The End Of 2010

In a few hours it will be brand new year!! 2011

2010 has been rather up and down. I'm still suffering with depression, had to have 2 lady tests which came back alright...phew! We have re-vamped all of our downstairs although we still need the tiles for the kitchen which we will get very soon, received 7....yes...7 tree's for my garden.....mega pleased about that!! Received BAD news a few days ago, still waiting for 3 of my Christmas pressies to arrive through the post, we have had HORRENDOUS snow and I have been feeling unwell for about 2 weeks BUT getting better! I think that is about it, I have to say I have had worse years.

The snow has all but gone here now which I am rather pleased about.

I am hoping to get out for some Green Coconuts tomorrow, that is if the shop has any, it may not have managed to get any because of the weather here in the UK, I will ring the shop first.
I am also going to vacuum my bedrooms and stairs and generally spruce my home up.

I have sorted the remaining Christmas goodies today, the last of the Christmas cake is in the freezer along with the last of the choccies, I know that I should throw them out but when my grandchildren visit then the sweets will come in nice for them.

Well I am all ready for the new year and my 'RAWCADEMY' and I suppose I am ready for my 45th Birthday on the 8th January. I am ready to take 2011 by the horns and RAWTOX my body to be fit, healthy and happy!! I got Zumba for Christmas and I am going to be giving that a go...WooHoo

That is all for now so I will wish you ALL a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2011

I will be back tomorrow in 2011

Devastated!!

I received some VERY VERY bad news a few days ago, the 27th December to be precise. It was TERRIBLE news, I'm not sure I want to talk about it yet. I am trying SOOOO very hard to stay positive and focus on other things.

I have decided to start a new lifestyle and even more so now after hearing the bed news so as of January 1st 2011 I am starting my lifestyle change and naming it the 'RAWCADEMY'
I will be blogging daily as of 1st January 2011
I will do a weekly recipe titled 'RAWLICIOUS THURSDAY' may change the day.
I will be doing my rawcery shopping...teehee
I will be starting a fitness program and my Raweauty regime/rota's
My house and surroundings will be kept immaculate as well as myself.....not that I don't keep my surroundings and myself immaculate anyway of course.

I am more fired up for this especially after hearing the TERRIBLE news. Whatever illness goes through my family I am the one to inherit the same illness.
Blood clots and pulmonary embolisms went through my family and of course I had a pulmonary embolism when I was 24 years old, experienced an out of body experience and was clinically dead at one point, thankfully because I was so young and didn't smoke (I still don't smoke) I survived it, none of my siblings have had this....typical of me, and now I heard this other awful news which I am going to do my best to avoid and stay healthy and not inherit and this is the way to do it.

Okay then, I will be back on 1st January 2011

More Blogging

I will be blogging on a regularly basis as of 1st January, yep that is my new starting point and when I am going to give this MY ALL!
I have put on a few pounds lately and I feel it is now affecting my health so come January I will have a NEW AND VERY FRESH START!!....I am REALLY looking forward to this.
I am trying to be concious of what I am putting into my mouth until January and I am pretty much staying the same on the scales, well, I lose and gain the same few pounds, I am alright with that.
I will be following an exercise routine, I will be following ALL my routines commencing January. Did I tell you that my OH has bought me the Zumba DVD's for Christmas also? *EXCITED*

I have a few pics to post but until I find the cable to be able to upload them I will just keep them on my camera.

I tried to replicate a raw cake from Raw Living the other day but I didn't like that one very much, my absolute favourite raw cake is the 'Raspberry Ganache cake' from Ani Phyo's Dessert book, it is DELICOUS!! So that is the cake I will be making for my 45th Birthday in January! (early January) Something else to look forward to!
I feel that I am ready to tackle things and to get to grips with my body and get slim, fit and healthy!!

I am hoping to get out and do a rather healthy big grocery shop tomorrow oh! And attempt to finish off my Christmas shopping, I still need to buy for my two grandaughters (bought for my grandson, a punch bag and boxing gloves.....ummmm) I also need to buy for my dad, niece and eldest son, Michael Oh! And I still have two more things to buy for James, I don't think I have ever left it this late to finish.

I will try to get back later or tomorrow

Raw

Last night I was busy for what seemed like hours. I made almond milk, cheesy kale, Nomi Shannon's sunny paté, I cracked open 4 coconuts, the meat is in the freezer and the water is in the fridge. Along with the cheesy kale I also put some buckwheat into the dehydrator that I have been sprouting.

I am lucky to have a cold press oil extractor for my Samson juicer so I am going to press some sesame seeds for the oil because I am going to make some mayonnaise that Ann Marie Gianni made, you can watch it here:



I had to buy a new washing machine last week-ish...grrr my other machine that I haven't had for too long started banging loudly when it was spinning, just like the previous washer to that....humff - ah well, I have a new machine now, I can't NOT have a washing machine.

I STILL have not received my Walnut tree....GRRRR! My hubby rang them because after 3 weeks still no signs of the tree, they told him that the dept still hadn't acted on the request for the replacement to be sent out....SOOOO ANGRY!! The guy has now passed it onto a higher dept....we will see.

Well, tomorrow I am planning on making the mayo and other things, I will let you know and maybe take some pics.

Since Saturday

I was up bright and early on Saturday morning because I wanted to get a big grocery shop in. I wanted to be in and out of Asda before the nasty, ignorant and pushing people filled the shops, so I got up at about 5.30am. I got up so early because I needed to drop my hubby off at work first because I needed the car. I was in Asda by about 7.15am and I spent £235.00....oops!
When I got back I quickly put the freezer and fridge foods away and then I went over to Netto because they had a fire I wanted for our livingroom. When we re-vamped our livingroom this year we had the existing fireplace removed....it was an eye sore, we were thinking of not bothering with a fire, we never used it anyway because of having the central heating and after the new central heating was installed, BOY! It so much warmer but I couldn't get used to not having anything on the fire wall. We have been looking around for a fire for sometime now but I didn't particularly want anything that would fill the chimney breast wall again, I wanted something small but oldy worldy.....kinda, so I bought this:













I LOVE IT!! And it looks good in our livingroom. I wish I had taken before pics of our livingroom, maybe I have some livingroom pics somewhere.

After Netto's I went into town for a shoe rack. I had a lovely shoe cupboard but I gave it to Michael because it was too big for our hallway after doing the work around here and changing things around, I have a lovely cupboard in my hallway now. I put the shoe cupboard in the coat cupboard but it was too big for the cupboard so I needed a smaller shoe rack to put into the cupboard. I found a shoe rack....£10 and so not worth the price but it was all I could find.

It was time to go pick up my OH and we then went onto Costco where I spotted a much nicer shoe rack for only £5 more....typical but I wasn't going to spend more on another rack.
£137.00 later and our Costco groceries were all bought....phew!
On the way home we stopped at Tesco where I bought my usual of Sweet Onions. On our way out we stopped at the Nutri Centre (which is a franchise inside of Tesco's) where I bought sprouts, Nak'd cashew bars, tea and coconut.

Onto Christmas. I still have more presents to buy for Christmas. My OH bought me a gorgeous standing mirror for Christmas which also has storage for jewellery....LOVE IT!





















