Weekly Update No22

My weight has gone up again. 

Not a total surprise, given the crap I shovelled away last week.  Not least because I was trying to control my lingering cough (which is now finally getting better!) at the girls' dance festival so drank a bottle of cough syrup last week, and when watching the dances I continually sucked on cough sweets to try and stop coughing.  It did work, but I was very aware about the huge quantities of sugar that I was consuming.  Oh, and of course, there were the sweets I had in the car to keep me awake when driving, and the sugar in the energy drinks (I'm not used to waking at 5:30am these days) and the sugar in the can of latte I was drinking.

So yes, my weight has increased.  But at least I have started exercising again! I have done 2 days so far! (I haven't done today's session yet, as I've been really busy, but hopefully will get to it soon.)  I do feel better for moving my body again, my mind seems clearer already, and I'm starting to think that I wish there was a class around here again (and should I start saving to do the training next time it comes to the UK?).  I'm not sure I have the confidence to do something like that, not least because

my body shape doesn't exactly scream "healthy" or let alone "trainer"!

Anyway, I've had a small smoothie for lunch today, and after I've made the girls' lunch, I hope I can squeeze in 30min of Body Groove before the person I'm tutoring arrives.

When the cat's away...

...the girls and I decided to have a sleepover in the living room.

We ordered a takeway and put on a couple of films, and planned to do "girlie stuff".
DD1 is becoming a right little teenager, so has a pot of face mask for us all to use.

After we washed the masks off, I put the flannels in the washing machine as we watched the second film.

Halfway through, I heard a funny noise, like water dripping.  I opened the kitchen door and was met by a tidal wave of dirty soapy water!

Bless the girls, they heard me shout and ran to get a load of towels, helped me mop up the water, and empty the cupboard that was drenched (fortunately it's mainly tins and snacks, so not too much food was wasted).  It took a while, but we were able to clear up the water.

I had a look in the cupboard, and the waste water pipe from the washing machine has become disconnected; unfortunately, the washing machine was too heavy for me to move, so it will have to wait until my husband comes back tomorrow, before the pipe can be retrieved from behind the washing machine and reconnected.

We're now watching the end of the film, before going to bed.  Hopefully, they'll be no more drama overnight!

Body Groove 30 Day Challenge

Today is the first day of the Body Groove 30 Day Challenge. If you go to the website, you can access the Challenge for free (though I think it requires a credit card; and you will be charged if you don't cancel at the end of the trial).  Misty Tripoli describes the challenge as:

This isn’t just a workout, it’s so much more! In addition to the Grooves, we’ll be doing segments from the Discover Your Groove workshop, meditations, journaling etc. We’ll be challenging and nurturing the WHOLE SELF... body, mind, heart and soul!

What I particularly like about the Body Groove videos, is that they really are for all people.  There are people of all shapes and sizes doing the workout in the video, and they are easily adapted to your own personal requirements, so can easily be as high or low tempo as you want, or if you cannot stand for long, or at all, they can be done when seated too.

I have just done the first day's workout, and am now sitting on the sofa, typing this in a sweaty mess, but am very glad that I have started as I mean to go on.  For those attempting the challenge, there is a Facebook group specifically set up so we can encourage one another.  I was a bit apprehensive that I would be the only person who started streaming the videos in January, and didn't get to February before life got in the way; but there is a friendly bunch there, and others are in the same situation as me.  So, I'm doubly glad that this challenge has forced me to get off my arse and actually do some exercise.  I had forgotten how fun it was.

Day 1 done! Day 2 tomorrow.

Bright and Zany Costume

For my Musical Theatre show, I need to come up with a Bright and Zany Costume.  I already had a black tutu, so decided to buy some knee-high rainbow socks, and was looking at different tops; unfortunately, anything half decent cost more than I was hoping to pay for. 

So, I bought a cheap Tshirt from ebay, that I thought would clash beautifully with stripy socks, and I decided to have a go adjusting it myself.

Then I searched various ways to DIY or hack or improve Tshirts, and decided to use a combination of them to make this simple Tshirt, more 'goey-outy'.

First of all, I decided I wanted to cut open the neckline, and then weave the Tshirt to make a bit of a fancy pattern.  Following some easy How-Tos on the internet, I cut out the neck and made multiple slits in the Tshirt all around the neckline.

Then you pull each loop through the neck one, and it creates almost a plaited pattern.

I cut the centre loops to tie them together.

Unfortunately, I didn't like the sleeves on the Tshirt either, so I used a Salina Bear clip from YouTube to make a cold-shoulder effect with cute bows on either side.

As you can see from the photos of me wearing the Tshirt, it looks better than I was hoping for, especially given that I am not arty/crafty at all.

The photos aren't great, because I am wearing a dress underneath, so doesn't show the shape of the Tshirt as good as it could be.  Additionally, I had to sew up a couple of places where the seams started to separate from where I had made cuts, but the photos were from before I had finished.

It makes me wish I had altered Tshirts back in the days when I used to live in them!

A Small Confidence Boost

DD1 (11) is going to secondary school in September (her choice).

For a bit of fun, she's doing the 2018 KS2 SATs just to see where she lies (for her/my benefit - this won't be passed to the school). This morning she did the two SPAG papers, not in "exam conditions" as such, but I wouldn't let her ask or look up the answers, until she had finished. We just marked them together and she got a raw score of 38 marks, which has an adjusted score of 100. (100 is the expected standard at the end of Yr6.) She is rightly pleased and I feel proud of her!

