Week Eight Included A Call To The Emergency Vet!

Week eight had it's ups and downs, here's what happened.

Monday started off really well.  I was still pet sitting at Sarah's but I'd managed to feed all of the animals, take Bingo for a walk and get to work on time!  I popped back in my lunch break to sit in the garden with Bingo and congratulate myself on how well I was doing - that's how I must of jinxed myself.

Bingo came down with sickness and diarrhoea and I had to make a call in the middle of the night to the emergency vet!  When you're looking after someone elses baby it's horrible when things don't go to plan.  Tuesday morning did not turn out as well as the day before and I had a lot of cleaning up to do!  It was Sarah's mum's turn to move in and it really was a horrible few days for both of us but, thankfully, Bingo is back to normal and full of bounce now.

There were some lovely signs of spring when I went walking in the park:

We learnt some new moves at Zumba :)

My colleague got a gorgeous hamper from Fortnum & Mason and gave me the lovely tea and tea strainer from it, it tastes amazing :)

I went on a six mile walk with Jo in preparation for the Marsden March we're doing in a few weeks :)

Storm Doris arrived and caused a bit of damage in the local park :(

I lost 4 and a half pounds and got this lovely award:

As well as being Slimmer of the Week :)

Dirty pudding was lush :)

Me and my two sisters, I always used to be the biggest but not anymore :)

Sandra made me this stunning gift, the photo really doesn't do it justice.

Alfie gave me lots of kisses :)

My friend Clare is doing the Surrey half marathon in a couple of weeks and asked me to join her in a practise walk/run.  We did 13 miles in just over 3 hours and I really enjoyed myself.

I decided to go for a whole new look!

Sarah bought me this stunning gift back from China :)

I spent a lot of time over the weekend catching up on Project Life :)

Having short hair makes all the difference when you're walking in the wind, you don't end up with hair in your eyes and mouth :)

We all watched Beauty and the Beast in preparation of the new film coming out soon :)

And then I curled up on the sofa with my crochet in the evening and watched TV.

Now it's another new week with very exciting things happening at the weekend!

Have a fantastic week and thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Hungry?

Today's post is short and not so sweet.  I'd even go so far as to say it's a little bit harsh, but sometimes that's just the way it has to be.

Ever wondered if you're hungry or just bored? Gone to the kitchen in search of food and found nothing that takes your fancy?  Felt absolutely starving but just don't fancy a piece of fruit?

I used to do it all the time, I'd look at the fruit and it just wouldn't appeal, I'd want something more.

Now I say to myself "would a starving child in Africa turn it's nose up at a bowl of boring rice?"

NO of course they wouldn't!

So if I'm turning my nose up at an apple then I'm not really starving I'm just bored and instead of looking in the kitchen for something to eat it's time to look somewhere else for something to do!

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Week Seven and a Spot of Pet Sitting

Wow, I have been such a busy bee!  Here are the highlights from week seven:

I swam faster than I have in a long time and I felt great afterwards :)

Work has been busy!

Zumba was brilliant as usual :)

Alfie was my Valentine :)

Maddie won a book giveaway on Goodreads :)

I had a great midweek walk :)

I had a cold :(

I was really pleased with my weight loss :)

And I certainly enjoyed dirty pudding :)

I moved in to Sarah's to look after her menagerie while she's on holiday!

It was lovely to get on with some crochet with a dog lying near me instead of on me like Alfie does!

A collection of just some of the bowls at feeding time!

I went for a lovely walk over the golf course :)

And had a cuddle with one of my furry friends :)

I had a couple of little wins at bingo :)

I was told that Bingo doesn't go upstairs so it frightened the life out of me when he came up and climbed in bed with me in the middle of the night!

I let him decide where our walks would take us :)

And we saw a lot of spring flowers :)

A little robin came to sit with me while I was having the car cleaned :)

And then we spent the evening just chilling out on the sofa :)

This week has had a very hectic start and I can't wait for some down time at the weekend!

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Getting It Write

I am a documenter (not sure if that's even a word), I document everything that happens in my life.

I document the good:

I document the bad:

And I document the downright ugly! :)

But it took me a long time to work out that documenting what I ate would get me a much better weight loss!  As soon as the penny dropped so did the pounds.

I got myself a cheap notebook and wrote down everything, every day and sure enough it worked.

Slimming World then started selling their own journal, a bargain at only £4.95!

It made logging my food and exercise even easier.  It only takes a few moments every day and, if you're really serious about losing weight and getting healthy, I'm guessing that you won't have a problem finding those few moments.

I'm over 7st (100lbs) lighter and I've filled three journals.  Not only do they keep me on track but I also use them as a tool if my weight loss is slowing down.  If I have a few weeks when I'm not happy with the losses I'm getting then I look back through my old journals to see what's changed, to find out what I was doing in the weeks when I was losing lots.

Writing everything down is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT thing I've done in the last nine months and it's something that I'm not going to stop doing.  In the time it takes the kettle to boil I've managed to fill in my journal.  Therefore, I highly recommend you go and get yourself a brew and make a quick note of what you've eaten today :)

I hope someone finds this helpful.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Week Six Had A Great Big Turd In It!!!

This week was full of highs and lows, here's how it panned out:

I had an excellent swim on Monday after work and smashed my previous time for 50 lengths :)

I had a look back at how far I've come, from a size 26/28 to a size 12/14!

I had a great night at Zumba with Pocahontas! :)

I had my usual Wednesday night walk but it ended in a run due to the turd in the week - a family member became seriously ill and was rushed to hospital!  Thankfully they are ok now :)

I lost half a pound:

And enjoyed dirty pudding :)

I spent a lot of time with him:

And her :)

I went on a road trip in the snow :)

My favourite ever film is Jaws and just look at this bookmark Paul got for me :)

You can't see it that well in the photo but we had snow at the seaside on Saturday morning!

As I won't be seeing Paul on Valentine's Day we decided to celebrate early :)

This dessert looked and tasted amazing!

I spent a lot of the weekend working on my Moorland CAL, I just love the colours :)

Then it was time to say goodbye to this little girl....

And then hello to this big boy :)

Now another week has started, let's see what it's got to offer.

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by
Jo xx