Last Day of Jan...

Cant believe its the last day of January already, this month has flown by - the weather today has been awful, we have had a bit of everything, rain, sun, wind, hail, thunder, lightening and snow..... all in a day, and its really cold too :P

Today was a green day, breakfast was porridge and apple, lunch was a jacket potato and beans followed by a muller and fruit and tea was quorn, pepper,mushroom and tomato lasagne, came up with a fab topping for the lasagne, I melted down 6 laugh cow x triangles in a pan,very slowly, then added a small amount of skim milk - and then poured it on top of the lasagne before putting in the oven... it was delish.

Cant get on UKS tonight :( so have been bust tidying the room down the stairs to make as a craft room for me.... doesnt really look like I have got very far tho, still cant move in there :(

Busy Busy Busy day today, not seemed to have stopped.... nursery, food shopping, dog walking, pet shops visit, friend round for coffee, friend back after school, 2 lots of gymnastic - phew - and got an NCT Nearly New Sale Meeting tonight..... so this is a quick popon with an update of what I have eaten today....

Breakfast, porridge with chopped apple (yum) Lunch was Quorn burgers, wholemeal bap and salad and while I was waiting for the tea I had scrambled egg and a babybel - then tea was haddock, SW chips and Mushy Peas - just realised from putting it down here that I have had too many Bs :( oh well..... will have to have some as syns - only other syns today were kethup 1 syn and wildlife 5.5 syns.... so much for doing the meal planner ;) better luck tomorrow... another green today planned for tomorrow as going to Funizuz for lunch so easiest option is a jacket spud :P

Gotta dash

Here they are :

4 finished layouts.....

having a good month points wise this month ;)

Right, off to bed x

Had a good diet day today,still not been shopping and still not got a menu plan.... I am hoping to sort it out tonight.... that is if I dont spend all evening chatting on UKS ;)

What have I had to eat today, ummm let me see, breakfast was All Bran, lunch was 3 slices of nimble wholemeal with roast chicken and roasted salmon, delish... with a 1 syn of ketchup too ;) followed by an apple. Tea was steamed cajun chicken, with cauli, carrot/swede mash, mushrooms, tomatos and brocolli.... followed by another apple, SO need to go shopping :( have nothing in the fridge :( and nothing in the fruit bowl - just apples..... have had my choccie treat already tonight, Milkyway Crispy rolls 6.5 syns and I am SO hungry.........

My plan for this evening is to finish off the layouts I did last night at Rachs with titles and to complete my menu plan for the rest of the week..... ;) So off I pop to try and get them done, oh and I need to finish the washing, stick a load in the tumble, sort the socks, fill the dishwasher, fix the buggy wheel - you can see why my to do list doesnt get done :P

Dreaded Weigh In :(

Well had weigh in this morning, and I had stayed the same.... gutted :( I have been good all week too :( not impressed. Went to the Bead Warehouse today with Shirley and popped in to Cheshire Oaks for a bit of retail therapy and a starbucks. I treated myself and had a skinny peach and strawberry muffin and a coffee.... medicinal purposes of course to cheer me up ;) came back and had a quick glance in the book to see how many syns and was horrifed to see 14.5 syns in a skinny muffin :( ho hum....

Not organised this week, havent got a menu plan sorted and havent been shopping, so not good, for brekkie I had a muller and an apple. Lunch was 3 krisprolls, laugh cow, celery, tom, and cherries/grapes. Tea was steamed salmon, sprouts, carrot/swede mash, brocolli and green beans followed by cherries, and of course my usual choccie treat... Dairy Milk tonight 10 syns.

Went to Rach's this evening for a mini crop, managed to get 4 layouts done, just need to put titles on as I forgot my chipboard :(

Right off to bed....

Nite xx

Quick Food Update

Having spent so long on the last post, this is just a quickie to let you know what I have had to eat today, took Nic to another party this morning, resisted all yummies - shines halo again....... breakfast was a muller and melon. Lunch was tuna, boiled egg, tom,cue and 7 crispbreads. Tea was gammon, butternut, sugarsnap peas, sprouts and brocolli followed by a slither, and I really do mean a slither of Andrew's homemade Lemon Meringue and tonights treat was a Crispy Roll just 6.5 syns..... weigh in time in the morning, fingers crossed for me... I so need a loss to keep me motivated... this is week 3 weigh in......... and I have been really good and not got on the scales once this week, which for me is a miracle.... :)

Off to have a soak in the bath then an early night ;) xx

Ive been tagged ;)

Andie has tagged me.....

What are my favorite songs... and why ?

OK, lets have a think... I'm a bit of a slushy girl I'm afraid... I have come up with 6 songs, in no particular order, my choices would be....:

(Have put a link to them on YouTube for you to have a listen, not convinced that the Videos to each are the originals.. but you get the idea....:))

Semisonic - Secret Smilehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-yQdNjC3AY
I love this song, Andrew sings it to me :) -
we had it at our Wedding as our first dance.....