My hubby has bought it in Oak for me...woohoo...can't wait!
We also bought Adam a bike for his main Christmas present, one more thing for Adam and that is all of his presents in. I still need to finish James' presents and then Michael's and our two granddaughter presents, we have bought for our grandson, little Michael...Oh! I nearly forgot, I need to buy my dad's and stepmam's present.....how could I forgot my pops and stepmam?

Sunday
Well, Sunday we went to B&Q to buy a mitre because the mitre we had wasn't suitable for the scotia's, instead we borrowed a good mitre from my dad and I am pleased to say, we now have the scotia's fitted and it looks GORGEOUS! It has finished the floors off beautifully, although we still need one more length of scotia for 3 tiny pieces in our kitchen.
The rest of the day was rather lazy.

Monday
We took some rubbish to the eminites then home.

Today
Lazy. My OH has had a couple of days off work so we just relaxed.

Tomorrow I am going to attempt to get some things into the dehydrator so I have some good things to hand.

All Done

I had my lady appointment on Wednesday which I obviously attended which is all done now just waiting for the result.
When I was at my appointment the nurse asked if she could weigh me because this hadn't been done for a good few years - WOW!....*SHARP INTAKE OF BREATH* NOOOOOOOoooo!
I weighed in at 92kilo's which equates to 202.4lb or 14st 4lb....OH MYYYYyyyy BUT that was fully clothed. I weighed in at home on the Thursday morning and I was 199.4lb - I have to say, I have lost 2.5lb since last weeks weigh in. To think I always said I will NEVER let myself hit 13 stone and I did and so I always said I would NEVER EVER hit 14st and I have and at this rate I am well on my way to 15st....time to TAKE STOCK which is exactly what I did on Wednesday and so I have been EXCELLENT since then and have been eating a good high raw diet.
I have my breakfast thickening at the moment.

Breakfast
Blend
1 Banana
1/2 c Water
1Tb Chia
1Tb Carob
1/2 Tb Coconut Crystals

Let stand for 15 mins then blend again
Top with berries or unsweetened Coconut

I have never tried this before so I am looking forward to it.

My washing machine is packing up so I have had to by a new machine which is to be delivered today. I NEEEED my washing machine!!!

LATER
My breakfast was YUMMY! I will definitely have that again. I like carob. When I make chocolates I sometimes mix carob and cacao instead of all cacao, I find it isn't as strong when I mix the cacao and carob together

Back later today

Getting Colder

It is beginning to feel so much colder and we have had some frost over the last few weeks.....BRRRR

We went out to Tesco this morning to buy some Buckwheat as that seems to be the only place to buy it locally. Whilst in Tesco I took the opportunity to stock up on 5 Romaine lettuce, Tomatoes, 2 Pineapple, Butternut Squash, 4 fresh Sweetcorn, 2 Cauliflowers, Broccoli, Banana's, shredded Coconut and Coconut Oil. On our way back from Tesco we saw a sign advertising top soil £2 per bag....GREAT! I thought because my 4 fruit tree's arrived and I needed soil to pot them, so we drove down the farm track and saw the lady there, but they aren't doing the soil now......grrrr.....why have the sign up then?? My sister was going to pop to the same farm for top soil and she too asked why the sign if they are no longer doing it?
On our way home we popped into Aldi where I bought a couple of salad bags, only 49p WOW! I also bought cucumber, I think that was all. Strangely as we went into Aldi I was looking for something my sister had been talking about which was very small slices of Rye and other German Breads in 2 slice packets but I couldn't find them so my OH rang my sister and asked her where they are in the shop and it just so happened that my sister had just left the shop....teehee so as we were coming in she must have passed us as she was going out, she was still in the carpark.

We also went to visit my Dad and step mam Beryl......we LOVE those two people!! Yes I am biased but they are lifes genuine folk, really REALLY nice folk and I am very proud to have them as parents.

Well, this weekend we are going to be getting through some jobs around here i.e. the windows outside need cleaning so my OH is getting up the ladders and he is going to do that for me and he is also going to clean the stair inside window and blind, I can't reach that window inside.

This weekends jobs:
Scotia's - to finish the flooring
Clean undersink cupboard
Clean outside windows
Clean inside stair window
Clean stair blind
Clean and sort raw equipment cupboard
Clear work surfaces
Sort out shelves in bedroom and throw out old shelving
Start my Kombucha pot off (made a hash of the first lot)
Glue drawer bottoms on desk
Soil and plant trees

I think that is all for now.

I am very tired today so I think I will make the families evening meal and chill, maybe watch a nice DVD in bed.
Nighty Night for now.

Missed a WHOLE Month....

and some....WOW!

We have been SOOO busy with the house, I also have that lady appointment coming up....AGAIN! This has been on my mind more as my appointment approaches. I have another appointment made for next week and then another two week wait on top.

My raw hasn't been great because of everything, but as the house (the downstairs and loft) is as good as finished I am more ready to get back with my raw meals and healthy lifestyle....just quaking a tad about appointment.

We have gutted and totally re-done all our downstairs what with skimming and painting, coving, laying new flooring etc. My OH still has the hall, stairs and landing to paint but that wont take long - Oh! And we still need to fit the scotia's along the floor edge, which again shouldn't take long. I have been getting quite a lot of thorough cleaning done because of all the work we have been doing.....since June/July....YIKES...THAT LONG! ....WOW! All the cleaning to get the dust, mess and muck out, and not forgetting that Christmas is just around the corner, I like to clean behind every nook and cranny at this time of year.....all those places we don't get to on a day to day basis.

Okay, I have Buckwheat sprouting and then I will dehydrate these so I have them prepared and to hand, I also have Alfalfa sprouts growing....I love Alfalfa.
I am going to make Penni's Pumpkin Pie recipe in the next day or so, this recipe looks delish!
Oh! I bought a few e-books lately - Penni's 'Falling Into Raw,' and Penni's 'Raw For The Holiday's.' I have also been wanting to buy René Oswalds 'Transitioning To Living Cuisine' e-book for some time which I finally bought also, especially as René has her book at a lower price at the moment.
My OH has bought me Alissa Cohen's NEW book, 'Raw Food For Everyone'....FAB!! But that is part of my Christmas presents.

Oh! I nearly forgot to tell you, I have bought....TREE'S....yeah baby, yeah baby...*doing a happy dance* - I have received my Sweet Chestnut Tree and TWO Hazelnut tree's. I am now waiting for.......excited.....A Walnut tree, a Braeburn Apple, Conference Pear, Victoria Plum and a Cherry Tree....WooHoo The tree's only grow to about 7ft but they yeild a huge amount of fruits and nuts. I am also thinking of buying a Lemon, Orange and Lime tree ANNNND a Kiwi and Fig tree. I currently have a Redcurrant bush, Blueberry Bush and a Strawberry bush growing in my garden, well, not growing so much at present because we are into our Winter now, our clocks went back on the 31st October.....brrrrr but come next year then I should have fruit and nuts in abundance....self sufficient or what....teehee.
I bought two beautiful hanging baskets that will look like this when we get them filled.













BEAUTIFUL! Don't you think? Balls of flowers and colour.

Well, I think that is all for now. I am going to do my utmost to blog daily and I will be back tomorrow with my daily raw jobs and preps and any other news that happens.

