forget that,despite themselves, they do see us as role models and do not I want to encourage an obsessional attitude towards food and eating in them.

My friend,TL, has just started a diet and has lost a stone already, you can really tell as well. However, I do not think another slimming club is the answer for me though.

So, what is the answer? I have no idea!! I have weighed myself this morning and recorded it, as Mr W declared that the only person who can do it is me, (maybe he was not so happy with the chunky version), which is a start. I think I need to practise some self discipline and get more exercise or  just be happy with lumpy!!

All ideas gratefully received.

L x

Back on the Blog!!

A thousand apologies for my lack of blogging, it is nearly two months since the last one!! I think the move, interview and work finally caught up with me (I didn't get the job but am delighted for my two friends at work who did)

I was hoping to do this via the 'proper' Internet but as a certain telephone company let us down again on Tuesday I am still operating via the world of dongle!

We have, post move, experienced an awful lot of bad customer service, phone, gas, electric and TV to name the worst offenders,  and it makes it blatantly obvious, why this country is in such a mess!! Lack of communication, with us, previous service providers, inter-company has left us increasingly frustrated!! If I did my job how some of these people do theirs I would have serious complaints, disciplinary procedures taking place and quite possibly an even sicker child on my hands.

To sum up the worst of it to communicate our phone number, to the phone company, Mr W had to say to the operator  "You count to ten and I'll tell you when to stop" amusing to K, increasing blood pressure for Mr W, unbelievable!

Anyway, we have all settled beautifully, not quite sure how we ever managed in a smaller house! H is doing amazingly at his new school, K continues to blossom into a lovely young woman (when the attitude is shelved), Mr W loves the fact he can get on the PS3 and we can all go in the other room to watch TV and the dogs have developed a fascination with the stones around the edge of the house which hovers somewhere between amusing and annoying!!!

I am aiming to be back blogging updates of life as it falls frantically towards Christmas and the New Year and I hope you will join me

L x