Wednesday 11 January 2012

Things happen for a reason?

I've spent whole day studying today and I still feel no closer to completion. I have 3 assignments due in on Friday and I have only 1.5 completed. EEK! It didn't help that my internet went down earlier, Damn you Virgin Media!
Despite being stopped mid flow into my work, I did make good use of my time away from the books. I decided to stop using the treadmill as a clothes rail get my treadmill out and start getting my butt into gear for a bit of exercise. I have been thinking about running/walking for the past few weeks so it was about time I put it into practice. I bought my treadmill, brand new, about two years ago and I think it's only been used about 3 times. I also have an exercise bike, stepper, mini trampoline and exercise ball... can you see where I'm going with this...
Well I’m only taking it slow at the moment as I’m so unfit. I mean really slowly, 10 minutes and I was done. It took me 9 minutes to walk, jog and run half a mile! I then walked for 2 minutes before I finished, to warm down a little but  once I got off, my legs went to jelly, I felt a little nauseous and I could feel my pulse beating in my head… not good... but a pint of water later and I was hunky dory. So I think I’ll start with 10 minutes a couple of times a week and see where I go from there.
Maybe I should thank Virgin Media after all?

Sunday 8 January 2012

Week 1 complete

Well I've done a whole week without cigarettes and I feel quite pleased about that. It was touch and go at one point yesterday but I stuck it out and vowed I was never going to smoke again. Ever!

Remember when I mentioned the other day about not gaining weight quickly, well forget it, my eating hasn't stopped  and I've gained 2 lbs in one week! I really need to knock that on the head. I'm not helping myself by making a batch of puff pastry this afternoon. I decided to have the day off from studying and ended up cooking instead. It's a vicious circle.

The puff pastry wasn't my best. I'm not sure if it's because I rolled it out too thin or because I used cheap butter but it didn't puff up even half as much as it usually does. I usually buy better quality butter but the pennies are disappearing this month.

Apple Puffs

They tasted so good, even though they look a little flat. The trouble is, I have loads of pastry left so I think I will have to make some more for the kiddies tomorrow, they do need fattening up after all.

Wednesday 4 January 2012

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Day 4

Well, I'm on day four of being smoke free and to be honest, it's not been that difficult.  On the craving front, it never is. I'm not sure if its because I'm a stubborn mule or because I've been busy and not been thinking about it but there has only been 3 or 4 times where I've thought 'ohh, I could just have a ciggy' and then I remember I'm a none smoker (oh yeah, you hear that? I'm a none smoker!) The one thing that is always affected when I give up smoking is my sleep. My insomnia is terrible. It takes a good while to fall asleep and then I wake up about 10ish times in the night and dream very vivid dreams. I'm on a reading week for this week and the next and will be studying at home, so while I still have to get up early, my sleep, or lack of it, isn't getting to me that much. Hopefully it will have all settled down by the time I'm back at Uni.

Overall though, I am feeling great. My appetite has come back with a vengeance though so I'm trying to do as I said and pick healthier options. That's a little difficult when we still have Christmas chocolates around but I've only nibbled on one or two... honest! The best thing to come from this is waking up. I have been jumping out of bed every morning, instead of hitting the snooze button as I don't feel sluggish. I look forward to my  day ahead instead of thinking when is it bedtime. Oh yeah, being smoke free is good!

Sunday 1 January 2012

New Year, Better Me

So I thought I would do what half the world will be doing today and planning how to make myself a better person in this New Year.  Here’s hoping I can stick to it  These are just a couple of things I WILL improve on…

1.       Eat healthier.
Now here I should say I want to lose weight (this is what I really mean) but I think that if I just ate healthier, that would kill two birds with one stone.  I don’t eat large portions, I don’t like the feeling of being over full but I just seem to put weight on very slowly, over a long period of time. If I diet, I can lose about 10lb in so many weeks but I hate dieting, it just makes me crave rubbish. I don’t gain weight quickly once I have stopped dieting so I guess if I eat healthier and move more, I should find my balance, right?
2.       Be more organised
This is a biggy for me. I’m an Aquarius and I live up to my star sign by being a huge procrastinator. I drive myself insane by leaving things till the last minute, instead of just getting on with whatever task needs doing. I have been getting a little bit better with this since starting Uni but nowhere near enough to be a fully functional “normal” person.   I plan to be the queen of organisation by the end of 2012… well, OK, maybe not the queen but princess?

3.       Be happy with my lot
I find it very difficult to just be happy. Overall I am happy, I just have a tendency to think of all the bad things in life, what has gone wrong and what might go wrong. It isn’t something I can change so why worry about it? I will be the big 30 in February and I am completely dreading this fact. So much so, that I cried for two days when I turned 29. I know I am going to cry again on this Birthday, it really is inevitable, but so much has changed in the last 12 months that I can begin to actually appreciate what I have in life. I have gone through so much in my 29 years of life and I can’t deny that it has made me a stronger person. I won’t bore you with details but I think, I’m bloody fantastic to have got through it all, return to education and then accomplish what I thought would always be a distant dream.  (Ha! this is becoming rather therapeutic)

4.       Give up the smoking.
I hate admitting to being a smoker. It’s a disgusting habit. You smell, other people have to smell stale cigarettes on your clothes and breath. It discolours your teeth, it costs a fortune, I freeze by butt off outside just to smoke and it gives you cancer! So why the hell do I do it? Well, I had my last cigarette at 3:30am this morning. (We stayed up with the children till silly o’clock, playing board games and Wii Dance)  I’m hoping this is the last time I ever have to give up. I’m usually OK up until week 4 and then I stupidly tell myself that I can start smoking as I can obviously give up easily again. NO NO NO NO NO NO More!



Anyhow, there are few more resolutions that I would love to be able to do, craft wise, but they are beyond my reach until we move house. At the moment, we are so cramped with an extra 2 people in the home.  Also, I am always so busy with Uni or on placement that I can never find the time to craft. I spend what extra time I have being Mum and a family. It is because of this that all my craft things are stored away and that is where they must stay until we have a bigger place. Hopefully when we move and I become more organised *wink* all these things may become a reality. Let’s see what 2012 holds.