Monday again

It’s Monday morning again – the best thing about Monday mornings is that it’s the day that I weigh in, the worst thing is when my family go back to school and work and I’m on my own again and miss them.

We have such lovely family weekends and I hate that they have to end. Perhaps my next challenge should be to win the lottery? That would be just lovely 🙂

Anyway onto the weigh in and I lost another 3lb bringing the total this year to 12lb which is pretty good. I’m still at the “not bored and very motivated” stage so fully intend to keep up the good work and the intermittent fasting. It’s not that hard once you have planned everything and it does make the normal slimming world days seem like a feast.

Family feast night took place again. Although at the request of the demons it was a Basket Meal eaten whilst we watched a film together. It was still quality time if slightly more relaxed. We also had Sunday lunch at dining room table as my dad came over. He really enjoyed it and we enjoyed having it. I can almost feel my mum’s approval when I cook for my dad, daft isn’t it?

We are also in the middle of a series of very important appointments for the younger demon. Paediatrician, neurologist, orthopods, urologist, neurosurgeon, orthotics, Physio, scans and anything else they decide he needs. It’s also his team around the child meeting and the car needs an MOT. Busy times and also scary. I dread these appointments as they force me to accept the reality of his condition and its hard. Most of the time I see him as the younger demon not his disability and these appointments force me to focus on what he can’t do rather than what he can.

He does need more help as his gait and muscle tone has deteriorated. He needs special shoes and now has to wear night splints. However these have skull and crossbones on them and teamed up with matching socks they make quite a fashion statement. He thinks they are cool and has accepted then without complaint. He’s just a little bit fab that way.

How cute does he look in them?

There is also fun stuff to look forward to as well as the appointments. Birthday party for the Demons another outdoor activities day and the weekend away without the Demons the DG and I. We are going to Scarborough for two lovely nights and I cannot wait. The demons will be spending those nights being thoroughly spoilt by my Dad and Nonny so they are looking forward to it too.

Snow Days

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Another week over and it’s been a good one. There has been a snow and the schools are closed giving me an extra day with my family which is always a joy. We managed two family feast nights this week. On Friday it was an Indian feast and very diet friendly. Wholemeal pitta, lamb bhuna, […]

Week one

Two of my biggest resolutions this year are about food. Firstly I want to eat a meal every single week at the dining room table, now we do eat as a family every single day we eat at the kitchen table which is great but lacks a sense of occasions sometimes.

The boys shaped Demons love eating at the dining room table they call it the party table and whenever we eat there they say it’s like a Hogwart’s feast. I think this is because when we sit there I tend to serve things a different way – they can help themselves rather than just have it placed on the plates ready for them.

It’s a small thing but is something they really enjoy. Add to that a few candles, the TV and other distractions turned off, paper napkins and padding things out so we get three courses and the boys are absolutely loving it.

It’s not particularly extravagant food but there is a sense of occasion and excitement. We play word games and chat whilst we eat and then the demons award me marks out of ten a la “Come Dine With Me”

In short it’s fun and it’s quality time spent with the family for very little effort I am really enjoying it, so far and am so glad that we decided to make family feast nights part of our regular routine

The second challenge was a bit more personal I am yet again trying to lose some weight. So far so good and in the last week using a mixture of slimming world and intermittent fasting I’ve managed to lose 6 pounds which is fantastic! In past six months that brings a total weight loss to 26lb I am hoping to be able to keep it up. The past three months or so I’ve done nothing really and just eaten what I want, and so my weight loss hasn’t been as good as it could have been.

Now I am feeling motivated to be able to maintain the weight loss of around 2 pounds per week over the next 12 months if I can do that it will be really significant loss.

So there we have it that’s two of my challenges the third one is to blog at least once per week. If all I do is blog about what we did on Feast night and how much weight I’ve lost at least that’s something right?

This picture is a representation of how I look now and how I hope to look in 12 months time. I’m aware that even the 12 months time me isn’t exactly a skinny mini but it’s a step in the right direction and I would be thrilled to get there.

New Inspiration

So my 101/1001 project ended and with it went my inspiration. I have not blogged in months, I’ve done stuff.  It’s been a busy time with spectacular highs and desperate lows but I haven’t felt able to blog about them.  Most of the people that read this blog are on my Facebook friend list or follow me on Twitter, or know me in other ways. They know what I have been up to.  So why bother blogging about it? 

So I didn’t.  I didn’t blog at all.  I wanted to a few times but after months it’s like when you don’t call a friend for a week or so, and then you want to be feel awkward that you left it so long. 

Then there was the stuff I wanted to blog about, some of it was very positive some of it not.  Some of it I wasn’t sure how I felt about it so didn’t know what to say. 

Then there was me,  I’ve been struggling a bit.  It’s taken all my strength just to keep going some days. There have been some pretty bloody awful battles to fight this year which have left me drained.  I’ve kept buggering on, kept cheerful for the boys, kept them entertained and done fun things but it’s not been easy. It’s been a real effort to do stuff sometimes. 

I’ve been lacking in energy possibly because I’ve been battling with the OCD tendencies that keep encroaching on my life.  I suspect it’s because so many aspects of my life are completely beyond my control and it made me feel completely powerless so I had to focus on what I could control.  

I’m sure no one wanted to read about how I had a meltdown because of an orange juice carton left in the bathroom.  Then again when I am more balanced I CAN blog about my meltdowns and see the funny side to them. I’ve always believed that laughing at things diminishes them but for the past few months I haven’t been able to. 

I can now.  So I’m ready to start blogging again I think.  I do need structure though, my ramblings may seem random but they do have method to their madness. 

The 101/1001  challenge helped me immensely it gave me focus and helped me concentrate on the positive, it’s tangible and measurable. It gave me something to fix on when I was feeling down.  Without it I felt adrift and unfocused even though I was doing things that were pretty amazing. 

So I’m back blogging and I will be writing new challenges – not for 1001 days and not 101 of them but for the next year.  Not because you want to read it, but because I need to do it.   

I hope that makes sense, if not, well it does to me and it’s my blog 🙂