Sleep tight!

Here We Are!......

Back blogging. We have been so busy with re-vamping the livingroom which is still going on I hasten to add but it is so much closer to being done......FINALLY!
My OH is busy painting the walls and I am hoping that we will start laying the floor in the next couple of days. It takes us a long time to re-vamp/re-decorate a room now because gone are the days when we would slap paint on top of paint and strip walls just to repaper without washing the walls first etc, we now literally gut the rooms right down to the bare of everything, hence the length of time it takes us to re-vamp/re-decorate a room, but as it is said, "if a jobs worth doing, then it is worth doing right!"

My diet is still bad, but having said that I lost 4.8lb on the scales last week......*puzzled expression*
I am definintely going to get some Saurkraut made in the next day or two AND some of the Krazy Kracker Lady's, Krazy Krackers and Onion Rings....YUM!

My OH made me some FAB garden planters for my vege's and a seperate planter for my Strawberry plant. (I will get a pic of them soon for you to see) I am going to fill my planters, probably next year and use them from then. My vege's are not doing well in the large green tubs I bought.....ummmm.
I now have a redcurrant bush planted at the bottom of my garden courtesy of my sister who gave me the plant, she has such green fingers, EVERYTHING seems to grow for her.

I had to go for my lady test two weeks ago only to be sent a letter saying they don't have a result to report so will I make another appointment to go back in November, but that is 12 weeks! Why 12 weeks?? Why not now?? So as you can imagine because I am a depressive this situation is not making me feel too happy. I rang the doctors to ask about this letter and I was told it is probably because they didn't have enough cells or someone has made a blooper at the laboratory, but why 12 weeks?? That has me puzzled somewhat!!

My Adam has started a mechanics course...WooHoo we are SOOO proud of him!!
Had to pause there for about an hour because my BRILLIANT Dad just phoned and well, when we get chatting we are usually on the phone for at least an hour each time.

Well I don't think there is anything else to report for the moment but I will be back tomorrow even if only to say "Hi"

Wasn't To Be

No, we decided not to get the dog, well it wouldn't be fair on the dog at the moment with us doing so much around here, so maybe sometime in the future we will get another pooch.

We popped to Asda this morning for a few bits and pieces. When we got home my OH skimmed a bit more of the walls. I had to go to see the nurse today to have that horrible lady check up...I HATE that!! We then popped along to see Michael, our grandchildren weren't there, they were with their mammy at the shops, always LOVE seeing our Michael though. When we got back home my OH finished skimming our livingroom walls....WoooHooo.....so pleased although there is still a lot to do yet.

My eating has been rather bad today and my friend Avril and I are reporting to each other on a daily basis with our daily menu's.....ummm I have been shocking today....BoooHooo

I have started to write a daily list of my to do things for my raw food which might also help me stay on track and to be more prepared, so on that note here is my list for tomorrow of raw things to do.
RAW PREPERATION
Juice Citrus Fruits - Ice lollies
Open Coconuts
Prepare Apple Cider Vinegar
Sort Kefir
Marinate Mushrooms
Prepare Saurkraut
Make Raw Krazy Krackers
Make Raw Onion Bread
Make Raw Corn Tortillas
Cheesy Kale Chips
Soak Buckwheat
Soak Wheat to make Wheatgrass

Quite a bit to do there but the Krazy Krackers, Onion Bread, Cheesy Kale Chips and the Tortilllas can all be put into the dehydrator together, thats the beauty of having a 9 tray Excalibur....I LOVE IT!!

I have felt rather down today, I think it was the thought of that lady check and the fact that it has rained like crazy today which has meant dark, dull skies. I am still on my anti-depressants which do help a lot, even during days like this because at least I don't start and sink into what feels like a never ending and very deep black pit, I just tend to go rather down and gloomy which doesn't last. I would say that most of the time I am a lot more happier and on top of life now. Maybe there is a pattern there, when I am down I eat badly yet the more raw I eat the happier I am, I need to stick to raw and try to fight against even feeling down......ummmm

Anyway I am off for some sleep as it is late, so, speak to you again tomorrow.

The Pittar Patter Of....

little feet are about to be heard in our household......a new family member..........NO! I am NOT pregnant!!......We are getting a dog tomorrow. He is not the type of dog I would normally go for but this dog hasn't had much luck being re-homed, my nephew has been the foster owner for a while and he is the person who has to find a new home for the dog, do the home checks etc and my nephew said we can give the dog a new home, but what kind of dog is he? Well, he is a Beagle and I have to say he is a BEAUTIFUL dog, you will see him hopefully tomorrow, I will attempt to get a few pics uploaded.

We had borrowed a garden tool from my sister a few weeks ago and we needed to take it back so we took it back to my sisters today only to find her trying to fill a skip she had hired with a load of brick from a wall that she decided to knock down, so I said, well lets get this lot in the skip then shall we? We worked like stink and had the skip filled in about 1-1/2 hours.....FAB exercise!

Update of the last few day are as follows: The livingroom is half way through being skimmed and still in a mess....and we got the dog coming tomorrow...YIKES! I will sort of try to clean up.
You remember I told you about being invited to a raw potluck? The lady who invited me is called Avril well, we went to her home last Saturday and we all went to Costco for our produce and we just had to pop into the Nutri Centre where we were such a bad influence on each other....teehee she ended up spending about £37 there and I spent £42 - she bought sprouts and hemp butter because I did and I was buying loads of herbal teas because she was.....lol between us both we should be good to keep each other on the raw path.

Anyway it is 11.52pm so I am going to sign off here and I will be posting pics and updating more tomorrow.

Krackers, Treats, Cupcakes & Composters

Long time no blog!
We have been busy ALL DAY in the garden. My OH has stained the fences, cut huge bushes, some of the tree and hedges, it took us three trips to the amenities to get rid of it all. I have been planting Rosemary, Lavender and other bush plants and I now also have a lovely Strawberry plant from my sister....WooHoo.
I bought a lovely composter today....YeeeHaaa which I am already putting waste into....WeeeHeee I am so pleased to have a composter!
Well, I think that is the garden sorted, actually, not quite, just one more thing to do and that is to stain the side of the shed in the garden which Adam is going to be using for his snooker table, yep! It is quite a big shed but it is at the side of our garden, luckily we do have quite a large garden so it isn't a problem there and hasn't been since it was built back in the 90's. I will sort the staining on the shed tomorrow.

I want to let you all know about some FANTASTIC!! e-books I bought. Abeba's Raw Krazy Krackers, Abeba's Raw Edible Treats, Raw Moonie Pie and The Little Raw Cupcake e-book. If you are interested in purchasing these e-books then here are the links:

Abeba's Krazy Krackers and Edible Treats
Sweetly Raw Moonie Pie
The Little Rawdorable Cupcake Book

I am not sure how long the Rawdorable Cupcake book will be available for so if you want that e-book then don't leave it too long!!
I am going to be making some of the DELICIOUS goodies from these books....I can't wait!!

