Remeber me?? and This week's Family Dinner Plan.

 

 

Ahemmm remember me?? well I can just about remember me!! I have been lost for a while but I'm trying to get my life back!! ((Dramatic much??)) 

I am making an effort to get back to me.... well maybe not back to me... there's lots of tings that I would rather not get back to but, I want to maybe become the me that I want to be.... so more get to me than back to me but the sentiment still stands lol!!

I am trying to be more organised, to find joy in things... both things I used to find joy in and also new things. I used to love blogging... both posting and reading other blogs.

I used to love posting videos and crafting and all kinds of things that I no longer do.... I am in a place I don't like.... I have been ill - both physically and emotionally for soooo long, I have low energy... low motivation and just lowness ((Is that a word??))

 

Soooooo with all that doom and gloom aside, I am making a start with the blogging lol... so erm... hi!!

 

I have been doing dinner plans at home and it really helps me be motivated, inspired and also on the days when life is a struggle, I have dinner planned out and ingredients already in .... it really does help.

i introduced themed weeks which

 

The last week has been a struggle even to get the motivation to cook and it's been a chore...(the cooking part isn't bad.. it's the getting to the kitchen to start) soooo..... I thought posting the meal plans would help keep me motivated in both posting and cooking!!

As I am plant based I really just plan food I'm cooking for the family. I will have the carb/starch and add veggies or salad to it.

This weeks Dinners:

Monday - Meatball Pasta Bake

Tuesday - Tuna and Rice (will decide if I'll do cold (tuna mayo) or hot (tomato tuna)

Wednesday - Chicken Curry, Naan Bread and samosas

Thursday - Jacket Potatoes with Chilli and cheese

Friday - Paella

Sayurday - Korean Style Chicken Wings and chips

Sunday - Roasted Salmon and new Potatoes with Green beans.

I used this list to place my online grocery shop so that was helpful too (😊)

Thanks for stopping by x-x

Mindset Mondays - episodes 1, 2 and 3

Hiya!! I started a new series - looking at Mental and Emotional Health wellbeing - called Mindset Mondays.

I am on a journey to a healthy Mind and thought I'd share.



Mindset Mondays Episode.1 - Intro and Health Update




Mindset Mondays Episode.2 - Seek Help
Includes Footage from after my first Therapy session




Mindset Mondays Episode.3 - Self Care
Includes vlog style footage od a self care week I did

No more waiting till Monday.

Hiya!! I have had a slight issue with plans and making changes.

When I initiate a change, I like to start at the beginning of the week. So every time I have an idea  to start something, and it's in the middle of the week, I make a plan to wait till the next week and start then.
Sounds good so far right? Well the issue is, when Monday comes, I'm often quite tired from the weekend or I have bits and pieces I need to do that causes me to put off my new changes/ improvements.
Sometimes I don't get a chance to visit my new idea until the middle of the week, but as I mentioned, I like to start with a fresh week....... so I get caught up in a cycle that has me waiting for Monday to start, not being able to start then, waiting for the next Monday and so on and so forth.

Last week Thursday I had an idea of a change I want to start and I told myself I'll start it on Monday (today) but as soon as I had that thought, another thought came to me and said - don't wait for a fresh week, start it now.... so I did!!!

Well I know it's probably such a small thing to some, or an obvious one but for me it was actually life changing!! Yes as dramatic as that sounds it changed my life as I was able to start initiating well needed change and I had such a feeling of achievement, it helped with my often low self feeling of failure.

So.... I'm no longer waiting till Monday, if I want to implement a change I'm going to start right there and then and if I needs be, I will start the following day.

I felt so much better just by making this small change, I am determined to get my life on track. It's been a hard few weeks but I am trying not to allow my low moods/ depression to dictate my life.

I'll be back with this months goals soon xxx

Looking into me....

I have been doing a lot of soul searching recently and have found many little "isms" that I do not like... one bit.

I have decided it's time for another life overhaul. The last time I did this, I had a shock as my life actually changed in ways I didn't even begin to imagine.
I want to chaange every area of my life. I want to start right now!!

I'll be back with plans and deffo challenges to keep me motivated.

Who's up for the life change challenge??

Christmas 2018 Preparation

Hiya!!

