Summer Bucket List.........Week Six

Week six and so far I have completed my garden goal, the dishwasher is an ongoing concern, the diet has a week and a half left until the body squeezes into the bikini, gulp, and the bannisters have been completely forgotten because of...........my book goal:

I am so pleased to say that I have started. This week my bff from down south received an email advertising an online Childrens Story Writing Course, with an amazing special offer. It felt meant to be.  For the last few months I have been researching lots of courses and had come to the conclusion that in September I would sign up for one but still wasn't sure which. They were all so expensive.

So on signing up for the course and beginning Module One I can now say that I have penned the planning stages including the pitch and synopsis and have started listing the draft chapter details. I have also decided to blog my progress so I am currently setting up another blog as well.

I am absolutely loving learning and in all honesty it has taken my mind (and the pressure) off my issue with having a bikini body! And I have come to realise that the only person with an issue with how much I weigh, is myself. Phew, every writer needs a biscuit during tea breaks!

#GetGoodSummer has really helped me and I would definitely recommend joining in next summer, all thanks to ClarinasContemplations, go take a look.  Thank you for following my progress and helping to keep me motivated. And please look out for my upcoming new blog which will follow my journey in to writing.

I really would love to hear from you so please leave me a note or two in the comments box or send me an email using the link above. I would also love you to subscribe above to my blog so that you may receive new posts by email.

As Always........Sent wiv Love

xxxxx

Summer Bucket List.......Week Five

There is only four weeks to go to complete my #GetGoodSummer Bucket List. One of those weeks we are away in Spain, that leaves only three weeks. In all honesty it is not looking good for me.

Last week, I didn't hold out much hope but as the week went on I became more encouraged. Heres what happened:

The bikini body had reached its goal. Not the goal I had set my heart on, but the goal that my mind keeps telling me! The temptation of biscuits got too much and I indulged. And then I indulged some more. Nevertheless, I stood on the scales at the end of the week in trepidation, and amazingly, I had lost another 1lb. This gave me the massive boost needed to finish the week without biscuits. I couldn't resist the pull of a fully loaded chicken kebab on Saturday night though.

My excuse for the garden looking an absolute state is the weather. Its been either too hot or raining. But on Sunday morning, after looking at it in total shame for the last few weeks, we got up and decided to get it knocked off the bucket list (to be honest I was dreading writing my blog on monday morning and having to say that I had failed this week - so the #GetGoodSummer does work)

At last and surprisingly, I can cross off the Garden Resembling a Forest from my summer bucket list.

My excuse reason for the hallway not been fully glossed is due to the fact that we acquired two new cats the previous week. Painting with kids, cats and dogs is just a disaster waiting to happen!

I am trying so hard with the dishwasher OCD. I think the only way forward is to leave any loading or unloading to the kids. That way I do not have to see any plate mis-arrangement or cutlery in the wrong section! (Suits me just fine)

Writing my book is slowly moving forward. I just never seem to have time to sit down and concentrate. I'm hoping when I do get the time the words will just fly on to the page  and that writers block doesn't set in after the first chapter! If that happens a pretty cottage overlooking the sea with no neighbours and no interruptions will have to be looked in to (a definite pause for thought - hee hee)

As always...........Sent wiv Love

xxxxx

Silent Sunday

A Life On The Open Road

Last week we booked our next caravan holiday for the October half term. Me, The Mummy, Ed and Od book a break each year. Its a lovely 'no frills' time that Ed and Od absolutely love and that we have been doing for the last 6 years. Its our 'girls' holiday. Rambo and The Niece came with us the first couple of years but with them both being 18 now it is so uncool to be seen with family, let alone to be seen with family in a caravan! The Husband and the Stepdad have been a couple of times but soon realised they could have their own 'boys' time by staying at home.

When booking we generally upgrade to 'luxury plus' to ensure a better standard of caravan. Some of them can be a little grotty. But so far we have been lucky and had fairly decent ones. One year there was a mix up with our booking and we ended up on the site car park for a week. Needless to say, we were not happy and complained which resulted in a free holiday the next year.

The girls love these girlie breaks. Its 'us' time which we don't get a lot of at home and I love having the week living with The Mummy looking after us. I cannot help going in to child mode. We go swimming, play at the park, get mucky and eat every meal together. And not a man in sight to scupper the plans!

We go to the clubhouse each evening and watch the entertainment. Ed and Od meet up with their newly made friends and dance and wander around the two penny machines whilst The Mummy and me keep our eyes peeled and people watch. We have late nights drinking hot chocolate and reading our books and chatting into the early hours. 

Its lovely that the girls get to see a little bit of the English seaside at the places we stay. As we live 2 hours away from the nearest beach, I love that these breaks give them time by the sea to do crab hunting, building sandcastles and burying each other!! The best beaches we have found are definitely Devon, Lincolnshire and Wales. 

