Back in the swing of things

Term-time is up and running, and we're back running around after the girls and all their dances and activities.  I am trying to make the most of the time I have, so am currently being good and am sat in the dance studios with my laptop writing this post!

My tutoring has started up again after the Christmas break, as has all the girls' home education groups, leaving me little time at home for everything I need to do, including exercise.  It's now Wednesday, and I for the third day in a row I have no managed to BodyGroove, as I have not had 30min spare.  Technically, that is a slight lie, because I could have tried to wake up earlier, or stay up later, in order to fit it in, but I am someone who needs a lot of sleep. But, I'm not giving up on it.  I do enjoy it, I have noticed it working my muscles and I am losing weight.  I just need to squeeze a bit more out of my day.

I am eating well at the moment though.  The 2B Mindset is firmly implanted in my brain.  I am easily drinking my 90oz of water daily, and for the past 3 days I have had "mix and match" salad for lunch, from the prep I did at the weekend.  I have discovered I didn't prep enough, as I ate the last of the cut cucumber and pepper today, and ate the last of the hummus. I still have portions of vegetables that I can use for the remainder of the week, and some couscous left, but when I meal plan this weekend coming, I will need to prep even more food.

So far, I have managed to keep on top of the Bible readings - I'm aiming for 50 chapters a week.  We had our first meet on Tuesday, and we discussed the verses that spoke to us, and spent some time praying for each other.  Even though we're going at a much faster rate than I anticipated, I think I will get a lot out of the next 6 months.  I had planned to use my study Bible for the readthrough, but I find that I do most of the reading when I am taking my younger daughter to bed (we need to stay with her until she is asleep).  So, I'm reading the Bible on  my phone, highlighting the verses there, and then going through my actual Bible to copy up my highlights.  Only on the second week of the year, but it's working so far.

I'm also reading less than I would usually, as a combination of not having to wait for my children all the time (some days I leave them at dancing or gymnastics whilst I do other things), or because I'm using waiting time to do something else, like writing right now!  I do have 3 books on the go, though: 1 Christian inspirational, 1 non-fiction, and 1 fiction, so I haven't stopped reading altogether - perish the thought! - just getting through books a bit slower than usual.  That said, I am starting to really get into the fiction book I'm reading, so I may end up giving up a few hours sleep for that.

Note to self:
If I can give up sleep for reading, I can give up sleep for exercise. 
I am important and I am worth it!

Can you make money from blogging?

For me personally, up to now the answer has been no. 

That's not a surprised to me, as I know I haven't been putting in the hours that some people do. I am not expecting to make megabucks, or become famous, or anything like that, though a bit of pocket money would be nice.  This blog was set up to see how far it would reach, because my elder daughter wants to blog and vlog when she is older.

As expected, my main audience is in the UK and USA, and I know I have a friend in Australia who checks in.  What has surprised me is the size of the audience I have in France, Germany and India! Bonjour, Guten Tag and Apologies to any Indian followers that I do not know how to speak, let alone write, any of the languages from India.

One of my friends, who admittedly works harder than I do, started a blog at a similar time to me.  Rather than be anonymous, she regularly shares with all her friends, and has lots of followers both on the blog itself and on her Facebook Page.  I, on the other hand, have many fewer*: Follow this Blog, Like my Page and share with your friends!

*Is it Much Fewer, Many Fewer, Much Less or Many Less?  I feel it could be any of them except many less.  Fewer is for discrete objects, and people are discrete rather than continuous - I hope I don't come across half a person, for example! 

Anyway, back to my friend.  She gets sent products to review and keep - why haven't I thought of that!?! So any authors out there, who want me to review your book, I would be delighted to read and review them.  Any writers (cooks/chefs/other) of cookery books, especially ones purporting to aide weight loss, healthy eating, low carb etc I will definitely like to review and try out some of the recipes.  And anyone else who wants me to review anything, please get in touch, or I might have to do it the hard way, and actually write to publishers, manufacturers, and promoters myself.

It has sparked a thought, that I have had in the past, before I even started up my blog, about joining Amazon Associates.  It is actually much easier than I thought, and I can now say "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases".  I just need to go back through my blog, updating everywhere I have linked to an Amazon book.

Low Carb Revolution by Annie Bell

With the subtitle of "Comfort Eating for Good Health", you know the Low Carb Revolution will be full of tasty, hearty meals.  I was given this book for Christmas, which was a nice surprise as it fits well with the 2B Mindset.


Last night I decided to try "Chicken and aubergine tagine traybake".  Due to copyright I can't share the actual recipe, but it involves chicken thighs and aubergines, in a tray and baked...

It was delicious! Definitely one to make again and again.  It was very easy to do, and I have never had aubergine taste so good.  I wasn't keen on eating the preserved lemons, but they did lightly flavour to other ingredients such that I won't be omitting them.

And to add to my pleasure, this morning's daily weigh-in, is the lightest I've be so far this year.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Weekly Update No1 (I hope!)

