Shhh! there's still a Waitrose Christmas Cake in the kitchen cupboard

Well where did the last few months go? I really do need to get my blogging mojo back. Only I am not too sure where I left it...I did look behind the sofa and in the cupboard under the stairs (admittedly I was looking for a pair of red ballerina pumps at the time-still missing in action) but all I found was dust and a lonely mitten.



Still, hopefully this is a positive step in the right direction, no?


Did you have a lovely Christmas? New Year? Isn't it cold out? Really miserable?-just some of the questions I answer on a regular basis at work! Truth be told I am rather pleased it's all out of the way now and we can just Get On. I might be able to save a bit of money now as well. I am really hoping that this will finally be the year of the purchase of the camper van. I have dreamed about it long enough! I hope to be able to get some holidays to Cornwall in as well (or maybe just the one given the previous camper van thing) and practice some more sewing, maybe even go to a night class or two.


Plans are afoot to re-vamp the menu at the cafe too. Lots of warming winter stews and soups, new cakes and sandwich fillings. If anyone has any ideas they would be greatly appreciated. I just feel the need to stir things up a bit on the food front.


Other plans involve getting back to a respectable standard of running, where I was at the beginning of December. It has all fallen by the waywise and I am blaming it on chest infections and snow. The lovely husband and I were due to do a charity run on Boxing Day which was actually cancelled due to deep snow on Cheltenham Racecourse, and actually I was quite pleased. Because I probably would have only managed half of it. Now that the roads and pavements are clear of snow though we can get out again in the evenings, and start building up some decent distances.




Christmas morning,canapes and champagne,yum!

I always HATED exercise and sports at school, because I was rubbish at it and would rather have been baking cakes. My friend and I used to hide in the tennis court when we were supposed to be doing Cross Country (sorry Mum) and deliberately choose positions in hockey that meant we could stand by the goalie and watch the boys on the rugby pitch instead (sorry Dad)

And about 2 hours later......well done the lovely husband!

But since I started working for a living I did quite fancy the idea of getting home and throwing a pair of trainers on. Shame I didn't actually do anything about it throughout my twenties. Would have saved me a fortune in cigarettes and alcohol! But something else I needed to do for ages was lose some weight. I know it's a new year cliche for many, but last February when along with my colleagues I signed up for Race for Life I decided it Was Time. I didn't want to see yet another photo and cringe with embarrassment at being lardy in leggings. So I joined Slimming World. I bought a pair of trainers. I stopped eating biscuits quite to regularly (God how I miss you, biscuits) I swapped my full fat lattes for Skinny lattes and slowly but surely it worked. I have lost just over 4 stone now, and feel great. I just hope it stays off. Lots of lovely tasty food still gets consumed, there is still a bottle of wine on the shopping list and although in theory I probably shouldn't have inhaled quite so many mince pies over the festive break they were blimmin marvelous.

I am not trying to sound smug, it has been a long slog and hard work but I am getting there and it is starting to all make sense in my head now. Lots of people ask me if I feel different. But no, not really. I think because it's taken such a long time, and has been a gradual process, that I probably still feel exactly the same really.

Ooh! maybe I lost my blogging thing alongside an inch or two of thigh?

I hope I get it back. No, not the thigh.....