I stayed the same

I had my weigh in yesterday and sadly stayed the same. Perhaps not really sadly considering what I ate last week with it being Christmas, but still sad in that I did not reach my target for new year.

I enjoyed Christmas and did not worry too much about the diet. We went to the cinema Christmas Eve and watched st Trinian's - absolute rubbish film, but afterwards we had an Indian takeaway. When everyone else was saying 'I am so full I can't eat any more' - I was shoveling it all down and cleared all my plate!

Then Christmas day I had a full Christmas dinner and Christmas pudding. I then worked 4 nights and we were so busy that I did not have any breaks at all and felt so tired when I sat down to write my notes that I gave in and had some Roses chocolates that were lying around.

When I came back from weigh in last night I felt a little deflated that this was the first week that I had not lost and ate 2 chocolate bars - a crunchie and a fudge bar - so well and truly back on the chocolate now! We have just had a Chinese takeaway for tea as it is New Years Eve and again I scoffed loads - so I don't even think I will get to my 5 stone target next week at this rate.

I have not even made it to the gym for ages, so I am feel as if I am wavering a little bit at the minute. I don't want to stop as I really want to get down to 10 stone - just need a bit of a kick up the backside.

I think things might be better next week when the house is sorted a bit and life is not so hectic. Eleanor and Jess go back to Uni on Thursday. My mum moves out into her new flat next Monday and Liam goes back to school then - so I am hoping to get back on track then.

I am also really keen to start scrapping again - once I can unpack all my stuff in my craft room. I have signed up for a challenge to do one layout a week - so I really want to keep up with that one. My A-Z art journal is still only a thought in my head - still can't come up with what to do it on. As I have already done BOM - this needs to be a bit different - thought about books or recipes- but still not sure. Fell a bit overwhelmed with all the layouts I know I have to do such as Liam's 'year in the life' and Jessica's uni album.

wow - great loss this week

I can't really believe it but I lost 3 1/2lb last night at weigh in!

Crikey that's brill considering its the week before Christmas and I have not been to the gym, have eaten a whole bag of liquorice allsorts and got weighed a day early - I am not complaining as its great but we got weighed at Mandy's house on her carpet instead of the wooden floor - so perhaps the scales were not quite right . We get weighed there next week as well so I hope there will not be a nasty shock when we get back to Sundorne sports village and proper weigh ins. I am only 1 1/2 lb away from my 5 stone target - I would really love to lose that by next week but of course it is Christmas and I don't want to be mean on Christmas day but if I can be good the rest of the week may be I can start 2008 on the last leg towards my target.

This is how we spent Christmas Eve - a scrumptious Indian takeaway and Quality street chocs - good job I lost a lot tonight to give me a buffer zone after all this pigging out.

This is what we watched - the Snowman and Father Christmas - a christmas essential

Jess looking very festive with her misiltoe wings.

Everyone just chillin out - note Liam taking up the whole sofa!

no laptop again!

Yes, my laptop has broken again! It is the same as last time with lines all over the screen -- so it has gone back to be repaired! I hope it is fixed properly this time because it is so frustrating being without it. I will not be able to blog properly until it is back as all the children are home from uni and as we broke Jessica's - this big one is the only Internet computer, so everyone is queuing up to use it.

Oh I can't wait for Christmas to be over - I have weakened and eaten a whole bag of liquorice allsorts!!! I have not been a pig like this in ages - 6 months in fact and I am disgusted with myself. It was only because they were in the house and I just fancied one or 2 but of course I could not stop at just a few - ate the lot - though did manage to drag it out over a few days - so goodness knows what the scales will show at weigh in tonight! We have a tin of chocolates open and there will be more to come - so I have got to be really strong and resist.

Even more temptation in the way as Eleanor won a hamper from Green & Blacks organic chocolate which she opened last night - full of lovely goodies.