Ok, so I'm crap at tracking.  I do track my weight daily, as I like to use the scales as a tool, and learn from decisions I have made yesterday to hopefully influence my new day and the new decisions I have to make.  Tracking what food I eat, how much water I drink, and what exercise I'm doing is much more difficult for me.  Whether it be that I'm too busy, I forget, I can't be bothered, or all three, sharing the minutiae isn't a habit I have yet.  Maybe it's because I'm an introvert so think nobody is actually that interested or cares much about it; or maybe because my subconscious thinks I'm setting myself up for a fall?  Whatever the reason, it is difficult for me.  So instead, I will try to do a weekly update.  It won't include all the details but will look for the positives, and be honest about the learning opportunities.

So, at the end of week 1, I have done some Body Groove everyday! (barring the 1st)  Most days have been between 20-30 minutes, and it really is good fun.  There's a surprising amount of ab-work that goes into dancing, and my muscles have really been feeling it when I wake up in the mornings.

I have been drinking plenty of water, and regularly hitting my 90 fl oz (3 bottles) goal.

My food has been up and down.  I have been making some good choices: I have made egg fried cauli rice a few times, I have chosen to eat a salad for lunch or when in a pub I chose to eat a starter with a side salad.  Eating well at home seems to depend on how busy/lazy/stressed I am, as those are the times when I'm more likely to cook something that just requires to be shoved in an oven, or to order in.  I need to pre-prepare food for the week, when I have more time on the weekends, so I can throw together something healthy quickly, without too much thought. Some points to learn from, include listening to when my body is full (at the Murder Mystery party I went to, I ate a curry with a whole naan, and then still found some space for birthday cake) and yesterday, after the meal in the pub we returned home with two Cakeaways.  If you haven't experience a Cakeaway, it is not as simple as a cake that you eat at home.  Rather than a 'normal' sized slice of cake, these slices are a good 8 inches tall, and 3-4 inches wide at the back.  When we returned home, we shared some of the cakes between the four of us, my husband took the girls to bed, and I mindlessly ate until I realised what I was doing... On the positive side, I did stop eating, before I ate it all and put them in the fridge and today when the others were eating the cakes, I didn't have any because I knew I had my share yesterday. Think positive!

As far as weight, I had put some on over Christmas, as I expected I would, and this week I have lost 1 kilo.

Januhairy

I saw the Januhairy campaign for the first time on BBC News and its ethos fits into why I consider myself a naturist - promoting real bodies (or body hair in this case) in order to promote true body confidence. 

I think it is important for men and women to realise what normal, natural women's bodies look like - in particular, that there is no such thing as "normal".  Additionally, we live in a patriarchal society and it is important, that as women, we learn to determine what things we are genuinely choosing to do, and what things we do because we feel we have to, due to pressure from society.

Some aspects of this are easy or difficult for different people.  For example, my mother never leaves the house without her "war paint" on, as she puts it.  I, on the other hand, rarely wear make-up unless going out and wanting to feel a bit extra special.  I have been told by my mum that I should wear make-up daily as I would look better (this was especially true before my Papilopustular Rosacea was diagnosed and treated), however I believe that I'm not there to make other people feel good about looking at me.  If I don't look how you want, don't look. Simple.

If we go on to talk about hair, I'm a bit of a Hairy Mary.  My hair is dark, strong and grows fast.  I've got a sensitive nose, so am very conscious about whether I smell or not (especially as some people say that you can't smell yourself until BO is really bad) because I can always smell me, even after I've come straight out of the shower.  As such, I always shave under my arms, so there is nothing for the bacteria that creates BO to hold on to.  I don't do this for other people, but for myself because it makes me feel clean.  Though I don't hold on to it myself, I've heard other women say similar about their pubic hair.

Leg hair, however, is something totally different and is where my confusion/conformity/hypocrisy kicks in.  I don't like shaving my legs, I really don't.  It takes up too much time and effort, imo, and women's razors are far too expensive. I have discussed this with my gorgeous husband, and he would be happy for me to not shave my legs - it's up to me.  However, I can't.  I can go for winter without shaving my legs, wearing trousers or thick tights all season.  I have even started being brave (for it is brave for me) and started going swimming without shaving my legs; figuring that if my legs keep moving, then nobody can see the hairs anyway.  I can't, however, wear a skirt with bare, hairy legs.  I can't.  I would like too, but years of conditioning means it's too big a step for me at the moment.  The closest I can get right now, is to share a quick snap of my lower legs on anonymous blog.

So kudos for all the women taking part in Januhairy, whether it be a month-long experiment, to raise money for charity, or a longer term thing.  I hope that one day I can join you, and that in the future my girls do not feel the same pressure to conform to an idealised image.

Murder Mystery Parties

I love the classic murder mystery TV shows and films - Agatha Christie, Poirot, I even love a bit of Midsomer Murders!  And have always wanted to go to a murder mystery party on board the Orient Express.  I haven't managed that, yet, but have been to two murder mystery parties.

