I didn't think I would get an opportunity to do this until Mr G was back on his feet and a few pounds lighter, but my bestie and her fiance are hoping to tackle Snowdon at the end of April. And when I mentioned I was jealous, they very kindly asked me if I wanted to accompany them. Did I!
I have the usual misgivings, can I do it, am I fit enough to do it. I have lost 23lbs already this year, and there's another month to go. I'm walking on the treadmill most days. I don't get breathless like I used to, so my overall fitness is increasing. My friend is asthmatic so it's not like she's going to be sprinting up there herself (well, I hope not anyway!) so as long as I can keep up with her because she's quite a bit lighter than I am. What an achievement that would be. So provisionally, this is something that is going to be marked off my list before my 40th birthday! And it will be lovely achieving this goal with my best friend along for the ride too :-)
Sunday 27 March 2016
#2 - Lose weight... UPDATED
Completely re-writing this post. I attempted this before Christmas but I obviously wasn't in the right frame of mind. I managed to lose a total of 7 pounds and then put 8 on over Christmas... too much good food, alcohol and chocolate. I then tried eating a Pescatarian diet, put on 6lbs in 10 days, had a tantrum and quit that eating plan. No meat and a weight gain? No chance!
Although this won't be achievable before I hit 40, I need to lose 100lbs in weight. Probably more. But the autistic in me is satisfied with that nice, neat figure. So that will have to do for a start. The worlds most expensive and cumbersome coat rack (treadmill) has beenwill be de-coated, and put into its very awkward position in a tiny back porch - which means that anyone over 5 foot 3 cannot use the downstairs loo. Or get anything from the fridge. Or freezer. I'm aiming for an hour a day on it, be that in one go, or two sittings. The weights are out. The ab trainer is out. The exercise bike is being going to be dragged up from the shed. Will I be 'fab at 40' or 'fat at 40'? Watch this space. I'll update every so often with my weight loss...
Although this won't be achievable before I hit 40, I need to lose 100lbs in weight. Probably more. But the autistic in me is satisfied with that nice, neat figure. So that will have to do for a start. The worlds most expensive and cumbersome coat rack (treadmill) has been
Start date - 1st January. Start weight - two normal sized people...
Pounds lost - 1 2 3 (08/01/16) 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 (13/02/16) 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 (19/03/16) 19 20 21 22 23 (27/03/16) 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
Saturday 19 March 2016
#10 - Conquer my needle phobia - Treatment proceeding...
After my week babysitting my syringe and practicing the Applied Tension Technique exercises I'd been taught, by the time I attended my next appointment I was comfortable with the syringe, and it no longer triggered me. However, common sense dictated what was coming next. I'd had a breakthrough that week, and I told John that I'd been watching Casualty - as my young son loves it - and the character had to have her arm cut open in the A&E department. Now, I know, you know, it's not real, but to someone with the disorder I have, it doesn't matter. Real, implied, it doesn't matter. I was watching the procedure with great interest for a good five or six seconds before I checked myself, and thought 'Huh?'. I looked at Mr G, who was smiling at me. 'I wasn't going to say anything,' he told me. Ordinarily the moment that its implied that there's going to be blood, I look away, and he has to tell me when it's 'safe' to look again. He was waiting for me to ask, and I didn't. So, that was a major breakthrough.
I was right, what was coming next was a sharp. Not only that, but I had to assemble it myself. I assembled the needle in the office, placed the safety cap on and I have had to play with it, open it, look at it, touch my skin with it. I have also had to watch as many medical dramas as possible, really expose myself to the things I find uncomfortable. My observations are that the needle doesn't look as I expected it to, it was almost quill shaped. The barrel only contains 1ml of liquid, that's a fifth of a teaspoon. You'd think there'd be loads in there, wouldn't you? And when it came to watching Casualty last weekend, not a drop of blood was spilled that episode. However, the next night, I got something better. I got real life.
Mr G had to go into hospital with excruciating pain on Sunday. When I visited him on the Sunday evening, there was an old man in the next bed, very disorientated. We didn't notice, but he'd pulled his canula out. A nurse spotted him, there was a bit of a commotion, and I looked. Blood everywhere. I could feel my head start to swim, and so I assumed the position and did the ATT and within about three minutes, I'd got everything and myself feeling normal again. That was a phenomenal achievement on my part. I had to cancel my next appointment earlier this week, as it would have been a long bus journey, and I didn't want to leave Mr G a day after he'd been operated on, so it's been rearranged for next week. Another breakthrough to tell John about, I think he's going to be pleased with that one.