We are about to start the work in our livingroom but we are going to be skimming these walls also so things are going to take a tad longer than anticipated to get it all finished, still want it done before Christmas though....oh yes!! Our livingroom had already been skimmed but we had that done back in the 90's, so I suppose it is due again. Over the years we have just been wallpapering the walls which we have finished stripping the old wallpaper off a couple of days ago but because of wallpapering over the years it has left the walls rough but we are now skimming and painting all walls. After the livingroom walls we will then get the livingroom coving up and then start laminating all our downstairs floors. The livingroom wall skimming is going to be started tomorrow afternoon.....I will be glad when it is all done. The rest of the downstairs walls and coving are sorted, they were done a year or so ago.

I was going to go grocery shopping tomorrow but instead I am going to finish clearing the livingroom and I will do a BIG grocery shop in a few days.

I didn't get to the Raw Pot Luck today at Avril's, we were just SOOO busy, I will try to get there next month.

I must hack into my Green Coconuts tomorrow especially as my cleaver is now lovely and sharp after buying my CUTE PINK knife sharpener with 2 CUTE PINK knives to go with it...pic tomorrow.

Well, that is all for now so I will be back tomorrow.

Pics

And about time too eh?
















I received my tub of Vitaklenz this morning, I have taken one of the caplets so hopefully this will help me in all ways it is supposed to do! I read that aswell as other benefits this is also meant to help with lethargy because it eliminates nasties from the body which sap your energy. I will keep you informed on that one.

4 x 100g tubs Durian....LOVE IT!
500g Lucuma Powder....LOVE IT!
4 Raw Brownie Bars....YUM!
1kg Tub of Raw Honey....my little sweet
Sweet White Miso...YUM!
500g Large bag Macadamia's...FAVE!
500ml Yacon Syrup....Never tried this before
Raw Conscious Mint Chocolate Bar....sure it will be yum
500g Mesquite Powder.....LOVE THAT ALSO!
Rice Syrup.....Dont think this is raw but want to try it
Pecan and Treacle Granola....Not raw but want to try once.

And now, for A Little Bit Of Pretty.





















We try to eat the right foods, exercise, keep our surroundings clean and tickity boo and all round working on our body, mind and spirits, so I feel it is always the RAW icing on the cake, so to speak, to have alittle bit of pretty on ourselves also.

"WE DESERVE ALL WE DO FOR OURSELVES!"

Last night when cleaning the ole pegs....teeth that is....teehee I decided to give the tooth soap a try and yep, I have to say, it does have a distinct taste of a soap, probably why it is called tooth soap or the soap taste was all in my mind because of the name, it all felt great though and I will keep using it, my mouth and teeth felt a lot cleaner, fresher and just nicer all round....yep a winner!....Give it a try!

Back later

All Done

On Wednesday I had to take Adam for an interview to start a mechanics course which he has now been offered a place for and he is OVER THE MOON about it!! So he is starting that in a few weeks....oh! The schools break up today for 6 - 7 weeks Summer Holidays......ummmm

Yesterday I had to go to my dentist, I wasn't going to go because of this cold but I felt well enough to go and I am glad I did because I discovered I didn't need to pay more for the treatment AND she completed all that needed to be done in the one appointment, I had visions of having to keep going for a few more appointments but nope, ALL DONE! So that is it until my 6 monthly check up in January 2011.....PHEW! I now just have an uncomfortable mouth which will be fine very soon.
After my dental appointment I came home for my mouth to become less numb and then we popped to Asda for a few bits and pieces.

It is our grandson, baby Michael's 2nd Birthday today, Friday 23rd so we decided to take his pressies to him last night because otherwise he wont get his pressies from us until later today...when his Birthday is nearly over, that simply wont do! So we took them last night. We bought him a Toy Stoy 3 talking Buzz lightyear, a sticker magazine and a couple of cards one being a Toy Story card with a badge....teehee. When we got to my sons home he wasn't in but his girlfriend was with our grandchildren so we went in, then my Michael popped back, he was with his friend but then he went straight back out, he popped in another time and didn't even look at us.....he's a funny lad sometimes, you would think he was still a teenager NOT a 24 year old man with the way he goes on....teenage attitude.....friends are more important to him.

Today I am going to get some housework done and I want to get some nuts, seeds etc in soaking to make some raw fods to put in the fridge to have to hand over the next couple of days....preperation is the name of the game.

My pics will follow today! So on that note, I will love ya and leave ya for now but I will be back later today.

Chaos

Since we had the new gas central heating installed my house has been upside down....Grrr I HATE that! But it is because we are and have been doing other things around here at the same time i.e. loft, livingroom etc.

Okay then, I know I need to upload a few pics which I will take the pics tonight and hopefully get them on here tonight or tomorrow.

I found something today that I want to try which is Vitaklenz, you can read all about it here, and do read the reviews....FANTASTIC! The Vitaklenz also detoxes the body at the same time. I read that this can really help with lethargy also....BIG PLUS!

I have an appointment with my dentist tomorrow but I am going to have to cancel because I have come down with a Summer cold.....SUMMER! In the UK??? I DON'T THINK SO.....HA! There is now THICK FOG! It has rained for days and it was overcast this morning but then the sun started to come out this afternoon so I put some laundry out to dry but now we have thick fog.....CRAZY! Anyway, to other things. My OH has bought me a Bullet Express which has a big mouth juicer attachment with it. I was in the market for a big mouth juicer and he bought this one because it does a few things aswell as the juicing i.e. Salad Shooter etc. I do have a Green Star juicer but sometimes I just want a quick juice and this will be ideal, not having to cut the fruit and veg up first.


















I am going to do quick juices to try and help with this cold. Getting this Bullet Express couldn't have arrived at a better time!

I Have An Invite To...

my FIRST raw food potluck.....how exciting! I am a member of the 'Raw Food Rehab' and I have discovered that there are a few members on there that live just up the road from me......talk about a small world eh? Anyway, a lady in Whitley Bay has invited me to her raw food potluck which she hosts every month.....WoooHooo I am not sure if I can make it to this potluck but I am going to try to, it will be GREAT I'm sure!!! But if I can't get to this potluck then I am going to try to get to the next.

Not a lot else to report today. I slept until 12.00pm today and if Michael hadn't came along then I am sure I would have slept quite a bit longer, I must have needed it!

I am doing the laundry and now I am about to get on with the evening meal.

I will be back tomorrow with some raw order pics.

The Week

Over this last week I feel as though I haven't stopped. I have been busy yet done nothing, I know, doesn't make any sense at all!

The loft flooring is all completed except for a small part of the floor which can't be done yet because we need the lad to come and take the chimney stack out and then we can floor that part.

I have spent the week doing housework and heaps of washing.
Thursday we were out most of the day getting our big grocery shop in - Asda, Costco, Tesco, Nutri Centre. Whilst in the Nutri Centre I bought some Carob flakes.....mmm never had those before, I will open the bag and take a pic, probably later today.

On Thursday afternoon/evening I had a girls (Michael's fiancé sister) 45 minute makeup to do for her prom night, I just got finished in time because apparently when she got back to her home the limo was there waiting for her, she wouldn't have been late if the lady who done her hair hadn't taken 2 hours....madness.

I told her I didn't want paying so instead she bought me these:
















GORGEOUS! When I told her I didn't want paying, I mean't it so I was not expecting these either, a lovely suprise!

