Super Sunday!

Yesterday Hubby and I decided to head out for the day and we found ourselves at Bristol Aquarium! It was wonderful although it was a little short lived! We went around the whole place in just over an hour and we stopped and listened to various talks and then we popped to watch one of their IMax shows which was 40 mins.

Out of all the fish this little fella was my favourite the colours were so vibrant that he was almost neon! -

This is us in the IMax showing off our Blue Steel (gotta love Zoolander)! -

We then hit the shops for a little retail therapy. I picked up a pair of work shoes in New Looks expected to pay £24.99 for them but they rang in at £6!! Don't you just love it when that happens! We stopped in for some food in the Gourmet Burger Kitchen, I wish I'd taken a photo as the food was immense! I opted for the BBQ burger with goats cheese and a side of corn on the cob, it was so good I could eat it again today!

For dessert we stopped off in Krispy Kremes to get doughnuts for the family (my god they were amazing!) -

Today I'm doing a hair dye rescue as I'm fed up with the red! I'll update you later!

V x

The 5000 Steps a Day Challenge Update

So I'm now on day 2 of my 5000 a day challenge and it's going well. Yesterday I only just managed the 5000 as I spent the day in training, however today I've managed just over 6000 steps! I'm really enjoying the extra activity, when I got home from work I took a stroll on my own to the shop to buy a loaf of bread. The time alone to reflect on the day was quite nice and it gave me the extra steps I needed!

Here's my funny saying for the day, it's more of a little poem but it made me smile!

I wish I was a glow worm,

A glow worm's never glum.

'Cos how can you be grumpy 

When the sun shines out of your bum!

Thanks for readying and see you soon :-)

V x

Weekly Weigh in Results

Well I set myself a goal last week of loosing 3lbs. After I spend the weekend ill I didn't hold up much hope as I just ate what was at hand and all my planning went out the window! I won't keep you in suspense any longer I lost a whopping 5.3lbs! Taking my total loss this month to over 7lbs - thats half a stone! Ohhh yeah! My goal for next week is simply a loss, it's unlikely that after a big one this week that I'll lose so much again for a couple of weeks. Although I do have a new weight loss tool - my pedometer (a new one I gave up trying to find my old one!) My goal for my weight is to do 4464 steps - I'm rounding up to 5000 a day. If I don't get most o them done by the time I get home then I'll be going for a stroll if the evening.


Also last week I finished reading True Blood Book 11 and OMG what an amazing book! I wish it was 4 times as long but it was so good and well worth the wait! I'm guessing the next book wont be out until 2012 :-( Until then I'll just have to watch the next series! I've just started reading another book thats been on my self for ages - Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. I'm on chapter 8 so far and it's so good! Watching the film prior to reading the book is helping me viuslise some of the more specialist Geisha aspects. But so far so good.


I'm in training this week for my new roll at work I cant say much other than :-(


I'll be coming back to you every day or every two days with a positive slogan or saying that I'm using to help me with the difficult time I'm going through with work. Todays saying was -

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference - Winston Churchill

V x

Things To Do - Check List

Crafty/DIY -

1. Craft Room Curtains
2. Make a Chicken Run Extension from Scratch
3. Make this fella for the bathroom -                                          http://thesunsetlane.blogspot.com/2011/05/twinkle-twinkle-little-seahorse.html
4. Buy Fabric for Dinning Room Curtains
5. Make Dinning Room Curtains
6. Refashion Some Vintage Clothes
7. Design Something for our Bedroom Wall
8. Re Silicon the Bath
9. Make or Buy Light Shades x 6
10. Finish a Painting I Started 4-5 Years Ago
11. Buy Frames for Two Amazing Paintings/Draws I Bought Years Ago
12. Make another wreath with Material Scraps like this one but round - http://livingwithlindsay.com/2010/01/teach-me-tuesday-easy-scrap-fabric-valentines-wreath.html
13. Make Covers for our Nasty Bookcase in the Craft Room!
14. Try my Image Transfer Paste

Outside -

1. Dig More Vegetable Beds
2. Make Raised Vegetable Beds
3. Plant Out Green House Plants
4. Buy a Cheap as Cheap can be Chicken Coop
5. Mow the Back Garden
6. Find a Belfast Sink to use as a Herb Garden
7. Have Some Surfing Lessons

Gorgeous Saturday!

