What happened to January and February?

I know, I know it has been a bit of a long time no blog situation. In fact, I can hardly believe it is nearly March already. I haven't been posting very much at all. What has been going on Chez Lakeland Jo?

Looking at this picture ( taken September 2009) of other half and teenager, it is obvious lots has been going on ... for a start teenager is pretty much the same height as dad now!

Since January I have been struggling with sciatica. It is the most miserable condition. Are you familiar with it? I hope not but I believe it is very common. It started just before Christmas and got really bad during January and February. I enlisted the help of an osteopath to start with, and now I am seeing a sports therapist regularly and that has worked really well. It has made a big difference. His advice though was to go to a bio mechanical podiatrist. I am flat footed, uneven shouldered,and walk like a drunken sailor, which is apparently putting strain on my whole system, especially by back. Hence the pain and problems!

I need to get orthotics in my shoes, I need to work on my core strength. I need to improve my ( non-existent) fitness, and I need to lose more weight.

So, I am going to take Fridays off from now on. Having our own ( expanding) business this is a big and significant move. However, I need to be fit and healthy on the four days I am working, and investing time and energy on my body on Fridays seems like a damned good idea. So I am going to have a gentle gym session, some sports therapy, some fresh air and some pampering. That will be my Fridays from now on, and I will let you know how I get on.

So, managing my lack of sleep and the constant pain has battered both time and the creative muse. Hopefully I will be a more consistent blogger from now on. If we get some lovely spring weather now ( after the worst winter certainly in my memory) I will be flying.

Happy Spring to you all

If I were a ....................

I got this from GBerger's blog- I think it's great. I hope a few of you have a go. Thanks Karen



If I were a month I’d be October
If I were a day I’d be Friday
If I were a time of day I’d be morning
If I were a planet I’d be Venus

If I were a sea animal I’d be a dolphin
If I were a direction I’d be North
If I were a piece of furniture I’d be a big comfy sofa
If I were a liquid I’d be an elegant white wine

If I were a gem stone I’d be a diamond
If I were a tree I’d be a fir tree
If I were a tool I’d be a welding iron
If I were a flower I’d be a Rose

If I were an element of weather I’d be a sunbeam
If I were a musical instrument I’d be a clarinet
If I were a colour I’d be gold
If I were an emotion I’d be happiness

If I were a fruit I’d be a raspberry
If I were a sound I’d be a harp
If I were an element I’d be air
If I were a car I’d be a Jaguar

If I were a food I’d be shortbread
If I were a place I’d be Winter Park in Orlando
If I were a material I’d be cashmere
If I were a taste I’d be coffee

If I were a scent I’d be black cafe vetvyer ( Jo Malone)
If I were a body part I’d be a hand
If I were a facial expression I’d be a smile
If I were a song I’d be Jerusalem

If I were a bird I'd be a robin
If I were a gift I'd be a pandora charm
If I were a street I'd be Park Avenue in Winter Park
If I were a door I'd be open

If I were a pair of shoes I’d be sparkly and glamorous!

This is one of my favourite pictures of teenager. It was taken New Year 2009 when he was still thirteen and as I look at it I realise how much he has grown up in the last year. He really is quite the young man now. Full of independence and heading quickly towards being fifteen in March. The time goes so quickly.

For those of you reading with small children- enjoy them- it passes very quickly!

Tomorrow we are off to Edinburgh for a couple of days. We are staying in apartments. Other half and I will be there Monday and Tuesday but teenager will stay up there til Friday. He is staying with his school friend and parents who are up there all week. On Tuesday we are going out for dinner all parents together. Another family who we know are up there as well, another school friend of Pete's. The three teens want to go out on their own- parents left to drink wine.... someone has to do it.

I can't believe how little I have blogged so far this year. It has been very hectic with one thing and another. Mostly in a good way. Lots of business, interesting developments all over the place, mum's flooded bathroom sorted out ( and it looks lovely). Bad points- endlessly cold weather, bad ice, car problems ( don't get me started) and sciatica. What a nightmare that is. If you haven't heard of it-----------it's a horrible bad back condition.

Overall though this year is shaping to be a good one. Just need a few daffodils, and we will be all sorted!

Valentine's Cards

A guy walks into a post office one day to see a middle-aged,
balding man standing at the counter methodically placing
"Love" stamps on bright pink envelopes with hearts all over
them. He then takes out a perfume bottle and starts spraying
scent all over them.

His curiosity getting the better of him, he goes up to the
balding man and asks him what he is doing. The man says
"I'm sending out 1,000 Valentine cards signed, 'Guess who?'"

"But why?" asks the man.

"I'm a divorce lawyer," the man replies.

The Black Bra

The Black Bra (as told by a woman)

I had lunch with 2 of my unmarried friends.
One is engaged, one is a mistress, and I have been
married for 20+ years.