That's where I'm up to at the moment. A bit nervous as to what could possibly be coming next, but a major, major improvement all the same.
I was right, what was coming next was a sharp. Not only that, but I had to assemble it myself. I assembled the needle in the office, placed the safety cap on and I have had to play with it, open it, look at it, touch my skin with it. I have also had to watch as many medical dramas as possible, really expose myself to the things I find uncomfortable. My observations are that the needle doesn't look as I expected it to, it was almost quill shaped. The barrel only contains 1ml of liquid, that's a fifth of a teaspoon. You'd think there'd be loads in there, wouldn't you? And when it came to watching Casualty last weekend, not a drop of blood was spilled that episode. However, the next night, I got something better. I got real life.
Mr G had to go into hospital with excruciating pain on Sunday. When I visited him on the Sunday evening, there was an old man in the next bed, very disorientated. We didn't notice, but he'd pulled his canula out. A nurse spotted him, there was a bit of a commotion, and I looked. Blood everywhere. I could feel my head start to swim, and so I assumed the position and did the ATT and within about three minutes, I'd got everything and myself feeling normal again. That was a phenomenal achievement on my part. I had to cancel my next appointment earlier this week, as it would have been a long bus journey, and I didn't want to leave Mr G a day after he'd been operated on, so it's been rearranged for next week. Another breakthrough to tell John about, I think he's going to be pleased with that one.
That's where I'm up to at the moment. A bit nervous as to what could possibly be coming next, but a major, major improvement all the same.
Friday 4 March 2016
Spring Update!
Things really seem to be slipping, I haven't really achieved much more from my list, so with less than 10 weeks until I hit 40, I really need to pull my finger out! This is how I'm doing thus far...
1) I want to have seen, or at least have purchased tickets ready to go and see, Lawson on tour - Done. You can see how my day went here...
2) I want to lose a predetermined amount of weight - Work in progress.
Up to now, that hasn't gone as well as it could have, seeing as we're 9 weeks into 2016. We had the 'Pescatarian Fiasco' where I ended up putting 6lb in weight on in 10 days... The good news is, that at the time of posting this, I am currently 9lbs lighter than I was on New Year's Day. 9lbs down, 91 to go! I've started a new weight loss plan, and also a blog to go with it, so I don't bore any readers of this, or my main blog. If you'd like to check that out, it can be found at - My Every Other Day Diet Journey
3) Take a hot air balloon ride - About to be booked, any day now...
4) I want to find something I want to study, and take steps towards going back to college.
I am no further at all in knowing what I want to do. The only thing that slightly interests me at the moment, is psychology, so I may have a look at Open University to see if they have any of the 'pre degree' courses that fit the bill. OU would probably work better around my life at the moment anyway, with Mr G being ill, and having a young family, it wouldn't be fair going off every day and leaving everything to him.
5) I want to climb Snowdon.
Aha. Ahahahahaha. Nothing has materialised yet... I want to get my fitness levels up and my weight down a little bit before I attempt it. I also think it would be a good idea to do it for charity too, so I'll investigate if there's anything that's close to my heart who are planning an event.
6) I want to take a Yoga class, and see what all the fuss is about.
Nothing has materialised here either, and this is something I could feasibly manage to do locally. I'm onto it!
7) I want to go and watch a musical in a theatre.
After booking my hot air balloon ride, with the remainder of my winnings I'm going to have a look at what's coming up locally (Llandudno, Liverpool or Manchester) in the way of theatre shows and book Mr G and I a ticket.
8) I want to win something really wonderful. Like a dishwasher. Or hundreds of pounds of shopping vouchers - Done, done and done, but still - not done.
I've had three really decent wins since November, the details of which are here. I'm not done yet though, I've got a taste for it. After a really barren 2014 ('only' an iPad Mini) and a relatively barren 2015 (up to the £250 Leisure voucher, 'only' an iPod) I'm determined to catch up in 2016.
9) I want to 'remarry' my husband and have a small, intimate party to celebrate this, and my 40th.