Roll on the new year when they house will be a sweet & chocolate free zone again. I have been thinking about my new years resolutions already so have a few ideas ready
1) continue with the Slimming World diet to reach my target of a 7 stone loss to get me to 9 stone 13.5oz.
2) Make exercise feature in my life more prominently - aim for at least 3 gym sessions a week and walk or cycle instead of taking the car.
3) Teeth - really make an effort to get on top of this. Clean & FLOSS twice a day without fail and use mouth wash in between.
4) scrapbook - continue this lovely hobby - for 2008 have a few things planned like art journal, Liam's year of 2007, some more pages for Liam's album and lots more pages for Jessica uni album ( she has come home with some great photos from this term)
5) read more - I used to be a prolific reader but lately I just look at slimming or scrapbook magazines - so I must get back into proper reading. I have a book list about 70 books long and as there are only 52 weeks a year - that should be at least one book a week.
6) take my vitamins regularly. I take multi vits, omega 3 and probiootics.

I have signed up to do a creative art Journal in 2008

I found this challenge on UKS - which led me to a Creative World blogg. It is to do a creative art journal - in A-Z form of different things. I am going to do everyday life. 

Well I have already done an A-Z scrapbook of me so this time fancy trying a different format as I really admire other peoples art journals, but am un-adventerous myself - so this might just get me going. Ali Edwards Christmas journal is looking gorgeous at the moment. see here.

Apparently there will be a prompt every 2 weeks starting on the 5th January. I need to get hold of a journal - if I had known before could have got a lovely plain one from Paperchase in Norwich last week. We do have to go to Oxford sometime over christmas so can get one from paperchase there and will have a bit of time to decorate it before we start.

I also have to make a start on Liam's a year in the life album. Due to his not letting me take any photos of him - it might be a bit bare - but I am still goimng to do it. I just need to be able to get back to my craft room.

I have lost again!

yes I have kept up my record of loosing each week.
I lost 1 1/2lb last night - which I was very pleased about. 
I am now 12 stone 4.5 lb.
I don't think I will get to my target of 12 stone  by new year but at 
least I am close.

I was pleasesd and surpirsed by my loss as I had been a bit worried as I had not been to the gym much last week and went out to a family get together on Sunday - where the only healthy thing to eat was tomatoes - so I dug in with everyone else to onion bajis, samosas, little sasagues etc! I did refuse a mince pie though. 

It was a lovely get together and nice to see everyone again 
though the numbers were depleted due to this dreadful cough that seems 
to be plaguing everyone.

It was our last SW class last night and we had a lovely time - Mandy made it really special and we
all bought in food, so it was a real party atmosphere. 

There was a big raffle with lots of prizes - I won some smellies. 
The sticky toffe scan bran cake I made went down well and 
lots of people wanted the recipe. 

The roasted chick peas though did not turn out well 
as I had heard they burn very quickly so
 in an attempt to avoid that the oven must have been too low 
because after 1 1/4 hour they were still soft. 
They tasted nice - covered with salt, pepper & paprika -
 so will try them again but cooked at a higher temperature - 
to try and get them crispy and that will give me something to
nibble on when everyone else is tucking into peanuts and crisps over christmas.

This is why I have not scrapped lately!

Yes everything is still all packed away in bags and boxes! Mind you not usually as tidy as this. Because I have been trying to do a little bit of scrapbooking I have been rummaging through the stuff and flinging it about the room - so that you could not even set foot through the door - but as Jess comes home tomorrow - thought I had better make it slightly presentable for her.



Ross is still in Jessica's room as my mother is still living with us as the purchase of her flat has been delayed because of problems with probate with the people who are selling the flat. So she is very frustrated with it all and we are bursting at the seams.



When Eleanor comes home next Friday the put up bed will have to go up in this tiny room as well for her. Micheal & Sian are coming to sleep next Saturday so I am not really sure where we will put them!

todays baking feast

Just to show you more of my daily temptations!
 
Lovely fruit cake - I remember it used to taste delicious! The recipe is quite large so makes a large tin loaf - well actually a Jamie Oliver Silicone loaf tin and a smaller round 8" cake.

Plus flapjacks - without apricots this time at my sons request. I did sneakily have a teaspoon of syrup when baking these - but only one as I just adore syrup!

Crikey - I got away with it!!

