Diets have been a major part of my adult life. I am guilty of being somewhat of a yo-yo dieter. I obsess about not eating when I am in the throes of a new lose-weight-quick scheme. I am an intelligent woman and I know that I am doing myself no favours by denying my body the nutrients it needs. The seductive sight of the numbers falling on my digital scales becomes almost addictive. I crave that validation of my denial. However, the early fall off of weight is mostly water from the fat cells and is unsustainable. The results diminish and lead to disillusionment. The starvation becomes pointless...I hit the cake with a vengeance!!
I find dieting difficult because I have a husband who absolutely adores me! He says he loves me and is equally attracted to me whether I'm carrying the extra poundage or not! There seems no incentive to not eat whatever I want whenever I want it. It's only when I catch an unflattering glimpse of myself in the relection from a shop window, or if I go to put on something in my wardrobe that just will not do up, do I feel enough self-revulsion to diet again. But coming to that decision with such negativity is what starts the destructive yo-yo-ing. It just never works.
After years of explaining this to my husband he has finally understood that i need to approach my weightloss in a different, more positive way. I'd never be the sort of person to enjoy diet groups, so my help needed to come from him. He cogitated and deliberated about how best to help me. He came up with a scheme...the Save to Lose scheme. It's brilliant and I love it!!
He made me a small, cardboard money box based on the bank at the beginning of Toy Story when Andy is playing with his toys! As I lose weight I get a token to deposit in the bank. Psychologically this is marvellous...instead of battling to lose weight, I'm earning tokens. I save as I lose. It's positive! I'm rewarded for a slow steady weight loss, getting tokens at increments for the total poundage lost! I also get weight related facts which are great...for example how much the equivalent of my shed weight in 18ct gold would be worth!! It's well thought out and keeps me motivated. His thoughtfulness and effort makes me feel like I'm doing it for him as well as for myself. I need that to keep me on the straight and narrow! When I have shed 28lbs I will have banked 152 tokens which my husband will convert to its cold, hard equivalent in cash....perfect for buying new clothes for my new slimmer figure!!
I'm 7lbs down already...looking forwards to my next deposit!!
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Why my Mum and Dad really are Superheroes!
Since becoming finalists in the Volkswagen Ultimate Family Hero Competition I have really reflected on what being a family superhero means. I nominated my parents, 76 year old Jill and 77 year old Stan. They have been happily married for 55 years, which is a heroic feat by anyone's standards. They are still very much in love and spend all their time together. They are grandparents to thirteen grandkids. Tom 23, Loralei, 22, Katie 22, Joe 22, Emily 19, Megan 18, Maisie 16, Ella 14, Charis 13, Kizzy 8, Adrian 2, Freddy 1 and Dylan 3 mths. Without fail they visit my sister and I every week. They bring a bag containing 5 different fruit and veg products (making sure we get our five a day) along with some treats for the kids. Nana often bakes an apple pie for each of us. She knits constantly, a hobby she took up following a fall that left her with a metal plate in her wrist. After months of physiotherapy she found that knitting strengthened her wrist and aided its mobility. She hasn't stopped since. The younger babies are kept in jumpers and cardies, the older children get fingerless gloves and hats! We lovingly refer to them as NanaKnits! Grandad suffers terribly with artritic knees that has, over the years, lead to hip and back pain as his body compensates for the pain in his knees which has affected his posture. He practices Reiki and tries to alleviate his pain without the need for painkillers. He puts a brave face on it though and is always laughing and joking. He is, as they say, a real character. He adores his family and really would do anything to help any of them. He has financially helped the older grandchildren in times of need, for example he has helped Tom pay for a new car. I'm sure he would love to be more hands on with such pursuits, but his physical limitations make it impossible. However, he is interested and supportive and generous. He is the biggest fan of his grandchildren and his pride is palpable. He loves to listen to the family band Her Bandana Dreams and is quick to sing along with songs he knows.
For us, the three generations of family come together effortlessly. The love and affection is evident. The hugs and kisses flow freely and the laughs are aplenty. In this day and age I know we are incredibly blessed to have the family we have. It is wonderful to see my parents' marriage as a role model to the grandchildren. It is fantastic to see how demonstrative and comfortable with affection, the children are. It is wonderful that they are so confident, loving and respectful. I thank my parents for providing the cornerstone upon which I built my own life. Through them I developed the tools I needed to forge my own happy marriage and raise my own incredible children.