I recorded some of the preparations for Christmas (2018)

I had fun - if not tiring and enjoyed the prep.

I love Christmas.

Enjoy xxx

Getting my happy back through crafting.

Hiya!! I hope you are well.

I am trying to get back my happy.

I have talked a little about my low moods here and there but I try not to post too much as I feel like this blog was a way for me to have a little escape and enjoyment but.... I do feel it's important for me to work on my emotional health.


I have noticed - for a couple years if I'm honest - that I have stopped doing the things that used to make me happy, the things that I used to enjoy hold no joy for me and that's not ok.

I think back to my crafting days and how much I loved it, and the other hobbies I spent so much time and money on them and now all the tools, equipment and products just gathering dust.

I have started to really try to get the zeal to do something enjoyable but I really don't have it in me.
I want to push through the feelings and do it any way.

I have started planning again which seemed to awaken my crafting side, so much so that I took part in inktober - I was meant to actually upload my drawings but for whatever reason I didn't and now it's two months - sigh- that got my creative juices flowing annnndddd I have caught the bullet journaling bug and that has definitely got my fingers twitching to create.


I think I will get a project to work on and ease into crafting and then maybe look for some craft blogs/channels challenges to take part in.

Keep a look put for some show and tells,

bye for now xxx

Family Days Out - Then and Now

Hiya!! We went to Woburn Safari Park and then I found some footage of ages ago when we went out to the o2 Centre and I was amazed at the difference in everyone.
Kiddies grow sooo quickly.

I even kept in some of the squabbles lol

Enjoy xxx

Meal Plan Monday

Hiya!! I'm back with another meal plan Monday.
Last week we were eating out of our freezer and our eldest son bought some goodies home from work so we used that.

This week it's back to planning.

The weather has dipped again and I have found myself wanting pasta much more so I will be doing a few pasta dishes this week.
Saturday and Sunday I have big concerts so I will only be planning the week dinners.





Monday:

Filled Pasta (will look at which protein is in the fridge.          Pasta and Vegetable mix.

Tuesday:

Rice and Fish.                                                    Rice and Seasoned Blackeye Beans.

Wednesday:

Chicken Pie with Potatoes and Veg.                   Sweet Potato and Veg Pie with mixed beans.

Thursday:

Chicken and Rice One Pot.                                 Vegetable and Rice One Pot.

Friday:

Pizza and Chicken wings.                                  Pasta and Vegetable mix.






That took not long at all. I love this planning malarkey lol.

I'm off to look at some meal planning blogs, "see" you soon xxx

Meal Plan Monday.

Hiya!! {did you over at seeing another post so soon??😜}

I have been in such a funk with cooking the last few weeks. My appetite has been very bad but even cooking for the family has been hard lately.
I know *the black cloud* can make me feel lethargic and sucks the fun, joy and enjoyment out of everything I used to love but I didn't expect to feel this way over simply cooking.

I'm not sure if it is because I have been ill with this cold type lergy and that has zapped all of the little energy I had, but I have been so tired.

I'm trying to fight *the black cloud* all the time and the fact of the matter is that I have to provide meals for my family. At this moment in time, I often have cereal or a smoothie and thats fine - for now - But my family deserve lovely meals and I actually want to get back to enjoying providing them.

I did notice that when I used to plan the meals, it really helped. It saved me from having to come up with the ideas on the nights that I really had no inspiration and the boys liked to have a visual sign of what was for dinner.
They seem to like choosing meals too which is great.


So onto the point after all that waffle lol, I am back to meal planning and will post on Mondays. As the boys are at school I'll be posting Dinner for Monday - Saturday.
I'll plan mine next the family meals to try and get me motivated to eat properly too.


This weeks Meals will be:




Monday;       Spaghetti Bolognese.                           Vegetables and Spaghetti
Tuesday;       Rice and Fish.                                      Rice and Black bean Korma
Wednesday;  Chicken and Pasta One Pot.                 Vegetables and Pasta One Pot
Thursday;     Potato gratin and meatballs.                 Smoothie
Friday;          One Pot Rice with Chicken.                 One Pot Rice with Veg
Saturday;      Homemade Burgers and Wedges.        Meatfree version.