There is something about living in a caravan. Whether its the compact living which means less cleaning and more time for fun or whether its the freedom of the road, knowing you can take off to wherever your fancy takes you. Could I live this way long term. Personally, I couldn't but the time we do spend living this way is a small piece of heaven away from the stresses of everyday life.

I have to say, I do feel a little guilty that The Husband has to stay home and earn the pennies and misses out on these girlie jaunts. But a little birdie tells me he quite enjoys his time home alone where he can please himself, eat what he wants (that is a blessing in itself for him after living with my cooking for 13 years) and he 'pops' to the pub as often as he can! So all in all, everyones a winner.

As always.........Sent wiv Love

xxxxx

Summer Bucket List.......Week Four

Its not good. I have to say, I've hit the wall.

Last week, my brother and my nephew visited from Hampshire which meant picnics, bbq's and lovely family lunches at The Mummys. And I couldn't resist all the lovely food on offer. So I didn't! And I think, all in all, the amount of weight I had lost the previous week has probably all piled back on.

The husband has still not joined me in eating healthily, he is currently tucking in to burger and chips as I type this. Why can't I just accept that this is my body and middle aged spread is inevitable.

I did do a little exercise this week though. Golf and Swimming! We had a lovely day at Markeaton Park in Derbyshire. There is so much to do there and it is quite a cheap day out. We set up camp on the banks overlooking the outdoor paddling pool and laid out a lovely picnic.

The kids splashed around for hours then we went for a game of crazy golf, which did get a little competitive with The Nephew. They had a play in the park and scared the life out of me when they climbed to the top of the spiders net. They didn't get to ride the donkeys this time as it was their rest time (the donkeys that is). There is so much to do at Markeaton Park, including canoes, pirate boat and a bouncy castle, as well as lots of green areas and forest walks.


It was a lovely day out but all ended a bit sour when I returned to the car park to find one of them nasty yellow stickers on my windscreen. My bought valid ticket had fallen on to the drivers seat due to the heat and the inspector had not seen it. I am disputing the fine and waiting to hear if my challenge is successful.

As for the rest of my #GetGoodSummer Bucket List, its all just fallen by the wayside. 

The garden has been ignored, except for The Husband mowing the lawn weekly. 

Just as I was getting better with the OCD dishwasher thing, I chatted to a fellow tweeter on Twitter, who also 'rearranges' her dishwasher. Sometimes the dishwasher needs 'reloading' to fit more stuff in to it. So, right back on it!

On a positive note, I have written another paragraph of my planned book. And Ed has just started writing a short story about Harry Styles, which she is hoping to publish on a short story website.

There is just no hope for me, though, for the rest of the summer!

Please comment below, I need encouragement, fast!

As always........Sent wiv Love
xxxxx

Silent Sunday

        

Summer Bucket List.......Week Three

Three weeks into #GetGoodSummer and so far so good. I think. But now is the testing time. The kids have broken up from school and I can feel myself waning.

So last week:

Bikini Body  - I forced myself on to the scales on Friday and to say I was quite pleased is an understatement. I lost 5lbs.  This gave me a massive encouragement boost to carry on and helped me to stay off the biscuits over the weekend. I didn't make it to running club on Tuesday and I haven't carried out any exercise, not even walking to the school to collect the kids. But I am determined to carry on eating healthily and I am trying to encourage The Husband to join me. 

 

I guess, I just need to carry on eating this 

to be able to get into this  

Garden Forest - The only time I have been in the garden this week is to sunbathe. I thought about the 'growing forest' on the back border a lot, but that is as far as I got!!

Bannisters - I am so pleased I managed to gloss without spilling the paint everywhere. I am a messy painter! I still have the skirting board on the side nearest the wall to do. I have a feeling that is going to be left until September. But you never know.  A miracle may happen.

OCD - I think I am nearly cured of this daft obsession of reloading it in a neater way. (All forks together, all knives together, all plates in height order, etc) A couple of times I have left it in the messy state it was loaded in. I just hope the queen doesn't pay a visit!

Book Writing - I have a few ideas rolling around in my head but I am a little unsure how to proceed. Do I need the whole story mapped out before I start writing or will a story line begin to flow as it gets written down?  I have bought a book on 'how to write a novel and get published', but have not managed to open it. 

So thats my week three of #GetGoodSummer. I will just mention that I really love the coasters that Claire has made over on ClarinasContemplations as part of her summer bucket list. I think I may give them a try as well as her homemade lemonade. The Mojito's that Louise at A Strong Coffee has made look very tempting as well. Especially if made into ice lollies. Click on the links to go take a peek.

Please feel free to comment in the boxes below or if you would prefer, send an email using the link at the top of this page.  I love to hear your thoughts and ideas, trust me they help. 

As always.......Sent wiv Love.

xxxxx

Silent Sunday