I have a terrible immune system. Whenever I tell my friends and family that I'm unwell, the response is usually, "AGAIN?" I don't know if it's because I'm asthmatic or if it's because I have small children (think it's the former because Paul rarely has a cold), but this is my winter. Someone gets a bug, I get it too, I get better, another kid gets a bug, I get that one, etc.
I've tried a few things: changes to my diet, extra vitamins, cutting things out of my diet, getting the flu shot. Chicken soup seems to be the best healer so far (and getting caught up on sleep.) Thankfully I never seem to be unwell for long. I'll get a crappy cold for maybe 3 days maximum. Hey, at least I haven't had Norovirus this year so far. That makes a change from every past winter!
So today I'm at home, feeling like my head's underwater and aching all over. Oh and to top it all off, I burned my mouth on my soup. Pitiful me.
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Day 29: sick day
Monday, 28 January 2013
Day 28: knitty
This isn't just to show you my (rather sad and slow) knitting skillz, but to talk about the stitch markers.
A few years ago, I came across a pattern that called for stitch markers. Having absolutely no idea what they were, I looked them up on t'internet and came across some beauties by Annarella (who doesn't seem to have a blog anymore sadly, but her pics are still on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/creativestitchmarkers/pool/tags/annarella/). I asked my friend Melanie if she could make something similar that I could buy from her, as she is the beady, jewellery making type. She took on the challenge and I eagerly awaiting my new markers. Not that I knew how to use them, but hey - knitting bling!
Melanie popped these markers in the post for me, as a gift, and I was thrilled. Not only did they have pretty beads on them, they spelled out my name. How cool was that?
I am now working on a shawl that requires all four of my markers, and they clack and jangle away while I knit. They are sweet and special, and they remind me that someone did something very nice for me.
A few years ago, I came across a pattern that called for stitch markers. Having absolutely no idea what they were, I looked them up on t'internet and came across some beauties by Annarella (who doesn't seem to have a blog anymore sadly, but her pics are still on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/creativestitchmarkers/pool/tags/annarella/). I asked my friend Melanie if she could make something similar that I could buy from her, as she is the beady, jewellery making type. She took on the challenge and I eagerly awaiting my new markers. Not that I knew how to use them, but hey - knitting bling!
Melanie popped these markers in the post for me, as a gift, and I was thrilled. Not only did they have pretty beads on them, they spelled out my name. How cool was that?
I am now working on a shawl that requires all four of my markers, and they clack and jangle away while I knit. They are sweet and special, and they remind me that someone did something very nice for me.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
it's not just about the bacon
No photo today, sorry. I think it'll be more like "Photo Every Few Days or When It Strikes My Fancy".
When you do a less "conventional" diet (or "way of life" as many call it), you spend a lot of time justifying and explaining it to other people. Which, to be honest, doesn't really bother me and people are simply genuinely curious. In general, conversations tend to go like this:
Person A: "I'm on a diet."
Person B: "Oh, which one?"
Person A: "Weight Watchers."
Person B: [some words of understanding/reference to self or family member who followed the same plan]
Whereas with me:
Me: "I'm on a diet."
Person A: "Oh, which one?"
Me: "Well, it's not really a diet plan as such. I don't eat sugar, grains, or high starch foods and I do intermittant fasting."
Person A: "You WHAT?" [or, more often, "Oh, like Atkins." accompanied by a nose wrinkle.]
It's interesting because if you broke down what I ate and presented it to someone without specifying that it's low in carbohydrates, they wouldn't bat an eye. Once I mention low carbing, the assumption is that I eat my weight in steak and butter. Which I could, I suppose, but then I wouldn't actually lose any weight and I'd be bored shitless.
There was a really good, informative piece on the BBC about intermittent fasting (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19112549) which turned out to be not really fasting (as you eat on your "fast" days) but the concept does work on the same level. On my fast days, I wait as long as I can before eating (i.e. based on a genuine urge for food rather than habit) and eat a small amount that day. I tend to go around 18 hours from my last big meal to my first food on the fast day.
On my non-fast days, I eat low carb. I don't go nuts and eat whatever I want, but I don't count calories. Again, I eat when I'm hungry and I eat foods that I deem healthy. So today for example (a non-fast day) I had:
On a fast day, I might have:
I'm not entirely sure why my way of eating requires more explanation than someone doing a low fat, low calorie diet. The criticism I hear most is that low carbing is unhealthy because you "eliminate an entire food group." (Since when was sugar a food group? I digress.) If you're on other more traditional diets, there is certainly some form of elimination (or severe restriction) going on in terms of fat.
I don't totally avoid treats, for the sake of my sanity. On my non-fasting days, I will have carbs and sugar sometimes (usually in the form of wine or cake) but like any diet, I can't go nuts with it. The fasting I think will work because I don't like to have to think too much about what I'm doing. And if I want to "binge", that's okay - because I can fast the next day. Psychologically, it just seems easier to me.
I'm not going all defensive and getting pissy about people asking me questions. I'm very happy to chat about food, whether it's about stuffing my face or trying to lose weight. I've learned a lot from many different people but mostly from trial and error. There are "tricks" I use on a low carb diet that I used to employ when I was on Weight Watchers many moons ago. It's all good and it's all about what works for you.
When you do a less "conventional" diet (or "way of life" as many call it), you spend a lot of time justifying and explaining it to other people. Which, to be honest, doesn't really bother me and people are simply genuinely curious. In general, conversations tend to go like this:
Person A: "I'm on a diet."
Person B: "Oh, which one?"
Person A: "Weight Watchers."
Person B: [some words of understanding/reference to self or family member who followed the same plan]
Whereas with me:
Me: "I'm on a diet."
Person A: "Oh, which one?"
