Goodbye Wobbly Bit's I'm chasing the Sun

People always say to me your slim you don't need to lose weight, I am a comfortable size 10 but if you look the at the photo to the right you can see my issues with my body. I'm 5' 6.5" in height and 9st 2ib which gives me a BMI of 20.5 so technically I'm in the ideal weight section but I'm not happy and that's the problem. I have made a few changes to the what I do, for breakfast i have a fruit smoothie, followed by a healthy lunch and then a dinner like I had before (so no change there!) I am also going to the gym to try and get my fitness levels up; I am so unfit! Here's how I'm doing so far and will keep you updated, I'm going to be honest, pictures don't lie! Let me be clear it's not about weight but how my body looks, how I feel and my fitness level. Dave and I are planning a holiday hopefully in September somewhere hot so that is going to be my motivation as I want to be confident in a bikini!

Like i said in the mornings i have taken to making fruit smoothies, they are quick and easy and fill me up until lunchtime. I saw on pinterest that someone suggested cutting up the fruit and then freezing them in to packs which is perfect it means you can do a load in one go, the fruit doesn't perish because it is frozen and the frozen fruit means you don't need to add ice! i always thought fruit was expensive but it doesn't have to be Lidi is great for reasonably priced fruit. I bought my juicer from Argos for just £9.99 in their basics range and it work perfectly well so there's no excuse not to give it a go. 

I chuck all the fruit in the blender with a glass of water so it's not to think and a dessert spoon of Minvita Baobab superfruit powder; whizz that up, pop in a flask and take to work! Left you will see the 2 supplements I bought from Holland and Barretts, I highly recommend the Minvita one but the Green Boost one was so disgusting it made me gag, I couldn't drink it and the smell eeuurggghhh! 

This week I plan to hit the gym on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday the first times I am going consistently so will let you know how it goes ........ 

New Year ..New Me ...Rubbish !!

I'm sat here on January 1st in my pj's having just recovered from a mega hangover, thanks to a lovely take away curry, scrolling through Facebook and seeing people writing about the New Year ahead and how they are going to change. Who are they kidding? And it got me thinking has anyone actually seen a New Years resolution through? If you want to change so badly why wait to the New Year? Just change! Go on your diet! Go to the gym! Ok rant over ....anyway in spite of this I am making some changes in my life or at least trying to do so the difference being I'm not going to beat myself up if it doesn't work out and I'm not going to wait til the next New Years to resolve something else or start again. 

After a very indulgent Christmas and New Years my clothes are feeling a little tight so i will be trying to eat better (not a diet just a few changes) Tomorrow I am off out to buy a juicer to try and inject some vitamins and fruits in to my life, my diet is very lacking in fruit and vegetables. I'm back to work on the 5th January so I am going to try and be organised and take lunches to work which will save money but also I am going to try and find recipes that are healthy but not just salad as lets be honest no one likes salad! I am also going to make much better use of my gym membership - I am sure that my weight is ok, although the scales in Boots might say otherwise tomorrow, but I do really want to tone up and lose that bit of weight i have gained. So that's the plan I'll let you know how it goes...

It is going to be a struggle especially to start and get going my only inspiration is using pinterest for ideas such as recipes and fitness ideas so if any one has any suggestions then they are very welcome! 
Other than that the year holds hopefully finishing my NVQ and maybe going on to do my degree, I'm also hoping for a holiday with my lovely man somewhere hot and sunny but need to work hard and save hard first! All thats left is to say that I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year - here's to a great 2015! 

Confessions of a Pinterest Addict

Yes ok I admit it i am obsessed with Pinterest and if you think I'm weird I challenge you to go on the website, create a few boards of an interest (your choice on the theme) and not go back and create more and I guarantee you won't be able to help yourself.I have been using it to inspire me in decorating my flat with cheap, easy, DIY things. This week I created a christmas decoration on the cheap simply by gluing festive scrapbook paper to cardboard letters with PVA glue. I'm so happy with them and think they look really effective, I chose to spell out Noel as it was festive but not to long a word that it took to much time. 