Without my Superhero Parents, none of us would be here. Without their love, support and care, our story may have been very different. I thank them and stand by my nomination for Superpops and Nana!
Voting starts on October 11th. Regardless of the outcome, they are our family superheroes!!!
Superpops and Nana
For us, the three generations of family come together effortlessly. The love and affection is evident. The hugs and kisses flow freely and the laughs are aplenty. In this day and age I know we are incredibly blessed to have the family we have. It is wonderful to see my parents' marriage as a role model to the grandchildren. It is fantastic to see how demonstrative and comfortable with affection, the children are. It is wonderful that they are so confident, loving and respectful. I thank my parents for providing the cornerstone upon which I built my own life. Through them I developed the tools I needed to forge my own happy marriage and raise my own incredible children.
Without my Superhero Parents, none of us would be here. Without their love, support and care, our story may have been very different. I thank them and stand by my nomination for Superpops and Nana!
Voting starts on October 11th. Regardless of the outcome, they are our family superheroes!!!
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Baking Inside the Wendy House
If there is one thing that really conjures up the idea of family togetherness, it is the whole process of baking with the children! The sight of my 8 year old in her chef's hat and apron wielding her miniature wooden spoons is just delightful. It's an image from a bygone era, pre-laptops and before CBBC. It harks back to simpler times when things were homemade...there was no Krispy Kreme Donut concession to tempt us out of the kitchen. If you wanted a cake, you baked it yourself.
In our house, Muffins and Cupcakes are our thing! The varieties are endless ranging from light as a feather yogurt based lemon muffins to rich, dark, dense dark chocolate and raspberry cupcakes! We have adorable cake cases with animal prints or polka dots on them. We make big ones or mini ones! We top them with fondant icing, ganache, cream, fudge frosting or glace icing and decorate them with fresh berries, chocolate curls, hundreds and thousands or sweeties! We have a production line and work together as a team, with the ocassional sweet treat being popped directly into my eager helpers' mouths! We have such fun with it! We make them for any and every ocassion!
In our house, Muffins and Cupcakes are our thing! The varieties are endless ranging from light as a feather yogurt based lemon muffins to rich, dark, dense dark chocolate and raspberry cupcakes! We have adorable cake cases with animal prints or polka dots on them. We make big ones or mini ones! We top them with fondant icing, ganache, cream, fudge frosting or glace icing and decorate them with fresh berries, chocolate curls, hundreds and thousands or sweeties! We have a production line and work together as a team, with the ocassional sweet treat being popped directly into my eager helpers' mouths! We have such fun with it! We make them for any and every ocassion!
Our latest favourite and super easy recipe is VANILLA CUPCAKES which the kids adore and I would highly recommend for a fabulous fun cooking with the kids session!
This post was inspired by "Oui Chef" at http://www.beckicklesie.com/ "Mum's Cooking".
Freddy xxx
I never really ever felt that I was done with having babies. I could never commit to any permanent method of birth control (much to Ian's delight because that would have meant a vasectomy for him!! He is a little protective of his testicles!!) Each new arrival did not bring that feeling of closure, and I never thought my family was complete. That was until Freddy's birth. He seems to have given me that sense of completeness that I never felt before.
Being 40 and pregnant meant I was faced with the prospect of genetic counselling and the offer of tests to check to see if the baby was "normal". I declined all such intervention, refusing even the routine bloodwork which calculates the probabilty of having a baby with Downs Syndrome or Spina Bifida. My committment to my child started at conception, and regardless of my high risk status, this baby had my support. As soon as a saw a developing brain and a beating heart on the first scan, that was confirmed!
Thankfully, we were incredibly blessed and despite a scare on the 20 week scan (that turned out to be nothing more than human error on behalf of an over eager and under trained sonographer) we had an absolutely perfect baby boy!
Our family is girl heavy. At the time of Freddy's birth my grandparents had 11 grandchildren of which only 2 were boys! My own son Joe was 21 and had always longed for a baby brother. I had given him 3 sisters! Freddy's arrival delighted him, even though he had left home to live with his girlfriend just weeks before he was born. Having my baby boy seemed to give a beautiful symmetry to my family. The girls were also thrilled with Freddy. He brought a whole new dimension to our home. Boys' toys litter the living room floor. Fred is a bundle of energy and full of mischief. He is a very different creature to his sisters. He loves balls. He loves throwing things. He is funny, affectionate and cheeky. He is an absolute joy!
