Day 7 – when one door closes

First of all: I missed to post yesterday! Busy beyond believe, the little one is ill (nothing serious) but it’s just hard work then, because she was grumpy, needy, whingey…

Anyways, I am back today. There is this saying that when one door closes, another one opens. It feels like this a bit at the moment. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it feels like things are changing and it does feel like it’s a good thing! I am certainly changing, people know do start to see that I actually lost quite a lot of weight (about time, was getting a bit disheartened), thinking about things I can do with my life in a positive way rather than dumpling about and generally feel like I’ve got more energy etc.

So in the spirit of things, a picture of my “virtual” door, the one that opens…

Day 6 – Cornwall

I mentioned sometime earlier in the blog that we went on holiday to Cornwall this year. It was lovely and I am sure we will go back at some point. Here is one of my favourite pics from the holiday. Sorry am in a rush…

Day 5 – Working with my cat

As some of you know I work from home, my office hours are during nap time and after the Missy has gone to bed. Stressful: yes, better than an office: oh yes! So overall it balances itself out. My cats enjoy also that I am at home, well as far as I can tell. Buxton still disappears first thing to our neighbour, Amber probably is happy that someone is home she can harass 24/7 for food, but Tiggles I think is still the one that just loves me being at home. The picture below shows her lying on the chair next to me while I work. She often does that, she is just one to keep you company!

I know you shouldn’t have favourites and I do love all my cats but Tiggles is just the funniest, oddest and peculiar cat I ever had. A cross between a dog and a cat and she is more human than many humans… that is when she doesn’t slowly kill a mouse or a bird, but that’s nature isn’t it!

All this speaking of work reminds me that I have a deadline!

Day 4 – It’s a tomato

I guess anyone can tell that this is a tomato. But it’s not just any old tomato, it’s a home-grown, organic, from our back garden sort of tomato. The first one to ripen, the first one to be eaten. We only managed to sort out our garden quite late in the summer (sort of mid July…) but we still managed to plant some veg, we have some lettuces, some herbs, a chilli plant and a tomato plant, radishes (should be able to harvest them soon) and carrots (I think the snails ate most of it). Makes you think, why you should bother with ornamental plants really. So I think we will be growing more vegetables next year. Who says you cannot aim for self-sufficiency in suburbia!

Day 3 – My husband and my daughter

My husband and my daughter are the most important people in my life! A lot of people may think that this is normal and the way it should be. But I know out of first experience that this is not always the case and to me it is very important and I like to point it out. I was certainly never the most important person in my mother’s life nor in that of my father. So, here is to all the mums and dads out there, who do a great job!

Day 2 – Photo Project – Terracotta Pots

There is just something so lovely about simple terracotta pots, that it was well deserved for them being photographed at Sunnycroft (National Trust) in Telford.

Day 1 – my photo project

Well, there is hardly ever any time to write much these days. But I don’t want the blog to die.

So, I thought that I start to post a picture a day (to keep the doctor away…)

There are no rules as such other than I have to have taken the image myself!

Picture 1: A selection of my daughter’s soft toys drying on the washing line…

Dharma’s Big Toddle

Last week my daughter did her first charity walk of her life – the Big Toddle for Barnado’s children’s charity. It was good fun although Dharma was a bit overwhelmed by the noise level (children’s entertainer with a loud microphone), amount of people and the sun…

It was good fun though and since it was held in the zoo we spent good parts of the afternoon there. Our local zoo is not as nice as Marwell Zoo where we’ve been too a while back when visiting my sister in law in Southampton. I personally am not a big fan of zoos, although I do understand that they are necessary for conservation work but it kills me to see a snow leopard in a cage that is no bigger than my back garden…

Missy all excitement in her pushchair.

Sigh the nasty cow got me again

I am not very well at the moment, feeling very low and struggle a bit through the day… I keep the façade up for my daughter but inside it’s not good.

I just don’t live up to my own standards, I know that sounds weird but that’s just the way it is. My husband keeps saying that the standards are too high but I don’t think so – I look at other people and they all seem to cope so brilliantly and do so many things… I maybe shouldn’t be on here writing a post but maybe sorting the garden out or washing the windows…

I keep forgetting things and have started to be worse at that than my husband, what was first I wonder the depression that triggers forgetfulness or forgetfulness that triggers depression. Who knows and it is really not that important either.

Friday, when I went swimming with my daughter I forgot the bag with towels and my underwear/bra at home – I always put my swimsuit on at home – I managed to dry the little one with toilet roll but I was hardly dry by the time I attempted the walk home – without a bra… not nice. Some kids shouted across the road “Look at the fatty…” and other not so nice things – only a 5 minute walk but it felt like a day trip…

Oh I shouldn’t complain should I, I know. Get myself together, move on, get on. Sigh. It’s not easy tough when you feel like a big fat failure…

Someone has a cave that I could crawl into for a while???

Creamy linguine

My husband cooked that for us the other day when I was busy working. It was absolutely delicious and it would make a perfect hot summer’s day dish (i.e. if we ever see the sun again). If you do Slimming World then it is absolutely free on a green day – so you can go for seconds. The recipe has been adapted slightly from one in the magazine, simply because Anthony felt it would improve on the dish:

Ingredients:

12oz/340g dried linguine

2 garlic gloves

4 spring onions

1 courgette

Fry Light (or any low fat oil spray)

7oz/200g frozen peas

grated zest of a lemon (or use lemon juice 1tsp.)

200gr of very low fat natural fromage frais (if you look for it – I buy mine at Sainsbury’s)

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

some fresh basil

How to:

1. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, peel and crush the garlic, finely slice the spring onions, coarsely grate the courgette.

2. Spray a pan with Fry light and cook the garlic, spring onions, courgettes and peas for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the cooked linguine and mix well. Turn the heat down and stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Mix the lemon zest/juice with the fromage frais and season with salt and black pepper. Stir through the linguine and serve. Yum Yum.

Recipe serves 4 or two very greedy people…