Just got back from Slimming World weigh in and I lost 1/2lb - what a miracle as I was sure I would have put on with all the food I ate last week - particularly at the weekend - so at least I have continued my run of loosing weight each week. Wonder if I can keep this up over Christmas as well?

next week is our last meeting before Christmas so we are all going to bring in some SW snacks.
Not sure what to take. I might try some parsnip or sweet potato
crisps- but last time I made them did did not turn out very well -
so may try the scan bran sticky toffee cake as a stand by just in
case they don't work again. I had better practice making a few
snack things this week - which will give me something to eat at Christmas
when everyone else is tucking into sweets, crisps and nuts.



I am really missing all the summer fruits now that they are so expensive, so I was delighted to find a tub of raspberries for £1.99 instead of £2.99 at Sainsburys this week. Did not fancy them on their own so added them to a Raspberry sugar free jelly and it was so delicious. It took me all my will power not to eat the 2 bowls at one setting - I was good and saved the other bowl for tomorrow. Hopefully they will be the same price next week so I can get some more.

Lovely weekend in Norwich - but boy did I eat well.

We had a lovely weekend visiting Jessica at Norwich despite it raining all the time, Steven was quite poorly with his asthma and constant coughing, breakfast was not up to its usual standard at the Premier Travel Inn and we broke Jessica's laptop - she has to do her final presentation on Thursday so a real disaster for her!

We called at Elveden Forrest on the way down because I wanted to see the famous Eleveden elves but only briefly saw 2 girls dressed as elves under their coats so a bit disappointed with that. However there was a real buzz as there with loads of people getting their Christmas trees etc. I would have liked to stay longer but Jess was texting us asking where we were and how long would we be etc.



Steven all muffled up against the cold to try and stop him coughing - it did not work I hasten to add! We did not actually get our tree from here in the end but got a real Norfolk tree from a farm just a few miles outside Norwich - its lovely, though we did get covered in mud getting it because of all the rain.

Steven & Jess went to watch Norwich play Sheffield at the football ground - Liam played on Jessica's laptop - until he broke it and I checked in at the premier travel inn, then settled down
to read my new copy of the Scrapbook Magazine in the warm & dry.

We all met up after the match in the Riverside area
and had a lovely meal at Old Orleans. I did not want to be a diet bore again so joined in but with sensible choices.
I had chicken breast , jacket potato and green beans, though
when I had finished eating the beans they left behind a load of fat/oil on the plate -
so I have no idea how they cooked them or what damage it did to my diet.

Liam actually allowed me to take his photo in the restaurant - would not smile though - but at least its a start!


Jessica is so beautiful. I think I look a bit haggard! Jess does not want me to loose any more weight as I don't look like her mum anymore! She was very surprised when she saw me because she has not seen me for 3 months and after the initial shock was over, said that I was not to loose any more weight. Its a bit of a dilemma because I am still overweight at 12 stone 7lb but perhaps after seeing this photo - another 2 1/2 stone might be too much. How can I loose it from my hips and not anymore from my face?



I had a big breakfast at the premier inn the next morning and for some strange reason I put butter on my toast - why??? I have not used any butter or spread for 6 months - so what a silly thing to do. We then ate out for lunch - the kids were starving so we ate in the food court in the lovely Chapelfield shopping centre - I went for what I thought might be the safest option - a jacket potato but did not fancy baked beans on it so had chicken tikka - thinking it might be dry chicken, but no, it was chicken in loads of sauce!! It was very delicious though and I was hungry and had a long drive home so tucked in and ate it all! So all in all a bad week food wise - but at least I lived a normal life and have not succumbed to any chocolate - must get back on track next week.

Jessica at the Notcutts garden centre at Norwich. They have the most fantastic Christmas display. We just bought one lowly Santa figure to hang on the tree. I wanted some brilliant white twinkling tree lights but they were £40.00 and Steven was too ill to be sweet talked into getting them.

look what I have just had to buy!

I cannot believe it - size 14 trousers! Goodness knows how long it is since I wore that size.

It was a case of desperation though - as I hate buying clothes, I only have one pair of trousers that fit - size 16 - but they got covered in mud yesterday buying the Christmas tree from a farm in Norwich so are in the wash. I make do with 2 pairs of size 18 as spares, but when I put them on this morning, they just kept falling down and it was silly to keep wearing them so in desperation went to buy some more size 16's.