Mr G and I have decided to postpone this until 2017, which will coincide with our 15th anniversary. As it happens, our eldest turns 21 in September and he wants a party, so paying for two parties this year is out of the question.
10) I want to conquer my needle phobia, which is beyond ridiculous - Work in progress.
I have actually been diagnosed with a condition called 'Blood Injury Injection Disorder' and I am in the middle of sessions with a Psychologist. Been very interesting so far. I've had to bring a syringe home and babysit it and carry it with me (no sharp, just the barrel), trigger the phobia, and then do special exercises to stop myself passing out. So far so good. Next appointment next week. Dreading what I have to do for homework then, as I know it's going to get harder and harder.
11) I want to do a month of bizarre 'National' days, embrace the spirit of it, and blog it
I simply haven't had the time or inclination to do this yet.
12) I'm going to take part in NaNoWriMo in November - Complete!
13) I want to walk Anglesey's Coastal Path.
This is something that I'm going to need Mr G's assistance with, both in driving and in companionship, and quite simply, he's not up to it.
14) I want to deactivate Facebook for at least a month - Done!
I'm proud to say that with the exception of one 24 hour period just before Christmas, where I went back specifically to see the people I'm not connected with elsewhere, I have been off Facebook for four months, today.
15) I want to have an expensive and radical cut, colour and style in a hair salon.
My hair is a mess, a proper mess. It's so long that it's getting tangled up in my body when I sleep. Mr G keeps leaning on it, it's getting trapped around my neck, under my boobs, and the dreaded greys have spread from the top of my head to the sides of my head. I need to find a style that I like and get an appointment booked.
16) I want to finally set, on paper, house rules and what is expected from each member of my family in the way of chores.
You would think that this would be an easy one. It isn't. But I'm going to have to sort this out asap. The house looks like it belongs in a war zone.
17) Eat from 40 different places I haven't eaten at before (or recently) - Work in progress
Currently on 5/40 and hoping to improve on that vastly in the period leading up to (and including) my birthday. We have had a couple more meals out but they've been from places that I've already included. Not every one is as enthusiastic as I am about trying new places.
18) Stop drinking wine. If for no other reason than I am allergic to the sodding stuff, and my enjoyment of it is being impinged on by snot and sneezes.
I've pretty much accepted that I am allergic to wine, and the fallout from even one small glass isn't worth the level of snot that it generates. So my alcohol consumption is pretty much nil. Apart from New Year's Eve >.<
19) Say 'Yes!' to everything for a week.
20) Learn a new language - Work in progress
I had started to learn Italian last year with an app, but I'd like to learn it properly. That's where I have issues with language, I need to see things set out in tables, such as - I eat, You eat, she eats, he eats, they eat, we eat, I ate, you ate - and so on. Learning it as a phrase, it doesn't quite gel, but being able to study a table, as I did in French, you memorise them then, don't you?
21) Become vegetarian for a month - Complete. Not completed, but complete.
See 'Pescatarian Fiasco' above. I decided to eat fish, for the health benefits, plus I don't eat cheese, which rendered a lot of veggie dishes uneatable for me. I put 6lbs on in 10 days. I then ordered a kebab. Done. Some of the meals were lovely, but it's not for me long term, especially with a weight gain. At least I can say I tried to be able to say that it's not for me, and I actually lasted longer than I thought I would!
22) Have my teeth professionally whitened.
My local dental surgery offer this for £250. I'm tempted, but would like to see the results in someone 'real' first, as opposed to pictures that could be (and probably are) photoshopped.
23) Drink nothing but water for a whole month.
I haven't achieved this yet, but I have increased my water intake significantly. I'm quite good anyway, I always have a glass by the side of the sink that I refill several times daily.
24) Meet a celebrity - Complete!
25) Go on a Ghost Hunting tour, overnight - aiming for July/August
I have two willing participants for this, unfortunately, one is a teacher, the other a teaching assistant so we are rather tied to holidays. I don't think their schools would appreciate me keeping them out until 6 am on a school night.
26) Go to a Crusaders away match, on the coach.
After this week's shenanigans, where three of our best players have quit, whether there'll be any squad to play in the home games is the question, never mind away games. Gutted.
27) Buy nice glasses - Done.
28) Complete a food challenge.
