The amazing sore bums of Ealing

I need a new bike.

While the kids are away in Dartmoor, we have been making the most of our child free time, and went  on a really long bike rides, because that's the sort of cool people we are.  We cycled down to church (waterfowl count: 0) (distance: 2km), hung around there for a bit serving tea and biscuits, then decided to go to Isleworth to see if Halfords was open for me to test drive my new bike.  I want a mint green Pendleton bike, with a basket and space for panniers and a bell, and I can apparently get one through work, although first I have to navigate Ealing's opaque cycle to work scheme website.  Seriously.

Our church is in Hanwell, which mean little to non-Ealing based readers, and right by the Bunny Park, which is on the Brent River, which has a cycle path along side.  So we cycled down there (waterfowl count: some moorhens and some coots) until we hit the Grand Union Canal, and then down to Brentford.  (waterfowl count: many moorhens, many coots, one heron)  From Brentford, we went through Syon Park, along the river and all the way to Isleworth. (waterfowl count: lots of seagulls) (distance: 9.5km)

Anyway, I sat on the bike, rode around the shop, had a fun time arguing with my husband about how many panniers I need, then we went to Richmond.  I do not like Richmond.  It is full of people wearing Fat Face and red trousers and braying and that makes me irrationally angry, so we did not stay in Richmond very long.  (waterfowl count: most seagulls and IDIOTS) (distance: 3.52)  We cycled back to Kew, again along the Thames, on a very, very bumpy, narrow path, with lots of people and nettles and thistles and things.  (distance: 6km)(waterfowl count: don't know, too busy avoiding joggers, dogs and other cyclists)

Kew is not quite as ghastly as Richmond, but it does have its share of idiots, although by this stage, I was really hungry and just a bit grumpy, and after the third rejected pub, I suggested that we just go and GET A SANDWICH FROM SAINSBURYS HURRY UP I AM STARVING, but we went to the pub on Kew Green and it was lovely, and I had a vegetarian Wellington thing, which is something I want to make now - it looked really easy, roasted veg in pasty, what's hard about that?  Famous last words?  (waterfowl count: a family of swans including teenage cygnets)

So then I made the cardinal error of looking at my Runkeeper statistics for the month, and by walking, running and cycling, I'd managed to cover 177 km, so obviously we had to cycle home along the canal the long way.  Turns out the long way is a very, very long way, and now my bum is really quite sore.  I think I'll be adding a pair of padded cycling shorts to my order when I buy my bike, and I really need to wear a sports bra when cycling on rough ground.  That would have been a very severe wardrobe malfunction.  (waterfowl count: at least 50 swans including some on their own (sob), two families with teenagers and two groups of at least 15 adults, tiny baby mallards with their mum, baby coots (so cute), baby moorhens (cute and so ugly), four herons, one flying cormorant)(distance: 25.5 km)

Percentages: (idea nicked from the terrifically funny Belgian Waffling)

25% adrenaline from cycling

25% sore bum (ditto)

10% joy of swans and other wild life

10% sunburn

5% gin

It's cold outside and I can't wear mittens because they're not flattering to my hands!

Hello campers and how's the weekend been?  Normally, I write about knitting on a Sunday evening, but this evening, I want to talk about running and how amazing it can be.

It was the Winter Run today, a 10k race through Central London, which sounds pretty amazing, and really, really was.  I ran it last year before injuring my ankle, and it took me 1 hour 31 minutes, which was pretty slow, but I did it, and I got a medal to prove it.  I then signed up for this year in a fit of adrenaline based madness, and promptly forgot about it, particularly when I had to pull out of the Royal Parks Half Marathon when my ankle meant I couldn't really train for it.  In November, Hattie suddenly piped up about my big run, and I went and checked through my emails, and hurrah, I was signed up again.  Hurrah might not have been my actual first thought.

I did manage some training, after a long time of no running, and managed 10k a couple of times without too much pain and difficulty, so I knew I could do it.  Signing up for the Ealing Half Marathon made the whole "you just have to get on with it" thing easier, plus I've done a hell of a lot of exercise this year so far.  In January, I've walked, run and cycled 211.3km, according to my Runkeeper app, and more if you count the UP band data, which I don't at the moment, as the bloody thing is broken.  