My family feels complete now. I look at my children and feel so proud of each and every one of them. I never thought I'd be a new mum again at 40, but it proving to be an exciting journey and I am loving the ride!
Monday, 4 October 2010
Feeling rather humble :)
I am very new to this blogging lark, and not entirely sure if what I am doing is right! However, tonight I just worked out how to view comments on past blog posts. I felt so honoured to see comments from other bloggers, people who do not know me personally and have no obligation to read my posts, let alone comment on them. Yet, they have taken the time to look at my ramblings and have offered me support, complimented me and told me that they have been moved by my words. I feel priveleged to be a part of this community albeit only in a very small way, and I am humbled by knowing that people care.
I hope that in time I will understand exactly what I am doing and do justice to this incredible media that we are fortunate enough to have at our fingertips. We are living in a time of great technological possibilities. The concept of being able to write what is essentially a journal, which in the past would have been words on paper lost to a drawer or shoved under a bed never to be shared, is quite overwhelming. Yet knowing that you can reach strangers, make friends and touch people with your written words on a huge scale is mind blowing! This is a journey that I have only just embarked on, but I'm ready to travel to wherever it takes me.
Thank you so much. xxx
I hope that in time I will understand exactly what I am doing and do justice to this incredible media that we are fortunate enough to have at our fingertips. We are living in a time of great technological possibilities. The concept of being able to write what is essentially a journal, which in the past would have been words on paper lost to a drawer or shoved under a bed never to be shared, is quite overwhelming. Yet knowing that you can reach strangers, make friends and touch people with your written words on a huge scale is mind blowing! This is a journey that I have only just embarked on, but I'm ready to travel to wherever it takes me.
Thank you so much. xxx
More Car Madness!!
Just as the excitement of the VW filming has calmed down...we now have another crazy experience to contend with!!
I spotted a competition to win a Hyundai car with the Eden Shopping Centre in High Wycombe. You had to upload a picture of a car you had built and post it to their wall. Ten finalists would win the chance to compete in a Hands on my Hyundai Competition. The person who lasts longest takes the car! After 6 hours in the event of a tie, a tie-breaker will take place. Runners up win a goodie bag!
I challenged my husband Ian to enter this one, because he is the gadget mad one, who loved Meccano as a child! So next day at work he set about carrying out this task. As he works in the IT industry it seemed obvious to use computer components...CDs, pieces of Hard Drive and Key Board bits helped construct a rather ingenius little car that he proudly photographed and emailed to me!! I was very impressed, especially with him spelling out Hyundai with keyboard letters! So we entered it!
Surprisingly, only 22 entries were received in this competition. So the odds were very much in Ian's favour. I also think his was definitely one of the best, having been built especially for the competition and paying homage to the brand...making it particularly apt!
Today he received the phone call to say he is in the final 10. It's going to be mad. High Wycombe is 3 hours away from us and the contest starts at 9.15am. 6 hours standing up with 2 hands on a car is going to be horrible...but Ian was a Venture Scout and loves a challenge!! We're looking at it as another unexpected adventure that we would never have done otherwise. Life throws these opportunities at you...I think you have to grasp them and roll with them and see what fate has in store for you!! I'll be there supporting Ian and regardless of the outcome, we will have another unforgettable family adventure!!
IAN'S COMPUTER CAR
I spotted a competition to win a Hyundai car with the Eden Shopping Centre in High Wycombe. You had to upload a picture of a car you had built and post it to their wall. Ten finalists would win the chance to compete in a Hands on my Hyundai Competition. The person who lasts longest takes the car! After 6 hours in the event of a tie, a tie-breaker will take place. Runners up win a goodie bag!
I challenged my husband Ian to enter this one, because he is the gadget mad one, who loved Meccano as a child! So next day at work he set about carrying out this task. As he works in the IT industry it seemed obvious to use computer components...CDs, pieces of Hard Drive and Key Board bits helped construct a rather ingenius little car that he proudly photographed and emailed to me!! I was very impressed, especially with him spelling out Hyundai with keyboard letters! So we entered it!
Surprisingly, only 22 entries were received in this competition. So the odds were very much in Ian's favour. I also think his was definitely one of the best, having been built especially for the competition and paying homage to the brand...making it particularly apt!
Today he received the phone call to say he is in the final 10. It's going to be mad. High Wycombe is 3 hours away from us and the contest starts at 9.15am. 6 hours standing up with 2 hands on a car is going to be horrible...but Ian was a Venture Scout and loves a challenge!! We're looking at it as another unexpected adventure that we would never have done otherwise. Life throws these opportunities at you...I think you have to grasp them and roll with them and see what fate has in store for you!! I'll be there supporting Ian and regardless of the outcome, we will have another unforgettable family adventure!!