That was actually quicker thanI thought. I'll let you know how I got on and if it helped with this cooking funk.

I'd love to hear if you meal plan and what meals you're cooking this week, also if you have any inspiration or even know of any blogs.

See you soon xxx

Starting from.......

.... NOW!! 😫

Sooooo....... I have a slight confession to make.... I may have failed my no buy ban already.

I may have went to TK Maxx and I may have purchased a hair product... or 2. Also maybe a makeup item.... or 3😫😫

To plead my case, it was some CHi Items and they are quite pricey elsewhere so when I see them in TK Maxx I like to pick them up.
Plus.... One was a gel and I didn't know they did a gel so of course I wanted to try it... and I didn't follow my previous bad habit of picking up more than one *just in case* and.... I do need some gel as mine is running out, I have like two wash and go's left.... ok I have two different gels I could use but they flake on me.....
The other item was a hair treatment and I don't actually have a protein treatment so technically I followed the rules.... kind of.... but not really.... GAH!!!!

I was trying not to buy make up too.... was gonna post about that and extend my no buy to include makeup with the exception of the new Too Faced Ginger Spice eye shadow palette that's due here in UK on the 5th of October.

But I failed there too as I picked up a couple bits..... I think I have to ban myself fromTK Maxx as I always get sucked in.... they're prices are so reasonable and I made the mistake of watching a Makeup video where the lady showed some Too Faced sale items and mentioned that TJ Maxx would have some there, I decided to look in TK Maxx as they often get the bits from their US stores and they did in fact have some.... Oh dear..... I really must NOT go to look for now because a look becomes a grab!!

Soooo..... I'm restarting my no buy...... I'll do better, I promise. I do need a few skincare items though. so ... yeah.

Bye for now xxx

Hair Product "No Buy"

Hiya!! (told you I'd be back tomorrow lol)

I have put myself on a Hair Product buying ban.

I knew I had a whole load of hair stuff, I have been a product junkie and have back ups of my back ups.
Don't even get me started on my conditioner addiction gahhh!!!!
I have been in a decluttering frenzy and found so many bottles, tubs and packets of hair stuff I could open a pop-up shop 😣.

I decided that until I use what I have am NOT to buy any more.

It's ridiculous - I mean how many heads of hair do I have? granted I use my hair products on the boys, three of whom have quite a lot of hair but still!!

I will only buy something if I absolutely need it for example a condition based item or if I haven't anymore of it's type. I probably won't need to buy conditioner till way into next year (the shame).

I will be blogging as I go and I can't promise not to moan when I want to try something - I nearly bought the Paul Mitchells conditioner as I have wanted to try it for over a year!!

Look out for some more reviews as I start to actually use what I have instead of admiring them.... or placing them in bags and forgetting about them *sigh*

I am ashamed to have rediscovered some items I was kindly given to review and although it's way late... I will review these too.

Anywhooooooo..... gonna have some dinner now, a break in healthy eating meal (don't like the term cheat meal... who am I cheating??

Bye for now xxx

Crazy Weather and Decluttering!!

Hi everyone!! What a crazy couple of months!!

Its been hectic here and  the weather has definitely been hectic too.

We've had snow, sleet, snow, hail, snow, rain and did I mention SNOW!! lol. The kiddies loved the snow, me not so much.
Don't get me wrong, I don't hate snow... I just hate the feeling of falling in the snow.  My old ankle injuries make it quite difficult to walk in the snow and with snow comes ice which is even worse. I literally walk at a pace slower than a tortoise, I can get quite anxious and had a semi panic attack/melt down on the school pick up run.
I was dreading the next school run but remembered some WinterTrax I bought a few years back.
I had been decluttering before Christmas and came across them so tried to retrace my footsteps ('scuse the pun😝) I found them, put them on my boots and wow!! what a difference they made. I actually got to the school in the same amount of time as usual (the melt down day, it took me 15 minutes extra!). I could walk art regular pace, my ankles didn't hurt and my feet didn't slip once. The only problem is that they're not for indoors so when I went into the shop they were a little slippery.

 















The boys couldn't believe the snow settled and was falling so heavily, they absolutely loved it and at last I wasn't a shaking wreck and could enjoy it with them.... apart from being freezing cold lol.