However Sainsburys only had one or 2 pairs of 16's so I picked
up the 14's and they fitted!!
Well they were a bit snug but I was able to do them up and hopefully will fit perfectly soon - so wow I am in size 14's and that's something to shout about!!

Miss Breslin's retirement do

I had the most wonderful evening celebrating Miss Breslin's retirement at the New Meadow football ground. There was about 150 people there and it was lovely to see so many old faces. I had planned to take photographs of everyone there and
then make her a lovely memory book but the evening was so hectic that
I only got half the people there so cannot do a book now - which is a shame
.



The food was just wonderful and I did not want to be a party pooper by being a diet bore so I had to eat all 3 courses! I had soup and croutons to start, then roast turkey with all the trimmings. It tasted so much nicer than my Christmas dinners and then Christmas pudding and rum sauce for pudding - I did turn down the mince pies though!



The scan girls did a fantastic turn by dressing up and wrote a song which everyone joined in with the chorus. Mr Reed & Mr Redford spoke beautifully about her and she in turn did a talk in her fantastic entertaining way and the evening whizzed by far too fast.

Thelma & Finchey


Me & my twin Linda

I am a very good girl..

I got my 4 1/2 stone award on Monday night at Slimming World. This was unexpected as my weight loss had slowed down recently but I lost 2lb - so I was very pleased with myself.

Could not stay for Body Image as I had to go to Miss Breslins retirement do where I ate all 3 courses and they were really gorgeous and we are going away for the weekend to Norwich and its really hard to keep on track when I am away - so I am having to be really good this week. Have managed the gym 3 times already and have increased my weights which are making my arms and legs ache so hopefully are working.

One of the girls on UKS Slimming World forum said that she could not buy mince pies this year in case she ate any. Well take pity on me! My family expect home baked goods all the time so I have to bake very few days and be very good and just look and smell the results and can't even lick the spoon! here are today's offerings.



Scrummy coffee cake!



Luscious mince pies!



Jammy coconut buns



I have been so busy with things this week that I have not been able to do my week in the life - of me like I had planned. Still have all my stuff so will do it next year when life is not quite so manic.

had my gym review yesterday

Had my review yesterday with Richard to see what changes have happened in the 6 weeks ince I have been at the gym and in fact - NOT A LOT!

As you can see all the levels seem exactly the same as before - except a slight change in my diastolic BP. The level of body fat is now 34.5% (was 37%) and remains in the high category - not even in the above normal category! So when people tell me I don't need to loose any more weight - despite me telling them that I do - I will have to show them this page. I should be aiming to get to 23 - 28% body fat. I am ot sure that the gym attendance can account for this change as I have been loosing weight since I started so that is what accounts for the drop.

My peek flow was exactly the same -- he told me that i have not been getting breathless enough - ie not working hard enough - but I have its just that I know how to control my breathing - its what I tell women to do all day long!

So even though this review does not show much bodily changes ( I must have been very healthy to start with!) I know that I am increasing weights at the gym - lifting weights I could not have dreamed about when I started and can see some muscles appearing on my arms (along with the bat wings).

Richard went through some different gym equipment specifically to target my arms - and upped the weights on my leg weights so I will continue and see what if any difference there is at my next review at the end of January.

lost again - but I was lucky

yes, I lost another 1lb on Monday night making my loss - 4 stone 5lb now. The pressure is really on now as I have lost every week since I started and I am worried now that one week I will not have lost and will be very disappointed.
My loss is really slowing down - perhaps I am relaxing too much - but I will not make my 1 stone target by Christmas but it would be good to get to half stone. I need another 2.5lb for that - I used to do that easily in a week but not at the moment.

I nearly jeopardised this weeks weigh in as I had an attack of the munchies Monday afternoon and scoffed 3 hi-fi bars!! not good at all. I have been so good until now that I hope this is not the start of the slippery slope downwards!