IAN'S COMPUTER CAR
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Ultimate Family Superhero...the Challenge!!
This week has been absolutely mad! A real rollercoaster ride of organisational activity, secret keeping and masses of mirth...with the added bonus of driving around in a brand, spanking new VW Touran and filming clips of everything we did!! But the week of madness came to an incredible finale on October 2nd with the hosting of the Ultimate Family Surprise Party for my 8 year old daughter Kizzy...complete with camera crew, soundmen and PR people.
The day began at 8am. This was not easy to achieve...Freddy decided to sleep-in for the first time ever, and had to be pulled out from under his Toy Story duvet at 7.50am, which was something that did not impress him at all! So my stress levels were quite high before the day even began. Marinella, my PR contact throughout the competition process, was on the phone at eight o'clock on the dot. We finally got to my sister's house (the party venue) some 10 minutes late but no one seemed to mind. I finally relaxed and allowed myself to be enveloped by the whole creative process!
I was expecting quite a low key film crew set up...instead we got the proper treatment with cameramen, sound crew, director, PR people and some other people who organised the equipment and whatnot. They came in a VW van that bore a passing resemblance to the A Team vehicle! The madness began forthwith with a staged shot of us all outside by the car...on the count of 3 we had to turn and walk into the house. From there we had breakfast in the kitchen. Me and Maisie were sniffing milk to see if they were cheesy smelling...I turned to realise there was a camera looking right at us. Not the greatest bit of film!!! This intrusive camera work continued...but we soon got used to acting "naturally" and proceeded with party food prep, balloon blowing and decorating!
As the nominator of Superpops and Nana, I was taken aside several times to carry out specific jobs to advance the plot! I found myself giving fake instructions to Ian and delegating jobs to people and taking phone calls etc. All while trying to act "natural"! My big job came when I was given a secret task to collect a secret package from a PC shop in town. I was wired up and had the full crew following my every move. I had to take Superpops and Nana with me....thankfully Ella came too for moral support. This was the first time I drove this car on the open road. When it first arrived I tried to drive around the estate and failed epically! I stalled 4 times and didn't get above 20 miles per hour. I was determined to do better, but did whine and panic a bit before setting off :( After adjusting the seat though and actually being able to reach the pedals, I found the driving a lot easier (didn't think to do that on my first attempt...too excited to think straight most probably!!) So my mission was to drive into town, park up (thank God there was a huge space right outside the shop!!) and go to the shop and ask for my secret package! All the while I was filmed by the crew. People were coming out of shops to watch. I felt very celebrity-esque!! The girl in the PC Shop seemed delighted to be in on the action and was all smiles when she gave me the secret package that turned out to be a huge picture of Kizzy, photoshopped as a princess! It was brilliant and my reaction of joyous wow-ing was 100% genuine! I knew Kizzy would love it!! She had been the best, most giving, little girl on the planet, agreeing to forgo her birthday for Nana and Grandad. She believed the party was for them and was totally happy about it. We had secretly plotted to make a big reveal during the party where the emphasis would turn from Superpops and Nana to Kizzy. This picture was another perfect prop to use in that moment! I stashed the huge picture into the boot of the car and drove home. I had to reverse into the drive which terrified me...I had hit Paula's gate trying to back in before....but I did it!!!
Eventually, the party started with Her Bandana Dreams playing a set. Nan, Grandad and Kizzy had returned to my house with the camera crew to get changed (OMG I didn't even tidy up before we left in the morning...there was a bowl of Shreddies on the sofa!!). During this time we personalised everything so it bacame Kizzy's party and awaited their arrival. They entered the house to be greeted by everyone applauding! Everything went perfectly. After playing Life is a Movie and Draw me a picture, the band played the Grandparent Song that Ella wrote. The floodgates opened and the tissues were distributed as me, Paula, Nana, Kizzy, Maisie and apparently the soundman let our emotions out in tear form!! Grandad did the tight faced/keeping it in thing but was clearly moved, evident in the way he leapt out of his chair to give Ella an emotionally charged hug at the end of the song! Then came the twist...the band played their Happy Birthday Song. Kizzy realised that the day was all about her...she shed joyful tears that turned into joyous exuberance as a brand new pink BMX was wheeled in along with a pink handbag shaped birthday cake and the giant Kizzy picture!! The reveal could not have been better if scripted! We had pulled off the surprise after all the conspiring of the last week....a real triumph and an unforgettable birthday for Kizzy!!