My other Pinterest board that is starting to take a bit more flight is the recipes board. I am no Domestic Goddess by any means but I am a good eater, almost anything, however the other half of me is incredibly fussy and would quite happily eat the same meals week in week out which I am now finding tiresome. Pinterest helped us to discover our cheese risotto recipe which is now a staple in our house, Dave even calls it my signature dish! Another gem though not quite as good as the risotto is a chicken and bacon pie, I will be posting these recipes soon to share and any more we find along the way - we have had a few disasters along the way to (don't mention the Bolognese Pasta bake - it didn't go well!)

New Glasses 

Sadly life isn't all about Pinterest, work is going well and is incredibly busy especially for this time of year when things do tend to quieten down but I do have a lovely bit of time off for Christmas which I am looking forward to! I've never mentioned in my blog but i have for almost a year suffered with Migraines, I have been on prescription medication but the best thing that helps me is a herbal remedy from Holland and Barratt called a Migrastick. Last week I went to have my eyes tested to see if that might be causing the problems and I have been giving glasses to wear while I am using a screen. I really didn't think glasses would suit me but I went to Barnaby's Opticians in Bournemouth and they were amazingly helpful, I've posted a photo, what do you think? 

The other big event this week was my 2 year anniversary with Dave! These 2 years have flown by and I am more in love with him  now than ever!! He really spoilt me with dinner and presents which consisted of a Pandora charm for my bracelet and some boots which I love! I can't wait to this time next year when we are celebrating 3 years!   
         

Winter Blues and a Christmas Countdown

My Cat and Dave's Spiderman

It has been a long while since I wrote a blog post however time has been against me as per usual so I'm sat here with a cold and giving myself 5 minutes blog time. 

Winter has well and truly come, Halloween has been and gone and with it our beautifully carved pumpkins and a job lot of pumpkin soup I made, which was quite tasty but after the sixth time of having it for lunch I did get a bit fed up of it! The flip flops have been put away and the boots are on, coats are a must and as I have already mentioned I have my first cold of the winter. 

Getting the flat cosy this winter 

It's not all dull and gloom though Christmas is coming and no one loves Christmas time more than me especially as I have 2 weeks off work this year! A first for many years!! I have already started scrolling through Amazon grabbing some bargains and some interesting stocking fillers for the family and being the first year in our flat have started buying / making decorations to make our flat a little grotto (will let you know how the homemade ones go!)  I have been to a few Christmas fairs and seen the Christmas adverts on TV, controversially loving the Sainsburys one not raving about the John Lewis one this year, but I have yet to hear Christmas songs and wear a festive jumper! I guess November is too soon. 

I don't think I've ever blogged before about my problems with migraines unfortunately I suffer quite a bit with them. It's really hard as it affects my work life and my personal life as I have to go bed to sleep them off sometimes for the rest of the day. One thing that does help is something called a Migrastick from Holland and Barretts but I have to use it in time, if the migraine is to far gone then there is nothing I can do about it. This week i went for an eye test where the optician said working in front of a screen and then coming home and studying and staring at the screen is causing pressure on my eyes. I'm really hoping this will ease my migraines watch this space I suppose. 

Finally in my little update college work though hard is going really well, completed my first unit and now onto my second one (well I haven't started yet but I will do) and I'm even a little bit ahead! Work and college together though has been stressful and I haven't been feeling very well with it all, my amazing boyfriend went away one emotional full of tears day and came back with roses and chocolates! I am so spoilt, such a lucky girl!

I've been making coasters

So I've been making coasters, I really want our flat to be homely but individual without spending out loads of money hence I have been dabbling a bit with make your own. Very simple things, such as making coasters, because I am not very creative but these have turned out okay. 

Things you will need: 
Bathroom Tiles 
Scrap book Paper 
PVA Glue 
Paintbrush 
Felt Pads 
Scissors 

Firstly you need to decide on your scrapbook paper choice and cut them to size according to the size of your tile, I gave mine a small white border from the tile itself. 

I then smothered the tile in glue and stuck the scrapbook paper on and painted more glue over the top (really layered it on!) 

I left the tiles to dry for 24 hours and knew it was ok to carry on because the top of the tile was rock hard, I then stick on some felt pads to the bottom of the tile giving it a bit of a lift. 