Check out this beautiful flower that welcomed me this morning when I walked out the back door. I think it's some kind of Gerbera but I'm not that good with flowers. It's a gorgeous bright pink and white, it's so bright it made my camera glare!

V x

Craft Project - Laundry Bin

A couple of weeks ago I had a DIY weekend and said that I wanted to make liner to go into our new laundry bin (designed as a table from Ikea) but I ran out of time. Here it is built -

I already had this fabric and I will be dying it at a later date to coordinate with our bedroom. Firstly I ironed the fabric then measured the sides and stitched them together -

I then measured the bottom and attached it in the same way. This is the finished item -

I took me all of an hour but I have to confess I was really nervous as I'm not at all experienced. I was surprised at how straight forward it was and I love the result!! But I have to say it's rather odd that the fabric I bought from eBay has turned out to be an Ikea design! Wooo for Ikea!!

V x

Zumba Mania & Baby Naming

Just got home from ZUMBA!! And all I can say is OMG!! After 2 weeks off I am so out of practice! It was really hard work, this week involved lots of arm work and squatting! But I have to confess it was seriously good fun and I never stopped. Every dance I kept it up tempo doing the highest impact possible and made sure that I always had a smile on my face even when the burning in my arms and legs hurt so bad!

I just spoke to my Dad who's coming down this weekend to see the new addition to our family. I've not seen him since the day after our wedding a whole 8 months ago! I'm not too sure if it's going to be nice or awkward.

My brother and Rachel have named their gorgeous girl Jazmine Faith and it suits her down to a T!

V x

Weight Loss Update

Thought I'd give you a wee update and tell the world that I lost 2lbs last week. Which I was very surprised about for a couple of reasons - heavy drinking on Saturday and a box of Hotel Chocolat chocolates! :-)

So this week I have promised myself to lose 3lbs. I'm back to Zumba on Thursday after 2 weeks off for voting etc. I'm also mowing the gardens and going for a walk every lunch break which I have to admit is only a mile but it's better than sitting on my bum! I'm desperately trying to find my pedometer which has been missing since we moved! As soon as I find it I'll be starting my own challenge of walking a minimum of 5,000 steps per day - doesn't sound much but it is when you sit on your bum all day.

I'm at the end of day two of a new diet week and so far so good! I've even eaten 3 fudge bars but included them in my points like a good girl! :-)

On a random note people keep commenting on my outfit from Saturday night. Although said people keep calling my dress a top! Making me super paranoid that my dress was too short! :-S Cringe!

V x

Exciting Weekend News!!

We'll my weekend plans didn't really go to plan! Do they ever??

In the very early hours of Saturday Morning (14.05.11) 3:05am I became a very proud Auntie! Rachel was in labour for a whole hour from start to finish and gave birth to a gorgeous 8lb 6 baby girl and only used gas and air! All I can say to that is well done!! I wasn't able to see her until today as they came out of hospital late last night! Here's the gorgeous girl she doesn't have a name just yet -

Most of my Saturday went to plan and we headed out for a very boozy night -

It was such a great night, I've not danced like that for years. Good to know I've still got it as my mates were impressed with my dancing capabilities. I didn't want to drink much but that all changed as my hubby ordered me a Long Island Iced Tea and it was so expensive, it came to a whopping £12 due to the fact it had 4 measures in. The worst thing was that the type of spirits that went into it were right but the quantities were so wrong! It tasted like Tequila and coke! We ended up drinking Jager Bombs! But it was such a great night even through we went to Legends! Lol who would have thought that was possible!

So today on our walk home from seeing my gorgeous Niece we saw these most stunning poppies and I wanted to share their loveliness with you!

I'm off now to sort out the garage so I can access my treadmill for my first morning running session tomorrow! :-S

V x

Yes but Noooooooo . . . . . .

Yes it's the weekend woooo yeah!

Nooooooo True Blood book 11 is almost finished! :-( I really wanted to take my time reading but it's so so good that I've just gone for it! I've got about 20 pages left and I'm gutted. But at least it's been really good I'd be mega pissed if it was bad!

Weekend Agenda -

I'm staying in tonight to watch the film Burlesque with my hubby with an amazing box of Hotel Chocolat.