Yesterday, Friday morning I went into town for more of my Loreal hair colours which are only £3.97 in Wilkinsons compared to £5.99 every where else for EXACTLY the same product.
I have to confess to driving to town......TUT TUT!
In the afternoon we went for more of my Green Coconuts....FAB! I buy the lot every time I go there....teehee.
Late afternoon/evening we had our two grandaughters come over and who stayed over last night, that is twice now they have asked to stay, infact, they are still here.

Here they are, our two grandaughters, Ebony and Ellie.





















I took this pic last night after their bath and dressed for bed. Ellie is on the left and Ebony is on the right....Our two GORGEOUS Grandaughters!
We are taking them to see and to ride my youngest sisters (Christine) horse later today so I will probably get more pics and post more on here later today.

UPDATED
Here are a few pics of Ebony on my sisters horse, Solo. Ebony LOVED it!! My sister led the horse, unfortunately Ellie was frightened on the horse and wanted to be off as soon as she was put onto Solo's back so we couldn't get any pics of Ellie on Solo.























The pic second up is Ellie grooming Solo.

I received a raw order this morning which included Yacon Syrup which I have never tried before. Pics will follow tomorrow.

Back tomorrow

Update

We have been rather busy.....*wipes brow* so please pop back later for pics, update and all tomorrow....Saturday

Back With It!

As you know I had Friday off but unfortunately Saturday was a tad slack also BUT I'm back with it today!! Despite having 2 slack days I have to say that I still didn't go as mad as I used to......WooHoo.....tick VG √

I coloured my hair yesterday morning....BOY, DID IT NEED IT!! I had the infamous grey line in the parting.....YEUK!!
Michael brought the grandchildren to visit yesterday also, they are GREAT! And little/baby Michael is such a character!!

Today, I am going to sort my coconuts and get on with anything I feel like doing, raw food prep, tidying, sorting.

I have just had Breakfast of a Meusli mix, a sprinkling of Linwoods Milled Flax seeds, Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Walnuts and Q10, I also sprinkled on a few Pecan's and sliced Banana....YUM! Must drink water now to help with the flax.

I should be back later today...check back later!!

UPDATED
My dad and Beryl came for a visit....we LOVE seeing my dad and Beryl!!!

I cracked open a few coconuts and I have poured the water into a Kilner jar to blend into a smoothie tomorrow, I then made a small pudding with the meat by blending the meat with a dash of Vanilla and Agave....YUM!!

My OH has been carrying on with the loft flooring today and it is nearly finished....WooHoo

I will be back tomorrow! Have you noticed that I have been updating pretty much every day? And I hope to continue to do so.

Took A Walk

We walked into town this morning, I could have used the car but I am so glad that I walked because I feel so much better! The exercise must have helped perk me up! Although, despite feeling better I did fall asleep this afternoon but I feel the reason for that was because I didn't sleep very well the night before.

Whilst in town I went to Holland & Barrett and bought some of their Banana Yogurt Chips, high calories and fat BUT OH SO.....YUM! And SOOOO much better than that sweet stall on the market!!

I allow myself one full day per week off from raw, I used to have a full weekend so I am doing well with only the one day and then not eating/bingeing on chocolate during that day....ALL DAY! Yes I am still having naughties what with the Banana Yogurt Chips and Chippy Chips but maybe just one or two bags of Banana Yogurt Chips and that is all for the day because believe me, it used to be a whole lot worse.

Also whilst in town I bought a plate rack but this is for my sprouting jars for draining, it is ideal, not too big but easily big enough for 4 sprouting jars and the air can still circulate perfectly AND it folds flat. I do have my Fresh Life Automatic electric sprouter but sometimes I just want to use the jars.
Here I have been sprouting one of my favourite sprouts...Alfalfa....LOVE THEM!





















I need to buy a small tray to stand this on, or I could just leave it on the drainer, of course it is standing on my hob on this pic for a quick pic.

I stocked up on Walnuts to make Ani Phyo's Chocolate Ganache cake and Pecans to make Caramel Nut Popcorn. I found the Caramel Nut Popcorn recipe yesterday and I am definitely going to give this a try, it might end up in my favourites file. If you want to watch this video, #26 and more raw recipes then click here: Hot Raw Chefs. You can vote for your favourite and you will receive an eBook of the recipes.

Well, that is all for now.

Weigh In's

WEEK 1 'FRESH START' WEIGH IN

As promised, here is the pic of last weeks 'FRESH START' weight. I am classing this as my 1st weigh in.
















NEVER IN MY LIFE have I EVER weighed this much!! This is equates to 14st 4lb and I think 91.8kg......is that about right for the kg?? I think I have worked the kg's out right.

AND NOW
WEEK 2 'FRESH START' WEIGH IN

Here is today's weigh in
















This equates to 13st 9lb and 88.9kg
So that makes this weeks weigh in a loss of 6.5lb's......YAY ME!!!! Nearly half a stone, that is a good loss!!

I will maybe update later today about life, food, exercise and or beauty but if not then I will be back tomorrow......check back later!

UPDATE
I am thinking of going back to my GP because I am SOOO tired all the time, I fell asleep this morning and then again this afternoon, something isn't right, although it could be stress because my GP has diagnosed me with not only suffering with depression but I am suffering with stress also but raw food should help with all of that, eventually and if it doesn't then maybe an extra visit to see my GP will be needed.

After all of that tiredness talk I decided to treat myself to a non raw Bacon Bun for Lunch and I DID NOT enjoy it, it was NO treat I tell ya, infact I binned some of it, I am losing the taste for meats, it tastes like I am eating pure flesh....YEEEUUUK!!
Eating meats wont help with this tiredness I'm sure, I am my own worst enemy sometimes!

In between sleeps I thoroughly scrubbed my downstairs loo....I LOVE IT When my loo's are clean and fresh!! I will scrub through the bathroom and bathroom loo tomorrow. I done my usual housework this morning also so a tad of activity there although there is a lot to do around here at the moment. I didn't do any actual exercise but like I said, the housework amounts to some sort of activity.

I am thinking of going upstairs now and sorting through my beauty products and sort the shelving and cupboards out, I still haven't put everything back after having to clear things away for the new gas system being installed, SEE, no energy......not like me at all to not put things back straight away! After I have sorted some things out upstairs I might prepare some raw foods i.e. Soak Almonds for milk, Hemp Cream to fill raw Chocolates and anything else I can think of.

BACK TOMORROW.

July Already!

Where does the time go? Anyway, I know I haven't been around lately but depsite being on anti depressants I still get very down/depressed and then I lapse on my updates. I have always suffered with dperession but over the last few years it has got a lot worse hence being back on the anti depressants, anyway gotta keep going forward!!!

I weighed myself as a FRESH START last Thursday and I weighed in at 201lb....NOOOOooo! That is the highest I have EVER been IN MY LIFE! I will get a pic of the scales result and upload it here, I am also weighing tomorrow so I will upload that result also. I feel I have done alright this week, we will see tomorrow.
I MUST start and update my foods, beauty routine and get into my fitness and update that also...I WILL!!

I found this video posted on You Tube and I wanted to share it with you. It is so simple, I am going to try this on a daily basis.


Around the house, well, the loft is still being floored but it has come on a long way so it shouldn't be long before we start the living room and the new flooring around the downstairs....I want it ALL done by Christmas.