On the subject of decluttering, I have started to declutter again. Hoorahhhh!!! Although I am still feeling the black cloud hovering, I am trying to push through and work on getting our house nice.
I started in the kitchen last week and tackled two surfaces on Saturday, the dreaded container and cup cupboard on Sunday and another surface and corner on Wednesday.

It has made such a difference to the room!! it looks so much brighter and feels way lighter. I feel so happy with the accomplishment and am motivated to keep going, even if its a little at a time.

Even though the before pictures make me cringe, I can be pleased with how the after pictures look enough to keep my guilt at bay.

I have started to watch and read more cleaning/organising videos and blogs so if you have any channel or blog recommendations please let me know.

Have a great day, "see" you soon xxx

Dairy and Meat Free Whole Foods Haul

Hiya!!

Another quick video post 😳 I’ll do a “real” post very soon 🙈

I did a small shop to pick up some Dairy and Meat Free goodies from While Foods and also a little taste test.

Dairy Free can be hard at tones as milk is in soooo many items, even those that you wouldn’t even expect them to be in.

I’ll be doing more dairy and meat free videos as I do get quite a few questions about this, hopefully I can share recipes and tips.

Thanks for watching xxx

Goals and life overhaul.

Hi Everyone, I hope you are having a great week so far.

I am always setting goals, challenges and tasks for myself. I have mentioned before I like to set challenges to keep me motivated to reach goals.

Many of my goals are long term and I often get disheartened or demotivated and I find making smaller goals work well in keeping me focused.

I started a "boot camp" of sorts at the start of the 2016 summer holidays. I upped my food management and activity levels and did an overhaul in many areas of my life that I needed changes in - My Weight and Physical health, Emotional and Mental health, Spiritual Wellbeing, Relationships (God, Hubby, Kids, Family and Friends), Marriage, Parenting, Ministry, Business and others - a real life overhaul.

I did not know how much of a change that would make but wow!!

By the end of October, my life was almost unrecognisable. We left our church, I lost another chunk of weight and dropped a couple dress sizes, Hubby and I had a sparkle... I started Therapy and made so many changes with my emotional, mental and behavioural wellbeing, my mindset had a huge shift and I cannot actually put into words how different I actually feel inside.


I have to admit that will all those changes came some negative backlash. We faced a difficult time as a family and I personally went through sheer..... well I was gonna say hell but it sounds dramatic.... let's just say sheer sunken blackness.... still dramatic but you get my drift.

My character was put to the test, slander and lies were commonplace but I thank God we came through stronger as individuals and as a family,


Looking forward I am as determined to make changes as I was before the summer. I love the person I am becoming.... that takes much for me to say as I have been living in the shadow of my better self for so long, I know who I want to be but She always seems to be far beyond my reach, now I can see her getting closer every day.

I have started another set of Therapy sessions which are more intense and look more at thought processes and "unpacking" the root causes of behaviours, anxieties and moods. It is quite hard too be completely honest and part of me wants to fight it and stay in my clouded state but I have to push through if change is to truly happen.

My weight continues to be a major goal and I am so glad that the changes I have made to not only my food intake but also my eating patterns continue and the pounds are going. 

I didn't achieve my business goals but it's a new year and I'm rearing to go.

I will post more about specific goals and areas of my life in later posts to keep me on track and to share my journey.

Id love to hear what goals and changes you have for the upcoming year and beyond. Let's motivate each other xxx

Video Catch Up!

Hiiiii!! I realised I haven't added the videos I have uploaded in the past month or so. I'll add them here and act like I did it ages ago lol.


 Tourists In Paris.
Hubby and I got a day break to spend kidfree in Paris to celebrate our Anniversary.






 Poundland Christmas Decor Haul.
I may have got carried away with Christmas decor shopping in Poundland!! I love decorating for Christmas😊.







 Low Self Esteem,
I recorded a "Talk it up" video discussing Low Self Esteem, Worth and Confidence. Please let me know if you have any topics/issues for future real talk videos.

Meal Planning - last weeks shop and meals.