Given that we unschool, we certainly haven't been teaching-to-the-test, or spending hours learning what fronted adverbials or co-ordinating conjunctions are. We've not done a spelling test, nor have I specifically taught where apostrophes, commas or colons are meant to go in sentences. Though she was a very early reader, DD1 hates reading, preferring to spend her time dancing, singing, making up songs on the keyboard and watching youtube. Yet, she has still managed to reach the expected English level of a schooled child, without being forcefed an education.

We have a dance festival to go to the next couple of days, and will hopefully find time to do the reading, the maths and the reasoning papers next week.

Weekly Update No21

I have lost nearly a kilo this week, which isn't bad going, considering how much I have eaten this weekend!

Smoothies for lunch during the week has been easy, filling and delicious.
Making food for tea has been a struggle - even with "easy" things like slow-cooker recipes, I've not been making them in time.  It hasn't helped that I've been ill this week. I take antihistamines all year, and usually have to increase them from Easter.  This year I haven't had to - until this past Tuesday when everything has hit me at once.  I was left with streaming eyes, running nose, sinus headaches, fever and chills.  It wasn't pretty.

Fortunately the worst of it only lasted 48hours, dosing up on antihistamines and taking my blue inhaler a few times put me back in control.  I have now been left with a chesty cough and a croaky voice.  Not great considering I am in an adult musical theatre show in 3 weeks' time (a medley of songs from different shows); had a practice tonight and I couldn't hit half the notes, and now I'm home my cough is worse.

This week, I'm on the road two days as my girls are in a dance festival.  I have to have a good think tomorrow to plan the days properly so I can eat healthily, rather than just stuffing my face with snacks and pub grub.

Musings about Beliefs

I'm a Christian, and whilst that means I believe Jesus is the Son of God, outside of that there are many different views, opinions and beliefs that differ, not only between different Christian denominations, but between individual Christians.

I like to use this blog to talk about things that are going on for me atm, and part of that includes talking about my faith.  There are a few different things that I want to comment on atm, but because my faith is important to me, I will need to discuss what I believe.  And yet, I am aware that some people will not even read what I have to say because i call myself a Christian; others will assume that because I call myself a Christian, I must believe XYZ; others yet will see that because I actually believe ABC therefore I'm not a real Christian; and I'm sure there are others besides. 

In reality, I am a Christian, and I want to point people towards God, and try and explain who I think God actually is.  God is much bigger than we imagine, much more loving than we imagine and much more merciful than we imagine.  I'm also aware that I do have some beliefs that are different to some Christians because of denominational differences, but also I have some non-traditional beliefs.  I would like to share what they are, and why I believe them, but I don't want to draw people away from God.  I don't think it would, but I do fear that people could misinterpret what I stay, not least because I would openly say that this is what I believe, not necessarily anyone else.  I also don't think that people should pick and choose what bits of the Bible, for example, that they believe; and yet, if I open up about what I believe, I know I will be accused of exactly this.  My only excuse is that you should pray about everything and get God to guide you, through His Holy Spirit.  I don't believe the Bible contradicts what I believe (otherwise I wouldn't believe in it), and yet, the Bible is a collection of writings, different authors, different styles, different uses.  Yes it is God-breathed, or God-inspired, but it is not God-dictated (other than the 10 Commandments).  There is a great freedom in Christianity, but we should be wary that we create a religion around what we already believe and trying to use the Bible to justify those beliefs, rather than seeing the Bible as God's Word, shaping our faith.

Hmmmm....  that's a lot of waffle and doesn't get me closer to the solution I am trying to find.  Not least because I'm trying my best to to share the topics/specific beliefs I am thinking about right now.

Basically, I want to be able to share my thoughts, my experiences, my reasons, without being attacked for those beliefs.  I want to share with you my thoughts on current events, and explain why my thoughts have changed about that topic over my life.  I want to share some of my non-traditional Christian beliefs, in the hope it will draw some people closer to God, who may consider the traditional belief a barrier between them and God.  Yet, at the same time, I am only human.  If I am wrong about those beliefs, I still trust in God; if somebody thinks they trust in God because of an errant belief, will their whole faith crumble because of me?  I want to encourage discussion, debate and open communication; not heated arguments, name-calling, and twisting of words.  I want to discuss what was preached in my church on a morning, and share the bits I agree with, the bits I disagree, the bits I find challenging, and the bits that are calling me to action.  I want to talk about politics, and bring religion into the conversation.  I want to discuss what is happening in the news around the world, and share my frustration about what some Christians are doing, or what non-Christians are doing in the name of Christianity, or my worry about the persecution that other Christians elsewhere are experiencing.

And after all that, I want to know that if I do share this type of thing, that someone, somewhere, will read it and find it useful.  Yes, it's egotistical, but if I'm writing a blog I want it to be read.  I am aware that my most popular posts are about the politics of home education and current legislation.  To make this blog more popular, I could solely write on that topic.  But though I want this blog to be popular and to take-off, I want to write about the whole of me and my life.  So I write about a range of topics, knowing that some are much less popular than others, even if to me, I consider them an important part of my life.