Saturday 3 January 2009

Its getting good

Well, I have had an eventful day, well not exactly eventful but I got a lot done, I feel quite energetic today, I even went for a little walk to get some exercise.
I am going to be buying a new fridge soon, I am going for a larder fridge with no freezer seeing as we have a chest freezer so we are eating up whats left in there, so its beef stew and dumplings tonight made with light suet, so I will have one but only one. Fruit and custard for the kids for afters and just fruit for me.
I feel lighter, I know thats ridiculous, but I am feeling really positive today, got so much done.
I stil have not bought my food processor but monday is the day, I will get it then. then a big batch of loads of stuff for the freezer. Its saving so much money being organised and making giant loads of stuff and freezing the leftovers.
I am starting to get tired, but all in all a good day. And look 2 posts in one week, straight after each other, things are looking up.

Thursday 1 January 2009

It went all to pot but starting again

Well over christmas wasn't good, I was poorly with non stop coughs cold and asthma, I am over it now but still have the feeling drained feeling.
But a new year, new start and all that, I am putting that bad time behind me now.
I have no idea how much I weigh as I don't have scales and next door have broken theres, so a new set of scales for me on monday then. I reckon I might be about the same, I haven't exactly followed the diet but I haven't eaten much either, but then neither have I had the energy to put some oomph into anything.
I am really feeling breathless after a short walk, I am hoping thats the aftermath of the cold and it will go.
Today I had my first healthy dinner from a cookbook that steven bought me for christmas, it was a bulghar wheat salad with a lemon and mint dressing, it was very nice, I have never had bulghar wheat before and I found it very lovely. Definetly having that again.
I did just a tiny bit of exercise too, but I can't do much without getting breathless, I am hoping that improves very soon.
The house went to pot to, what with being poorly, but I have a surveyor coming out soon and so I have to get it reasonable now. I also aim to have a garden that is half decent to sit in by summer.
So here we are again with yet another fresh start, how many fresh starts can a person have I wonder.

Sunday 16 November 2008

I am getting there.

I haven't updated for quite a while lately, I have been so busy. So here goes.
I have changed quite a lot of diet habits, I no longer have spreads, I use real butter, yes I know its more fattening but its not full of the junk either, I just am careful with it. I am not eating hardly any processed food but have been making our own dinners and freezing them, loads of casseroles and spag bols and soups, I found these lovely bags called soup and store from Lakeland.
Its not all about dieting though, I haven;t lost loads but I feel much healthier, I have had a bad time with asthma but thats sorted out now, I have to be on a steroid inhaler all the time now but its helping so I will stick with it.
Anyway, its not all about dieting as I said, the house needs sorting too, the kitchen has been blitzed, and I mean blitzed, it can take me 10 mins to do a normal clear up, but its been scrubbed from top to bottom, fridges defrosted, floor scrubbed by hands and knees, I don't think there is one part of my kitchen that has not been scrubbed. It looks so clean and tidy and organised, thats how I aim to do the rest of the house, we badly need to de clutter, its going to take a long long time but I aim to do one room a week and we will get there.

I should finish the kitchen tonight, then I can start on the dining room, which will be nice as a dining room instead of a dumping ground.

I will update more later on, I'm off to finish a bit more floor, its back breaking but looks nice.

Tracy x

Thursday 2 October 2008

starting real cooking next week.

There was not a lot of money this week, so we didn't really get a choice of what to eat as we just had to eat what we had.
But being the worst cook in the world I have decided to learn to cook properly, I am using www.sparkpeople.com for receipes. This is a healthy living/diet site and is completely free.

On Monday I am going to buy a food processor and some decent cooking utensils, we do hardly any cooking apart from opening the packet and bunging it in the oven, all thats going to change.

I am also going to buy some scales and just hope that I don't feel the need to get on them 20 times a day and get disheartened when they show an increase, of course its going to show an increase if I do it like that, you weigh more in the evening than the morning. I have no idea how much I weigh at the moment, I have done a lot more walking than normal so hopefully that will have an effect.

