Busy bee!

Loads of ideas have been buzzing around my head and now I'm excite to get them out onto the table, then see how the pan out!

Work has been draining my will to live these last few weeks, my morale is low and all I can think is I should've applied to two recent jobs that came up that would've been good for me - even if they were the "easy" way out. I just feel like I'm doing a lot of work for nothing and there's no incentive for me to work to my full capability - even if it requires over time. Which previously, would've been no big deal and would've been happy to do but now I feel like I have bigger fish to fry and better priorities that I shouldn't be bending over backwards for an employer that doesn't value those who work for it.

Wouldn't a lottery win be lovely? I'd open a cake shop.

Things are taking shape...

Finishing the tote bag on Saturday started a fire burning in my belly - a fire for business enterprise! 

The cogs are turning, things are getting into place and in 2 months I'll be opening my first Etsy Shop! Hopefully with no delays! 

I'm excited to do this, and I know I can do it well! It's something I can control and feel accomplished doing. It'll be a busy two months but I'm thrilled to put my head and heart into this project.

Wish me luck! xo

Sewing!

I finally got my mum's sewing machine working, the tension had been all wrong and I was having yelling sessions at the bobbins but Ceri's mum gave me a hand by emailing me the right instructions and finally, it worked!

I went to A Vintage Affair in Cardiff yesterday, they have such a cute little haberdashery for a gal on a budget! 

Ceri got me some of the Cath Kidston books for Christmas and I've finally cracked them open this weekend. I didn't go for anything particularly taxing or I could get terribly wrong! It only took a few hours - in between Dinner and watching Pirates of the Caribbean.

For a first effort, I'm really happy with it! I can already see things I want to improve upon and how to make it better for the next time! I actually can't wait to sew more stuff!

Making a house a home

Now that the house move has settled and washed over me, Ceri & I are finally starting to get things into place around the house. 

Colour charts are coming out, befores and afters are being planned and DIY ideas are being thrown around. I've got plans for every room that I'm excited to put them into practice! I say every room - except 2 - the "Studio" - the back bedroom that Ceri has taken over to do his music in - and the Kitchen because that was already done to such a high standard,

Anyone got any tips on decorating rooms with fireplaces but no fires?!

Exciting Plans!

Increasingly recently, I've been growing frustrated and demotivated within my job - mainly due to the amount never ending work that seems to land on my desk but also the lack of support.

I've been growing jealous of those who work for themselves or that have jobs that they're truly passionate about. On Wednesday morning, I woke up super inspired to do something that myself that I got nothing but joy out of! 

So I'm hatching plans, doing my research and scribbling away! I'm excited and kind of nervous but it's something I know I want to achieve even if it isn't a means of escape out of my office! But hopefully it won't be long before I can unveil it all!

My new spools finally arrived for the sewing machine and I was busy practising away on it, not that all the stuff I learnt 10 years ago came flooding back to me - far from it! But memories of being folded over the crappy old machines my high school had in the dead of winter did come to me - I remember them well!

Sweets!

I have a really gigantic sweet tooth, so I like to have a small sweet something after dinner just to take the edge off a hard day...

Something I've enjoyed over the last few nights was Weight Watchers Ice Cream - which is so good! And only 2 points for 2 scoops - with a brownie sprinkled all over it. Only 3 Pro Points and is delicious! 

I think once pay day rolls around I might make some brownies because I love the smell of something freshly baked in my kitchen! 

Weight Loss Wednesday

Loss this week: 1lb

Loss overall: 41lbs

Pounds till Target: 54lbs

To be honest, I'm a little disappointed that after 2 weeks of big numbers, I lost a small one this week - that being said - it's still a loss so it's always a step in the right direction and I achieved my minimum target.

It doesn't help that I've been PMSing like a mo-fo this week, but still managed to stay on track eating and exercise wise - just Mother Nature will get her way in the end.