This weekend is time to get physical. Tomorrow, I have to mow the front and back garden with our push along lawn mower as well as dig over the next part of my veg patch. Tomorrow night we're off clubbing, I'm planning on dancing the night away without drinking the amount that I used to there's no point in drink the calories I'm burning! Sunday all being well Harry and I are off for rather a long bike ride to King Alfred's Tower this is about a 20 mile round cycle. We're going to fly a kite and hopefully a healthy little picnic! I'll post pictures over the weekend.

V x

Gecko Update

Well this evening I went to see the girls that run Southwest Geckos (http://southwestgeckos.webs.com/) to see their stunning reptiles and to see another baby gecko that they've offered me called Tiny Tim. Tiny Tim was just so cute I couldn't say no! Now I have to say that Tiny is an understatement! He currently weighs in at 9g! Here's a picture of him as a hatchling -

And here's Tim on Tuesday -

He's just soo cute! I get to bring him home in a couple of weeks, providing they keep the cat away!

Thats all for now!

V x

The Results of a Very Busy Sunday and Some Bad News

We managed to get nearly very thing I had planned done. Lets start in the dinning room, we had a mirror and a curtain rail to put up. Here's the end result -

It looks so much better but it'll be even nice with some red curtains up (on my to make list).

Then we have the lounge which needed a mirror to putting up -

Next was our hallway, which needed our painting of Frank Sinatra put up -

Then was our bathroom, we wanted to put up a cabinet and four pictures, however I couldn't put the pictures up as I need a device to see if there's any wires in the way. But here's the cabinet!

I also put the curtain rail up in my craft room, the bin on the wall in the kitchen but I thought I'd save you from the more boring photo's.

The biggest transformation is our bedroom. We built a chest of draws and put up a jewellery hanger, as a reminder here's the before -

And the after -

Ta da!! It's a miracle!

We didn't have time to put up the big leopard print mirror in our spare room or make a laundry basket liner. So they'll have to wait a wee while.

Some bad news for my evening, I have been told that my soon to be gecko has been eaten by their cat! I am heart broken!! They've offered my another one but I've not had much of a chance to think about it yet. I'll keep you posted.

V x

Ramdom Trip to Weymouth

So yesterday around 4pm we had to get some fuel and took a detour on the way home via Weymouth. Thats about a 80 mile round trip! We went for a nice long walk long the beach such a shame it was in the middle of a thunder storm! You can't really tell from the picture but I am soaked through! :-)

Good job I love walking in the rain!

On our stroll around the harbour I found this -

There were about a dozen of these sowing the view from that point, they were so beautifully done I think every harbour should have them!

We moved on to waste some money on arcade games which was great fun! Then to a random pub for food.

In the evening we went to a pub that we knew had regular live music The Golden Lion and saw a band called Slipped Disc and I have to say they were really good. They were old school rockers playing old school rock (lol) and they got me dancing in my seat (to the songs I know anyway!). Please excuse my hair in this photo I had been out in a storm for a few hours in a storm by this stage.

I'll be back later to update you with my DIY blog! :-)

V x

Busy Busy Fun Fun Weekend!

We have so much DIY to do around the house, this weekend I'm aiming to get the majority done starting with a chest of draws. Last weekend we decided to take a trip to Ikea as we're desperate for a chest of draws in our bedroom. Having not had one since we moved our bedroom has been a mega mess! Check this out for evidence -

Yes I know it's shameful but don't fret, today we will make the chest of draws be bought in Ikea and all this will magically vanish! I will reveal all tomorrow!

We also have a mountain of mirrors and pictures to put up which will be put up on Sunday, there's one for the lounge, dinning room and spare bedroom, pictures to go up in the bathroom, two curtain rails to put up, a canvas painting for the hall way, a bathroom cabinet and a jewellery holder to go up in our bedroom! Ahhh the list is getting bigger!

And last but not least I want to try a fabric lining for our new laundry bin. We bought this in Ikea, it's meant to be a table but I think it'll make a better laundry bin once it's got a bag liner which with my nifty sewing machine shouldn't take long and I've got loads of fabric to choose from! Here's the before -

I wont bother to show you our current one as it's a nasty cheap pop up one from Primark and it's all broken!
So thats my todo list! Woooo for DIY. Stay tuned for the after pictures! lol

V x

GROUND BREAKING UPDATE!!!