Well, the Winter Run is done, and I managed the 10k in a mighty 1 hour 24 minutes, which is more than 5 mins faster than last year, and I'm so pleased about that.  I've still a long way to go before the Ealing Half Marathon, but I'm on the right track.

The only crap note is that I lost my lovely Peerie Flooers hat; at least I can knit it again, and this time it'll fit properly; the old one was a bit loose.  

The mental dust diet only allows me one proper food meal a day, and it's going pretty well considering.  I've still only lost about 7 pounds in 3 and a bit weeks, but I've lost it from visceral fat (what?) and not from muscle, and this seems legit, what with me standing on a scale with bare feet and a small electrical current running through my body measuring all my stats.  I'm definitely looking leaner and thinner; and my waist and bust have shrunk.  My hips have not.  This is not great, but lets stick to the positive.

Hurrah for running, and I'm going to do it again next year, and let's hope I can shave another 5-10 minutes off that time.

Why are my arms so weak? It’s like I did that push-up last year for nothing!

January.  It's been interesting cycling around West Ealing in the morning.  I lost the feeling in both feet and in my thumbs at one point, despite two pairs of gloves and three pairs of socks.  Super.

We went back to school on the 4th, and I've been running around like a maniac since then, what with all the SENCO-ing and the teaching and the looking after children and the knitting and the sewing and the exercising and the mental dieting and all sorts.

The mental dieting is actually going quite well.  I'm mostly not hungry, until it gets to about 4:30/5, at which point it gets a bit much and I end up eating celery until I feel better.  Unfortunately, celery can't really replace, I don't know, bread, pasta, rice, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, shortbread, alcohol, fruit juice, sausages or crisps, but I'm eating a lot of it, and sometimes I even have some homemade hummus or low fat guacamole, so I get my treats!  I don't hate it and it is working, I've lost nearly 9 pounds and about an inch off my entire body, so I'm sticking with it for a bit longer.  It's not sustainable, I know that, and it goes against the whole healthy eating, real food philosophy, but, fuck it, I want to be slim, and this is the easiest way to do it.  Who knew that practically no food and all the exercise would lead to massive weight loss?

I'm sure next week will be better.  If all else fails, there's always beating people around the head and brushing my hair endlessly.

And then a car coming the other way swerves to avoid you and goes off a cliff

It'll be 2016 in a few days, and the start of a new year, and time for resolutions that I don't keep.  Looking back, my resolutions for this year were to be a size 12 (ha!) and to make trousers (ha! again), so this year, my resolutions are going to be pretty much the same.  I've just joined our local cheapy gym, and I've been for a 6.61km run today, and done a load of sit ups and stuff, so things are moving in the right direction.  I've got 20 pounds to lose; so far I've lost 1.  At Christmas.  You can touch me if you like.  I have some photos of me in my workout gear which when I'm feeling brave I will post as a before picture at some point, so brace yourself for that.

Anyway, the point of all this exercise is to make the sewing and subsequent photos more enjoyable.  If I'm going to have to take all sorts of inside leg and around my bum and thigh measurements, it had better be an interesting rather than horrific experience.

Knit chat, as well as FIT CHAT.  No finished objects, but lots of progress.

Hexipuff Quilt: There are 237 hexipuffs done and sewn together and looking gorgeous.

The Rainbow Raglan: it now has a sleeve.  However, knitting the sleeve made me realise that I had knitted in some form of side boob, and so I had to rip it back to the armhole and start again from there.  *sob*  It's coming along pretty well, and I'm almost finished with the waist shaping and then it's only a few rounds after that until the body is done.  AGAIN.

Simon's Cobblestone jumper: round and round and round I go, where I stop, I do not know.  *sigh*

Simon's massive man socks: Need more yarn

This One's for Parties Vintage Jumper: Grumpy

The Yellow Petrie: I appear to be using the orange I used for the facing for something else, so I will need to have a think about that.