Me: "Well, it's not really a diet plan as such. I don't eat sugar, grains, or high starch foods and I do intermittant fasting."
Person A: "You WHAT?" [or, more often, "Oh, like Atkins." accompanied by a nose wrinkle.]
It's interesting because if you broke down what I ate and presented it to someone without specifying that it's low in carbohydrates, they wouldn't bat an eye. Once I mention low carbing, the assumption is that I eat my weight in steak and butter. Which I could, I suppose, but then I wouldn't actually lose any weight and I'd be bored shitless.
There was a really good, informative piece on the BBC about intermittent fasting (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19112549) which turned out to be not really fasting (as you eat on your "fast" days) but the concept does work on the same level. On my fast days, I wait as long as I can before eating (i.e. based on a genuine urge for food rather than habit) and eat a small amount that day. I tend to go around 18 hours from my last big meal to my first food on the fast day.
On my non-fast days, I eat low carb. I don't go nuts and eat whatever I want, but I don't count calories. Again, I eat when I'm hungry and I eat foods that I deem healthy. So today for example (a non-fast day) I had:
- Breakfast: 2 sausages
- Snack: a little nibbly thing of cheesy crackers from my Graze box
- Lunch: leftover cottage pie made with cauliflower mash, with peas
- Snack: another nibbly thing of dark choc and almonds from my Graze box
- Dinner: duck breasts with a stir fry, topped with cashew nuts
On a fast day, I might have:
- No breakfast (OH NOOOO! It's the most important meal of the day! Did you know a cereal company came up with that tidbit of health-related information? Really.)
- Late lunch: grilled chicken on salad, olives, carrots with a bit of hummus.
- Dinner: grilled haddock, prawns, scallops with lemon squeezed on top, served on sauteed spinach and leeks
I'm not entirely sure why my way of eating requires more explanation than someone doing a low fat, low calorie diet. The criticism I hear most is that low carbing is unhealthy because you "eliminate an entire food group." (Since when was sugar a food group? I digress.) If you're on other more traditional diets, there is certainly some form of elimination (or severe restriction) going on in terms of fat.
I don't totally avoid treats, for the sake of my sanity. On my non-fasting days, I will have carbs and sugar sometimes (usually in the form of wine or cake) but like any diet, I can't go nuts with it. The fasting I think will work because I don't like to have to think too much about what I'm doing. And if I want to "binge", that's okay - because I can fast the next day. Psychologically, it just seems easier to me.
I'm not going all defensive and getting pissy about people asking me questions. I'm very happy to chat about food, whether it's about stuffing my face or trying to lose weight. I've learned a lot from many different people but mostly from trial and error. There are "tricks" I use on a low carb diet that I used to employ when I was on Weight Watchers many moons ago. It's all good and it's all about what works for you.
Monday, 21 January 2013
surprise
Day 21: flowers
I came home after an exhilarating and thoroughly enjoyable snow day with the kids to a card through our door - flowers had been delivered to our next door neighbour's house. For me! And it's not even my birthday.
Joking to my friend, I said "What's Paul done??" I opened the envelope and saw that the flowers weren't from my husband after all:
They were from a young family I'd been helping through the (very sparse, very sporadic) breastfeeding peer supporting role I've been involved in since Isla was four months old. To say this made me day was an understatement. Knowing that I was able to help someone feel a little better and get them through some tough times means a lot.
Also, we had a snow day today. We built a huge snowman and the kids raced down a hill on a sled for the afternoon. Not bad for a Monday, eh?
I came home after an exhilarating and thoroughly enjoyable snow day with the kids to a card through our door - flowers had been delivered to our next door neighbour's house. For me! And it's not even my birthday.
Joking to my friend, I said "What's Paul done??" I opened the envelope and saw that the flowers weren't from my husband after all:
They were from a young family I'd been helping through the (very sparse, very sporadic) breastfeeding peer supporting role I've been involved in since Isla was four months old. To say this made me day was an understatement. Knowing that I was able to help someone feel a little better and get them through some tough times means a lot.
Also, we had a snow day today. We built a huge snowman and the kids raced down a hill on a sled for the afternoon. Not bad for a Monday, eh?
Sunday, 20 January 2013
comfort food
Day 20: pinched a few extra roasties after supper tonight.
I love Sundays. We start the day with a full English cooked by Paul (bacon, sausages, eggs, sometimes mushrooms, and black pudding) and end it with a roast dinner. Today was one of my favourite kind of Sundays - a lazy Sunday. Jack had his BFF for a sleepover, which kept him busy and happy this morning. No one got dressed until 10:00, and all we've done all day is watch movies and the falling snow outside.
If there's one thing I would take with me if I were ever to return to Canada (which I won't), it would be the Sunday roast. As sad as it sounds, it's the highlight of my week. The kids get so excited about it, too. What can I say, we like our roasties.
Saturday, 19 January 2013
tidy
Day 19: cleaning frenzy. I've spent most of the day clearing out the kids' rooms, in a fit of post-Christmas/pre-Jack's birthday decluttering.
I am on a mission to rid this house of junk, to get rid of the constant need to walk around stuff. You can't walk anywhere in this house without having to walk over or around things, every door has something piled up behind it, and the cupboards are packed full of stuff. Not even useful stuff, just STUFF.
I'm not quite at "Hoarders" level yet, but I have some sort of block about putting things up for sale or bundling them up for charity. It's not like putting items on eBay is a chore (although getting to the post office is a complete pain) and there are plenty of Facebook pages for our area if you want to sell items. I just need to get around to it, but for some reason I don't.
Maybe I can hire a decluttering intern.
Friday, 18 January 2013
fully stocked
Day 18: we're ready for Snowmageddon. Bring it on.
(So far, we've got about 1" of snow.)
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