My gym routine has been kicking my will in the goolies, it's been hard to get the push to get up and go in the mornings when it's still cold and dark out but I did it this week - Wednesday and Sundays are my days off so I'm enjoying my little lie in right now, even if my alarm is still set for 6.30am. I've been trying to push up the amount of time I can tolerate in the gym by 5 minutes each session and the work out its self is hard on my will! But I'm getting there.

1 Finished Project

To teach myself how to embroider, I bought a kit from Sublime Stitching before Christmas - I started it but then with the craziness of Christmas, going to see my parents, New Year then moving house I didn't get any chance to do anymore about it until Sunday when I finally felt relaxed enough to sit down, pull it out and have another bash - and I finished it! I was pretty excited to get what was left done yesterday evening. 

The Russian Doll is on an apron, so I'm adding some more bits so it's not all black space then just a Russian Doll in the middle. I'm excited to see how it all turns out! And it's definitely something I have a lot of fun doing.

My "new" Singer sewing machine

When Ceri & I visited my parents at Christmas, my mum gave me her sewing machine that she had as a wedding present in 1978. 

It's a heavy git - hence why it's on a towel, I haven't got over that "no marks on my brand new table" phase yet - and I couldn't bear to have marks on the table from the weight of the machine.

The machine had been sat in a cupboard in my parents new house since their move last May, prior to that I'm not sure when it last saw the light of day.

I was going through all the bits making sure they were there, so I could try a few bits out - I haven't used a sewing machine since I was in high school - when we made Christmas Stockings in Home Economics (mine was awful, by the way). But Ceri got me some books on sewing and stuff so I can re-teach myself, which I'm excited about.

However - when I was going through the machine to make sure everything was there, pretty much the most important part seems to have grown legs and got itself lost - THE SPOOL!? So now I have to find a replacement part, I popped into the John Lewis yesterday to see if they sold any - nope! So it's an online job because all the other haberdashery's aren't in the city centre and I didn't have my bike to cycle out of town. Bummer hey?

So for now, until my new spool arrives - I'm keeping myself entertained with embroidery on my cute little apron

A special date

I'm not one normally for silly dates to mark progress through relationships - but this is an important one - today is my and Ceri's 9 Month-aversary! Congratulations to us - this is now officially my longest relationship - go me! And go Ceri for not being annoying! 

I've been in a crabby PMS-y mood all day, Ceri went to the rugby to see Cardiff Blues but came home with a beautiful bunch of roses for me, I couldn't help but smile and swoon. He really, truly is a wonderful person and my best friend. 

Recipe: Lasagne

My mum is amazing at cooking Italian food, gifted almost! This isn't something I have picked up - my version of Italian is passable - no one has anything to fear yet!

Ceri won't eat mushrooms so I had to chop them up really tiny to hide them from him - he's a grown man of almost 30, don't get me started! But I did them really small along with the carrot, onion and garlic, chucked them into the frying pan with 500g of extra lean mince and a can of chopped tomatos to let it cook and simmer for about 50minutes. I know 500g seems like a lot - but I weighed out 140g for me to eat when I was done - gave Ceri a hearty portion and put the rest in the fridge to eat for a lunch this week!

As the mince was cooking, it was working off all the juices from the chopped tomatos so I had to add a big dose of Tomato Puree so it was still juicy when it came to being served. I know it looks like it wasn't much, but it filled me up - especially with some garlic bread! It was delicious and filling!

twee jewellery

Before Christmas, I was looking at a seaside for my bathroom and logged onto Notonthehighstreet.com, which was a treasure trove of stuff that I hadn't been able to find in my shopping trips.

I'm not particularly known for wearing an abundance of jewellery and when I do, it's typically of the Costume Variety but when I saw this stuff my heart flipped.

The collection is from Jodie Anna, who also has her own Etsy - I just find this stuff utterly adorable and now I can't wait until pay day! I find Etsy really frustrating sometimes because it can be difficult to find great stuff because it can get bogged down with things that are of no interest to me, so when I find something I like on Etsy I do a little dance to myself - I feel like I've conquered the website and they try and keep great stuff hidden from me - I know that's not the case and there are so many people doing awesome things on that website, but it can get a little daunting having to filter through it all!