Miette cardigan in Lemon: changed to be a Myrna cardigan, again by Andi Satturland for her Selfish Knitting Knit-Along, starting yesterday until Valentine's day.  Myrna is very cropped and LOOK AT MY BOOBS which fits the new aesthetic very well.  I'm going to give it long sleeves and make it a bit longer, so it looks less pornographic and is more wearable.

Mini Hetty cardigan with sleeves for Hattie: swapped out for a Rainbow Owlet jumper without owls, so a DK weight raglan sleeve jumper with rainbow stripes, which I started in Cambridge on Tuesday and am nearly done with.  Hurrah for quick fixes.  Not sure how to do the stripes on the sleeves though, but I'll work it out.

These are things that are waiting to be started.

A circle blanket for Robin

Cream and Beige Coco style boatneck striped top

Sun-Ray Ribbing Vintage Jumper
Ishbel scarf thing
Waterhouse Mittens

Mini Hetty cardigan with sleeves for Lucy 

Bright Rainbow Blanket for Lucy
Burton Bear cowl for Hattie

Minion blanket for Hattie

Finished:

Vianne
Wisteria
Elwood Mittens for Lucy
One MASSIVE MAN SOCK
Weather Blanket
Separate but matching vests for twin boys
Urchin hat
Peacock mittens

It's not looking that bad really.  Just got to keep going, one stitch at a time.  

Last time I was feeling this optimistic, I fell in a drain

The stress is abating.  I think I was really worried about the Winter Run, which I needn't have been really; I managed to do 10km in a record breaking 1hr 31 mins according to my GPS on my phone, and 1hr 32 according to official race statistics.  Either way, I did the damn thing, and I ran and ran and ran at the end, and pottered along at the start, and I'm really, really proud of myself.  I even got a medal.

I don't know why it's backwards.  Stupid thing.  I've already signed up for next year's, and I'm aiming for an unrealistic target of finishing within 1 hr 15 mins, so I'd better get my trainers back on.  

So that stress is over, and the essay stress is manageable - I just have to start.  The trouble is that I'm so exhausted during the week that I really can't write anything serious, then I'm so busy at the weekend that I'm too tired to write anything serious then either.  Roll on half term. 

I'm not going to go on and on about the Knit List - it is happening; slowly, but it's happening.  It still looks the same as it did a few days again, but that can't be helped.  I'm just updating you on progress so far.  

• My Aiken, which is being made in Cascade 220, shade Peacock, which is gorgeous and lovely, and is almost done.  Almost.
• Ringo and Elwood mittens.  One down, half of the second done.  I want to get this finished before the end of the week.  That is possible.
• The Weather in the Streets - January to August done AND SEWN TOGETHER.  In progress.  Even though it is doing my head in, I'm trying to do a few every now and then and sewing them on.  September has 22 yellow squares to do.  *sigh*
• I've started yet another Owlet for Lucy - it might end up without owls, we shall see.  It's going to be three shades of purple, she's chosen them herself out of stash.  I'm not quite sure they work, but it's her jumper.

The rest - silence.

Avoid any food that has a TV commercial

It's still October Unprocessed, and I've been cooking all sorts of things.  Nothing too radical - no making my own yoghurt, or bok choi chips; just a massive fish pie, a farro risotto from Nigellissima - made with bacon bits to stop it being too healthy or boring; a melanzane parmigiano with extra mozzarella; bean and tomato soup; toast with homemade damson jam, the list goes on.  

I don't really like to cook, despite being quite good at it when I do; the things I really like to make involve twenty minutes frantic work, then leaving it in the oven for the rest of the time.  Like baking.  Baking is satisfyingly maths-y with all the measuring and weighing, then you mix it all together in the Kenwood, bung it in a cake tin, and ta-dah there is a cake.  Icing on the other hand is a massively boring chore, and I utterly discard it.  Which is why my cakes taste great, but look like they've been sat on by an elephant.  