We had our 2 little grandaughters stay here overnight at the weekend and then we took them to my dad's (great grandad) house, he thoroughly enjoyed seeing them as this is the first time he has met them....that is sad that it has taken all these years for him to meet his great grandchildren, well two of them because he still hasn't met baby Michael yet but he is a tad young, he wouldn't settle.

We are still having MAJOR troubles from the neighbour across the road and yesterday he started being abusive to Michael when Michael got out of his car to visit us and then the neighbour stood and insulted me when I came out to see what was going on. Later yesterday the SICKO got his brother who is also in his late 50's or 60's to chase Michael in his car and he was also raising his fist at Michael, Michael could have had his children in the car and a FOOL was chasing him....this might end up being a police matter, it should have been so now!!
When Michael visited the other day that neighbour stood across the road looking over at Michael and shaking his head, bascially that person obviously thrives on antagonising folk....SICKO, SADO!!! And he is a 60 year old.....madness that someone of that age should be like that.

We are NOT LETTING THAT SICKO BOTHER US!! HE CLEARLY HAS MENTAL PROBLEMS!! WE ARE IGNORING HIM!! THAT IS ALL HE DESERVES!! TO BE IGNORED!!!!!

THIS IS OUR LIVES AND SOMEONE LIKE THAT IS NOT GOING TO UPSET IT!!!

Speak later...

TGIF

Phew! What a week! The new heating system is now fully installed after a few hiccups....OOps! 2 small floods where one small flood was running down the wall and into one of our light sockets....teehee Well, gotta laugh BUT! Gotta say also that the main thing is it was sorted rather swiftly. Once the new system was completed and the lads were doing their checks they discovered yet another leak albeit smaller but again this one could have been rather major because it was to do with a crushed pipe which would have eventually burst, but once the new system was pressurised this new leak revealed itself which was a small pin hole at first but could suddenly have gone with such force into a larger hole....Oh dear! But the biggy was in the loft....no flood.....THANK GOODNESS! BUT! All I can say is that when the lads started to GENTLY remove the water tank (the lads of course drained it before moving it) in the loft a HUGE lump of rust came away from the side bottom of the tank, now, this is a galvanised steel tank yet it still rusted.....it must have been in for donkey's years.
I do believe we got our new heating system installed JUST IN TIME!!! It is said that things come in three's, well, that was the 3! And thank goodness the lads were still here for all three.....PHEW!!!!! The pipes and the water tank were all on borrowed time!
Our new gas heating system is now fully installed, checked and running, it took 2 days but thank goodness it is all done, now we can get on with stripping walls and laying new flooring.....WoooHooo

I went into my garden this morning to hang some laundry out on my whirly washing line.....well, what a carry on, after I had just about filled the whirly it flew up, down, round etc...yep, bits of the rods bent, the line itself was on the ground along with my laundry still attached, one of the rods pinged out and I ended up wrapped up inside of the whole line and rods.....teehee...what a sight I must have been, thankfully it was early in the morning so my neighbours wouldn't have looked into my garden and seen me, well, I hope they weren't up early and looking out of their upstairs windows....teehee

Right then, over the last couple of days I have received 3 different sized Ice Cream scoops a 3cm, 39cm and a 49cm, I wanted these so I can make perfect bite sized raw maccaroons etc.

I received yet another raw order of delicousness this morning from another FAB web...I LOVE IT! Pic to follow.

This afternoon we popped back to the Asian store for MORE Green Coconuts....well, I can de-do them....teehee and freeze the meat and water and always have Green Coconut insides to hand.

Back soon!

Coconuts

Got up at the usual time - 6.00am and then not a lot else really. I started my day off with my Fruit and Brazils and then proceeded to eat naughties throughout the rest of the day. I haven't had my evening meal which I am not having now as it is getting too late to eat.

I done some housework and then at about 5.30pm we went to the Asian store in Newcastle where I stocked up on my Green Coconuts......10 of them, yes I did say 10...teehee
10 Coconuts from this particular store are only £1.45 each, so 10 Green Coconuts cost me £14.50 yes, I did have petrol to put into the car which would have come to about £5-ish worth of petrol used to get there and back, whereas to buy 9 Green Coconuts from a delivery company it would have been P&P free but still would have cost me £39 for 9 so going to Newcastle to buy them is a snip of the cost of sending off for them.

I have been trying to organise the house ready for the new gas system being installed on Wednesday. I'm dreading the mess!
I was supposed to be going to the dentist tomorrow (Tuesday) but I have had to re-schedule my appointment for another 2 weeks approximately because I need to be here tomorrow morning when the gas board drop off the new boiler, radiators etc.

Back soon.

Catch Up

Thursday
I had a visitor today but I am not saying who or why I had a visitor because I don't want anyone I don't want to know, to know.....TeeHee that make sense??

After my visitor left I went into town to pick Michael up because his car was in for MOT and then we needed to go to WHSmiths.

I received a few things through the post that I was waiting for, I will get some pics done, just give me a couple of days.

Friday
Errrm....let me think - Ah Yes, I remember. We had a lady here to check the necessaries round our home for a new central heating system, radiators, boiler etc to be installed, and I have to say that we are amazed because the gas board are dropping the items off on Tuesday morning because they are fitting it all on Wednesday.....WOW! I was expecting to be waiting for months before it would be installed but nope, less than a week after talking to the gas lady it will be completely installed, finished, up and running by Friday (3 days to fully complete)....how quick is that?

Saturday
We popped to Michaels today. Whilst speaking to Michael on the phone I could hear he was upset....awwww so we went over. He is fed up with things going wrong for him lately and one of our neighbours (the rapist and his wife across the road, not opposite, thank goodness, across but one) tried to cause trouble for him by telling the police that he was driving his car with no tax, isn't that just the nastiest thing to do? Because we don't like them they have tried to get to us through our 24 year old son....EVIL, NASTY PEOPLE AND TROUBLE MAKERS!!! And just to let you know, these neighbours are older folk, she is in her mid fifties and he has just turned 60, the 60 year old banners were on their window the other week. All we want to do is keep ourselves to ourselves, it is these neighbours that are making our lives miserable which we now totally ignore...I have told you about them in a previous post, anyway, it didn't do them any good because my Michael is fully legal...HA one to Michael. Those horrible neighbours are fiddling the DSS and she is driving her car without a driving licence but we are not trouble makers so we haven't gone to the police or DSS, all we want is to be left alone to live our lives hence ignoring them TOTALLY!!

We popped along to my Dad's home to drop his Father's Day card and presents off to him. My youngest sister and brother in law were there too which was nice! We haven't seen them for a while because my sister is always busy with her horses and our brother in law is working and playing golf.

I went to bed last night feeling very unwell but I felt a lot better this morning....thank goodness.

Today
We have removed our conservatory because we are hoping to have a new one fitted very soon, after the gas, loft conversion, flooring etc that is currently being done at the moment of course! There is a LOT happening around here at the moment!!

Michael and his family visited today to bring lots of lovely presents for my OH for Fathers Day from them all and a few best Grandad presents for Fathers Day.....SO SWEET!

Raw is going but still could be better, hard with everything going on but I wont give in!!! It will come better again soon!!!!

