Trying to make my dreams a reality!!

Peonie

I've set myself monthly challenges and I find that helps to keep me focused but I have laxed a bit in the last 2 months. I blame my operation.

Don't quit smoking tomorrow; do it now.

icontinuetodream

well, I have done the deed....officially smoke free now it has been surprisingly easy, so I have major concerns that it is going to be a delayed hit but will keep myself on the straight and narrow regardless!!

I have also paid off another £820 off the mortgage :A

Today, I start my detox.... I have absolutely nothing to do this weekend other than drop some things off to my dd's house at lunchtime, so it is an ideal time to start! After a very nice lie-in, I have had a hot lemon and water to start my day and bought plenty of fruit and veg yesterday so that I can have a total juice day today ....I will have an apple and carrot juice soon, then I will have a couple of green juices later. I am going to pop into sainsbobs and get a few other bits and pieces on the way back from dd's ...I need some sprouts and greens! Tomorrow I will have a raw day...I am going to 'bloom' some wild rice in the dehydrator today and have lots of sprouts, salads, and raw veg in a Buddha bowl along with fruit and veg juices throughout the day. I am really looking forward to this weekend

I am going to go on a really long walk with the puppy tomorrow, I have only been taking her on relatively short ones recently because it has been so hot.... don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this weather, but its not good for puppies the weather isn't going to be anywhere near as hot this weekend so I am really looking forward to being able to get her out and investigating with no time frame to work to!! I will give her a long walk today to get her prepared for tomorrows adventure!!!

I love going out early in the morning, trekking through the fields to the beach and being the only person around.....I have so many fabulous things around me and I am incredibly lucky in so many ways, it never ceases to amaze me how awesome my life is!!! (Sorry if that sounds bad, but I think that recognizing when life is great is as important as acknowledging when its not!!;))

Hope you all have a fab weekend!!

pixiedust09

Glad things are going so well for you at the moment. Its lovely to read such a positive post. Good luck with the detox and being smoke free. I really need to get my diet and fitness in check, could do with losing 4-5 stone:eek::eek::eek:.

icontinuetodream

Thank you pixiedust

I realised the other day that I am two stone heavier than I was when I started my job just over two and a half years ago!!!:eek::eek::eek: although I don't really look any different in my clothes than I used to, I know the difference!!! I am not massively overweight, even with the enormous gain recently, but I don't feel right, and that is the only thing that matters to me

Have done the dd's and sainsbobs....also went to l*dl and got a few bits for dh's lunches....unfortunately, I am now £5.97 over my grocery budget for the week, but I have taken this off next weeks money. I am putting down the full price for things regardless of offers and putting the money we have saved through the offers into the 'bulk purchase' pot....hopefully that will work out well!! I think that this is the one area that dh needs a bit of work on....he doesn't quite get the idea that once the money is gone, its gone, but I think by next week he will start to understand it!! He mentioned that we may need some bread through the week...told him tough, we don't have any money left in the budget so hopefully we have enough bread flour to make some or he will have to go without!! Sounds a bit harsh, but he will learn!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

yukkibear

Well done on quitting smoking

icontinuetodream

yukkibear wrote: »

Well done on quitting smoking

Thank you yukkibear

I have had a lovely weekend....have just got back from a ten mile walk with the puppy, had lots of juice and healthy food over the past couple of days and am currently slobbing on the sofa before I go and have a nice long shower Must admit, I feel a bit tired after my walk (not as much as the puppy though...she is already pooped out on the sofa!!:rotfl:) so am looking forward to having a nice relax and I will have an Epsom salt bath before I go to bed too....I should sleep well tonight!!

It feels as if it is going to be a long week ahead....I have two days of training this week which means that it is going to be totally mental for the other three days....I am looking forward to the beginning of august when I have a few days off and am also going to London with my sis for a weekend of r&r!!! I do feel that I am wishing my life away in some respects but, hey, a girl has to look forward to her hols!!;)

I am also looking forward to not having to do any shopping this week .... I have made some soup for tomorrow, which I will have with some salad, I have made some sweet chilli hommous too so intend to have sweet potatoes with hommous and peking sauce on Tuesday (one of my absolute favourites!!:D:D) I have a mountain of olives with rosemary and garlic which I intend to put into a Buddha bowl for Wednesday along with green beans which I bought cheap the other day, Thursday will be courgette 'spaghetti' with pesto, Friday will be whatever the dd wants as she comes home on a Friday and then the week starts over.....I will have at least Saturday, Sunday and Monday's food sorted without having to go to the shops from what I have in (butternut squash with red beans Saturday and cabbage, beans and rice on Sunday, Monday will be vegan mince stuff with sage potatoes and mashed swede) I am very much looking to pretty much do next weeks food from the cupboards, fridge and freezer if possible.....I really need to defrost the freezer and the less I spend on shopping next week the better!!;)