'Nobody knows it but you've got a secret smile
And you use it only for me ;)'

DJ Sammy - Heaven http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuBmiu68ECU
I love this song, it reminds me of when my beautiful princesses, Chloe, Lauren and Nicole were born and how I feel in Andrew's arms :)

'Baby you're all that I want.
When you're lying here in my arms I'm finding it hard to believe
We're in heaven'

Dido - Thank you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf8Y9dEqvUM
because it reminds me of DH - how hearing from him brightens my day
and how meeting him was one of the best days of my life :) and my other best days would be the days on which my 3 wonderful princesses were born :)

'I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you is having the best day of my life'

Lionel Richie and Diana Ross - Endless Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbKojoL2-vU
another one of my favorite songs that mean so much to me, again
another slushy song for Andrew. My wish is that our love is endless.
I think the words say it all....

My love,
There’s only you in my life
The only thing that’s bright
My first love,
You’re every breath that I take
You’re every step I make
And i(i-i-i-i-i)I want to share
All my love with you
No one else will do...
And your eyes
Your eyes, your eyes
They tell me how much you care
Ooh yes, you will always be
My endless love

Two hearts,
Two hearts that beat as one
Our lives have just begun
Forever(ohhhhhh)
I’ll hold you close in my arms
I can’t resist your charms
And love
Oh, love I’ll be a fool
For you, I’m sure
You know I don’t mind
Oh, you know
I don’t mind’cause you,
You mean the world to me
OhI knowI knowI’ve found in you
My endless love

Ronan Keating - when you say nothing at all- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuJrEBtmM1Q
Another favorite song, from one my my favorite films, Notting Hill :) Again another slushy song, about how it makes me feel when Andrew and the my Girls smile at me, all warm and it lights up my heart :)

It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you can light up the dark
Try as I may I can never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing

The smile on your face let's me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall You say it best, when you say nothing at all

and lastly you will be pleased to know...:P

Another Level - From the Heart http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHyxBpAHiZc
Another from my favorite film, Notting Hill and again another slushy one.

From the heart
Im giving you everything, everything.
From the heart.
I promise you that Ill be there.
Ill be there to love you.

All these songs were played at our wedding, as they are all special songs to me (well us ;))..... so maybe I have cheated a little using these songs.... this has definitely made me have a think, and has given me a proper blubber session, cant even blame it on hormones :(, I am such a softy, they all bring a tear to my I eye. I have decided to do a page in my book of Me about my favorite songs... so I need to get my thinking cap on some more :)

Here they are :)

Here are the two layouts I did at the Crop today :)

Its the weekend.....

Yeh, its Saturday today, and Crop day today... woo hoo.....

We got the letter from School today, woo hoo, Nicole has been offered a place....... SO pleased :) did a Happy Dance when I read the letter..... SO proud of my girlies........:) thats all 3 in now.... yeah :) Its going to hit me hard in September tho when little 'squeak' is at school :(

Had a very productive crop, managed to finish 2 layouts and nearly finished a third too.... the day didnt start out fab on the layout front tho, was going to do a layout using pictures of my Niece at the wacky on the slide, they are primary colours and I find it really hard to scrap primary, had chosen some papers last night to go with them, and after lots of faffering, the photos have once again returned to the 'later' pile.... but it was full steam from there - all the other layouts went like a dream..... Will take a quick piccie of them and pop them on here for you in a min.

What have I had to eat today - ummm..... was a saint at the Crop and had NO biscuits, chocolate or anything naughty.... which for me is good :) Breakfast was a muller and melon. Lunch was homemade soup, 6 krispbreads, 3 laugh cow x lite, 1 babybel and some fruit, my treat was a can of diet coke. For tea I had jacket potato and chickpea dahl which I used to love, tastes must change as I really didnt enjoy it :( had somemushy peas with it too.... then made some yummy rice pudding for desert. Treat this evening was, yes Ive eaten it already, a Tolberone 9.5 syns and thats if for today. Was talking with Paul at the Crop today about Chocolate, and he is just the same, that he needs to eat anything and everything if he doesnt have any chocolate, same as me, hence the ickle choccie treat each night, I wish I could do without it, but alias no :(

Right going to hunt for my camera to take some piccies of my layouts for you.

BRB x

Thank Crunchie its Friday.....

Decided to meet a friend this morning and go shopping, was feeling a little down today :( - all I seem to be doing is cleaning, tidying, cooking, washing, cleaning, tidying, cooking, washing... you get the picture, we were going to go for coffee but didnt get time, ended up with a diet coke in the car.... LOL.... then had a call from MIL, asking if I would meet her for lunch, well I was filled with butterflies, eating out on SW, now thats where it doesnt work :( I tried to say I couldnt come, that didnt work, tried to suggest lunch at mine, but MIL was keen to go out... so off we went to the Garden Centre for lunch..... what a nightmare, I was faced with a menu, lots of choices, and not knowing which way to turn, and a veru hungry Nicole which meant we needed to order ASAP..... so I decided Salad was going to be a good choice, and settled for a CHicken and Bacon salad...... as was on a red day - it came with dressing on it, although there was no talk of that on the menu, either that or I didnt read it.... :( - honey and mustard.... not sure what it was based on..... so my healthy salad was not so healthy, eat all the chicken and bacon, and most of the lettuce trying to shake off the dressing, and had a small bit of the bread roll.... going to try and stick to speed over the weekend to try and help... would not have my syns tonight but feel I NEED them to keep me going...... have made a soup to take to the crop with me tomorrow... and going to take krispbread and laugh cows and whatever fruit I can find...... For tea I had steak, butternut, mush, toms and spinach followed by a 0% greek yog, and tinned fruit in fruit juice..... got a toblerone for tonight as my Friday treat..... which I shouldnt be having due to lunch but feel I need..... :( It could have been worse... just hope this doesnt wreck weigh-in day as - as soon as I dont lose I find it even harder.... sorry for the essay - feeling low :(

