It's only a little thing....

Just wanted to say "Hey" to everyone. Haven't had much time to blog lately, it seems like January has been just as busy as December was. I had been hoping for a nice quiet and leisurely month after the manic rushing around of last month. However, things never really pan out the way you had imagined do they? Anyway, I figured I'd just catch up a little and let you know that I'm still on the planet. I have some news to share, it's rather exciting really but I'm going to keep really quiet about it today. I'll let you in on the secret tomorrow as I'm hoping I'll have a picture to accompany the post by tomorrow afternoon. I just need to get it taken. So, pop back tomorrow for some super news!!

Christmas Tidings!

Well, the day has been and gone. We've unwrapped all the presents, eaten the turkey, drunk far too much alchohol and we're *still* eating the Christmas cake - and probably will be for another 3 weeks! The presents were fab. I got a lovely hooded jumper, some toe socks , rapidough (the game), a lovely kenwood chef and a fair bit of money - some of which I used to buy myself a yummy PINK Garmin SatNav. It's been invaluable already! Gone are the days of getting lost in the middle of Leeds and having to stop somewhere to haul the A-Z out. Herself also rather likes it it seems as she sits in her seat in the back of the car and imitates it.

I got Himself a Garmin Satnav too. It's not pink, and definitely not basic (like mine is)... however, it seems that it only wants to talk to us in an American accent; which might end up winding him up something cronic! However all the other features its got will more than make up for it I hope! So we're all gadgeted up to the eyeballs now and we have enough of the Christmas money left over to buy the camping fridge that we wanted too. So in the spring we shall be ableto go camping and have nicely refrigerated food.

I shall have to post pictures of Christmas day later when we've gone home and had time to upload them to our PC. Until then I hope you're all having a good Festive season and that you're all happily playing with your gadgets too! Drop me a line and tell me what you got! ... and if I don't see you again before the New Year.... HAPPY NEW YEAR! May all God's blessings be given to you in the New Year. 

It's a losing battle...

But I'm rather happy about it! I've lost my first half stone and am dead chuffed! I have been anticipating this moment for a while and so went and bought my next dolly bead in preparation. Unfortunately I've been banned from wearing it until I reached the milestone properly... which I did this morning. So I have now added 'Tanith' to my bracelet! Isn't 'she' beautiful??

My next goal now is going to be to try not to put any weight on over the Christmas break! It's going to be tough, but I'm hoping that if I control my portion sizes, severely limit the puddings and chocolate and stay away from cheese completely that I should be able to do it. I might just treat myself on Christmas Day tho'... afterall, I can't be a stick in the mud all the time can I?

The other battle I've been fighting has not been so pleasant. Herself has now recovered from the 'water' infection but has then come down with croup, which has now turned into a nasty cold. And then to top it all off perfectly she started complaining about her ear being sore... one visit to the doctor's later she now officially has a double ear infection!! Just what I needed. Anyway, hopefully this next set of antibiotics will kick in quickly and she'll be fit in time for Christmas.  Speaking of Christmas, it's her nursery's nativity play this afternoon. Her first one! I'm sooo looking forward to it and will definitely be taking photos and possibly a video too.

I suppose I'd better dash off and go check that the various camera's are fully charged up and have enough film/memory!

(un)Happy Birthday to me!

Wow, I'm completely shattered! To say that yesterday may have been the worst birthday ever, is the understatement of the century. The day started fairly well with all those lovely pressies that I told you about and then got steadily worse from there on.

Firstly herself was miserable and grumpy because of a roaring temperature... at one point in the morning we recorded 39.8C. Which is not a good temperature for anybody to have! We duly stripped her down to her knickers, gave her a cool(ish) bath and pumped her full of Calpol. I phoned NHS Direct and they said that she might be coming down with a bug. So himself and I decided that we should stay away from people and not pass the bug on to anyone else... at which point himself decided to tell me that he'd organised a suprise dinner party for me and would have to call the guests and cancel. Herself continued to struggle with the temperature all day until we finally decided to take her to the A&E Department at the local hospital at 6.30pm. There they did all the usual checks, including a urine sample test, and found that she had a 'water' infection. Poor little mite! They prescribed an antibiotic and sent us home. We managed to get her to eat a little and then put her to bed. She woke up again at 11.30pm crying and complaining of back ache; she was also shivering uncontrollably and definitely in distress. I was halfway through my second phonecall to NHS Direct when she turned a strange shade of greyish blue... all the way down to her toes! The nurse on the telephone line immediately had an ambulance dispatched which took himself and herself to the A&E again, while I followed on in the car. This time the A&E doctors took some blood tests and more urine samples as they were concerned that her infection may have spread to her kidneys. After which we were referred to the Pediatrics department who further reviewed her test results. After several hours they decided that it hadn't spread to her kidneys and we could go home and continue on the course of antibiotics. We eventually left the hospital at 5.30 am this morning and were in bed shortly after 6am. After only 4 hours of sleep we had to start dealing with herself again as the temperature had returned.