The first was my Hen Night, many moons ago.  Unfortunately, my best made was studying for her degree in New Zealand, and about to sit exams, so she was unable to come to the party nor the wedding itself.  My sister was doing a sandwich year in Spain/France as part of her degree, so she couldn't attend the hen night, but did return to be a bridesmaid for my wedding.  So, it fell upon my mum to organise the hen night for me.  She asked what I wanted, and I decide upon a murder mystery party.  As everyone invited lived all over the country, and nobody had room to host, we went for the slightly more expensive option of buying a package in a hotel in Reading, that included a 3/4 course meal, twin rooms for everyone attending and actors who would guide the story along.  It cost £100 per person, for 10 of us, which my mum initially paid on her credit card and we paid her back. Everyone who said they were coming were sent an envelope which included the background of the story (a murder on a cruise ship) and who their character was (and they had to dress up).  Fortunately for me, I was a generic posh famous person, whereas other people had to dress like Dolly Parton or characters from British comedy sitcoms!

As the date drew closer, one of my friends still hadn't paid my mum back.  My mum had not long come through a divorce, so it was important to me that she was repaid what she was owed.  My friend was adamant that she was definitely coming, and would bring a cheque on the night of my hen party. Perhaps I was naive to trust her, but she didn't turn up and didn't pay my mum back.  The party itself was good fun, and the food was good.  "Dolly Parton" had some blow-up boobs that were hilarious!  The night continued, and the actors did their best to compensate for there being one less person than expected.  At the end of the night, we had to guess who was the murderer.  I piped up that it would be typical if the missing character was the murderer.  Unfortunately, as that character's description had been posted to her, other than a few lines that were handed out during the night, nobody was able to take over that part, so we had to make the judgement based on the actual attendees.  Of course, she was the murderer.  It put a dampener on what was otherwise a good night.

My second murder mystery party was last night at a friend's birthday party.  She had bought a package from Amazon for a murder mystery party, and I made sure to tell her my previous experience in case someone didn't turn up.  Fortunately, this party box was able to be adjusted for 5-8 players, so it wasn't an issue.  There were 7 of us in total, enjoying an Indian takeaway, whilst trying to discover who had swapped Juliet's stage prop with a real knife, so that she killed herself for real in the final scene of the play...

I'm not going to give away any spoilers, so won't name who I was, nor who the murderer was.  I will say, however, that my character was not the murderer.  As we had to account for ourselves for the times between 5pm and 10pm on the night of the murder, the rules were that we were allowed to omit things, but couldn't lie if asked a direct question (the murderer was allowed to lie).  My character didn't show up at the theatre until 6pm, and had company/an alibi for the whole time duration.  At the very last moment, one of the other attendees asked me directly what I was doing at 5:15 on the night of the murder?  My information didn't say anything before 6pm, but did say I had to show myself in the best possible light.  I was pressed for an answer, so I made something up: I was doing charity work before being called into the theatre early.

Apparently, I am the world's worst actor and can't lie.  Despite not being a suspect throughout the bulk of the game, I was now Suspect Number One!  Even though I knew I wasn't the murderer, I couldn't convince the others.  I tried to explain that I was innocent, and was just smiling because I was enjoying myself, apparently I have "shifty eyes" and "looked away" and a "cheeky smile"!

Despite the murderer getting away with it, the game was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed themselves.  It also reanimated my desire for more murder mystery parties/weekends. 
It was a good laugh.

Edit: This was an honest review written previously, however as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, and the link has been edited accordingly.

Come, Let Us Adore Him by Paul David Tripp

Our whole church read this Advent Devotional together (albeit separately in our own homes) over

this last Christmas period.  It was a good chance to come to a deeper understanding of the mystery that is Christmas and why Christ was born on earth at all.

The description reads:

This year, don't let Christmas sneak up on you again.
The wonder and awe of the Christmas season can easily get overshadowed by lights, tinsel, bows, and paper—not to mention last-minute trips to the mall and visits to the in-laws. In all the hustle and bustle, we often lose sight of what’s most important. This book of daily readings for the month of December by best-selling author Paul David Tripp will help you slow down, prepare your heart, and focus on what matters most: adoring our Savior, Jesus.

Each chapter is only a few pages long, and at the end it include a section of further reading from the Bible plus a discussion starter for parents with their children.  I have to confess, that I didn't do the latter and read the devotional alone.

What I did like was the continued focus on who God is, His grace and mercy as well as interesting chapter starters like "For once, I was excited to go to Spanish class.", "The birth of Jesus was bad news.", "No, it wasn't a zombie apocalypse." and "I have a confession to make: I love food." amongst the more expected sentences from an Advent devotional.

Read it.  It'll only take a few minutes each day, but will help you appreciate Christmas for what it is and what it is meant to be.