The place we were hoping to do this at changed their menu and they don't have the 'unfinishable' type dishes on their new menu. Booooo! I know Flaming Grill do them, but the nearest ones to us are Liverpool/Wirral way.
29) Cook for Charity.
This needs planning and doing, and it's going to have to be when the weather is better so I can shove people in the garden and the pub. If it's getting done, it's getting done right.
30) Connect and reconnect.
Since October I have reconnected with my old school friend Shelly, and one of my favourite online peeps ever, Lisa. We've been friends for about 12/13 years now, we used to frequent the same WinMx chatroom back in the day, back when people went in chatrooms lol. It's lovely being back in touch with her. I have made more of an effort to email other friends too, rather than them always emailing me. Losing Facebook and subsequently Messenger has been a bit of a bind, as a lot of my friendsare in my head I only saw online, but I love being off Facebook, the thought of being a slave to it again galls me.
So here we are, I still need another 10 things to go on my list! I am the worlds most boring person, honest to God. Either that or I'm easily pleased. Yes. I'll settle for easily pleased ;-)
I'm boring.
1) I want to have seen, or at least have purchased tickets ready to go and see, Lawson on tour - Done. You can see how my day went here...
2) I want to lose a predetermined amount of weight - Work in progress.
Up to now, that hasn't gone as well as it could have, seeing as we're 9 weeks into 2016. We had the 'Pescatarian Fiasco' where I ended up putting 6lb in weight on in 10 days... The good news is, that at the time of posting this, I am currently 9lbs lighter than I was on New Year's Day. 9lbs down, 91 to go! I've started a new weight loss plan, and also a blog to go with it, so I don't bore any readers of this, or my main blog. If you'd like to check that out, it can be found at - My Every Other Day Diet Journey
3) Take a hot air balloon ride - About to be booked, any day now...
4) I want to find something I want to study, and take steps towards going back to college.
I am no further at all in knowing what I want to do. The only thing that slightly interests me at the moment, is psychology, so I may have a look at Open University to see if they have any of the 'pre degree' courses that fit the bill. OU would probably work better around my life at the moment anyway, with Mr G being ill, and having a young family, it wouldn't be fair going off every day and leaving everything to him.
5) I want to climb Snowdon.
Aha. Ahahahahaha. Nothing has materialised yet... I want to get my fitness levels up and my weight down a little bit before I attempt it. I also think it would be a good idea to do it for charity too, so I'll investigate if there's anything that's close to my heart who are planning an event.
6) I want to take a Yoga class, and see what all the fuss is about.
Nothing has materialised here either, and this is something I could feasibly manage to do locally. I'm onto it!
7) I want to go and watch a musical in a theatre.
After booking my hot air balloon ride, with the remainder of my winnings I'm going to have a look at what's coming up locally (Llandudno, Liverpool or Manchester) in the way of theatre shows and book Mr G and I a ticket.
8) I want to win something really wonderful. Like a dishwasher. Or hundreds of pounds of shopping vouchers - Done, done and done, but still - not done.
I've had three really decent wins since November, the details of which are here. I'm not done yet though, I've got a taste for it. After a really barren 2014 ('only' an iPad Mini) and a relatively barren 2015 (up to the £250 Leisure voucher, 'only' an iPod) I'm determined to catch up in 2016.
9) I want to 'remarry' my husband and have a small, intimate party to celebrate this, and my 40th.
Mr G and I have decided to postpone this until 2017, which will coincide with our 15th anniversary. As it happens, our eldest turns 21 in September and he wants a party, so paying for two parties this year is out of the question.
10) I want to conquer my needle phobia, which is beyond ridiculous - Work in progress.
I have actually been diagnosed with a condition called 'Blood Injury Injection Disorder' and I am in the middle of sessions with a Psychologist. Been very interesting so far. I've had to bring a syringe home and babysit it and carry it with me (no sharp, just the barrel), trigger the phobia, and then do special exercises to stop myself passing out. So far so good. Next appointment next week. Dreading what I have to do for homework then, as I know it's going to get harder and harder.
11) I want to do a month of bizarre 'National' days, embrace the spirit of it, and blog it
I simply haven't had the time or inclination to do this yet.
12) I'm going to take part in NaNoWriMo in November - Complete!
13) I want to walk Anglesey's Coastal Path.