OMG OMG OMG OMG  Guess what was on my door step when I got home from work an hour ago . . . . . . . Only my next True Blood fix!! Book no. 11!! Check it out -

It's so amazing! BUT I can't read it until I finish my current book, which is so good and I really don't want to rush it (but with True Blood calling my name it's going to be hard). This is my current read Wildeacre by Philippa Gregory and it's the opposite to True Blood this book is a period fiction which sounds dull but really good -

It's going to be a good contrast though from trim and proper to the sexy raunchiness and blood thirst of True Blood! I so can't wait!

People that want to borrow this book form an orderly queue here! :-)

V x

Great Monday, Shame about the Tuesday!

Yesterdays racing was brilliant. There was Stock Car, banger, Mini and Robin Reliants! They were both great, the stock cars were so fast, the banger racing was plain nuts, the Reliants were so funny! As for the Mini's what a waste of these gorgeous vintage cars! :-( Here's a pic -

The day was great fun, although it was blowing a gale making it freezing despite the blue sky and kicking all the dust around!

So today is the not so great. I feel terrible, my head feels like the sea! Including the sand making it all heavy. Every time I move the whole world swirls around making me feel rather queazy! So I've got the day of sick :-( I've spent all morning sleeping now I'm lazily typing this whilst looking for baby things for by brothers little arrival (who doesn't want to come into this scary world just yet). So cheer me up and leave some comments!

Oh yeah, I'm getting a new pet!! A Leopard Gecko!! I have to wait two weeks to collect him as he's only a baby. His name on the web site was Star and considering my infatuation with stars I had to have a look at him online and my goodness is he gorgeous I had to have him! He is a Morph, Mack Snow Hypo. I've bought everything for him when he comes to his new home in a couple of weeks! Along with a new home he's getting a new name Neo Star (Hubby liked the name Neo so it was agreed that he suited Neo Star) Take a peek -

V x

Bank Holiday Monday Morning

I woke up this morning at 6am as I do every day to let the chooks out. However this morning instead of sitting down and catching up on the news I had the urge to get busy so I did! For the last hour and a half of being busy check all this out!

After letting my birds out -

I topped up the compost on my huge potato tubs which are now full and still have some green showing on top!

I then needed to plant out my over growing lettuces from the green house. I put some in large pots inside the green house -

The rest I planted outside under the cloche that my wonderful friend Harry lent/gave me. This took a while as I had to dig and weed -

Here's what my 'veg patch' looks like at the moment (it needs some TLC and some serious digging). I've had to put netting and fleece over my onions & shallots because the wonderful cats on the neighbourhood think it's the loo -

Next on my things to do was to check the strawberries and they're looking good considering I dug them up a couple of months ago -

Here's an update on the runner beans and peas I planted a few weeks ago, they've not all come out but they're the ones that have are looking good -

These guys were planted at the same time but are obviously slow starters, we have globe artichokes, sweetcorn & cucumber -

The last thing for outside, I wanted to unpack and build our garden furniture we bought yesterday from Morisons for a stupid price! It doesn't look too cheap -

Oh and I looked myself in the shed! I went in to put something away & the wind caught the door slamming it shut with a force that made the latch drop outside! So my hubby was asleep inside the house and I was shut in the shed. After 10 minuets of pushing and wriggling the door the latch released and I was free again!!

All this in the space of an hour and a half, I was chuffed but a little cold so I came in for some craft time. A friend gave me some picture frames that have a white distressed frame, they'd never even been used! Three were the same size and there was another that was larger. Once I saw the size of them I knew exactly what they were going to be used for! Back in January I bought three cards that had retro slogans on in the hope of finding a way to use them. So the three cards have gone into the three frames leaving me with the larger one to fill. Here's where we are so far -

These are going to look so good in our bathroom! But thats all for now guys! I'm off to watch some banger racing with my Hubby, Bro, Rachel & kids!

V x

EGG BREAKING NEWS!!

Some super egg-sighting news! We had our biggest egg yet yesterday, weighing in at 75g making it class 0 (xl) which is the biggest category! Well done Izzie!! I hoping that when we have it for breakfast in the morning that it's a double yolker!

V x