Anyway, all this healthy eating is paying dividends, and I have lost about two inches from the waist, and nothing at all from the hips - not in one month, of course, but the new regime is working, and if I can only get off my bum a bit more often and go for a run, life will be perfection and joy.  I would like to be able to cut a smaller Coco next time.

I went for a quick drink with my colleagues on Friday, getting home at twenty past one, having heard all the gossip (none of which is interesting to other people) and having shot my mouth off about all sorts.  One of them asked me how I had lost all the weight, and I surprised myself by being quite evangelical about running, and the Get Running app in particular. If you are thinking of a couch to 5K programme, this one is fantastic, not at all annoying, and lets you play your own music.  Get Running are not paying me to advertise their app; they bloody should be.

Tonight's Unprocessed delight is Wild Salmon with Noodles and Spinach and Soy Sauce and three glasses of red.  Followers of the regime will be delighted to learn that I count vodka and haribo as being unprocessed, if not a key ingredient in the weight loss.

PS While searching for a title for this post, I was offered the chance to "Spice up my Sex Routine".  Something to consider for the long winter nights.

Eat food, not too much, mostly plants

It's October, and it's October Unprocessed again.  Hurrah! 31 days of no added sugar, no shit lunchtime noodles and no processed food of any sort.  I shall mainly be eating grass, the hamster's sawdust and bulbs from the park opposite.  Last year, I sort of stuck to these "rules", guidelines, perhaps; and I've just made myself laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of some of the things I thought I could do.  "Make your own cereal bars", what an idiot.

Anyway, I think I will stick to more or less the same rules this year, with the exception of no Chinese pot noodles, which I am sick of anyway, and aren't that great for you either.

No Diet Coke.

Less sugar.

Baking my own bread for a month - this one is a bit difficult, as I don't really eat that much bread, and we end up with far too much bread, as we still buy bread for the fusspots sandwiches.  Maybe that should be "Don't eat rubbish bread".

If I can buy it as an ingredient (baking powder, caster sugar, flour), it's OK.

Cook more and menu plan like mad.

Like last year, that is not very far from what we eat as a family anyway.  The children eat more processed food than us - chicken nuggets, fish fingers, frankfurters, yoghurt, that sort of thing; and I don't really drink very much or eat things like takeaways more than once a month.  What a virtuous person I am.

I've also started doing the 30 Day Shred again, which was as challenging as I remember, although my recovery time is much faster, which is great.  I quite enjoyed it, bizarrely.  The running has made a real difference, particularly to my attitude to exercise.  I've signed up for a 10k race around London in February, and I really, really want to do it in under 80 minutes, which is doable for me, as I am very, very slow runner, so I'd better get out training again.  

Me me me me me me me me.  It's what you all come here for. 

Do try to listen to this episode of Analysis, it's on the iplayer, and is very, very interesting.  I'm going to get Michael Pollan's books, they sound great.  His mantra is "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants", and it's a really good way to look at diet.  I'd add, "do more things" to that too, just to add in a bit of exercise.  Told you my attitude had changed.

Trying to get away, into the night, then you put your arms around me and we tumble to the ground and then you say

Yesterday I ran just as fast as I could, which isn't that fast really, but I kept on doing it until I couldn't anymore, and it turned out that I ran for 4.5 km.  Which is only half a kilometre off my personal best.  It took rather a long time, but I don't care so much about that, it's still 4.5 km.

Earlier in the day, I ate cake, and read this rather silly article on the "My Fitness Pal" website.  Written by someone very fit, who has been running for a long time, and entitled "How to Learn to Like Running".  If you have been doing it for a long time, and you still don't like it, you must be some kind of idiot at best and some sort of sado-masochist at worst.

Anyway, I feel that with my new attitude towards exercise and the great outdoors, I could write something much better than that, and something less contradictory; point 4 - love your alone time, point 5 - run with a friend - proof reader to aisle 6.

How to Learn to Like Running, by a seriously unfit beginner

1. Get an app.  Seriously.  Download the Couch to 5 K programme.  Look at it.  Read through all the weeks, and properly scare yourself.  Close the app, and leave it for a few months.  There's lots of time.