Date Night!

Ceri & I finally got back to our regular date nights, in November and December I don't think we really made that much of an effort to do it - the weather was crappy, it was dark plus we had to save up to move into the new house.

Now that everything's settled, we can get back into our scheduled time of making an effort with each other. Not that we don't every other day but it's important to us, and for us, to still ensure we make that time for each other.

We had Dinner and went to a movie <3 Ordinarily, eating out when I'm trying to eat well fills me with dread but I generally get around this by planning ahead - it's the key to being successful!

My passion for pizza is quenched by Pizza Express and their Weight Watchers Pizza range

It would be awesome if Pizza Express made this range available in supermarkets, but they don't so I'll have to make do with the naughtier ones for now - but these Pizzas are thin, cripsy, doughnut shaped with their whole in the middle - craftily filled with a lovely salad.

Because I planned ahead, I was even able to dive straight into some Garlic Balls. Which were awesome by the way.

After Dinner, which went down a treat, we went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie which was awesome. I've always had such a crush on RDJ and between the film and the BBC Series, I'm in Sherlock Ruddy Heaven!

I'm going to....

AMSTERDAM!

In May a few friends an I are off to a long weekend in Amsterdam! I'm so excited, we're staying on a house boat! I haven't stayed on a boat since I was a kid when my family & I would go on canal holidays throughout Ireland and France - they were awesome, now - I don't know how long I could go without my iPhone!

I really love city holidays, I'm not terribly good at sitting on a beach with a book - I like to go out exploring and see some different culture when I visit new places. I'm excited that Ceri & I will have the opportunity to go to new places this year, I'm taking him to Ireland to see where my family come from in the summer and hopefully we're going to make to make it to New York at some point this year, all being well with our jobs - being able to wangle the time off!

If anyone has been to Amsterdam before, is there anything in particular I should do or see?

Rachel Bilson ....

I love Rachel Bilson - from the OC to her awkward film stage to now...

Weight Loss Wednesday

Loss this week: 4lbs

Loss overall: 40lbs

Pounds till Target: 55lbs

Well I did it, I'm back to my Pre-Christmas Weight, and "square one"! Which is fine because as long as it's coming off I don't mind. Rather that than staying on or going up.

I've been thinking a lot lately about why I chose Weight Watchers particularly, compared to all the hundreds of other diets and healthy eating regimes around and I've come to the conclusion that it's this:

Weight Watchers is the only one that makes me accountable for what I put into my body AT THE SAME TIME as changing my attitude to food. I did Slimming World for a year and lost three stone, at that time I was still vegetarian so I lived on only "Green Days", veg, fruit, pasta, soups etc now thinking back, I find that extremely limiting plus I didn't know how to cook anything. 

My speciality when I moved out of my parents house was spaghetti covered in cheese - no sauce. I grew up in pubs so whilst my parent's had the best will in the world to prepare us relatively healthy dinners - that all went out of the window when I hit my teen years when they felt my siblings and I could all "fend for ourselves". This explains why, until recently, I've had the diet of 5 year old at a birthday party.

When I compare what I eat now to what I used to eat, and not only that - what I can now cook - I'm shocked yet absolutely pleased. 

Recently, I've planned my day's food before I get out of bed, so I know how many points I can be flexible with. The other day, I wanted a little bit of Garlic Bread with my Spaghetti Bolognase, counted the points and realised that because HALF of one was 8 points - it wasn't worth it. The meal was perfectly filling without it. I have found that I'm putting down a lot more than I was previously, which is a good thing - there was no need for my body to be taking on board what it was doing, because I wasn't then doing as much exercise as I needed to burn off that fuel that was then storing my arms as some pretty impressive bingo wings.