Declutter

Well I have decided to do a major declutter, spent all morning this morning decluttering, managed to get a full black bag for the Charity Shop from the 'Creative Activity' cupboards and the drawers on the island. Need to carry on with the rest of the kitchen now... going to concentrate on one room at a time and once thats done then move on.

The rain has stopped briefly again, thank goodness, managed to go to the park this afternoon and feed the ducks.... and have a nice play on the swings, we went with Nicoles best buddy Josie. Nicole had lots of fun splashing in the puddles.

Foodwise, what have I eaten today, I seem to be so hungry at the moment, had another red day today, not sure if that is the reason or whether my body is crying out for naughtiness.... anywho - got to be good and stick to it... I NEED to be thin again..... problem is I can resist anything BUT temptation. So what have I eaten today - breakfast was a muller (just for a change LOL) with berries, lunch and snacks today were french toast with even more berries and a sprinkle of sweetner, then had half a packet of quavers (1.5 syns), and 2 krispbreads with strawberries on, a banana and a pear, and 3 babybels. For tea I did a Roast Chicken, sprouts, green beans, brocolli, carrots and HE B jac pot, followed by a bunch of frozen grapes, a frozen toffee muller and a wildlife bar. Help.....................

Crop Night....

Tonight was Crop Night, I managed to get a staggering 20 layouts completed, OK OK...... they were 'cheating' layouts tho.... when I first started scrapping, years ago, I subscribed to the Lisa Bearnson Fave Albums with Elizabeth, and have been slowly completing them ....... they are lovely, but are so quick to do, got a whole album of 20 layouts completed on Weds. Here is a link : http://www.lisabearnson.com/yir/albums.php I completed the Album 2 - celebrating You...

Diet - what did I have to eat today? Today was a red day, had a muller and raspberries for brekkie, borrowed Mike's George to test it out before I decide if I am going to get one or not :P so for lunch had a chicken breast, cucumber, tomatos,2 small wholemeal bread spread with a tiny amount of x light mayo, 2 laugh cow x lite spread inside celery and a babybel. Tea was yummy burgers with HE B chips - I did the burgers on George and they were yum :) At crop night I had a choc finge and a wildlife bar. My syns seem to be creeping up at the moment and I seem to be finding it harder :(..... ho hum

It actually stopped raining....

Woo hoo,it actually stopped raining today, and for the first time since the New Year, I have been able to walk somewhere - I walked to Mini Movers with Nic..... it felt great..... I HATE not being able to walk - but I HATE having wet trousers more....... but I have to add that it is now raining hard again :( ho hum.

Another good diet day, made porridge for breakfast and had it swamped with raspberries, very moreish, never had it before as I like to leave more B's for later in the day.... but as I was on a green day thought I would give it a go.... will definitely be doing it again... wasnt hungry till lunch;)

Lunch was a Mug Shotz, 4 Krispbreads and 2 laugh cow X lite and more raspberries...... thats a full punnet today :P Tea was yum too, had quorn burgers (1 syn), beans and SW chips and then for pudding made some rice pudding on the hob...... very quick and easy and just as yummy as baking it.

Quick and Yummy Rice Pudding

Put 550ml of skimmed milk into a pan with 115g of pudding short grain rice. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10-15mins until the rice is swollen and tender. Yummy. I then sprinkled some slenda on top and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

You could also make it with wholemeal rice if you wanted, I havent had a go yet so dont know how this works for sure, but you would need to cook the wholemeal rice in 350ml of water first tho for 15 mins and then add the milk, bring to the boil and simmer for 25-30 mins until tender.

Rach is coming over tonight for some scrapping.... so better make some space.... have left some rice for Rach to try too.....

The Chicks......

The girls have been off school today, it was Examination Day for getting into the Senior School.... we have had a lovely day, it was really nice to spend the day with them as I was away at the weekend. We all went ice skating, and had a great time, we took Chloe's friend, Helena with us too and we met the rest of the girls in Chloe's class when we got there. Nicole was a lot more confident this time, they didnt have any baby skates, as they had all been sent off to be fixed - typical - but they didnt tell us this till it was too late, the Manager was very nice tho and asked one of her skaters to take Nicole round... so it was great.... ;)

Am really chuffed with myself on my weight loss, 8 lbs in 2 weeks...... have got a little choccie treat for tonight to celebrate and some grapes in the fridge, Rach got us all on frozen grapes at the weekend - they are SO yummy.....