To make our day even more distressing, we recieved a phonecall from my sister-in-law, just before lunchtime, informing us that himself's uncle had passed away. His employers raised their concerns with the police when he failed to report at work. The police went to his house to investigate and ended up having to force their way into the house where they found him at the bottom of the stairs. Early investigations indicate that he may have suffered a heart attack.  Himself and the rest of his family are devastated at this news as their uncle was well-loved and was always the life and soul of the party. We will miss him.

Uncle Chris and Erin - October 2006.

Happy Birthday.... to me!

Yup, another year gone. I can't believe how fast it's come round again! I have been concentrating so much on making Christmas cards and getting presents sorted that it's kind of come as a surprise really. Himself and Herself have given me some lovely presents including a pair of shoes (some closed ones to replace the Birkenstock sandals now that the weather has turned) and some really lovely beads. I knew of two of them as I chose them... they are Amaia and Merrie, but this morning I was suprised with two more. The 'Root Chakra' bead from Herself and 'Lilac Edge' from Himself. They're both stunning! So a big thank you! I also received some money from various members of the family.

So far, my birthday isn't quite panning out the way it was intended, but I'll not depress you too much with that. I'll post later on to tell you that news, when I've figured out how to word it and deal with the emotions it evokes. Thanks to everyone who has wished me a Happy Birthday so far and to all the family for their generous gifts!

WWII

No.... not World War II, just Weight Watchers 2! After getting on my scales here at home I nearly fell off them and had a major coronary, it seems that I'm now at the heaviest I have ever been. This is a combination of 1) not taking my medication 2) having developed a sweet tooth during my last trimester with herself 3) too many take-outs and 4) not enough exercise! Himself is also complaining that he is putting on all the weight that he lost the first time we did Weight Watchers and wants to stop gaining and start losing again. So.... it's back to counting points, cutting out take-aways and chocolates and making healthy choices. I've also purchased a Tai Chi DVD to get myself into some gentle exercise rather than trying to torture myself at a gym (not to mention the boredom of running in the same spot all the time!) I'm trying to set myself little goals on the way to my final goal, just so that I can keep focused. I'm aiming to lose my first half-stone by Christmas... and then NOT TO PUT ANY ON during the festive period. To this end, himself and I have agreed that I can have a little treat after losing each half-stone. I've decided to collect Troll beads... "What beads?" I hear you ask. Well, here they are have a look! I think they're lovely, but the one's I really like are these - Dolly Beads. Himself has bought me a bracelet and two beads as part of my birthday present so that I have something to put the beads on as I earn them. I must admit that collecting these teeny little beads could become quite addictive... and I'm hoping that they will keep me focused all the way to my goal weight!

So far I'm doing well. I've been on WW for 2 weeks already and have lost 3.5lbs so far! I'm dead chuffed as I normally find it really difficult to lose any weight. However, wanting to lose weight has spurred me on to start taking my medication again as that is supposed to help combat the insulin problems that come with having PCOS. It seems to be working... well the combination of medication, healthier eating and the occassional Tai Chi has at any rate! The real trick will be having a great festive season without putting any weight on. This year we have been invited to spend Christmas with my Sister-in-Law, her hubby and their two boys (along with all the rest of the family!), and as they generally cook fairly healthily anyway I'm hoping that it's going to be down to resisting all the chocs and peanuts and portion control.  The question is.... can I resist the peanuts?? I'm not sure!!

Anyway, keep any eye on this space.... I'll update occassionally on my progress and the lovely beads I have earned as I get them!

Most recent LO

Just want to show you the Layout I have just completed. I'm dead chuffed with this one since its been such a long time since I last managed to complete one. I have been feeling like my inspiration had completely fled the country, but after a visit to the Falkirk Wheel it came back with a vengeance and this is the result.

The title of the LO takes the form of a conversation saying:

"What did we do today?"
"We went on a wheely big boat wif a yittuw Ewin toiyut"

Erin just loved the small child-sized toilet in the boat that she wanted to go back there for days afterwards just so she could go to the loo!! So I felt I really needed to document the occasion. Although I will do another LO about the Falkirk Wheel itself at a later stage. I'll update more about our 3 week stay in Glasgow later.