Here you go, I decided to post some pics now.
















This order consists of Nori Nacho's...YUM! Really tasty! Macaroons and a raw Meusli.
















Here is a pic of the raw goodies I have been buying lately, dental products, sweeteners, snacks, Braggs, raw honey etc.





















And here is my GORGEOUS Kombucha pot/jar. I just placed the tap and cork into the hole to give you an idea. The tap is a true cider tap and the pot is a collectors, individually handmade and painted, signed and came with a certificate, of course the pot is to be used, not just to be looked at. It cost quite a lot of money for this so I am waiting for the work being done in the house before I get some Kombucha tea brewing in it.

New Page....PRETTY!

How do you like my new page??

I'm back! Well infact, because it has been 12 days ago since I was last here I can't think back over those days to update BUT! Probably because not a lot has happened.

Errrm let me think..... The loft now has lights, sockets and a new ladder. We have a lady coming on Friday to discuss having a new gas system installed which will then mean we can get those ridiculous water tanks removed from the loft, (part of having a new gas system) we have also had a quote to have the chimney stack removed and if we decide to get this extra work done we will then have a full loft convertion....FAB!!
We have so much going on with the house at the moment what with the loft, gas, living room, flooring the whole downstairs area, tiling in the kitchen, spare bedroom for Adam, the shed and the garden i.e. fence to repspray etc. I want everything done well before Christmas.

We went out yesterday to Costco and stocked up on all the GORGEOUS fruit and veg, we also went to Tesco for sweet onions and celeriac and Asda for our groceries.

I finally received my sideboard for when my living room has been revamped....exciting! I also finally received my new Kombucha pot, it is beautiful, hand crafted and with a certificate because these are collectables, it has taken 4 weeks to get this pot because it had to be made for me. I haven't got my Kombucha pot up and running yet but I will. These Kombucha pots are made so they don't contain lead...BRILL! I will upload pics tomorrow of my new buys except the sideboard because that will remain in the box for a couple of weeks yet.
I succeeded in buying a bottle of Braggs Liquid Amino's here in the UK which I am very pleased about! Also Artisana Coconut Butter....GREAT!

Raw, still a bit up and down and the house being upside down isn't making things easy but that is part of working on a raw life also.

Well that is all for now so I will be back tomorrow.

Never In

It feels like I have hardly been in the house lately.

Thursday
We went to Asda in the morning for a few bits and pieces, I also had to go to the bank for some money to pay the electrician who was coming in the afternoon to fix our shower switch. The switch is now fixed and I am SOOOO pleased!! I was having to switch it on via the mains shower switch which was such a nuisance!

I have been pondering on buying another Gartopf crock pot for some time now despite already having a fermenting crock pot, I wanted a smaller one but after watching You Tubes regarding fermenting foods I decided not to buy another fermenting pot but to buy some Kilner Jars instead which are a bit like Ball Jars with the two part sealing screw lids, so I searched online and I found that Lakeland stock them, so at 6.00pm we went to Newcastle and into Lakeland and bought a box of 12 x 0.5ltr jars and a box of 12 x 1ltr jars all with lids...BRILLIANT!

















These Kilner jars will save a lot of time because after preparing the veg all I will need to do is let it ferment in the jars instead of having to decant from the fermenting crock pot....BRILLIANT!!

Whilst in Lakeland I also bought a few other things....I couldn't help it.....TUT, TUT but such FUN!!
















8" Loose bottom flan pan
6" Loose bottom cake pan
Flexicado
9" Tapered angled spatula
Citrus juicer
12 Heart silicone moulds
LOVE IT!!

I received an order I have been waiting for.
















The culture starter is exactly what I need to help with the veg fermenting, although, I don't HAVE to use a culture starter, I wanted to use it for that extra help and benefits.

On the way back from Newcastle we popped into my sisters for a visit and to give her a GORGEOUS bunch of pink roses, she has been wonderful since we broke the ice and I appreciate being closer to my sister again.

Today
Got up at 6.10am, showered, hair and makeup. I got the boys up, fed, washed and watered and then we headed into town, I needed to go to the Post Office. We then went to Holland & Barrett to buy some of their Q10 which was reduced by £15+ for their mega weekend WOW!! Is all I can say, I also bought some green coconut water which is 100% pure, I often buy this and especially at the moment because the store where I buy my green coconuts haven't been able to get them in stock lately, maybe there is a season for them, I will keep checking though.
Must say, I did NOT go to the market and to the sweetie stall....TICK VG to me.

When we got home I fathed around the house and then lay on the settee and promptly fell asleep....I hate doing that but we haven't been getting to bed until quite late recently what with shopping and visiting.

The electrician is coming on Monday to put electrics in the loft; two lights and a double socket then my OH can get on and lay the loft flooring, we still have the livingroom walls to strip, coving and lay the laminate flooring. I decided to throw out the display cabinet in my livingroom and I have bought a sideboard/cupboard which will be much more useful, I bought it about 2 weeks ago but I am still waiting to hear form the company to let me know a delivery date, they said I should hear later this month.

Well I think that is all my news for now.

The Last Few Days...

Have been busy, although having said that, Sunday was a very lazy day.....nice though! My sister and nephew, Stephen visited on Sunday afternoon and we made some raw Chocolate. Stephen is suddenly a grown up, I say this because the last time I saw him was 4 years ago and he was still at school but he is 20 years old this year....how time flies!! He is doing very well in his career.

Bank Holiday Monday was a lovely hot sunny day. We started off by clearing rubbish out from the shed and my OH took it up to the amenities. After we done some clearing out work we went to my sisters home where we collected a GORGEOUS pine desk which I think will look better in my living room when we have the laminate flooring down, my desk at the moment is lovely but it is quite a dark wood. We sat in my sisters garden for a while and then I got some plant clippings for my garden, my sister is very green fingered, everything grows for her.

Tuesday I popped to Asda for a few bits and pieces and then I went into town with Michael and bought him his car tax as an extra little Birthday gift. Michael is now one happy chappy!! Money well spent when it puts a smile on our kids faces, no matter how old they get!!

Today I popped into town again and then back home. It is another lovely warm sunny day. I am onto my third load of washing which I should get hung out in the garden.
I have been good with my raw today and I am hoping to stay that way.

Friday & Saturday

FRIDAY
I popped into town to collect the coving and I did pop to the market and the sweet stall.....YIKES!....*CRINGE*. I also went into Holland & Barrett and bought some Yogurt covered Banana Chips...TUT TUT these yogurt chips are deep fried.....Oh NOOO!!! I do believe I have fallen off the raw wagon somewhat.
The rest of the day consisted of not much else.

SATURDAY
Today has been a very lazy day, I would have normally walked into town but because I went yesterday I didn't want to go again and be tempted by anything naughty, I don't think I am strong enough to trust myself not to go to that damn stall after yesterday's mishap so I thought the best thing to do was to stay at home.
Over this long weekend we are going to clear our livingroom and start and strip the walls, we wont need to skim the walls as these have already been done a couple of years ago.

As far as my raw lifestyle goes I know what I have to do and that is to, "pick myself up, dust myself off and start over again!!"