I hope the crew filmed some golden moments and I can't wait to see the final cut of our entry into the final competition. Whether the public vote for us or not....we have had an amazing adventure!!
The day began at 8am. This was not easy to achieve...Freddy decided to sleep-in for the first time ever, and had to be pulled out from under his Toy Story duvet at 7.50am, which was something that did not impress him at all! So my stress levels were quite high before the day even began. Marinella, my PR contact throughout the competition process, was on the phone at eight o'clock on the dot. We finally got to my sister's house (the party venue) some 10 minutes late but no one seemed to mind. I finally relaxed and allowed myself to be enveloped by the whole creative process!
I was expecting quite a low key film crew set up...instead we got the proper treatment with cameramen, sound crew, director, PR people and some other people who organised the equipment and whatnot. They came in a VW van that bore a passing resemblance to the A Team vehicle! The madness began forthwith with a staged shot of us all outside by the car...on the count of 3 we had to turn and walk into the house. From there we had breakfast in the kitchen. Me and Maisie were sniffing milk to see if they were cheesy smelling...I turned to realise there was a camera looking right at us. Not the greatest bit of film!!! This intrusive camera work continued...but we soon got used to acting "naturally" and proceeded with party food prep, balloon blowing and decorating!
As the nominator of Superpops and Nana, I was taken aside several times to carry out specific jobs to advance the plot! I found myself giving fake instructions to Ian and delegating jobs to people and taking phone calls etc. All while trying to act "natural"! My big job came when I was given a secret task to collect a secret package from a PC shop in town. I was wired up and had the full crew following my every move. I had to take Superpops and Nana with me....thankfully Ella came too for moral support. This was the first time I drove this car on the open road. When it first arrived I tried to drive around the estate and failed epically! I stalled 4 times and didn't get above 20 miles per hour. I was determined to do better, but did whine and panic a bit before setting off :( After adjusting the seat though and actually being able to reach the pedals, I found the driving a lot easier (didn't think to do that on my first attempt...too excited to think straight most probably!!) So my mission was to drive into town, park up (thank God there was a huge space right outside the shop!!) and go to the shop and ask for my secret package! All the while I was filmed by the crew. People were coming out of shops to watch. I felt very celebrity-esque!! The girl in the PC Shop seemed delighted to be in on the action and was all smiles when she gave me the secret package that turned out to be a huge picture of Kizzy, photoshopped as a princess! It was brilliant and my reaction of joyous wow-ing was 100% genuine! I knew Kizzy would love it!! She had been the best, most giving, little girl on the planet, agreeing to forgo her birthday for Nana and Grandad. She believed the party was for them and was totally happy about it. We had secretly plotted to make a big reveal during the party where the emphasis would turn from Superpops and Nana to Kizzy. This picture was another perfect prop to use in that moment! I stashed the huge picture into the boot of the car and drove home. I had to reverse into the drive which terrified me...I had hit Paula's gate trying to back in before....but I did it!!!
Eventually, the party started with Her Bandana Dreams playing a set. Nan, Grandad and Kizzy had returned to my house with the camera crew to get changed (OMG I didn't even tidy up before we left in the morning...there was a bowl of Shreddies on the sofa!!). During this time we personalised everything so it bacame Kizzy's party and awaited their arrival. They entered the house to be greeted by everyone applauding! Everything went perfectly. After playing Life is a Movie and Draw me a picture, the band played the Grandparent Song that Ella wrote. The floodgates opened and the tissues were distributed as me, Paula, Nana, Kizzy, Maisie and apparently the soundman let our emotions out in tear form!! Grandad did the tight faced/keeping it in thing but was clearly moved, evident in the way he leapt out of his chair to give Ella an emotionally charged hug at the end of the song! Then came the twist...the band played their Happy Birthday Song. Kizzy realised that the day was all about her...she shed joyful tears that turned into joyous exuberance as a brand new pink BMX was wheeled in along with a pink handbag shaped birthday cake and the giant Kizzy picture!! The reveal could not have been better if scripted! We had pulled off the surprise after all the conspiring of the last week....a real triumph and an unforgettable birthday for Kizzy!!
I hope the crew filmed some golden moments and I can't wait to see the final cut of our entry into the final competition. Whether the public vote for us or not....we have had an amazing adventure!!
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