My WW scales are a little dodgy at the mo :( first time I got on they said one thing, then next time another....... I think its cos they are on carpet.... have tried them on the gym floor but thats worse.... and as everywhere upstairs is carpeted not sure where to put them.... anywho - I did the best of 5, and then went with the one that comes up the most IYKWIM ... first time it was 1 lb heavier, and then the rest were all the same......

SO what have I eaten today then, umm, breakfast was a muller and an apple, had an early lunch of 3 krisprolls, 3 laugh cow X lite, and lots of celery. Late afternoon snack was a 0% greek yoghurt with a tiny squirt of Honey (1 syn), I find it really sour without, but have found that a sprinkle of sweetner is really nice, and has no syns in it.... so will be putting sweetner on next time.... ;) Tea was Rach's idea, cajun spice on a chicken breast and put in the bottom of the steamer, with spinach, tomatos, asapargus, green beans and mushrooms - all done in the steamer... and it was yum...... then had jelly for pud... and just having some frozen grapes.... and got a muller in the freezer to have as ice cream later ;)

Leigh has just posted this piccie on the thread of some of the Choccie Chicks at the weekend, so I have snaffled a copy to show you :P From left to right, Andie, Rach, ME, Harry (Leighs little bubba), Leigh and Paddy.

Did you miss me?

Im back, did you miss me.....

Had a fabaroony weekend..... went 'down south' for a visit to see Leigh, one of my choccie chicks, with Andie and Rach, two more choccie chicks, and Paddy, another choccie chick, met us there too..... we popped to the 'Make It Show' at Farnborough while we were there.... it was fab.... Stash shopping, spending quality time with friends, lots of me time, scrapping and no cooking....... Leighs hubby Graham is an angel, he was top chef for the weekend.... and did a fab job :)

Had a good diet weekend, Andie didnt allow anything SW or not to pass our lips :P - wont bore you with the details.

I was very reserved at the show, one thing I did get tho was a silver jewellery kit, Andy and I have had a play tonight, need to go and get a blowtorch tomorrow tho, as the hob isnt hot enough, and then it will be done :) It was great fun, and looks fab too ;)

Right, will be back tomorrow, its weigh in day - so fingers crossed for a good one :)

The 'Day' :P

Today was assessment day for Nic, she got on really well and went off very happily and came back happily too.... we will find out next Saturday :P

Good diet day, muller and pear for brekkie, french toast and summer berries for lunch, SW chips, beans and egg for tea.

Made some low syn choc crispie cakes too.... given receipe from a friend, they taste yum tho.

3 handfuls of tiny pasta (tiny tiny bows)
1 tbsp of nutella (4 syns)

Boil the pasta for about 5 minutes then spread out on baking tray sprayed with fry light and then spray fry light on top. Bake at gas mark 7 until golden brown - for about 10mins - but keep checking, they go brown quickly.

When cooked, pour into a large mug and stir in the nutella. Spoon into cake shapes or cases then put in fridge to set. Yum Yum

Today we were red...

Today was a red day.....

Muller and Satsuma for brekkie. The remaining 'sprout' soup for lunch, along with 3 pagen krisprolls, 3 light cows, and 2 sticks of celery, and an apple and muller.

Tea was 2 burgers, with cheese, in a wholemeal bap with tomato and a squeeze of ketchup, just s small one mind you.....

Syns, Maltesers 9.5, Mini Mars 5......... (naughty girl today :()

Am off to bed now, as got the mega munchies and have no As Bs or Syns left :(

My 'A' layout

I have now finished my 'A' layout for the IACW challenge of the A-Z journal. I am doing the journal as a 'Book of Me' so for my 'A' I have done Andrew.... :)

Here is the layout, it is slightly different to my normal layouts, the photo isnt great, sorry, but you'll get the idea, its all 3d, it has ruffled ribbon down the left hand side and then layered flowers and swirls...... There is a journalling block under the photo, which must have slipped under the photo as you cant even see the top of it, anywho at the top it has white scroll swirls and says the word Andrew under.... and the journalling inside says, A is for Andrew, my darling husband, my soul mate, my best friend :) AAAwwwwwwww

Wow.... I made some scrummy 'free on green' crisps !

Well today could have so easily turned into a nightmare diet day but I was determined that I would sort it, and I did, so I have had another good diet day.

Brekkie was a mullerlight, a satsuma and a apple. Lunch wasnt too bad, I made some vegetable soup....it tasted yummy, it consisted of what was left in the vegetable drawer in the fridge, 2 carrots, 3 sticks of celery, 4 sprouts, tin of chop toms and cup full of chicken bovril had some celery, 1 laugh cow X light, 1 laugh cow lite, 1 babybel light (reckon that adds up to the HE A) and 3 pagen krisprolls....

and for tea I had 'grabwhatyoucanfindleftinthecupboards'.... LOL

I had a potato, that I put in the oven to make into jacket potato..... but then I decided I was to hungry so after it had been in there 15 mins I cut it up into slices to make chips, and cooked tho instead, much quicker.... I then had the rest of the macaroni - cold - which was delish, and then I had a blackcurrant muller and am now eating some of the 'free on green' lasagne crisps and they are WOW WOW WOW.........

