Ritu’s Healthy Living – Week 3 #icandothis

23 Aug 2016 22 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #icandothis, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Healthy Eating, Update, Weight Loss

Week 3 has been and gone…

It’s been a truly hectic week. I have not been for any formal exercise, except for one walk, when I decided to leave the car and walked the 1.5KM to my in-law’s house. Painting, and decorating, lifting furniture and building flat-packs have been my workouts instead!

And I have tried… oh have I tried… to eat as healthily as I could. But there have been more occasions than I would like to confess to where we have succumbed to takeaways. I have tried to choose the healthier options, but it’s not always possible. And where I have eaten healthily, the naughty snacks have crept in… Chocolate and biscuits… oops!

Here is a small selection of the meals I have eaten, breakfasts, lunches and dinners… They don’t look too bad, but they also don’t include the Egg and Bacon McMuffin we had on Sunday morning, or the Pizza with the kids, or the Chinese takeaway with the family…

I have found a few snacks though that are healthier alternatives… Lentil crisps (yes, really!) and 9Bars with a carob topping to satisfy the sweet tooth.

I thought maybe I need a proper kickstart to this whole weight loss thing. In town, there was a woman selling the Aloe Vera Detox Cleanse. I have heard a lot about it, so I went to have a chat. 9 days. A lot of Aloe Vera juice, other vitamins, a shake and calorie controlled meals, along with 30 minutes moderate exercise every day, and you are guaranteed to lose at least a dress size in that 9 days.

So, how much would this miracle cleanse cost? only…£100! I hid my cough and splutter, and said I’d think about it… Oh, and as a parting shock, she mentioned that the 30-day after care plan is only a mere £200! Maybe when I win the lottery, eh! I have dug out some old exercise DVDs to maybe try next week…

Instead, I have dug out some old exercise DVDs to maybe try next week…

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Bollywood Burn! Sounds fun, eh! and the 10-minute workouts… who can’t spare 10 minutes?! I’ll let you know how I get on!

So, the thing is, did I actually lose any weight this past week?

I did, not a lot, but I did… 0.5lb! I am very proud of me! It’s been on average 1lb a week… I can cope with that!

And I was spurred on to do something physical tonight too, so 20 minutes on my exercise bike, and I now have pleasingly aching legs!

So, here’s to another week of trying to change my living habits, including more exercise and better eating!

Til next week, #healthyritu signing out!

Giveaway? Party? Celebrations? It’s All Going On!

23 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories

Competition time!! Click away! Steve’s Talk About Pop Music blog is excellent!!!

Finishing touches!

21 Aug 2016 52 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Arts & Crafts, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, books, Bookshelves, Sonu Singh, Sorting out

That day of rest was definitely needed!

We had a generally good sleep, with one interruption at 3am… Lil Princess… it’s like some strange time for her, she always seems to wake then! But I got her back to her new bedroom, settled her and we ended up all sleeping until 9am!

And today was another hugely productive day!

I got my Arts and Crafts things all sorted and packed! And even Sonu Singh gave a helping hand!

And after a long afternoon, the landing looks like this!

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Just the filing cabinet to be moved, when my brother in law can come and help!

And my addictive drugs are packed and labelled and put away in the attic!

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Hubby Dearest had been busy too, finally reconnecting the PC up. We needed to rehome it, as the study, its old home was now a bedroom! He was convinced we should set it up in the bedroom, and that I should ‘lose’ my storage boxes for my photo albums and costume jewellery. I know I need to sort through that too, but there was no way I was having the PC in the bedroom. The TV is enough, without more electronics in there!

And I got my way! It has now been set up in the Dining Room, and all is well!

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And what of all those books? Well, I have around 4 boxes of books that we have deemed not necessary for us now ready to be distributed to school/charities, along with new but not played with toys! And the rest? I hate to say goodbye to books, so we kept the lion’s share!

One shelf in the Dining Room, and one each in the kid’s rooms!

I even managed to give our bedroom a little sort out, but it was just cosmetic… there is plenty I could be doing there too, but that’s for another adventure time!

So I think I can sleep a happy sleep…

Downtime

21 Aug 2016 28 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Charity, Decorating, Sorting out

It was a full on 8 days, and the task appeared to be never ending.

The kid’s rooms are done, yes, but the rest of the house looks like a bomb has hit!

I had every intention of getting a bit of general cleaning done today, then starting the sort through of my arts and crafts items… These need packing and storing in our attic, so I know where things are, and can get them when I need them…

Books replaced by boxes of my addict’s supply of Arts and Crafts materials!

But after the main areas of the house got the thorough cleaning they deserved, and lunch was served to all, I showered, popped to the shops and ate something.

And realised I could not get up! Exhaustion had totally set in! It was like I could not face another day of rooting through boxes!

In fact, my hands and finger joints felt so sore, arthritic, almost!

I decided that today had to be a downtime day.

Boxes can wait… it’s not like they can go anywhere themselves!

And speaking of boxes…

…this is the dining room downstairs right now!

I am itching to get things sorted here, but the first two pictures give you an idea of the things we need to remove and get rid of, to charity, or a good home before I can begin to finish resetting the PC up in its new home in the dining room!

I guess phase 5 will begin tomorrow when my poor weary joints have had another nights rest!

Slow and steady wins the race, though, so I will get there, before the end of the holidays! Two weeks to go…

Sleep tight peeps!

TJ’s Household Haiku -Cut

21 Aug 2016 22 Comments

by Ritu in Challenges, Poems, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #TJ's Household Haiku Challenge, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Cut, Haiku, tanka

A little tanka to start!

Wondered where he went
He took a week hiatus….
Computer issues!
But now TJ is back here
With a new prompt to tease us

The prompt word is …

Cut

I was inspired to write 3 haiku tonight. The first is associated with the photo TJ shared

Japanese Crests

Snip

Scissors snip paper
To create a masterpiece
Just open and see

The second inspired by my last week’s pursuits

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Cut

As I decorate
My hard work is rewarded
With cuts on my hand

And a tanka about self-publishing

Image from Pixabay

Profits – Tanka

Lining the pockets
Of the large conglomerates
To earn but a cut
Blood sweat and tears shed while writing
And self-publishing my book

Proud member of the Haiku Hub!