I had been to the gym and worked very hard in the morning and came home and had an good healthy lunch - but then found that BBC had changed the time of Neighbours so I decided to clear out my work bag whilst waiting for it to start. Digging deep I found a pack of hi-fi bars I had put in for snacks at work if I could not get a break. I felt quite peckish so thought i would just have one - but it was so nice that I had another and then another - thank goodness there is only 3 in a pack or I dread to think how many I would have eaten. So it is the fault of the BBC really for changing their programme schedules!!!

Have not got much to show lately, but I have been constructive on the computer making up some photobooks on Photobox. I have finished the one of our summer holidays in Bournemouth this year and am working on our 2 Crete holidays books. The first book is quite expensive at £30 so I am just waiting now for some special offers for Christmas to be available - hope it will not be 2 for 1 as I only want one of each - I need money off them!

Some more scrapbook layouts

I have been busy yesterday doing some more scrapbooking! Yesterday I did this one about Jessica and her friends dressing up as fairies' for her 19th birthday.

I have photographed it twice as I have found the star from the top of her wand and am not sure whether to add it to the layout or not. So it is not stuck down while I think about it as it is quite bulky.

This second layout I finished this morning and like the last few layouts I have done - I have used Scrapagogo November kit and not even for the layouts that I had in mind to use for it! This one shows Liam in the NME signing tent at V festival (Weston Park) this year meeting Nicky Wire from the Manic Street Preachers. He managed to get a CD and some pictures signed by him - good job as they queued for an hour to get them.

This layout is a scraplift from ... In Creating Keepsakes October 2007 edition page.

A week in the life of...me!

More inspiration coming from Ali Edwards new book - I have decided to do an album about me again (already done an A-Z and have a few pages in BOM) but think it would be interesting to catalogue a week in my life.

I have chosen to do it the first week in December when I have got a few things on - so that it might actually be interesting. We are going down to see Jessica in Norwich and will pick our Christmas tree - 
fresh from the fields of Norwich. 
I have got a retirement do at the new football ground so can include lots of my colleages.
I will include slimming, the gym, grocery shopping, daily food and boring aspects of normal life - car journeys, baking, laundry etc. I have made a list of things to include just need to buy 7 folders to keep things in like receipts , emails, newspaper cutting etc. I have also bought a new 1GB card for my camera so I can take tons of photos so will hopefully have plenty to choose from.

I know this sounds a bit selfish doing me again and perhaps a bit dull as my life is not that exciting - but I really liked the comment Ali made -'imagine you could see in the week of a relative of yours 100 years ago.' now that would be interesting and so different to our life now, 
so perhaps someone may find it interesting in 100 years time!

I think preparation will be the key here - so I must make sure that I know exactly what to record. 
Not sure quite how to lay it out as the album that Ali used is a ring binder with pocket pages - so will have to give that some consideration.

photos of me & Shirley - Miss Slinky evening.

I had a lovely letter in the post this morning from Mandy - SW consultant, congratulating me on doing so well on Monday night and saying that I actually do look like a Miss Slinky now. With the letter she had sent me some photos of me & Shirley which was very kind of her as I had been stupid enough to forget my camera - me a scrapbooker!


I love this photo of Shirley because 1) she looks fab, but 2) because I am at the side laughing at Shirley because she has to have her photograph taken - completely forgetting that it would be my turn soon!


Shirley and I started at Slimming World on the same evening and she has done very well and has lost 2 1/2 stones. She only has another half stone to get to her target weight - so hopefully she will get there soon.

Halloween layouts

My order of Halloween papers from Papermaze arrived on Wednesday and I have been itching to use them ever since. So instead of going to the gym today I worked on these 2 layouts - I think that means I am a more dedicated scrapper than gym person!





These 2 layouts feature Jess & her friends all dressed up for Halloween last year.
The papers are by Making memories and are lush - the spider web paper is flocked. I did have the matching card embellishments as well but could not find anywhere to use them. I love the spooky buttons used in the corners, but cut my finger slicing of the back off the buttons, 
so that this scary layout nearly had real blood on it!

My laptop has returned home today!

At long last my laptop was returned by courier today - So hopefully I can blogg a bit more frequently now. 
It had been gone for over4 weeks now and I was quite lost without it.