The other areas of my time to change are to do with money, I have successfully got back some of my bank charges after having a chat with a very nice young man from the co-op bank who thinks I am wonderful home educating, I have spoken to all the people I need to and everything is being sent to the Halifx, its a brand new account so a fresh start, I can keep a better eye on it by writing down all my incomings and outgoings and keeping an eye on direct debits now.

I am still waiting to hear from child benefit but I can do no more until then. So watch this space.

I really would like to have a bit more energy, I need to find out what vitamins I need to take and go and buy them and take them regularly.

I also need Steven to take a photo of me to put on this group, so far he has avoided it, hmm ORRRR is that me that has avoided it.

Will check in again on Monday.
Take care everyone and thanks for reading.

Monday 29 September 2008

Bedtime

I really really must learn to go to bed at a decent time, I look so old and ill and I am not that old or ill.
I need Gilllian McKeith and her parsley smoothies.
Just having a cuppa and playing some bingo then I am up to bed. its nearly 3.30 am, I must learn how to change the time on this blog, its always the wrong time.
Today started off horrible, I got up far to late, the kids had been up quite early but didn't think to wake me or get me a nice cuppa, I woke up to a complete mess and a very bad mood, felt ill and just generally depressed and fed up with everything.

So I bucked up after a few cups of tea, made some phone calls about money to the bank and child benefit/council tax etc, theres nothing else I can do at the moment but they were all very nice and as helpful as they could be.

In the quest to save money, we went to Tescos and only bought value stuff and cat food, I swear that cat gets better fed than I do, but she won't touch the cheap stuff. Luckily her food was on special offer. I made a meatloaf that one of the girls on fluff sent me, it looks delicious and I tweaked it a bit, we are just waiting for it to cook now. I shall have a tiny piece with loads of veggies and brown rice.

Me and the kids have had a good chat about how to save money, turning lights off etc, stop expecting treats every time we go out, last week we managed to only put £10 of petrol in the car and we walked the rest.

I feel better now, a bit run down, but better, I am still worried about money but I can't do anymore than I have done, I have tried to get in touch with the ESA but guess what I can't get through, I will try and do it tomorrow.

So meatloaf and boiled potatoes and veggies for the kids, I am having a small piece of meatloaf, brown rice and salad.

I might go for a walk tonight just local to clear my head a bit, its spinning, I have so much to do.

Saturday 27 September 2008

The first day

I know its the first day, but so far I haven't done bad, ok, so the diet isn't great but with little money we have to eat what we have in the house, Monday I can go shopping.

But I have put some oomph into everything, I usually hang out a bit of washing and have to sit down on one of the garden chairs, this time I just hung the whole lot out, I know that sounds daft but for me its hard, I did it though, was throughly out of breath by the time I finished, but isn't that the idea with exercise to be a bit out of breath.

I have stopped drinking so much tea and drank a lot more water, I am not going to stop everything because thats where I went wrong before, I am still having my cheesy panini on Fridays at ice skating because I love them, but I will eat a breakfast and have a salad for dinner in the evenings on Fridays, its going to be a once a week treat. I am not calling it a diet, its more a change in lifestyle. I am going to have a lot more salads and healthier eating so a panini once a week is not going to hurt.

I am going to get my hair cut when I get paid, that always makes me feel better, and I have dug out my favourite blouse that I wore years ago, its obscene now, I can just about get it on let alone do it up, but thats my goal, when I sort the pictures out I will take a picture of it.

Talking of pictures, I am getting Steven to take one of me now, it won't be pretty believe me, but I feel that you need to know how I am changing so you need a before so that the after will look even better.

This blog is about a change in lifestyle as well, not just dieting, so we are going to sort the house out, going to decorate, and me and Steven are both going to be sorting out jobs as well as money. I have just learned about ESA for people like Steven, so that he can get some money while getting help looking for work but once in work he gets support, that sounds great, just what he needs. I am looking at getting a part time job so that I can continue to home educate. I also have decided that I need something for me, I love card making so I am going to look at an adult education class or a class at a craft centre to help me with that, now the kids are a bit older I can take myself off somewhere and have a couple of hours of just me. If I get really good at card making I can turn that into an income.