Hiya!! Last week went by in a whirl of appointments, pity parties and shopping trips.
At the beginning of the week, I had the idea to start meal planning again.
I often feel overwhelmed by the time evening comes and when it's a really off day I find it hard to get on with day-to-day stuff. Thinking about what to cook often falls into that category. Having meal ideas already lined up helps so much.
It also helps to quash the million "whats for dinner " questions if I actually write them up on our menu board lol.

I went to pick up a few bits on Monday and the store was offering free delivery with an over £20 spend. I just had to shop and they would pack and deliver, whooooop whoooooppp 😊
That was great for my back/hands as I normally have to lug the groceries home I end up having to leave heavier items behind and often miss out on special offers etc.
Sooooo I did a bigger shop and concentrated on only buying dinner items. I found that it really helped my anxiety and stress levels and also kept me on budget as I wasn't just picking up items willy nilly.

I was meaning to come home, show the dinner items and then plan out the meals for the week, but.... life happened and each day my intention to post went out the window and then it was Saturday... so yeah...

I decided that I would still post last weeks shop and meals as it can be a reminder for future meals of what worked really well, which meals went down a treat and for shopping inspiration etc.

Hopefully it will at least be interesting for you too lol. I will be browsing other blogs to get meal planning inspiration, motivation and tips.




Ok, enough chatter and onto the actual post.😌


Items;
 meat:
Chicken thighs x2
Beef Cubes x2
Chicken Wings
Fajita Kit - bbq x2
Chicken Cubes
Tuna Pack (4 cans)

 Veg:
Spinach
Mixed Vegetables
Shredded Lettuce x2
Tomatoes (6pk)
Cucumber

 Dairy:
Red Leicester Cheese block

 Sides:
Potato Wedges
Sweet Potato Wedges

 Misc:
Olives
Pickled Onion




Meals; - my meals are in ()

 Monday:

Chicken Fajitas with Wedges {using chicken chunks}
(Mixed veg wrap and sweet potato wedges)
 - well received, the chicken flavour was well liked

 Tuesday:
Chicken Wings and Pasta Cheese
(veggie pasta stew - soup thickened too much lol)
 - well received


 Wednesday:





Stewed Beef with Rice
( Sweet Potato, Spinach and mixed veg with rice - chopped the wedges)
 - fave meal of the week for family. Beef was a hit. Seconds requested also request for next week.

 Thursday:
Peri/Thai Chicken with Mashed Potatoes.
(Chick Pea, Spinach and veg pilaf)

 Friday:
Tuna Mayo with Rice

 Saturday:
Store Bought Southern chicken and Pizza
(Chick Pea, Spinach and veg pilaf)

                                      ..............................................................................................

I'll be doing a meal planning post for this week tomorrow as I'm still deciding.

Please let me know if you have a meal planning blog or know of any.

Summer Holiday Recovery and little update.

Hiiiii!!!! OH MY GOSH!! I have just started to recover from the mayhem that is Summer Holidays.

Now let it be known right from the start that I do actually love my kiddies... I love them to bits... I do.
However... Summer Holidays can put all that love to the test.
I am one of those parents who teachers look at in a mixture of surprise, approval and disbelief when I utter the words "I cant wait for the holidays" Other parents give me the side eye until they realise I actually mean it... and I do.
I enjoy having my boys home, I enjoy having days without the rush and hurry of school mornings. I still end up waking up early but I have a more leisurely start to the day (and can even have a rest in bed if the kiddies are still asleep).

With all that being said, Summer Holidays can be hectic and stressful at times and the one that just went.... crazy. The UK weather often meant that my kiddies were "stuck" inside with pent up energy. I like to have activities at hand to keep them occupied but it was tricky at times because they really just wanted to be outside.

Grocery shopping and cooking was a madness also. Bread, milk and cereal seemed to have grown wings and flew off... I couldn't keep them in the house if I tried. I did have fun experimenting with different recipes and healthy snack ideas.

Along with all the fun, I had many opportunities to exercise my referee skills.... siblings can argue over the smallest things and hot tempers can end in fisticuffs..... did I actually just say "fisticuffs"?!

This year we didn't go away over the Summer as we are planning to go away later on so there wasn't even a vacation to break up the time so it was week after week of solid.... lets go with fun for positivity sake lol.