I had another parcel in the post from Papermaze with some scrapping goodies inside. Vanessa answered my plea on UKS for MM spider web papers so I duely placed an order on Sunday. The papers are flocked and are lovely and I can't wait till friday when I can make a start on Jess halloween layout.

Having a red day today - find my weight loss is much better on reds and after the titchy half pound loss this week - need to kick start it off again so had 2 - yes 2 gammon steaks with pineapple slice, carrots, mushrooms and peas - the same as everyone else except I just did not have the chips like them. Had tinned prunes and natural yougurt for pudding. For my evening treat had a lovely drink of pommegrannet juice, which I count  as 4 syns.

guess who is Miss Slinky?

Yes its me - crikey. I don't really feel slinky yet - but as I have lost the most at slimming club I was voted Miss Slinky last night!

The prize was a sash (wearing!), certificate and a bottle of Champagne - but as Mandy knows that I do not drink - she got me a bunch of flowers instead - which was very kind of her. Shirley & Sue were the other nominee's but Sue was poorly and could not come so Shirley was runner up. This was lovely because we both started off on the same night so have become good friend sitting by each other each week and giving each other encouragement. She bought her camera - me being the scrapbooker did not!!! and they took a photo of us both so she said she will bring me a copy next week.

I did loose tonight - but only half a pound. I knew it was not going to be much this week - in fact I was worried that I would have put on. I have not cheated but only managed to get to the gym twice last week and had changed my breakfast. I read a lovely book - the diet doctors - along the lines of you are what you eat and it was all about healthy eating. It said processed breakfast cereals are no good for you - much better to eat healthy muesli - sugar free. Well Jordan's healthy muesli was half price in Salisbury's this week so I have been eating it - but even though it is healthier than my all bran - I think it must be much more calorie laden. - So back to my All bran and linseed's again and see if we see a better result on the scales next week. The muesli was actually very nice so I wonder if i can keep it for a Sunday breakfast treat!

Mandy wanted some old fat photos of us and I found this one which I have not put on here before - gross - but even I can see a difference now.

I've been scrapping again!

I have just managed to do 2 layouts - so feeling a bit happier now. This one I reallylove - but is a bit of a cheat becasue I just laid 3 photos onto this lovely paper from DCWV (which came in this months Scrapagogo kit - wow actually used some of the kit in the month it arrived - a first I think!!) and that was it. I gutted some paper from behind the photos for the journalling and voila! It shows Jessica and her friends at the inter-university gala at Sheffield last year and the spooky thing was that I rang her mobile to ask the names of the girls in the photos and she answered and said 'can't talk as I am up in sheffield and the boys are just about to race'. - well I had no idea she was going to Sheffield so how spooky that I did a layout about last years event as this years was going on! She promised to take lots of photos so I can do another layout of this year's events.

This second one I am not so sure about. I have wanted to use these photos for a while - even though the quality of them is very poor, but is shows Jess and Dad having a lovely playtime together even though she was 18 - but it was a moment I wanted to record. It did not take me long and in this case I think that shows. The title is not very clear and all in all it does not shout at me - but at least it is done.

I spent the other aternoon printing out photos I want to use, so I have 3 more in the pipeline. One was Jesicas last year's halloween at Uni and I can't find the spiders web papers I want to use for it- I have put a request on the sponsers section of UKS so keeping my fingers crossed.

still no laptop!

My laptop is still away a the menders - they tell me that they are waiting for a part - but they have had it for 4 weeks now so I am going to take them to task today as I am so frustrated without it - hence not many blogg entries.

Managed to loose 3.5lbthis week - which I was extremely pleased about- better than the 1lbs of recently. However I am not sure how next week will go as I have only been to the gym once this week and have eaten out twice because it was my birthday - so perhaps my joy might be short lived.

Mandy - my SW consultant phoned me last night to say that I have been nominated for miss slinky at SW and would I dress up next week for it - well I had to say that I don't actually possess any smart clothes - but will put a bit of make up on instead! I am not slinky at all yet and think I was nominated as we have lots of new people and they have only lost a few pounds etc. Michelle who recently left was our real miss Slinky as she had lost 4stone 9lb and looked fab and the other girl to loose lots of weight is away on holiday at the moment. Anyway I have only been nominated and some other girls may win - hopefully as I really do not like the limelight.