This is something that I'm going to need Mr G's assistance with, both in driving and in companionship, and quite simply, he's not up to it.
14) I want to deactivate Facebook for at least a month - Done!
I'm proud to say that with the exception of one 24 hour period just before Christmas, where I went back specifically to see the people I'm not connected with elsewhere, I have been off Facebook for four months, today.
15) I want to have an expensive and radical cut, colour and style in a hair salon.
My hair is a mess, a proper mess. It's so long that it's getting tangled up in my body when I sleep. Mr G keeps leaning on it, it's getting trapped around my neck, under my boobs, and the dreaded greys have spread from the top of my head to the sides of my head. I need to find a style that I like and get an appointment booked.
16) I want to finally set, on paper, house rules and what is expected from each member of my family in the way of chores.
You would think that this would be an easy one. It isn't. But I'm going to have to sort this out asap. The house looks like it belongs in a war zone.
17) Eat from 40 different places I haven't eaten at before (or recently) - Work in progress
Currently on 5/40 and hoping to improve on that vastly in the period leading up to (and including) my birthday. We have had a couple more meals out but they've been from places that I've already included. Not every one is as enthusiastic as I am about trying new places.
18) Stop drinking wine. If for no other reason than I am allergic to the sodding stuff, and my enjoyment of it is being impinged on by snot and sneezes.
I've pretty much accepted that I am allergic to wine, and the fallout from even one small glass isn't worth the level of snot that it generates. So my alcohol consumption is pretty much nil. Apart from New Year's Eve >.<
19) Say 'Yes!' to everything for a week.
20) Learn a new language - Work in progress
I had started to learn Italian last year with an app, but I'd like to learn it properly. That's where I have issues with language, I need to see things set out in tables, such as - I eat, You eat, she eats, he eats, they eat, we eat, I ate, you ate - and so on. Learning it as a phrase, it doesn't quite gel, but being able to study a table, as I did in French, you memorise them then, don't you?
21) Become vegetarian for a month - Complete. Not completed, but complete.
See 'Pescatarian Fiasco' above. I decided to eat fish, for the health benefits, plus I don't eat cheese, which rendered a lot of veggie dishes uneatable for me. I put 6lbs on in 10 days. I then ordered a kebab. Done. Some of the meals were lovely, but it's not for me long term, especially with a weight gain. At least I can say I tried to be able to say that it's not for me, and I actually lasted longer than I thought I would!
22) Have my teeth professionally whitened.
My local dental surgery offer this for £250. I'm tempted, but would like to see the results in someone 'real' first, as opposed to pictures that could be (and probably are) photoshopped.
23) Drink nothing but water for a whole month.
I haven't achieved this yet, but I have increased my water intake significantly. I'm quite good anyway, I always have a glass by the side of the sink that I refill several times daily.
24) Meet a celebrity - Complete!
25) Go on a Ghost Hunting tour, overnight - aiming for July/August
I have two willing participants for this, unfortunately, one is a teacher, the other a teaching assistant so we are rather tied to holidays. I don't think their schools would appreciate me keeping them out until 6 am on a school night.
26) Go to a Crusaders away match, on the coach.
After this week's shenanigans, where three of our best players have quit, whether there'll be any squad to play in the home games is the question, never mind away games. Gutted.
27) Buy nice glasses - Done.
28) Complete a food challenge.
The place we were hoping to do this at changed their menu and they don't have the 'unfinishable' type dishes on their new menu. Booooo! I know Flaming Grill do them, but the nearest ones to us are Liverpool/Wirral way.
29) Cook for Charity.
This needs planning and doing, and it's going to have to be when the weather is better so I can shove people in the garden and the pub. If it's getting done, it's getting done right.
30) Connect and reconnect.
Since October I have reconnected with my old school friend Shelly, and one of my favourite online peeps ever, Lisa. We've been friends for about 12/13 years now, we used to frequent the same WinMx chatroom back in the day, back when people went in chatrooms lol. It's lovely being back in touch with her. I have made more of an effort to email other friends too, rather than them always emailing me. Losing Facebook and subsequently Messenger has been a bit of a bind, as a lot of my friends
So here we are, I still need another 10 things to go on my list! I am the worlds most boring person, honest to God. Either that or I'm easily pleased. Yes. I'll settle for easily pleased ;-)
I'm boring.
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