My New Look Blog

And I'm not ashamed to admit that it's had me tearing my hair out at times! I can't count the number of times I got it 'almost' right but then there would be one little thing that just didn't look right and then I'd tweak it only to find that it had, somehow (don't ask me how) messed EVERYTHING up. I then ended up having to reinstall and start from scratch.... arrrrgggghhhh.

The hardest part was trying to find a basic theme that would allow me, with my limited CSS and HTML skills, to customise it and get it to look the way I would like it to look. I spent hours, and I mean hours, trawling the internet looking for just the right theme and guess what? It turns out that the default theme that's installed with Wordpress is just perfect. Wouldn't you know?

Anyway, here it is. Complete. The graphics side of things was sorted out in the wee hours of this morning (which was not a good idea considering I had to get up again at 7am - Jools + 5 hours sleep = not a good mix) and I've spent the better part of today trying to work out how best to fit it in with my main domain page, getting the links to work, coding up my main domain HTML and CSS to match the Wordpress blog. I still need to sort out my blogroll and other links but to all intents and purposes I'm done. This is it. For now anyway!

And who knows I may actually blog now...

Highly Recommended

I’m sure that most of us are feeling the effects of having to tighten our belts in this economic climate. I know we are, especially as I currently am not bringing in a second income. In our home the largest expenditure (after the mortgage) is our food bill. I should feel ashamed admitting that, I know(I have those lines in Dirty Dancing going through my head – “Are there still starving children in Europe?” “Try Southeast Asia”) but with a family of five, 3 of which are growing children that’s the deal. I’ve commented to friends that when my children come home from school it’s like a plague of locusts, they come in through the front door, rapidly moving down the hall to the kitchen and proceed to eat anything that’s edible! I’m lucky if I get a “Hello mum…”.

A job doesn’t seem to be easily obtainable at the moment, not for want of trying and a job interview next week, so in the interim we are cutting back where possible. The food bill, the one that could possibly support a small country, is something we can cut back on. To start with buying our groceries online helps. It really does. However, this has gone by the by since the beginning of the summer holidays and I just haven’t got back in to the routine of it. Also Richard has argued, on more than one occasion, that the delivery cost is expensive but I disagree. The delivery charge is less than the cost of the all the extras/impulse buys that inevitably find their way in to the shopping trolley when I do the shopping in real life so to speak!

The big question is do I shop online with Sainsbury’s, Asda or Tesco? My shop of choice is Sainsbury’s. Richard’s is Asda. This difference of opinion is largely affected by our different cultural backgrounds, which is perhaps a post for another time.

However, today I decided to get back to that routine when Richard tells me about this brilliant website that he’s seen. It allows you to compare and shop. But it also does so, so much more than that. In short. It. Is. Amazing! Let me tell a little bit about it.

First off the website is mySupermarket and you’ll need to create an account. Don’t worry it’s free. You’re then given the option of shopping with your store of choice, for which I obviously chose Sainsbury’s. But what about your ‘favourites’? You know, the easy option you have of shopping directly online with your store of choice? Where you can just call up your favourites and add them to your shopping cart? No problems you are given the option of importing your favourites. You just click on the option to do so and enter your store’s online log in details (username, password) and it retrieves your favourites for you. Simples. You can even book your delivery slot!

You then just shop, either by favourites, or aisles or by searching. It will show any special offers the store is currently running, including BOGOFs etc., and you just shop away as you would if you were logged in to the store’s online shopping site. But. But, but, but… at the top of the page it will show you how much that trolley of shopping would cost, in real time, at 3 other stores! Can you believe that? So I’m shopping at Sainbury’s and not only can see how much my shopping is going to cost me there but also how much it will cost me if I bought it as Asda, Tesco or Ocado.

Even more brilliantly you can then chose, at the click of a button, to change supermarket. So if it’s cheaper at Asda, just click on the Asda tab and you’re shopping at Asda. But this isn’t all! Want to save even more money? Then just click on the ‘Swap and Save £’ tab and it will show you alternative items, allowing you to swap those items for the ones currently in your trolley and save money.

Again, that’s not all folks! Right next to the ‘Swap and Save £’ tab is the ‘Swap and Save Cals’ tab, which, yes, you’ve guessed it, shows healthier options (lower calories, fat, sugar and salt) which, again, you can swap for the items currently in your trolley. Pretty fancy, eh? But, I hear you shout, what about actually buying the items and checking out? Do you have to then re-enter everything in to the supermarket site? No. It sends your trolley to the supermarket site, you just then logon and check out as usual.

