Woohoo - doing well this week!!!
On Sunday we had a visitor and I actually cooked - and nobody died (either of shock or food poisoning). Thank you Jamie Oliver for a lovely chicken pie recipe - and I never would have thought of cooking peas with lettuce, but it was surprisingly good, so that's task 59 done, and 1 out of 6 for task 60 (6 new recipes).
P90X is going well so far (that is of course if you class being barely able to walk for the last two days as going well - I am currently walking like John Wayne and can only walk down stairs if I walk sideways like a crab...). But I'm hanging in there, and DF and I are both following the nutrition plan as well as the exercise plan, although I only managed 30 minutes of the 90 minute yoga session today.
I have to admit that I'm not sure I can manage the full 90 day course as it is a minimum of an hour of exercise a day, which I struggle to fit in when I get home from work, and as my youngest son has a habit of waking up before 5am, by the time I get home I am pretty well done in for the day. I did consider trying to fit it in before I go to work, but I'm pretty sure that the neighbours downstairs wouldn't appreciate it if I were to start exercising at 4:45am each day :o)
I'm planning on sticking it out as long as I can with the full programme, and if I can't keep it up then I will at least get the Tony Horton 10 minute trainer set so that I can make sure I am doing something everyday and doing some of the P90X sessions on days when I have a bit more time available.
That's all for now,
Have a good week.
LJx
Showing posts with label Domestic Goddess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Domestic Goddess. Show all posts
Friday, 13 January 2012
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Christmas Fun
Warning - too much writing in this post I'm afraid, Christmas is great!!!
What a lovely Christmas we have had this year. The boys are both that little bit older so were excited in the run up to the big day (although thankfully not over excited).
DF's dad came over to spend Christmas with us, which is fabulous - unfortunately last year there were problems with the weather in the UK and he couldn't get here.
Christmas morning came and the boys were up at 6:15am, which is OK as that is the time they always get up (yes, even at weekends - I really need to train them better). And for the first time in quite a while I got ready and did my make-up (with only one week to go until completion of the make-up part of my 101 things to do in 1001 days there was no way I was going to leave it until later and run the risk of forgetting altogether).
The boys were very pleased to see their little Christmas bags from each other in their bedroom and had come downstairs and taken a sneaky peek in the front room with their torches before coming through to ask if it was morning yet. They hadn't even opened the bags in their room, bless them :o)
They opened most of their presents before anyone else started, but that was fine, we had a trick up our sleeves for them, but the hit of the day has to have been the walkie-talkies... which were and will continue to be a tad annoying at times, but they are happy
And then came the adults presents - DFs dad got a digital SLR camera, which he is loving (and which will be used for some of the photos for this post shortly), while DF got a winter coat (thankfully he does actually like it - so now I can breathe again) and some more of his fave Jean Paul Gaultier shower gel and perfumey stuff.
So what did I get? I am so totally spoilt!!! My ruby Deco and London 2012 Line Burst in blue were boxed, and all ribboned up under the tree (I was allowed to know these as I had placed the order myself).
I had a sneaking suspicion that I may get an extra present under the tree as it had been feared that I would have no presents under the tree as my filos had been lost in transit, and I had bought myself a coat from DFs dad (white, puffy and full of feathers - just like wearing a duvet - the coat, not DFs dad...) to wrap up and put under the tree but DF clearly thought I deserved even more special things - I must have earned myself lots of Brownie points at some point...
But what was that...? - a third FF box...? At that point, being a total FF fan, there are a few thoughts that pass very quickly through your head:
What a lovely Christmas we have had this year. The boys are both that little bit older so were excited in the run up to the big day (although thankfully not over excited).
DF's dad came over to spend Christmas with us, which is fabulous - unfortunately last year there were problems with the weather in the UK and he couldn't get here.
Christmas morning came and the boys were up at 6:15am, which is OK as that is the time they always get up (yes, even at weekends - I really need to train them better). And for the first time in quite a while I got ready and did my make-up (with only one week to go until completion of the make-up part of my 101 things to do in 1001 days there was no way I was going to leave it until later and run the risk of forgetting altogether).