As the Holidays came towards the end, we went into "back to school" mode and got caught up in uniform and supplies mayhem which was followed by actual school preparations and then school starting back and slightly different routines that had to be put into place.


Added to a huge change for us as a family (hopefully I'll blog about this at a later date - and no there isn't a new addition to the family lol) we definitely were in a state of upheaval but we are just about coming to a steady routine now.

It seems that it really is the season for transitions and changes.

Life Update.

I used the summer to get a grip on all the things I need to change and improve in my life and am continuing with the start in changes. I will blog more in time and document my changes. The most apparent one is my extra weight loss. I had been trying over the summer to kick my weight loss up a notch and although I deffo could have done better, I made better choices and my clothes are showing the changes in my body. My face seems smaller to me and I did a double take a couple of days ago when I caught my reflection in a store window lololololol my legs look a little smaller, I was wondering who was walking so close to me but realised it was in fact me !!! wowwww!! I had a ditzy moment for sure but it really shocked me as I don't notice day to day. That morning I was wondering why my cardigan kept hanging weirdly and the sleeves were waaayy long, my trousers kept trailing under my shoe... when I saw my reflection it dawned on me that the clothes didn't mysteriously stretch... my body is starting to shrink. Haaaaaaaa its actually making me laugh as I type as it sounds so silly but yea.... that actually happened.

I also notice people that I haven't seen for a while do a double take when they see me.... those who don;t know me very well go to walk past me or look at me with a "where do I know you from look" when I say hi and then they seem to recognise me. A few actually mention they didn't recognise me.
Those who do know me explain that it's because of the weight I have lost.
I often think they're just being polite but that reflection episode has made me start to take their comments for truth.

A family wedding was another instance where so many people were shocked..... I don't even think I have lost that much though.... hmmmmm. The mind is a strange thing sometimes. Ill just keep going and my mind will eventually catch up with my body.

I am making active changes in my emotional/mental health as well as my physical health and have been referred by my GP to get some help. It feels both weird and nice that I am finally taking the steps towards a healthier mind.



SOoooo what a mega post that turned out to be!! If you read up to here thanks so much and if you skimmed down to the end I don;t really blame you lol.

Thanks as ever for reading my little blog. It's really warming to see the stats. I know I don't get many comments - please don't be shy I love a good chat... evidently😁 - but I do appreciate all of you who take the time to visit and read. Have a great day xxx

Trying out smoothies - Getting over the texture

Hiya!! I hope you are having a great week so far, my week didn't get off to the best start but I'm determined to change the way I react to "struggles" I may not be able to control things that happen or the way people behave or what they say.... but I can control the way I react... the way I internalise things and my actions.

With all that being said, I am pushing through and getting on with things, focusing on my goals and doing better rather than focusing on the grrrr things.

For the longest of time people have been recommending smoothies to me as a way to help get healthier and even lose weight, I tried it out a couple years ago and couldn't get past the textures (bleughhh) all the bits and... (bleughhh) even the thought is making me squirm.
I couldn't bring myself to make myself anymore. I made some for the boys and hubby and they went down really well but not for me, no way.
I like some of the ready made smoothies in the shops, the Naked blue or green ones are delish but they are quite expensive and as I continued to drop certain food items and limit the intake of others they became too sweet for me anyway.

My mummy received a Nutri Ninja (one of the top models) for Christmas from her hubby (Hi both of you 😘 ) and since then has been making smoothies everyday, this from someone who didn't really eat fruits and such like that. I was tempted to try one but the thought of the bits just put me off..... I was at her home last month and she made convinced me to taste one of hers and it wasn't bad at all, it was quite smooth... still too much texture for me but promising.

Forward to last week, I found a new youtube channel with a Jamaican chef and he made 3 smoothies in his ninja.... they looked soooo good and I made up my mind to give smoothies a try as part of my weight loss refresh/ boost.

I purchased some fruit and veggies and built up the courage (it took over a week...) I picked up some fresh strawberries on Monday and yesterday was the day.


I chose Pineapple, Banana, Strawberry and Spinach, placed them in my Ninja cup, added a little Honey,  Vanilla Extract, Ice and some Coconut Dream that hubby bought me to try (thanks babe 😘)

I let the Ninja do its thing and then blended again.... and again..... and once more lol, I wanted to get it as smooth as possible.