Everyday I ask Ceri what he would like for dinner, and I get 1 of 2 answers "dunno", which is my least favourite. The other will be some fatty dinner - followed up with "....but you can't eat that sooooo...."

This is where you are wrong dear boyfriend of mine. Tell me what you want for dinner and I will tell you how I can make it healthy either with a Weight Watchers recipe or I can ask my Mum....but I prefer Weight Watchers cause then I won't be on the phone for a half hour.

At the moment, I'm finding it really easy to stick to my points and not be tempted to splurge on a Mars Bar because if I want something I'm having it. Plus, blogging about things is a good motivation and so many people at work are eating well as well. I've been excited to weigh myself each Wednesday too!

See you next week, Scales!

Snack attack!

Source

I work in an office, in a pretty demanding job and with that comes 2 things - sitting on my backside for the majority of the day and the constant longing to snack on something.

Our office is located right in the centre of Cardiff with a Tesco's Express opposite our front door and as soon as you walk in the front door there's a chocolate rack, it takes some will to walk by that aisle especially when you're craving a little sugar boost to make your way back to where the fruity goodness is kept.

The best way for me to overcome this is, obviously, not to go in there! And hopefully, plan ahead. For instance, I went in before work on Monday and came out with £8 worth of fruit and veg for the week ahead specifically so I don't have to go to the shop this week!

I work in a customer facing job, so chowing down on some grapes or banana isn't appropriate when I have a customer telling me about their barriers back into work, but I'm like a hobbit - I like my meal times and I'll try my hardest to squeeze as many in the day. Strategically planning when I can dive out to get a fruit bowl is a must.

Taking the easy way and ruining all the hard work isn't the best option - what's easy isn't always right - I think Dumbledore said that? The best part about snacking on fruit though, is that it does keep me quite cheery and motivates me more because I am taking the extra step to not be tempted.

Super excited to weigh in, tomorrow and see how the work this week has paid off.

This post has been interrupted several times by NY Ink. Thank you, Ami.

The Gym

This afternoon was my first day back in the gym and it was PAINFUL! I haven't set foot in a gym properly for more than 2 months and certainly not for an extended period of time. So getting back into the rhythm of it all was a killer.

I lasted about 20 minutes...and I'm not even sorry! I can't lie, I hate physical exercise. I hate thinking about it and I hate doing it. From start to finish I'm cursing it, but I love the feeling I get afterwards when I've worked really hard, or generally just the up lifting feeling I get from all those happy hormones that are released when you exercise!

I can be difficult to start a routine and so easily to break if you're not 100% committed to it, apparently it becomes 12 weeks for a "routine" to become set in stone, we'll see! I meant to get out of bed and go to the gym before work but I had monster cramps so rolled over when my alarm went off and went back to sleep. I went after work instead and the place was fit to burst - if I can manage 12 weeks of getting out of bed for the 6.34am train I'll eat my hat! But I can only try, right?

The best thing for me to do - is to try different things and classes. So whilst I have a hardcore cardio programme (cause I do enjoy a bit of Cardio, despite my cursing it!) I find that I can get super bored or it starts to be less effective - so I mix things up with Zumba or Body Combat - anything that tickles my fancy really!

Now, I need to sit my ass in a bath cause it hurts!

Week of Instagram

On Thursday there was a beautiful sunset all over Cardiff, and possibly even the whole of South Wales and the South of England too. Which subsequently led to a day of beautiful day of sunshine in Cardiff on Friday.

Wednesday night was spent with Mum & Dad as they passed through Cardiff.

Today, Ceri & I went to Jacob's Antiques, they were having a Vintage & Retro Fair and although when we went it was pretty quiet, we did have fun looking through the 2 other floors of vintage and second hand stuff, even if at the moment we can't afford any of it *sad face*. 

Today, I have longed for Spring. Easter Eggs are already filtering into the shops which I know is crazy early but I want to be able to go further afield than Cardiff like the beaches and mountains but the days are ever so slowly getting longer and I can't wait to not freeze in my dresses!