Bean Boozled!! Why??

I recorded a very yucky video with two of my eually yucky boys lol. They have been bugging me to do the Beanboozled challenge with them so I bought a couple packs.... who on earth would do this and why!! It was so much fun to do it with them and we will defo be recording more together so if you have any ideas for us or would like us to do any videos in particular, please let me know.

Enjoy 🤢 🤣

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.

Happy New Year!!, Fancy You Here!!

Hellooo!!! and Happy New Year.... Yes I know its now 9 days into 2018 but I want to wish you all a Happy New Year none the less.

It has been a whirlwind few months but I am through to the other side stronger, wiser and with even more determination to get better.

I have soooo many goals for 2018, I want to improve my life in all areas - physical, emotional, spiritual, mental..... creatively.... and many more. I also want to focus on my business and push that forward.

Life can sometimes seem so hard, things can get on top of me and I have very little pleasure in doing the things that once gave me so much joy and/or happiness but I am going to do them anyhow.

I hope to start crafting again soon. I cannot even put into words why I don't craft any more but I really want to get into it again. I may look at some challenge groups/blogs and get into things that way. If you have any recommendations please let me know. Papercrafts or Sewing would be great.

Well.... I'll sign off now as the school run beckons but will do a few catch up posts over the next few days.

Speak soon xxx

Eco Style Coconut v Black Castor and Flaxseed.

Hiya!!
I finally managed to get this video up!!

It's been such a nightmare as I'm still having problems with storage and lap top issues. I tried uploading to YouTube in parts with the idea of using the video editor.... they only went and removed the video editor didn't they! Gahhhh so I had to download my videos and put them together with movie maker which took 4 hours to open them in the first place!! Gahhhhhh I kid you not, I actually recorded the video in May or June!!

Rant aside I was so excited when I saw the two gels as I had seen them around online on Blogs and Videos from people in the US and thought it would be ages until we got it here.

I also talked about my updated Wash n Go technique.

I chatted on so much I had to split the video into two parts:

Part One - First Impressions and Demo:



Part Two - Results and Thoughts:



Thanks for watching xxx

Chit Chat - Cloudy with a Tag

Hiya!! I don't really have a direction, theme or title for this Blog Post. I just wanted to blog today....

Maybe I'll get a title during the post.

I am feeling a little blah today... I'm not sure if it's the weather but lately I am just sooo tired. I feel blah most days.

Today we had so many appointments and I still have a class to go to later, so I shouldn't really feel lethargic but I do.

I guess this is part and parcel to living under a black cloud. I have my weekly appt tomorrow but I'm not really looking forward to it as I haven't done much of my list, I suppose I did do some organising and decluttering but no way near enough to report about.

I really would like to climb under my duvet and stay there until the weekend. I was feeling ok yesterday and Tuesday too for that matter - maybe I should have blogged then hey 😒   - But today.... ugh. Well today is not a duvet day, it is a busy day and I most really get my self into gear and shake this blahness (is that a word?) off.

Ok slight convo change....  This blog post is sooooo sombre let me go look for a tag to do to lighten up the mood.....


Right!! I found a Fall Tag, I'm leaving out the halloween questions.

Favourite Fall lip product? 

I will put a few faves for different types I think;
Lip Balm - Pumpkin Spice (Maybeline Baby Lips )
Lip Stick - Coffee Shimmer {264} (Rimmel London Lasting Finish)
Liquid Lip Stick - Glory {matte} (Makeup Revolution Retro Luxe Kit)

Favourite Fall Nail Polish? 

Hmmmm I don't have a particular nail varnish fave but I do like to try darker colours in the Autumn/ Fall.

Favourite Starbucks Fall Drink? 

Pumpkin Spice Latte!! All day long lol. Saying that, I haven't had a PSL for a couple years now. I'm wondering what it will taste like with almond milk. Maybe Ill give it a try.

Favourite Fall Candle? 

arggghh how can I choose?? I am actually slightly addicted to candles. My fave are Yankee Candles and I cant help buying the little samplers when I see them.
I love watching the Bath and Body Works haul videos and am secretly - well not so secret now I've said it online) jealous as they look and sound wonderful.
Ok pushed to choose, I'll cut it down to 2 Yankee Candles:
Honey Glow
Candy Corn

Favourite Fall Scarf or accessory?

I have so many scarves to choose from but I love darker colours in the Autumn/Fall.

Favourite Fall YouTube Videos to watch?

I love to watch Fall decor hauls, Fall room decor "tours" and Bath and Body Works Fall hauls.


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


Sooooo I think we turned it around in the end. I almost deleted the first part of the post and was so tempted to just post the tag but hey, this is real life and all that. Hopefully my next post will be better. 'See' you soon xxx

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.