When it was to my liking I stopped blending, added some more ice and put the lid onto the cup (I realised it was the mixing cup not the serving one but why dirty another cup lol) and popped in one of my plastic straws.

The smoothie was actually smooth!! whoooppp whoopppp!! I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't completely smooth and I had to force the bleurgh reaction away but it was really nice. I may blend a little extra next time, I contemplated sieving the smoothie but I wanted all the goodness.
I may have put in a little too much spinach as the taste of it was very strong but as I had a lot of sweet fruits I wanted to balance it out a little.

The Coconut Dream gave it a creamy taste and also added to the flavour. I am glad I chose that instead of almond milk which I was going to use at first. All in all it was a positive experience lol.

I drank it during the day and that in itself stopped me from reaching for snacks and I was quite full all afternoon until evening.
I will definitely be having smoothies more often and incorporating them into my Healthier Lifestyle goals.


Please let me know if you have any smoothie recipes for me to try.

Weight Loss Journey - Refresh

 Hiya!! I have mentioned in the past that I am trying to loose weight and although I have lost some, its not near enough for me. At the very start of my (serious) weightloss Journey, a couple years ago, I just had a "a ha moment" something just clicked and I decided that I would make a proper try at dropping my weight for once and for all.

I knew that it would take a very long time.... very long!! At my largest I was in the danger zone.
I knew in my heart that I would have to be half my size to be in a healthy place but that is only the beginning because when I get there, I'll have to keep on losing weight so that I can be at my goal.... soooooo.... I had a long and hard task ahead of me.

I plodded on and changed so many habits. Over the year that followed I lost weight, got healthier and felt so much better.
In the next year after that, I started to be more active, walking, work outs etc. and that enabled me lose even more weight.

My decision to stop eating meat had the bonus result of weight loss and my new dairy allergy intolerance meant I had to stop eating dairy products which in itself helped too.

In my mind, at times, I feel like the same super big person.... Only pictures really allow me to see just how much weight I have actually lost. My clothes are also a good "measuring tool" I have so many clothes that are very big now that used to fit me well.

Looking back at the way I was - not only in appearance but my mindset and level of activity - It is hard to believe I am the same person and in reality I'm not really Her... She is someone that used to exist but no more, I have made great changes and it's now noticeable to others - especially when I wear more fitted clothes.

Face comparison - Then vs Now

I decided a couple weeks ago that it's time to really push my efforts and work harder. I walk soooo much more than I did and that's great, I actually cannot believe how much I walk now, but I want to do so much more. So I'm calling it a weight loss refresh.... not exactly a restart as I am doing well but a push to do more.

I have upped my water intake, for 2 weeks any time I wanted a drink I only had water. I have had a couple days where I have had other drinks and I do notice a difference so I will make an effort to drink more water again.
I have watched my portion sizes and limited the amount of many food items that I love to reat but really shouldn't.
I am going to make more of an effort to do more activities, whether a work out, dance, extra walk etc,


I don't really post much about my weight loss journey but I think it will be a nice idea to do so more, it will be motivation for my low days and also a great record for me to look back at when I reach my goal weight. I'm hoping that it will also motivate others who are on a weight loss journey too, no matter how much (or little) they may have to lose.


soooo heres to a weight loss refresh..... I cannot wait to get to goal but know it's a day at a time kind of journey for me.

New Budget Buys Series

Hiya!. I hope you are all well and enjoying your week so far, I have started a new Series called "Budget Buys"
Hair, Beauty and even household items can be quite costly so I am always looking for ways to save pennies.
I'll be sharing my favourite budget items, brands, hacks, tips etc. and looking for new ones too.

For the Series I thought I would visit a few low cost shops and get some items to make a DIY Subscription Box. I love watching subscription box unboxings and reviews and also reading about them on blogs, forums etc but they can be quite expensive and many don't seem like great value if I'm honest so I thought it would be fun to do my own.
This time around I went to Poundland and picked up a variety of items.







Please let me know if you have any ideas, tips, suggestions or even any brands you would like me to try.

Thanks for watching xxx