Right, another hour of slobbing and then I am heading for the shower!!:D

icontinuetodream

well, a couple of weeks away from the boards and its all gone to poo!!:o started smoking again due to a drunken night out (actually, it was more like a drunken weekend!!:eek:) have been to London and the Lake District and spent shed loads of cash and have generally fallen off the wagon big time.... It's not a case of doom and gloom though, I have still paid my intended amounts to the mortgage, got through three birthdays, bailed my dd out with cash when she ran short and although my credit card is scarily high at the moment, I will have paid at least half of it off by the end of next week

The other big thing (actually, its a monumental thing) is that for the first time in well over a decade, I have ceased to be vegan!! Unfortunately (or not, as the case may be) on my birthday, was very drunk and was introduced to JD honey.....:eek: I LOVE it, really, really, love it and can't be hypocritical so decided to call it a day on the veganism....not sure whether this will save me money in the long run as from now on at least I won't be frequently cooking separate meals for me and the family but I will see how it goes!! DH & DS are ecstatic of course, they love the idea that they will be eating more corpse and both adore my food (well, I did train as a chef!) so are putting orders in already!!:rotfl:

I am going to try to get my finances back on track in September, I have DD's birthday and a family visitor over the next few weeks to accommodate, but after that, I really want to get myself sorted out..... staying focused has been incredibly difficult throughout August and I am determined not to fall off the wagon again!!

Hope all is well with everyone else....off to catch up on diaries etc now!!:D

icontinuetodream

Have had a busy morning in the kitchen.....sweet potato, butternut squash, ginger, red onion and garlic all roasted off and then cooked in veg stock which has made an absolutely gorgeous soup (dh and I have already polished half of it off!! ) We are having a bbq tomorrow and I have put the lamb leg steaks into an olive oil, garlic, rosemary and mint marinade and the chicken breasts are in a tandoori marinade all ready for tomorrow

The house is clean...dh did most of it yesterday, so just the bathroom to clean today and a quick swish & swipe of the rest of the house will finish it all off...yay!!! Also got through the washing mountain which has arisen due to my galavanting across the country over the past couple of weeks....yes, I am feeling very virtuous today!!;)

Have spent £20 of our grocery budget for the week, but other than getting some stuff for a lasagne on Friday (as requested by dd) I won't have anything else to buy this week...I have sorted out a menu plan for the next few weeks so that we can use up as much of the freezer stuff as possible, I really need to defrost the main freezer so it's a case of killing two birds with one stone

Paid another £5 off the mortgage today from an am*zon sale that I made the other day....not exactly life changing amounts but it all helps!

I am going to sort the garden out tomorrow, the grass needs cutting and the side patio is so covered in weeds that its getting to the point where I can't even see the brickwork oh well, at least the weather is promising to be good so hopefully I will get it done before the babies turn up for the bbq!!

Have a great day everyone!!:D

icontinuetodream

A good week so far .....Had a lovely day on Monday, got the garden sorted, had a lovely bbq with the babies and generally just had a fab day!:D Tuesday was a mental day at work, then home to sort the house out ready for a visit from a cousin who currently resides on the other side of the world but is in the UK for a couple of weeks - we picked her up from the station last night and then spent the evening in the garden with a fire going and drinking lots of lovely wine.....today I am off work, she has gone off to other parts of the country and I am looking forward to having another really chilled out evening!;) One more day of craziness at work (my 'to do' list is currently bigger than I am!!) before the weekend so not too bad at all.....

Not much to report on the MFW front - hopefully I can pay a chunk off the credit card tomorrow if my expenses clear - I haven't spent any more on groceries this week so I am going to have a decent amount to put into my 'bulk purchase' pot at the end of the week ready for the September grocery challenge...I am reasonably confident that I will do really well with it this time, I have so much in already and have meal planned to use the majority of it up by the end of the month so that I can finally defrost the freezer!:o

I am going to try to ease off the drinking next week too...it has been an alcohol rich month and I am getting far too high a tolerance to it now.....I think my liver will start to complain if I don't do something about it soon:eek:

So this is my plan for September - keep the alcohol down, the grocery spending to a minimum and clear my 'to do' list at work!!:D

icontinuetodream

No money left to go in my 'bulk purchase' fund due to the lovely car deciding to have a wobbly and lose all the lights :mad: Decided to use what was left in the grocery fund to pay for it so that I don't interfere with the offset balance!;)

So, I am starting September fresh and will do my best to stick to the plan and spend as little as possible! I am having a lazy weekend as I feel a bit poo today...nothing drastic, I think its just a lack of sleep and a really busy week at work taking it's toll - I was going to spend the day being lazy in the garden but just went out there and its far too windy!!:eek:

I have looked at my mortgage figures and think that I am about 3k down on where I wanted to be on the MFiT-T3 challenge, but not too concerned...at least I am doing much better than I did last year and I am sure I will be able to make it up over the next two years (better do as I want to have finished it all by then really!!:D)

Right, off to check out the rest of the boards....hope you all have a fab weekend