There has been alot of discussion of those crisps and whether they are actually free, some people say they are as pasta is free on green - some say they are not as you are not eating the pasta the way intended.... I reckon if you eat a sensible amount and only cook as much as you would eat if you were eating it as pasta then its got to be fine.... ;)

Here is the recipe in case you fancy making some.....

Take lasagne sheets and place them in an oven dish and pour boiling water from the kettle over them. Leave them for about 15 minutes until they are soft.

Take them out and cut into triangles (1 sheet makes about 6 triangles)

Place them on a non stick baking tray and sprinkle with salt or any kind of seasoning ( I used cajun spice).

Place in a hot oven for about 5 minutes although I wouldn't recommend leaving them as they brown very very quickly.

They will bubble up and go crispy and are just like doritos -they are fab ;

Poorly babies :(

Well they are all off school today, 2 ill, 1 not impressed that she's missin Mini Movers..... every five seconds one of them is calling me.... the poorly two are up in their beds so have been running up and down the stairs like wee willie winkie..... jsut need to find a hat to put on :P

Chloe is very poorly, she wasnt well yesterday and I got a call from the school nurse to ask if they could give her parcetomol, she was playing for the school in a netball match last night, which they won, and she didnt want to let the team down so she went and played...

Chloe has got an extremley high temperature which I cant get down - she has just her undies on (but dont tell her I told you ) and is lying on her bed feeling very sorry for herself..... have just put a DVD on for her to watch to try and take her mind away from it, she is feeling very dizzy too - have been giving her Ibruprofen and Calpol 2 hourly but its still not coming down, and the cool Mr Man to put on here head.

Lauren is just having a wag I think... she has a temperature but nowhere near as high - she told Andrew she wasnt feeling well so he said she could stay off too :( oh and what a surprise... he is away AGAIN.....not sure how Im going to get on today with the diet, was due to go shopping this morning, and my cupboards are like Old Mother Hubbards.... bare - think I will do a green day and go from there.....;)

A - Z Journal

Here it is, the long awaited covers of my A - Z journal for the challenge on the 'Its a Creative World' Blog. I have decided to do the journal all about ME...... I am pleased with the way the covers have turned out, just need to get started on the first layout now.

Here is the front cover, it says A2Z of ME in the frame. The owl has a glittery crown on :). It looks a lot better IRL.

and here is the back cover. It says ONLY ME, 2008, a little place for me.

1st weigh in.....

Well today was my 1st weigh in, and I lost 4.5 lbs.... was really pleased..... although hoped for a ickle bit more, but I never seem to get the 'huge' weight losses whatever diet I'm on.....

Anywho - what have I had to eat today.... today was a green day... breakfast was mullerlight, banana and a pear. Lunch was butternut squash soup, must share the receipe with you.

Butternut Squash Soup - made very quickly and just enough for one....
skin and chop up half a butternut into a pan,
add half pint of chicken bovril stock
(I used one chicken oxo 0.5 syns as I had run out of chicken bovril)
add a few shakes of ground ginger,
bring to the boil and then simmer until butternut is cooked.
mash with potato masher to give it a bit of a squash and tip into a bowl....
yummy...... and very quick and easy....
I reckon it took 20 mins from start to finish....

I had 5 crackerbreads (HE B x1) with the soup and 3 xtra light laugh cows (HE A x1) and a vanilla muller.

For tea I made cod (HE B x1) which I sprinkled half with cajun spice and left the other half plain (just in case I didnt like it ;)) and had it with SW chips, and mushy peas and sweetcorn. Yummy.

Then for dessert I made a yummy Macaroni Custard thingie, although Andy didnt like it... MEN

Here is the receipe.

I whisked up the 2 eggs in a bowl, then added the HE 1 X portion of skimmed milk and whisked again, (if you werent going to eat it all at one sitting then it would be a good idea to add maybe a pint of milk) I then splashed in a few drops of Vanilla Essense, (and in hindsight I didnt but next time I am going to put in a little sweetner too) then I tipped it into an oven proof dish, added 3 handfuls of macaroni, and sprinkled the top with nutmeg, then I placed the dish into another larger dish, filled the larger dish with hot water (just from the tap) so the water came half way up and then popped it in the oven on Gas Mark 3/4 and cooked it for 1.5 hours.
It was yummy - you could do the same with rice, but cook the rice before putting it in in boiling water for 10 mins and then drain well.

Here is a photo of the remaining macaroni, it doesnt actually look very appeitising... but it was yummy, it isnt burnt on the top - thats the nutmeg... as its been in the fridge - the Macaroni has gone a bit spongey but when its fresh its moist and yum... I did however sample a little bit more from the fridge and its still yum.

January UKS Challenge

Here it is, the challenge for this week on UKS>......