Below is my finished product and don't think they look to bad! I also recently painted a stencil on our table but I'm not so please with the outcome so I'm planning on doing something similar to this on that! Will let you know how it goes!

My Coasters 

                             

Quick Catch Up

Wow it's been a while since I posted a blog, I have had loads going on but all really boring mundane stuff hence why no post so I'll bore you with a quick up date now! Work is crazy busy and hard work I feel like my work load has doubled and that's not including college work aaaggghhh! I am struggling to find the time to balance everything and still maintain a healthy social life of a 20 - something year old - any suggestions are welcome! It's not that bad but trying to save thrown in the mix as well just doesn't happen! 

Date night with my man

Living in the flat is still bliss the idea of shared housing now seems so far way and a distant memory! No going back now! A small drama in the oven blew up on the same day I drove my car in to our wall - whoops! Thankfully my car is old and already has dinks and the estate agents sorted the oven quickly for us so it wasn't to bad! We have realised now we live together we actually see less of each other and there isn't so much quality couple time so that prompted us to have a date night! I love anytime with Dave but this was particularly nice especially with Thai food involved and 50% off the bill thanks to Table Pouncer! 

Other than that it has been painting our coffee table which is nearly finished ( pics on what it looks like and how I did it to follow) and trying to improve my cooking skills. Any good recipes I find I will post on here but I am tired of the same things and Great British Bake Off inspired me a little - just need to find the time........

Oh and I have also succumb to joining instagram my excuse being a picture is worth a thousand words so follow me kate90a 

Come Let Us Judge You

I have had a lot of experience in church, church the building and church the people. I was involved in a baptist church from when I was 16 through originally going to their youth group and suddenly found that because I believed in God that suddenly all these rules and regulations were thrust upon me and told that if I believed in God then these were a must so that's what I did. These were what we would consider laws don't muster, don't steal but then there were also what I would call the 'standard strict Christian rules,' drink in moderation, no sex before marriage, only be in a relationship with fellow believers, pray and read your bible every day and so on ..... Your commitment to the cause the has to grow, now not only attendance on Sundays and helping with teas and coffees is enough but now the evening service, Tuesday. Prayer meeting, kids groups or mid week meetings, painting the church on a Saturday which is all well and good if your free but if you don't go it's frowned upon, there are almost levels of Christians and you look down on the ones that do less you then you aspire to be the ones who do more! 

I got in to this spiral, I agree that it is not just up to the pastors / ministers to do the work but I think people need to do it willingly and not judged and guilt tripped in to doing something, if they don't have the tremor can't do it let it go, don't bitch about it behind their back! The pressure gets to much and for me breaking point was when I fell in love but he was not a believer. 

I fell in love and I fell hard but I knew it wouldn't be allowed, suddenly I was Eve in the garden of Eden with the forbidden fruit being asked to take a bite and I did! Our relationship developed in secret which I thought was necessary and only now looking back I can see how crazy it was but then came the point where I needed to decided my relationship or my church?

Thinking about it now makes me so upset and a little but angry, why should I have to choose? Especially when my boyfriend was nothing but supportive that I went to church even if he didn't however I knew my other love the church wouldn't see it like that. Meeting with the Pastor and his wife was the most intense meeting ever which consisted of them saying to me either give up your relationship or your involvement in this church (which incidentally consisted of half my income as I worked part time for them) I chose the latter and the worst part is I wasn't even surprised I had seen it happen before! 

Looking back now on everything happened I still well up, I invested 6 years of my life loving that church and the people and it ended up them shunning me! I understand this is not all the church members but unfortunately most of the people I was closet to not everyone. Life is not black and white and the church needs to stop pretending that it is and some people need to be knocked off their pedestals, just because my boyfriend is not a Christian doesn't make me any less of one. I lost a lot but gained everything; freedom.

Happy holiday in Rhodes

You will be pleased to know, unless you are one of 'them' that I have never been happier in a loving relationship where he knows my flaws and doesn't judge me, I go to a new church that loves me and my boyfriend and does not judge only welcomes us in. I'm just said that this is the path I had to take to be free and that all he hurt and upset happened on both sides of the story however I know God loves me, I am thankful God forgives because I know those who have treated me badly will need forgiveness for what they have done!