It’s great. What more can I say? Try it. I saved around 10-15% over and above what I saved by not impulse buying. mySupermarket + Jools = happy Richard’s wallet!

In Progress

Ok, so I’ve signed up to do Shimelle’s Blogging for Scrapbookers class to try and get my blogging, and scrapbooking, mojo back. And what’s the first thing I do? Yup, start to pfaff around and not get much of anything done as I decided that I just had to create that ultimate, fantastic, personally created blog and this has meant nothing has been accomplished. So. What to do? What to do?

Well I’ve just installed an autumnal off the peg wordpress theme and am going with this for now. And my intentions? To blog more often, hopefully around once a week and try and get my mojo back.

We’ll see…

Running Part 1

I’ve been running. I know, I’ll allow you a few moments to pick yourself up off the floor. Yes, I’ve been running. You heard me correctly the first time. A bit of an oxymoron I know but it is indeed true. I have started running.

I'm following a plan, the Couch to 5k plan. It's supposed to be able to get you from the couch to running 5k, or 30 minutes, in 9 weeks. Now having started on week 1 I don't see how this is possible. I think it must assume a certain health and fitness level to start with, or at least that those foolish enough, like me, to start this running plan aren't carrying around, shall we say, a 'few' extra pounds too many.

I thought it would be good for me to record how I'm progressing here on my blog, both as an accountability and as an encouragement to carry on. So how have I been doing so far?

The Plan: Week 1

Broken down this consists of:

1. A five minute warm up walk


2. 60 seconds running


3. 90 seconds walking


4. 60 seconds running


5. 90 seconds walking


6. 60 seconds running


7. 90 seconds walking


8. 60 seconds running (the half way point)


9. 90 seconds walking


10. 60 seconds running


11. 90 seconds walking


12. 60 seconds running


13. 90 seconds walking


14. 60 seconds running


15. 90 seconds walking


16. 60 seconds running


17. 5 minute cooling down walk

Simple enough, eh?

Tuesday 2nd June
I thought the first time I would just walk the course I'd worked out. Gauge the distance. Get a feel for it. It was fine but I have to say that just brisk walking for 30 minutes worked some muscles I haven't used in a very long time.

Thursday 4th June
Kat asked if I was planning to run that day? Hmmm... OK... let's try was my response. I managed to complete step 8, the half way point. I got half way through the weekly plan! I couldn't breath and thought I would need to collapse on the bench I could see coming up... however, I didn't collapse. I managed to keep my feet moving and walked the rest of the session.

Saturday 6th June
Richard came out with me. I wasn't sure this would be a good idea as he is very fit and cycles to work every day. In fact he pretty much looks the same as he did when we got married. Fit! Anyway, this time I managed to complete step 10, one more run than Thursday.

Monday 8th June
This came around far too quickly but out I went again. This run though started out amazingly well. I felt like I'd got my breathing sorted, something I felt like I'd been struggling with up to this point. At times it had even felt as if I was hyperventilating so getting the breathing sorted out was great. I got to the half way point and unlike the previous Thursdays run, only 2 runs before, I wasn't out of puff at this stage. I felt good. In such a short space of time I could actually feel the improvement. This obviously lulled me in to a false sense of well being as I then made a big mistake. I pushed myself to complete up to step 14. A jump of 2 more runs than the previous time. NOT a good idea. I looked so bad that Kat was truly worried I was going to pass out or collapse or worse. So lesson learned. Listen to my body, don't push myself too quickly, know my limits.

Wednesday 10th June
I was out again, this time in my new running shoes (more on these in another post), and although I didn't go any further than Monday I did manage to do up to step 14 and this time not feel like Darth Vader on very bad day. Don't get me wrong I didn't finish feeling like I'd done nothing. It wasn't a breeze but then it wasn't a collapsable moment either!

Friday 12th June
I went out on my own for the first time (dedication indeed). And guess what? I completed the whole session. I ran all the 60 second runs. I did it! Yes, I know it's taken me 2 weeks but do you know what? I don't care.

Sunday 14th June
Completed the week 1 session

Next post I'll catch you up on the last 2 weeks and post some useful links.