Can claim 35 points for the team... woo hoo

Used the sketch 10pts, used new stash (chipboard) 5 pts, used stitching 5 pts, and doodled 5pts.... and 10 pts for the layout so 35 pts - have to confess tho - not to sure about the doodling.... not sure if its a bit busy for me.... anyway see what you think.... here they are..... one with and one without the doodling......

with doodling

without doodling however I reckon I prefer it without the journalling as well...... LOL

Diet Day Seven

Another good diet day today ;) We had a very lazy Sunday morning, had a nice lie in then read the papers and had brekkie.... I had a mullerlight, raspberries and grapes - not the usual scrummy Sunday treat of Waffles - we then chilled for a bit and then ALL went into the Gym, Andy did some exercises with the kids and they went on a couple of the weight machines, Lauren and Nic arent quite tall enough yet to ride the bike but Chloe is... They all had a go on the Cross Trainer, not for long tho.... then it was my go... I had a banging head, still not managed to get rid of the dreaded virus yet, but I did 10 mins on the trainer and burnt over 100 calories, would have done longer but Chloe was waiting for her turn :P

It was then shower time for all and lunch. For lunch I had 2x wholemeal bread (HE B), with laugh cow cheese triangles on, celery and a tomato. It was then time to take Nic to her second party of the weekend, Maddies party. Nic had a great time, we pulled up outside the house and there was a huge horsebox outside, we all thought Maddie was having a riding party, but NO inside it was all kitted out as a wacky warehouse.... the kids had lots of fun playing in there - they then all went in to have their face painted... Nicole chose a butterfly and looked gorgeous, I forgot to take my camera, but my friend took a few pictures for me.

When we got home Andy had been shopping and had the dinner on, he's like a changed man -he made roast duck with apricot stuffing, asparagus, sprout (upon request), brocolli, carrots and roasted butternut, I had a HE B portion of potato too, it was YUM.... then for dessert had another GU brownie (4 syns). Have got a wildlife bar and a diet coke for treat tonight to use up more syns, on another forum I go on there is a SW consultant and she advises that people use ALL their As Bs and Syns up as it helps speed weight loss.... so just doing as Im told :P

Right, got a few jobs to do tonight :(, then was going to try and to a layout for the weekly UKS challenge..... and maybe my front cover for my journal although I do need to have an early night........ we'll see.... I will pop back on later with any piccies if I do get any scrapping done.

Diet Day Six

Gosh 3 posts in a day.... dont get used to it :P

Here is the diet post..... had another good day.

Red today.

Had a Shape Lasting Satisfaction Yog for brekkie along with a pear.

Was very good and had no biccies with coffee and nothing to eat at the party - very good for me :P.

Lunch was Shepherds pie, carrots, brocolli and sprouts, 1 x Babybel and small piece of cheese (HE A), and then as a snack had 2 slices of wholemeal small loaf bread, it was homemade but same size as 400g loaf so not really sure how many slices I can have... but reckon it is healthier for you than shop bought bread.

Tea was steak, aspargus and a few more sprouts - (bet you're glad you're not here with me tonight.... although have to say have eaten that much veg this week doesnt seem to be having the same effect on my anymore IYKWIM:P), for dessert Andy had bought GU chocolate brownies, yum yum yum - asked Andie how many syns were in them and she worked it out to be 4 syns which is shockingly low as they are SO yum..... so on account of the fact that I hadnt blown my syns I had a Wildlife bar as a treat this evening and a diet coke - so just 9.5 syns today.... more than usual but it is Saturday - am going to be mega good tomorrow as hoping for a fab loss on Monday.

Must note - Andy made lunch and dinner today - I was very impressed - not sure what the catch is yet.... but sure I'll know soon.

Right off for a quick chat then time for reading and sleeping.....

Induction Morning for Nicole

Felt very sad today, my baby will soon be off to school :( and there will be no little girlie at home with me anymore :( its lovely to see the girls all growing up but sad that we dont have a little baby anymore....

Today Nicole was invited to the Induction morning at Cheadle Hulme School, in preparation for her assessment on Thursday. She wore her beautiful Monsoon ballerina outfit and looked like a princess, all the teachers commented on how beautiful she looked, hopefully pulled a few heart strings there :P although it wasnt completely intentional - she had a busy calendar today and was zooming off to George's party on the train at Brookside Garden Centre straight after ;).

Nicole was as good as gold, she stayed with me for a while on the activities, playing in the sand (ergh...), doing jigsaws and icing a biscuit and then decorating it with as many sweets as possible onto the top LOL. I then left her and went for a coffee, and she gave me a little wave as I went.

I had a coffee and chatted to a couple of the new Mums, Nicoles group then came into the Hall to play with the parachute, but she was very good and stayed with her group and didnt come running over to me. Nicole joined in well and followed all instructions, they then all disappeared for a story while the other group played with the parachute... she came back with a big smile and said she had lots of fun and asked when she could go again - good job really - shes back there again on Thursday... :)

I tried to get some photos of her earlier in her ballerina outfit to post on here but she was busy watching Simpsons before bed and wasnt in the mood to co-operate.... so here are a few piccies.... you get the idea....

One 'not impressed' little princess.......

Just a quick peek at the telly, Im sure Mum wont notice...

cute little princess x

My 1st Layout of 2008 ;)

Well here it is...

My first layout of 2008. Rach came round last night and we did some scrapping, it was really nice to have some company to scrap with... we had a lovely evening and both managed to get a layout completed.... we did a mini cybercrop with the Chock Chick teamies, we chose a sketch to do and all worked from it.