The boys were very pleased to see their little Christmas bags from each other in their bedroom and had come downstairs and taken a sneaky peek in the front room with their torches before coming through to ask if it was morning yet. They hadn't even opened the bags in their room, bless them :o)
They opened most of their presents before anyone else started, but that was fine, we had a trick up our sleeves for them, but the hit of the day has to have been the walkie-talkies... which were and will continue to be a tad annoying at times, but they are happy
And then came the adults presents - DFs dad got a digital SLR camera, which he is loving (and which will be used for some of the photos for this post shortly), while DF got a winter coat (thankfully he does actually like it - so now I can breathe again) and some more of his fave Jean Paul Gaultier shower gel and perfumey stuff.
So what did I get? I am so totally spoilt!!! My ruby Deco and London 2012 Line Burst in blue were boxed, and all ribboned up under the tree (I was allowed to know these as I had placed the order myself).
I had a sneaking suspicion that I may get an extra present under the tree as it had been feared that I would have no presents under the tree as my filos had been lost in transit, and I had bought myself a coat from DFs dad (white, puffy and full of feathers - just like wearing a duvet - the coat, not DFs dad...) to wrap up and put under the tree but DF clearly thought I deserved even more special things - I must have earned myself lots of Brownie points at some point...
But what was that...? - a third FF box...? At that point, being a total FF fan, there are a few thoughts that pass very quickly through your head:
- Ooh - another FF, what is it...?!!!
- Oh, please don't let it be an Apex... DF knows that I almost stalked someone because I thought they were going to buy one (and not for good reasons either)
- Oh - maybe it's a cunning ruse. Two FFs arrived with boxes, paper and ribbon for wrapping, but the Deco already had a box... maybe he is toying with my Filofax emotions...
Box 1... the fabulous blue Line Burst, I just love the inserts. There is a good chance that this filo will never be used and will just remain as a fabulous piece of memorabilia, but it is cute - and that today marker - love it!!!
Box 2... the long coveted ruby Deco in all its glory. So beautiful that until it came to time to take photos I couldn't bring myself to remove the protective plastic from that sophisticated clasp. It is so soft, the insides are divine and the whole thing is just pure luxury. I was however, quite fine with ripping its guts out to sort all my inserts ready to decide what I want to use where.
And so it was with trepidation (and a warning that he had better get ready to start running if it was an Apex) that I opened box 3 to find...
He is amazing and I do love him!!! I kept thinking about getting an iPhone, not because I wanted an iPhone specifically, but because the thought of all those apps to play with just appeals to me - lots!!! Being the workaholic that I am I have never actually looked at what the iPod does, I was thinking music, music and er... music. How wrong I was!!! All those fun apps are available on the iPod - I think I may have just died and gone to Heaven :o)
The boys were very surprised (and thrilled) to find that a football table had appeared upstairs when we went back up after opening the presents - our 6 year old clearly gets to play this way too much at his lunch club at school as he is pretty good already and delighted in taking everyone on :-)
On returning downstairs it was noticed that there was an envelope stuck in the tree... and now the boys think we are the best... tickets to see Batman Live when it comes to Zurich in February. They saw the posters ages ago and got very excited, but haven't mentioned it for a while and so were very pleased when they saw what the tickets were for. We are now all looking forward to going to see the show :o)
The rest of the day passed with no calamities - the boys went out with their Grandad and the walkie-talkies while DF and I cooked lunch, and the afternoon was sunny, fun and relaxing (mainly - come on, the boys are 4 and 6, it's Christmas, it had to get a bit hectic at some point).
Boxing Day just served to remind me how lucky we are to live here in Switzerland. Although there was no snow, the sun was shining, the sky was clear and on our afternoon walk (those extra calories have to go somewhere) we even saw a horse and trap... lovely.
Enjoy the rest of the Christmas season and New Year.
LJx
The boys were very surprised (and thrilled) to find that a football table had appeared upstairs when we went back up after opening the presents - our 6 year old clearly gets to play this way too much at his lunch club at school as he is pretty good already and delighted in taking everyone on :-)
On returning downstairs it was noticed that there was an envelope stuck in the tree... and now the boys think we are the best... tickets to see Batman Live when it comes to Zurich in February. They saw the posters ages ago and got very excited, but haven't mentioned it for a while and so were very pleased when they saw what the tickets were for. We are now all looking forward to going to see the show :o)
The rest of the day passed with no calamities - the boys went out with their Grandad and the walkie-talkies while DF and I cooked lunch, and the afternoon was sunny, fun and relaxing (mainly - come on, the boys are 4 and 6, it's Christmas, it had to get a bit hectic at some point).