Normal Service Will Resume...

today!

I apologise for being such a bad blogger but life has a habit of getting in the way sometimes. Last week was my birthday and it was followed 2 days later by the 1st anniversary of my brothers death. The actual day itself was OK. Not good but OK. However the days building up to it were terrible.

I felt very guilty in the days leading up to my birthday. Emotions ranging from guilt to anger. I shouldn’t enjoy my birthday. I shouldn’t want to enjoy my birthday. Why shouldn’t I enjoy my birthday? How could he have done this at the time that he did? Why couldn’t he choose some other not relevant time period in which to kill himself? One that didn’t involve someone’s birthday, or major holiday or well, any day on or around a time when people should be able to enjoy their time?

Ridiculous I know. There would never be a good time. No time is ever right to decide to end your life.

Anyway, this is not going to turn into a depressing post. Life and death is what it is. I have to accept the fact that each year I will have my birthday knowing what is coming in the next couple of days. It will get easier. I know it will. I know Matt would not want me to feel wracked with guilt every birthday. He loved me. He would want me to be happy, even if he wasn’t happy in himself.

The first of everything is always the worst and I think because this was the last of the firsts it was very hard for all of us. However, I spoke to my mum the day after and we both noted how we felt lighter. As if some sort of load had been lifted. I do think the anticipation of an event can often be much worse than the actual event itself. And we are all so much stronger than we think we are. We are able to handle so much more than we give ourselves credit for.

Richard and I watched the season 5 finale of Grey’s Anatomy the other night. Yes, I know it’s fiction and yes, it might not be a truly christian way of putting things and yes, it's schmalzy but somewhere in there is a very important thing we should all be saying to the special people in our lives. I've lost 2 of the most important men in my life (my dad and my brother) and yes I did say it but you can never say it enough. In Meredith’s final words of the show:

“Did you say it?
I love you.
I don’t ever want to live without you.
You changed my life.
Did you say it?
Make a plan, set a goal, work toward it.
But every now and then look around.
Drink it in.
‘Cos this is it.
It might all be gone tomorrow.”

So did you say it?

It's Too Early So I Can Be Forgiven For Overreacting!

All those who know, and love me, know that I'm not a morning person so it may surprise you all to know that it is now 5:55 am and I have been up and out of bed for over an hour!

There is very little that can induce me to do this, in fact short of a miracle it just doesn't happen. But one exception to the rule is a sick child. And my middle daughter is one sick child. Truth be told she scared the life out of me this morning. She scared me last night too but not as much as this morning.

She's poorly. Just a cold I thought yesterday until she went to bed last night and then woke up hallucinating! Temperature in the high 39s, freaking out about a dream and a mountain crushing her... spaced out in the bathroom... "why is the bathroom so big, mum?"... "I'm scared, the toilet is so big"... "Will you pray for me?"... I top her up with Calprofen, pray, go back downstairs to small group and pray some more...

I'm not expecting to get any sleep but thankfully I do until 4:45 am this morning when she comes in complaining that she can't breathe very well. I take her temperature. It's a whopping 40.3!!! I look up on the NHS support website.

Fever (high temperature) in children? Check.
Is your child having difficulty breathing? Check
Advice: Call 999!!! 

Erm... Oh. My. Goodness. Now, I didn't completely overreact. I didn't call 999. She could talk, she was walking around, but I did call the NHS helpline direct and spoke to a nurse. Once they ascertained that I wasn't concerned that it was swine flu (which if I'm honest a tiny part of my mind did go there...) they started reeling off a whole host of questions, all of which made me start to think that perhaps I overreacted... albeit only very slightly... maybe... Harriet does have a tendency to the melodramatic. Anyway, upshot is another dose of medication, took her temperature half an hour or so later and it had dropped back down under 40 (not low enough for my liking though) and she is now in bed asleep. And me?

Me? I'm wide awake! And seeing in the dawn... a novel experience!

We're Getting A New Addition To The Family

No. I am not expecting another baby. Well, not a human baby at least :D

We've bought a cat. Actually she's more of a kitten right now:

This is Bella. Zawadi Isabella to give her her full title. She is 5 weeks old and is a Bengal cat, a brown marble, and she is very, very beautiful. We have to wait until the 10th July before she's ready to come home with us though.