I seem to have lost my mojo a bit a the moment so it feels good that I have done a layout AND I actually like it :)

Diet Day Five

VERY proud of myself today...... went shopping into Stockport this morning with my friend, didnt stop and have a Starbucks brekkie - just hit the shops straight away - had museli before I took the kids to school so I wouldnt be straving - so was very proud of myself.... just before we left to come home... my friend wanted to go McDs... well the smell in there was just so tempting... my friend devoured two burgers.... and me - I had nothing :) (2nd proud moment) and came home and had SW mag Minestrone soup, 6 crackerbreads and 3 laugh cow Xtra lights.... some grapes and a pear.... third proud moment was this afternoon when I went to meet another friend for coffee at Costa, was VERY good again and just had a coffee.... no cakes/pastries or anything and no high fat yummy coffees either :) so feeling very proud of myself too..... :) for tea I had SW chips and baked beans.... and then a pear and a Mullerlight for dessert. Have got a wildlife bar (5.5 syns) and a can of diet coke for my treat when I have put the girls to bed...... Andrew is out at the Rugby tonight.... so my friend Rach is coming round later to have a mini crop along with my Choccie teamies.... :) this MAY be my 2nd scrapping of 2008..... MAY be I said.... we are known to chat chat chat :P

Diet Day Four

Another good day (*insert polishing halo smilie:P*)..... today was a red day... not done many red days before - for brekkie had a Shape Lasting Satisfaction yoghurt and a pear and a few blueberries. Lunch was HE A Cheese on one slice and tomatoes on the other slice of 2 x Wholemeal HE B - followed by Toffee Mullerlight and an apple. Then for tea I made the shepherds pie from the Jan/Feb 08 SW mag and had it with sprouts, more carrots, and green beans... it was yum. Had a toblerone as a treat (9 syns) and a coffee. Think thats it. I drank lots of water too....

Crop Night....

Just managed to get on the laptop, DH had been hogging it.... :( - tonight was crop night, and I was a busy little bunny.... managed to finish my Christmas CD mailer book - all but sticking in the piccies (which I need to get printed) and doing the journalling..... so was very pleased.... this is the first scrapping I have done this year :)

Now for the diet.... another good day.... today was a green day - had a Shape lasting satisfaction yoghurt for breakfast and a large handful of blueberries along with a coffee and 1 pagen Krisproll. Then lunch was baked beans, boiled eggs and 3 quorn sausages. Snacks have been a babybel light, 2 crispbread (not sure if I have the right ones, the only ones I could get were wholemeal ones but they are the same syn value as high fibre ones so hope they are OK - if not they are only 1 syn each!) and a laugh cow x light triangle. Then for tea I made the Minestrone soup from the new SW mag... it was yummy - had a bowl of soup and one slice of wholemeal bread and dessert was a large pear..... I have been a litte bit naughty today.... and was feeling a bit sickly this afternoon so when my friend offered me a ginger cookie, I couldnt resist.... but I will have it as my syns for the day (along with the 3 little kinder friends which I will syn tomorrow).... besides that been very good, no diet coke either, just no sugar squash and a coffee, well two :P.....



Right I am now off to bed... was hoping for an early night... as finding it VERY hard getting up in the mornings for the school run.... its not going to be an early night tho :( so better go - Nite all x

Diet Day Two....

Well another good day today :) - today was a red day - had chopped pear, apple and a shape lasting satisfaction yoghurt for brekkie and a coffee with a krisproll, then off to mini movers - was very good no lunch - just had a coffee - and no tea-cake, then popped to the shops to grab some bits for tea but ended up popping into the clothes shop next door for lots of bargains :P and arrived home very late for lunch, was very impressed with myself that I hadnt grabbed something whilst I was out as I was starving... for lunch I had one slice of wholemeal bread, salad leaves, king prawns and fat free thousand island dressing, x1 babybel light, and a mango, then for tea had roast chicken, green beans, carrots, sprouts and a HE B size jacket pot - yum yum yum..... the kids had delish cookies for dessert but I resisted and just had a small crumb..... and I have had a slither (and I mean a slither) of Xmas cake which my friend had made, and left the icing too..... so feeling very angelic..... lets hope it continues......

Diet Day One....

Well today was diet day one....... a green day - have been really good all day (polishes halo...:P), had a mullerlight and a pear for breakfast and a coffee (and no biccies...;)) and then after monster cleaning/tidying and dog walking and a trip to Tesco for Healthy food..... I then had cous cous, red pepper and chickpeas for lunch, followed by another pear. For hometime from school snack I had one Krisproll and a extra light laugh cow triangle. For tea had savoury rice and hard boiled eggs (sounds awful but was really yummy and as Andrew is away didnt feel like cooking just for me :() and then to use up some HE B I am going to have 2 slices of wholemeal bread as french toast with raspberries and blueberries... yum yum..... and if nothing else falls into my mouth - today should be a syn free day..... have also tried to drink lots of water and havent had any diet coke yet either..... might treat myself to one with my french toast tho......