2. Have a very minor health scare.  I'm pre-pre-diabetic.  I'm a bit overweight, and my waist measurement has just dropped from "high risk of heart disease and diabetes" to "risk of heart disease and diabetes"; when I was pregnant with Hat, I had gestational diabetes; last year, I was told that I had lots of plaque on my teeth, which is another weird little pre-diabetes thing; my grandmother has diabetes, my dad is pre-diabetic, I don't want either.  So either stop eating things I like or do exercise.

3. Sign up for a race before you are ready.  Once you start the programme and have done about a week, sign up for a 5k.  Don't do it the next weekend, that's just silly, but do it before you get to the end of the programme, ideally once it tells you that you are capable of running for 25 minutes without stopping.  Or collapsing.

4. Run on your own.  Race with a friend.  Particularly a supportive friend who sees you as a project.  My running friend runs marathons and can do 5km in about three minutes, so she was definitely there for the lunch afterwards.

5. Find your power tracks.  I like Cheated Hearts by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fuck You by Cee Lo Green, Closer by Tegan and Sara, and Like Eating Glass by Bloc Party.  It should be clear that I have a magpie approach to music.  And poor to little taste.

6. Walk sometimes. You are still running faster than the person sitting on the sofa, playing computer games.  It's not a race against anyone else, it's you pushing yourself to do something.

7. Get another app that tracks your distance and time.  Although it can be dispiriting to hear "Time 20 minutes; distance 2.08km; time per kilometre 10.04 minutes".  Shouting FUCK OFF at the top off your voice can help at these points.  NB.  Do not do this when there are people around, unless you don't mind being looked strangely.

8. Buy expensive trainers and work out how much they are costing you per run.  Mine are now only £11 per run.  Buy cheap running clothes.

9. If you don't feel like doing it, don't do it.  It's not compulsory.

10. If you do like it, don't stop.  From looking at the photos of friends of mine who run, I don't think it ever gets easy, but it does get more enjoyable.  I'm actually starting to like it now, and I'm starting to call myself a runner.  Only in my head, but that's where it counts the most. 

I like on the table, when we're speaking, the light of a bottle of intelligent wine.

There is just so much to do.  Reports.  Assessments.  Justifying the assessments.  Preparing for my performance management.  Reading for my NASENCO course next year.  Writing IEPs for some of my children.  Reviewing IEPs for other children.  Making a file to justify why I should be paid more.  The list goes on and on and on, until I can't be doing with it anymore and have spent tonight drinking pink wine spritzers and dancing around the kitchen.  Then I ran out of fizzy water and just drank pink wine and danced until I fell over. It's taken me 20 minutes to type this paragraph.  Whoops.

Alan Bennett says that private education is basically not fair, and if you don't realise that at the end of your education, it's been a waste of education.  I might expand on that at some point, but I broadly agree.  He said a lot more than that, and you can read about it here in the Guardian.

What else?  More running.  More abs challenges.  I'm managing to follow the prescriptive programme although I've been doing crunches and oblique crunches, owing to not being able to do a sit up properly.  Simon sat on my feet tonight, and it turns out that I can do them, so I will incorporating them into my routine tomorrow.  110 crunches is a lot of crunches.  I've still got to sign up for that 5k race next month; it's in Richmond Park, so will have hills.  I don't like hills, but I managed one the other day, so it should be ok.  I hope.

Oh golly.  No sewing for weeks, some light knitting on the very fabulous MYRNA cardigan, more soon.

I have to go and lie down now.  Friends don't let friends blog after a few glasses of wine, but husbands do.  The stinkers.

‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

It's on Saturday.  5km.  Running.  I know that I'm not going to be able to run the whole thing, but I should be able to run and walk it in a reasonable time; right now I can run for 25 minutes without stopping, and that's about 3 and a bit km, so we'll see.