When I get back from the gym really want to have a go at 2 layouts - one with my new scrapagogo kit which came this week.

I am getting quite good at the gym now

Think I am getting the hang of the gym now. I am trying to go 3-4 times a week (has to be midweek as I could not afford the weekend membership! I have found 2 classes that I like - water areobics - nice & gentle and I can keep up with all the grannies but feel as if I have worked some muscles. Pilates class on a wednesday is also good - not too energetic again and at a pace I can keep up with. I thought some of the exercises were easy until the instructor came and moved my leg into the correct position - wow then I could feel it.

Having enjoyed the pilates calss has inspired me to use the pilates machine at home. It is still outside so I can only use it if it is daytime and not raining. I am still working my way through the warm up exercises. It did come with a video of somew workouts but we don't have a video player now so will just have to keep having a go and watching it when it comes on QVC.

I have ordered a pilates DVD from Amazon - Darcy Bussell - this is one for the floor not the machine but at least I can have a go at in in the warm & dry!

4 stones lost now!

Yes I did it - but only just. I lost 1 1/2 lb last night which was enough to take me to my 4 stone award. I am very pleased with myself.

It is 7 weeks till Christmas and I would really like to loose another stone by then but as I am only loosing 1 a week now I don't really think it is likely - more like 14 weeks at this rate!!

so perhaps change it it to the new year and that gives me another week.

Mandy thought I might be getting near my target now as she says I look very slim and was surprised when I said that I was only just over half way there - another 3 stone to go!!

Just catching up

Inspired by Ali Edwards book again - I have made my first non scrapbook piece of creativity. I have made this mini book which arrived in a monthly kit ages ago and I did not know what to do with it. But one of Ali's challenges was to make one, so here it is. It may only be small but it has taken me ages and I am not particularly happy with the outcome!

I painted the chipboard pages pink but they all stuck together and then stuck to the newspaper and generally made a real mess everywhere, so had to cover them in paper. Thankfully I remembered my DCWV self adhesive papers and they were fab and easy to stick down, but got carried away with my crop-a-dile and punched all the holes in the same place - but half needed to be on the opposite side - so a bit of repair work was needed. I decorated the box with paper - not using paints again!!,which I think looks really nice, but unfortunately because of the paint swelling the chipboard, then layers of papers and photos - the mini book will not now fit back in the box!!
I am sure Jess will like it anyhow. I have been put off doing another mini book now - but am a little curious about acrylic books which seem to be featuring in a lot of the scrapping mags at the moment so may try one of those.

I went a bit mad with the crop-a-dile and made this ribbon tin ( from an idea on UKS) and think it will be really useful - as long as the ribbons don't get too tangled up inside!. I got 2 tins from Tesco this week for £4.00 and think I will use the other tins for Christmas ribbon. I have run out of eyelets now - wish I had got my crop-a-dile from QVC as it came with 400 of them!

The 2 items I have bought from the recent QVC craft day have arrived. The delivery times were dreadful - over 2 weeks each so I am not impressed and neither are lots of other girls on the UKS forum - think I will QVC a miss now for a while in protest until they can get their delivery act together. What makes it worse is that they have put their P& P prices up astronomically which is insult to injury!!

Both items from We R memory keepers and both fab. This tin of metal embellishments and alphas and these double sided adhesive tabs. I really like the adhesive tabs - they did come with refills so must see where I can get more from.


I also bought a carbon monoxide detector from Tesco -it cost £29.99 but the gas boiler is in Liam's bedroom which I was not really concerned about until those 2 little children died last year on holiday from Co2 leaking from a faulty boiler. I have been trying to find one for gases and like this one because it has a read out of the levels - thankfully Liam's room reading was zero - so a little peace of mind and safety. I have told him all about it and if the alarm goes off - it cannot be stopped so he is not to throw it out of the window but to get out of the house himself quickly.