I then need to get ready for our team cybercrop tonight.... 8.30pm..... I am going to try and get started on my A-Z album.... here's hoping... havent managed to get any scrapping done since Christmas, just havent found any ME time so hoping tonight I can have a little play :) Better get a wriggle on... only got 20 mins to cook french toast and get set and ready.... will be back later :)

Party

Party day today :) the first party of 2008. Nicole went to her friend, Wills, 4th birthday party.... it was Lucia.... the Entertainer... and she was fab :) Nicole even wore her new 'Sleeping Beauty' dress and fur shrug that she had for Xmas... she looked like a princess. Chloe came along too and kept Nicole company. They had a great time.

Nicole had lots to eat when the party food came out too.... and insisted on sharing her cheese and pineapple hedgy with me! She loves the cheese but not the pineapple.... :P

After the party it was time to get the Xmas decorations all down and packed away.... Lauren and Andrew had been busy taking them down while we were at the party.... and cooking a roast for tea too.....

Back to school tomorrow... all uniforms are ready, ironed, everything packed and fingers crossed we will all be up early and at school on time.... this holiday seems to have gone very quickly and I am actually sad that the girls are back at school already.... its nice having them at home.... and especially nice not having the morning rush and the daily clock watching :(

Sorry :(

Sorry :( - missed blogging yesterday - didnt last long did it :(.... started off shoe shopping and then went to meet friends at the cinema,we went to see Alvin and it was great... the girls loved it.... our friends then ended up coming back home for impromptu tea and sleepover..... we had a fab evening, kids watched HSM2, whilst we drank, chatted and then played on the Wii...:)

Started off today with more shoe shopping - lol - took just Lauren with me to the shops, it was so nice to spend time with just her.... usually spend time with either Nic on her own while the others are at school or Chloe as she likes to come shopping with me.... but not usually Lauren - so it was really nice... we managed to get school shoes and I then took her to Claires to get a few treats.... she loved it :) ...... what else have we been up to..... ummmm more shoe shopping this afternoon (noticing a theme here lol) we went to Go Outdoors for new walking boots for the girls... managed to get sorted in record time (and guess what - they are pink too.....) .....

Have been thinking about my A-Z journal, havent started it yet tho... will try and do it over this weekend..... still got my bad head :( and am getting fed up now.... am also planning my diet for next week - definitely the start of the 'new' ME ;)

It nearly snowed......

it tried so hard.... but didnt quite manage it :(.... we have had flutters of snow but nothing landed:(...

Had another busy day today.... so much for the relaxing holiday still - I told the kids we needed to go food shopping this morning and they were all SO NOT impressed... so I left it till lunchtime, got the house tidy (again...) this morning while the girls played and then went dog walking and dropping off the last of the Xmas presents..... It then got near lunchtime and the questions about lunch started..... which is when I reminded them about food shopping... they all then seemed very keen on going food shopping and we had a race to get coats on.... only problem was it was 3pm before they got their lunch.... We (sorry I ) decided to would be a good idea to walk to the shop (being healthy see)... we had a lovely walk there.... but then got a puncture just as we were about to go into Waitrose :( - and it went from bad to worse..... had to get Nic out of the buggy.... which didnt go down well... and she was NOT impressed... and then attempted to shop, with a basket and a wonky wheeled buggy :( but we managed it - and got a few nice bargains on the way.... and then made our way back home, Nic walking, me pushing wonky wheeled buggy and everyone having to carry bags.... cos as usual we got too much stuff forgetting we were walking.... :( Ho Hum :P..... we then had a spot of lunch and went to the farm to see Gran as was her birthday today.... she loved her presents (always a bonus:P) and made us yummy tea too.... not having much luck with the 'me' time so far this year.... and really need to sit down and work out a diet plan for next week... I need to get organised.... and I so need to shop too..... off to take the kids shoe shopping tomorrow.... wish me luck and then if they are good.... a trip to the cinema to see Alvin with their friends.... :)

Back to Work :(

Andy went back to work today..... and the girls and I did lots of tidying trying to get the house back into some sort of order from Christmas.... The girls were really good helps and earned themselves 3 smilies each :) Our friends came over after lunch and we walked to the park, the kids had great fun in the park and hiding in the trees... we then went home for Hot Chocolate and to watch the Simpson Movie while Sarah and I chilled and chatted... :) Its definitely getting colder again :( I hope there is some snow on the way.....

Treasure Hunting

We have had a fab day again today, we went to Lyme Park treasure hunting and to hide the geo-coin we found yesterday.... (geo-caching for those in the know :P), the girls loved it, we walked miles, met some deer, saw some fantastic views and got lots of fresh air. We stopped at the treasure point and had a picnic lunch with some nice hot soup. We even met some muggles..... who went and stood on the hiding place oblivious to the treasures we had just found...and hidden again...... right off for an early night... Andrew is back to work tomorrow :(... will try and post a piccie on here for you......

Happy New Year

Happy New Year..... 2008 is going to be the best year yet :) 2008 is going to be the year for a new 'Me'....... and today starts the transformation.... I AM going to lose the weight that I have been trying to loose since having Nicole...... and I AM going to find more ME time and take more care of ME..... I AM also going
to become a better person..... all in all a better ME......
Good wishes to everyone for a fab New Year 2008, health, wealth, happiness, joy and lots of love.....