I really have to run more; I've spent so much money on these, admittedly extremely comfortable, trainers, so I need to do as much as possible in order to bring down the cost per run to something approaching £3, rather than more than £30.  *coff*

In other fitness news, I'm doing a 30 Days Abs Challenge, along with 2.6 million other people on Facebook.  I've done 2 days.  It wasn't too bad; obviously all this excess stuff I'm carrying around my hips isn't actually stopping my muscles from working.  It has only been 2 days, so we'll see how it goes after day 11 with its 65 crunches.  I lose count after about 20, so I'll probably just keep on going until I pass out.  At least it's easier than the dreaded Shred, which is my project for July.  Or August.  Or September. 

I don't really know what's got into me - all I seem to want to do is run, do sit ups and go to work; I've not been knitting that much, I've barely been cooking and even my sewing machine is on hold.  I've got a whole load of pictures from May to chat about, plus I need to catch up with the 52 project.  I had such a nice compliment from someone who reads my blog and likes my happy, messy, silly children; I think I should dig out the photos from the last few weeks and put them up.  

More news as it comes along.

Don't touch me Shannan. You're a dirty hippie and you do not get punk at all.

A bit about running.

After 2 and a half weeks, I've now done 3 weeks of the Couch to 5K, mostly by skipping one of the rest days, and running every other day since Easter Monday. Let me repeat that for those of you who know me in real life: I have been running every other day since Easter Monday.  This is really extraordinary.  I still can't say I actually enjoy it yet, but it's getting easier and easier, although this morning's run was a real bugger.  I can now do 4 minutes running without stopping or dying, and on Friday will attempt to run for 5.  I know it's not much really, but it's a lot better than I've ever done before.  The week after I get to run for 8 minutes.  Piece of cake.

A bit about sewing.

I made a stripy Coco at the weekend; Simon took the children to the pub, and I stayed at home and did stuff.  It took less than 2 hours from beginning to end.  What I want to know is why, when my measurements haven't changed, did the top come out so much bigger than the spotty one that I'm wearing now?  I used the size I've always used, and it is just a bit too big.  The fabric is from the lovely Village Haberdashery, and is gorgeous, and they sent it very quickly.  I want the Indigo and White stripe, and the Grey and White stripe too.  It must be a bit more stretchy than the fabrics I've used before.  My stripe matching was top notch, completely accidentally, but most pleasingly.  

A bit about knitting.

I made a present for my brand new nephew, but I've only just sent it off, so you'll have to look on Instagram to see it; as I don't know if my sister in law reads this, and I don't want to spoil the surprise.  But it's made me think: why not knit a Coco type top, as I love it so.  I've put some things on a Pinterest board, if you are bored, but it's not working very well at the moment.  Anyway, it involves buying more wool.  Because I can never have enough.

We know what we are, but not what we may be

As you know, I've been doing a lot of dressmaking recently.  This has been great fun, caused massive envy and wonder in my friends and has opened up a new world of the INTERNET SEWIST, all of which have added joy to my life; but I have also been measuring myself.  Now I know I'm not thin.  I'm not, unless I am at Ally Pally for a knitting event, particularly slim.  I have generous hips and a bust, and even my waist, the narrowest part of me, isn't especially narrow.  The amount of fabric I have to use is excessive, and in a desperate attempt to reduce expenditure, I've started running.

Obviously, I've got an app - "Get Running", which allows me to use my own music; lots of puffing around West Ealing to bad 1980s pop.  I've just started week 2 of the couch to 5k programme, and it's been interesting in many ways.  I'm not a natural runner; and I really can't say that I enjoy myself, but I feel a billion dollars afterwards.  Arrogant as ever, I decided yesterday that I can run for a minute and a half, so I've added 30 seconds to that in order to progress faster.  Of course my teacher doesn't know best; something I've always known.

I haven't remeasured myself recently; I think I will wait until week 4 for that particular treat, but I feel better for doing some exercise.  As a primary school teacher, I'm on my feet pretty much all afternoon, but this is different.  I'm much more aware of the way I'm moving in space, and where I am in relation to the rest of the world.  Also, I'm neither red faced nor panting at the end, and that can only be a good thing.  I've agreed to sign up for a Race for Life in Windsor, and I'm determined to run the whole bloody way.  It's in June and about 2 weeks before the end of the course, so I'm really going to have to put some effort in.  It's 5k, and so far I can manage to walk and run 2 and a half, so not much more to do surely?  Surely? 