Financial Thinking

Well, after all the talk about selling up we have decided to improve instead of move....for now anyway.
We have discussed and discussed this matter and we have decided that it would be financially safer to stay put for now as we only have a few year left on our mortgage, SO, because of our decision I went out on Tuesday and bought a load of good quality GORGEOUS slightly textured laminate flooring for all my downstairs area, also the coving for my living room which now only leaves two rooms to cove which are mine and the spare bedroom which we will get skimmed etc later.
On Wednesday I went and paid for a GORGEOUS antique solid pine sideboard for my livingroom. This wont be delivered for a couple of weeks so that gives us time to strip and paint the livingroom walls, put the coving up and hopefully get the flooring layed. I also bought all the flooring for the loft and I have a guy coming soon to put in two lights and a double socket up there.
Adam is going to have the spare room for his bedroom because at the minute he shares a bedroom with James. We will skim the walls and laminate the floor for Adam, and buy him some new furniture. After the loft, livingroom, spare bedroom and our bedroom are done then that will be the whole house and back garden all revamped. It has taken us some time but then we have just done so much each year over the last few year. Eventually I will have the front garden done and a double drive put in and a new conservatory built at the back of our home then that will be everywhere done.
You can check out some before and after pics around our home HERE but since these pics were done we have also revamped the boys bedroom and the kitchen, although we still need to do the tiling under the cupboards in the kitchen.

Just to let you know, we are TOTALLY ignoring the neighbours which seems to be working.

I also popped to Holland & Barrett on Tuesday and I bought all the Linwoods flavoured flax, I also bought some Beetroot Juice, I know I could juice my own but it's nice when someone else does that sometimes.

So that is the latest of what has been happening.

Back tomorrow as I wont be quite as busy running around and shopping, although I do have to pop to town to collect the coving but that is all.

Feeling MUCH Better!!!

I have been going through a really bad bout of depression over the last few weeks. My anti-depressants had been reduced in an attempt to bring me off them but a few days after they were reduced the depression started to set in, I didn't realise I was getting worse but my OH did and he said that I was just about back to where I was before I even went onto anti-depressants....NOT GOOD! So, after my regular visit with my GP he decided to increase them back up because I obviously wasn't ready and NOW I FEEL GREAT! And I am handling things great again including the trashy, scummy neighbours we unfortunately live beside. We keep ourselves to ourselves.....BEST WAY!!
We have been thinking and looking into selling our house and buying somewhere else. This Avenue was GORGEOUS! When we bought this house and full of lovely people but unfortunately the old man that used to live across the road sold his house to a rental company and now the folk that live across the road are horrible, drinking and loud folk. The folk next door to them are complete and utter trouble makers and the guy is paranoid because he has been in prison for rape and he thinks everyone is talking about him. He started trouble for me a few weeks ago. I was talking to my sister as she was leaving in her car, I had my back to the person and so the person stood there watching me, I turned round and he started being abusive and since then he has started staring at our home and into our windows every time he is outside or passing. These folk have caused so much trouble for folk that now the only people that speak to them are the rental folk. We totally ignore them all. The paranoid person has stopped staring into our home as much, he can't stare right into our windows because we have our front garden and if he came into our garden then he is trespassing. His wife is shocking also!!! She has been asking people questions about my eldest son and spouting on about how can he afford his car? WE helped him buy his car, not that she should know because what does it have to do with her?? NOTHING!! But she is jealous as to how he can afford his car.
About a week or so ago I caught the paranoid doing the snob action and pointing over to our home, that will do me, he obvioulsy knows we are better then them!! Anyway!! Enough about scummy neighbours.

Right then, what has been happening over the last few weeks? Well, we celebrated my OH's 50th Birthday last week. We were invited to my dad's home where his lovely wife, Beryl cooked us all a DELICOUS meal!! I haven't told them I am transitioning to raw so I did end up having a Prawn Cocktail, Pork, cooked veg and Birthday cake, I/we did enjoy the meal very much! When we got to my dads home we saw that he had pinned 50th balloons up all around his living room, he tried to stick a couple to his front door but they got stuck together and burst...TeeHee typical of my dad...TeeHee he also bought party hats, cake fizzler, sparkler things and happy birthday candles, it was all so nice and lovely that they had gone to so much trouble....bless them! My dad and Beryl are such lovely people but then I am biased, but they truly are lovely people! Oh! And they bought my OH a lovely birthday present and me a peach coloured patio rose plant, coincidence because I bought Beryl a pink patio rose plant for her as a thankyou/hostess gift, so we swopped rose plants....teehee
It was our granddaughter Ebony's 5th birthday on the 19th May and it is my eldest son, Michael's birthday on Monday....all these birthday's in May.

We did a huge grocery shop last week and I have received a few raw goodies through the post also. I have also ordered a Kombucha pot, it is BEAUTIFUL!! Hand made. I checked about the lead in the pot and paint and apparently it is lead free and it is especially for making Kombucha.

I have been having trouble with clenching my teeth at night which my GP told me that it is a spasm due to stress and depression but unfortunately it has cracked a tooth...boohoo I was at the dentist yesterday to temporarily repair it and I have to go back to have it treated next month.....not looking forward to that!! Who does!! My little James came along with me for moral support...bless!

I think that is all for now so I might get back later today or tomorrow, I am going to make a good effort to get back daily....AGAIN! I need to !!

Out & About

FRIDAY
Got up at the usual time, 6.00am. Showered, hair and makeup and out the door to town. I went to the post office first where there was a rather loud and very unpleasant man who pushed in front of me. The guy WAS there before me but he left twice and so he should have joined the end of the queue again but when the post office door opened he pushed in front of me, I said to my boys, "look at this" he heard me and turned around and said, "well, as it happens I was here before you" he said this quite nastly. I didn't respond back because there was rather a lot of people and I wanted to keep my dignity. He then started to let his mouth go about the queue, shouting, "you would need to get a day off work to buy a stamp" like he works, he was a middle aged, grey haired, druggy looking man and when he was waiting for the post office to open he was standing up to ride his push bike and wheelying and going round in circles on his bike like a teenager before he went away twice. Most of the people waiting in the post office looked like druggies and certainly weren't working, their mobile phones were ringing and they were swearing down their phones and then bragging on about knocking their mothers out and other folk.....ROGUES! Eventually the nasty man shouted, "F*&@ THIS!!!!" and he walked out. I got served and I sent a parcel off to a lovely guy on Raw Food Rehab. I then went to the NEW Holland & Barrett shop and I bought some raw Nut Butters, Honey and Kelp. We got some free gifts of Pretzels and Chinese Crackers.

We then went to another shop where I bought a new shower head and a FAB! New sieve. Home to wait for a guy we had visiting and then off back out for my OH's medical, he passed. He has to have this done every 5 years, he is 50 in about 3 weeks hence the medical.

TODAY
Up and out early to post a letter and into town where I bought a Geriyoga Video and another health and fitness DVD. We then went onto the sweet stall...Oops! I bought the boys and my dad some sweets. We then went to Holland & Barrett again, well we had to! YEAH!! LOVE IT!! I bought my dad some Cinder Toffee from the Julian Graves section, my dad has such a sweet tooth!

We went to my dads later today and we were there for hours, LOVE SEEING MY DAD AND BERYL!!

Well that is about it for now so I shall be back tomorrow.