Boxing Day just served to remind me how lucky we are to live here in Switzerland. Although there was no snow, the sun was shining, the sky was clear and on our afternoon walk (those extra calories have to go somewhere) we even saw a horse and trap... lovely.
Enjoy the rest of the Christmas season and New Year.
LJx
Monday, 26 December 2011
101 List Progress Check - 26th December 2011
Well it's the Christmas season and I'm using that as my excuse reason for getting a bit behind with blogging about my progress, but will keep this short and sweet as I also need to do a Christmas post...
- Make-up - I have now managed a full 3 weeks of wearing makeup every day, even putting it on before opening presents on Christmas morning, 1 more week to go - woohoo!!!
- Skincare - a big fat fail!!! I am rubbish at following a skincare routine, and almost never remember to take my makeup off before going to bed. Although I am getting into a routine in the mornings, so I guess it could be worse...
- Classic books - Jane Eyre is now finished, and was as suspected a damned good read. As it was Christmas week I figured that I should read Dicken's - A Christmas Carol (it wasn't on my list so in theory I can take one of the others off - I'm not sure how it was on my Kindle when it wasn't on my list, but I can live with that). I finished reading it last night and so think I may move on to Tess of the D'Urbervilles next - although I may have to see if I can change the font size as it is quite small - not ideal for reading in bed.
- Films, new releases - a friend of mine came over last weekend and brought a few films with him, so I have now watched Captain America (fab, shame about the ending, but I understand why they had to do it), and Horrible Bosses (quite amusing in parts, but not one I would be likely to watch again and again). I'm not sure if these count as new releases, I need to check when they came out on DVD, but believe it was the second half of this year... we'll see.
- Flylady habits - I'm still on just the 2 habits at the moment, but am very pleased with myself for managing to get the whole place clean and tidy and keeping it that way over Christmas - can we make it through to New Year? And I'll be working on bringing in a third habit soon... maybe sorting out clothes the night before...
- Shows - now that all the Christmas presents have been opened I can reveal which show I managed to get tickets for. We're off to see Batman Live when it comes to the Hallenstadion in Zürich in February - the boys were very pleased when they found out :-)
- Cooking with the boys - Christopher and I started off nice and simply with some shop bought sweet pastry for him to roll out and cut animal shapes out of to have as biscuits - does that count? I've also bought in some biscuit dough from the shop so that we can make some today, he loves cutting out the shapes. I really must learn where I can get self-raising flour from over here (and what it's called...)
I am going to start planning when and how to get all my 101 things in 1001 days done to try to make sure that I complete all of them (or at least most of them - 101 things is a lot to get through...)
LJx
Saturday, 3 December 2011
101 List Progress Check - 3rd December 2011
It's been a while since I've done a proper update on how this is going. I must remember that, as not all tasks are one off events, I need to write the progress checks to see how I'm doing with the repeating activities too.
Reading the classics is going well, faster than I'd planned in fact. I've read Wuthering Heights (a bit tough going due mainly to language), Far From the Madding Crowd (enjoyed this one), Great Expectations (poor Pip), so I thought I'd read something else to break it up a bit. But flicking through my Kindle to decide what to read next made me realise that I'm quite liking the slower paced style of these books, rather than the books that I'm used to, where I find it really hard to stop reading until it is finished. And so the book of the moment is Jane Eyre which I think is going to be pretty good.
One of the guys from work yesterday told me of a big stationery/craft supplies shop in Zurich who have (or seem to have) scrapbooking supplies, so I will be paying them a visit to have a search for nice card to make my dividers and some adhesive film to protect the tabs.
As a start in my quest to become a domestic goddess (anyone who knows me knows just how laughable this is - I managed to burn out a hoover by sucking up a T-shirt and the whole of upstairs ended up full of a weird smelling smoke - I didn't even notice, I was too busy trying to hoover the dust from under the bed with the hose attachment...), I have managed to add two Flylady habits to my daily activities. I now shine my kitchen sink every evening and swish & swipe in my bathroom every morning or evening - although I must confess that the sink didn't get shined yesterday as I was just too lazy...