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music

Portraits of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.

Not ballet practise, but Lucy warming up prior to doing the 30 Day Shred.  She is very keen on it, and as far as I'm concerned, someone in the house should be doing it.  A few weeks ago, Lucy was working out and a naked Hattie was jumping off the arm of the sofa onto me.  Life here is never dull.

A new game at the park. Hattie flings herself onto the moving roundabout, then locks and rolls off.  I don't think there's any else to say about that.

Insanity is hereditary; you catch it off your children.

Portraits, 12/52

See other people's admittedly far better photographs of their doubtlessly far less insane children here.

New Year's Resolutions

I don't think I made any New Year's resolutions last year, and I'm not entirely sure I want to this year either. January is such a delightful time to start something new - not drinking, running outside, exercise generally, eating less; even thought it's technically the beginning of the year, everyone knows that life begins in September with the new school year.

So I won't be making any resolutions per se, but will be applying this "philosophy" to myself.  For those who can't be bothered to follow links, basically, setting goals is unrealistic, and leads to heartache and pain.  Far rather work on the process that leads to the goal - so if you want to lose weight, you need to eat less and move more.  Your process then is to move more and to watch the calories, and the result will be that you will lose weight without trying.

Apparently.  I'm a bit skeptical, but as my mind is as open as the Nursery doors, I am prepared to give it a try.  So with that in mind, and with this in mind as well, this is roughly what I want to do this year.

1. Move - I run around all day, I am on my feet a lot, but it's not enough.  I have to do that Shred again, and I have to move enough to get out of breath every day.

2. Make - I know I do a lot of creative things.  I love it.  So why not do more of it?

3. Tidy - I've sorted out a lot of stuff recently, binned some, sent a lot to charity shops, but there's always more cluttering up our home and lives.

4. Groom - I have a lot of make-up, lots of nice clothes, some gorgeous shoes, some lovely jewellery. So no more slobbing around in the GirlGuiding hoodie.  Exceptions to the rule - when hungover.  Or tired.  Or in a mood.

5. Reflect - the children are growing up, and I don't want to miss this.  I want to allow more time without screens and things in the way, just to enjoy being around them.  Then, when they're in bed, write it all down, so I can look back at it later, and they can cringe over their super-embarrassing share-ent.

I don't believe in radical life changes; they don't work in the long-term, but this seems, well, do-able.  Let's see.

Shredded

A moment of madness a few months ago.  An impulse purchase that stayed in the cellophane, in the cupboard, for several weeks.  A sudden decision taken at the end of September.  A surprising realisation that I actually quite enjoy exercise.

I bought the 30 Day Shred from Amazon after reading lots about it on various blogs and in various places.  A good friend has done it a couple of times and feels happy, someone whose blog I like has done, and is doing it again.  I started doing it on the 30th of September, and have now done 12 days of it, not in a row, but mostly in a row.  I missed out this weekend (too hungover) and the first Friday (no childcare) but apart from that, I have been fairly good and done it.  Level 1 has been a horrible nightmare to begin with, and Day Two was utterly horrific, but recently I've found that it's got much easier, and much more do-able.  Weirdly, I find the first couple of exercises worse than the later ones - push-ups and jumping jacks are not things I like to do.  I still find the combined legs and arms things a real stretch, and tend to do the legs rather than the arms - partly down to a strange shoulder pain brought on by carrying Hattie and partly down to natural laziness.

I've lost precisely no weight at all, which is depressing really, and if anything I've put it on, but I measured myself after 7 days and I had lost 4 cm from my bust, waist and hips.  So the scales can do one frankly.

The whole family are joining in too.  A rare photo of me exercising, and it's only because I know it is getting smaller that I am showing a picture of my tummy.  You will notice that no one is phoning it in.