Surprisingly, I have actually managed to watch two new releases on DVD already, one of which wasn't planned at all (Thor), but still counts so I'm happy. The second one was one that I desperately wanted to see - Harry Potter Deathly Hallows - Part 2, such a good film!!! I will be watching this one again very soon I think :o)
Wearing feminine clothes for a whole week... how frustrating is that one? I was doing really well this week, and wore clothes from my new capsule wardrobe Monday - Thursday and then Friday came, what was I thinking. For some reason I had it in my head that I was supposed to wear feminine clothes for 4 weeks and as I felt like wearing jeans for work I figured that my 4 weeks could start again some other time. It wasn't until I got home last night and did my progress check that I saw that it was only supposed to be for a week - aaargh!!! But I think I will wait until the summer to complete this challenge. Even though my capsule work wardrobe should help me to wear more feminine clothes, it is a bit chilly out at the moment, and some days all I want to wear is my jeans and a jumper - summer is definitely more conducive to wearing feminine clothes.
Thankfully when I gave up on the feminine clothes challenge yesterday morning I still put the make-up on as it turns out this one is only for 1 week as well, so 2 days and I am free!!! One question though, how do other people put make-up on and it stays all day and looks immaculate? I put mine on in the morning (face powder, or all in one foundation, eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner and lipstick) and by the time I get home all I have left is eyeliner which is smudged under my eyes and making me look worse than if I hadn't bothered.
Christmas cards and presents by the end of November - not this year!!! I have bought all my cards, and most of the presents, but haven't done any more than that, although the Christmas presents for the boys re sorted (or will be when I get round to going to the main station to get the tickets for the Batman show).
Best I get those cards written this weekend or I'll end up having to use them for next year instead...
LJx
Reading the classics is going well, faster than I'd planned in fact. I've read Wuthering Heights (a bit tough going due mainly to language), Far From the Madding Crowd (enjoyed this one), Great Expectations (poor Pip), so I thought I'd read something else to break it up a bit. But flicking through my Kindle to decide what to read next made me realise that I'm quite liking the slower paced style of these books, rather than the books that I'm used to, where I find it really hard to stop reading until it is finished. And so the book of the moment is Jane Eyre which I think is going to be pretty good.
One of the guys from work yesterday told me of a big stationery/craft supplies shop in Zurich who have (or seem to have) scrapbooking supplies, so I will be paying them a visit to have a search for nice card to make my dividers and some adhesive film to protect the tabs.
As a start in my quest to become a domestic goddess (anyone who knows me knows just how laughable this is - I managed to burn out a hoover by sucking up a T-shirt and the whole of upstairs ended up full of a weird smelling smoke - I didn't even notice, I was too busy trying to hoover the dust from under the bed with the hose attachment...), I have managed to add two Flylady habits to my daily activities. I now shine my kitchen sink every evening and swish & swipe in my bathroom every morning or evening - although I must confess that the sink didn't get shined yesterday as I was just too lazy...
Surprisingly, I have actually managed to watch two new releases on DVD already, one of which wasn't planned at all (Thor), but still counts so I'm happy. The second one was one that I desperately wanted to see - Harry Potter Deathly Hallows - Part 2, such a good film!!! I will be watching this one again very soon I think :o)
Wearing feminine clothes for a whole week... how frustrating is that one? I was doing really well this week, and wore clothes from my new capsule wardrobe Monday - Thursday and then Friday came, what was I thinking. For some reason I had it in my head that I was supposed to wear feminine clothes for 4 weeks and as I felt like wearing jeans for work I figured that my 4 weeks could start again some other time. It wasn't until I got home last night and did my progress check that I saw that it was only supposed to be for a week - aaargh!!! But I think I will wait until the summer to complete this challenge. Even though my capsule work wardrobe should help me to wear more feminine clothes, it is a bit chilly out at the moment, and some days all I want to wear is my jeans and a jumper - summer is definitely more conducive to wearing feminine clothes.
Thankfully when I gave up on the feminine clothes challenge yesterday morning I still put the make-up on as it turns out this one is only for 1 week as well, so 2 days and I am free!!! One question though, how do other people put make-up on and it stays all day and looks immaculate? I put mine on in the morning (face powder, or all in one foundation, eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner and lipstick) and by the time I get home all I have left is eyeliner which is smudged under my eyes and making me look worse than if I hadn't bothered.
Christmas cards and presents by the end of November - not this year!!! I have bought all my cards, and most of the presents, but haven't done any more than that, although the Christmas presents for the boys re sorted (or will be when I get round to going to the main station to get the tickets for the Batman show).
Best I get those cards written this weekend or I'll end up having to use them for next year instead...
LJx
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