We were chatting about our relationships and decided
to amaze our men by greeting them at the door
wearing a black bra, stiletto heels and a mask over our eyes.
We agreed to meet in a few days to exchange notes.

Here's how it all went.

My engaged friend:
The other night when my boyfriend came over he
found me with a black leather bodice, tall stilettos and a mask.
He saw me and said, 'You are the woman of my dreams.
I love you..' Then we made passionate love all nightlong.
The mistress:
Me too! The other night I met my lover at his office and I was
wearing a raincoat, under it only the black bra, heels and
mask over my eyes.. When I opened the raincoat he didn't say a word,
but he started to tremble and we had wild sex all night.
Then I had to share my story:
When my husband came home I was wearing the black bra,
black stockings, stilettos and a mask over my eyes.
When he came in the door and saw me he said,


"What's for dinner,Batman?"

Exercise for people over 40 years

EXERCISE FOR PEOPLE OVER 40

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side .

With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can.


Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.


Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.


After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags.


Then try 50-lb potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level.)




After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever Gods there be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud;
Under the bludgeonings of chance,
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll:
I am the master of my Fate;
I am the captain of my Soul.

William Ernest Henley

January

I have had some lovely comments about the photo at the top of my blog, and must give credit for this to our very good friend Martin who is a great photographer. He took the above too. I think it a fabulous shot. It is a picture of our friend Mick ( our best man) on a walk that the lads did in 2008. An annual event, other half and his mates ( and now teenager) go off for the weekend to walk the beautiful lakeland hills.
I can hardly believe that January is coming to a close soon. Some people say it is a long month, and indeed the freezing cold and dark can make it feel that way. For us though it has been going at a tidy gallop... with a lot going on.
I am still on my diet and it is going well. It has been very tough in the cold. I suffer from chilly extremities at the best of times ( too much info?) but the low calorie low fat diet makes it doubly frosty. I am so glad I got going on it though- two weeks gone. and rid of the festive excess and five extra pounds. Folk are starting to notice progress again: always gratifying.
I really hoped to get exercising again but unfortunately have been struggling with sciatica.
It is a damn nuisance and caused ( according to osteo) by a fallen arch on my right foot. I now have some foot inserts on my right boot/shoe and it is helping slowly. I start physio soon too which should make a big difference. What a bore and back pain ( as I am sure many of you out there will know) is very wearing and tiring. I have avoided chugging back too many painkillers- they can cause problems of their own.
Exciting times at work. Our new training room opened on Friday. We started a programme involving ten people, two trainers and two assistants. It is beautiful and I am very proud of it. Pictures when I can! It has been a lot of hard work and determination but worth it. It is a real milestone for us both. The year is looking promising, but we are too long in the tooth to be complacent.
Hope your January is going well and that the weather is being kind to you!

Bedtime story................

A man is driving down the road and breaks down near a monastery. He goes to the monastery, knocks on the door, and says, My car broke down. Do you think I could stay the night?

The monks graciously accept him, feed him dinner, and even fix his car. As the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a strange sound; a sound like no other that he has ever heard. The next morning, he asks the monks what the sound was, but they say, We can't tell you because you're not a monk.

The man is disappointed but thanks them anyway and goes about his merry way. Some years later, the same man breaks down in front of the same monastery.

The monks again accept him, feed him, and even fix his car..

That night, he hears the same strange mesmerizing sound that he had heard years earlier.

The next morning, he asks what the sound was, but the monks reply,

We can't tell you because you're not a monk.

The man says, all right, all right. I'm dying to know.

If the only way I can find out what that sound was is to become a monk, how do I become a monk?

The monks reply, you must travel the earth and tell us how many blades of grass there are and the exact number of sand pebbles. When you find these numbers, you will become a monk.

The man sets about his task. Some forty-five years later, he returns and knocks on the door of the monastery. He says, I have travelled the earth and devoted my life to the task demanded and have found what you had asked for.. There are 371,145,236,284,232 blades of grass and 231,281,219,999,129,382 sand pebbles on the earth.

The monks reply, congratulations, you are correct, and you are now considered a monk .
We shall now show you the way to the sound.

The monks lead the man to a wooden door, where the head monk says, the sound is behind that door.

The man reaches for the knob, but the door is locked.. He asks, May I have the key ?


The monks give him the key, and he opens the door.

Behind the wooden door is another door made of stone... The man requests the key to the stone door.

The monks give him the key, and he opens it, only to find a door made of ruby. He demands another key from the monks, who provide it. Behind that door is another door, this one made of sapphire And so it went on until the man had gone through doors of emerald,...


...silver, topaz, and amethyst.


Finally, the monks say, This is the key to the last door ..

The man is relieved to be at the end.. He unlocks the door, turns the knob, and behind that door he is astonished to find the source of that strange sound. It is truly an amazing and unbelievable sight .......











.. But I can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk.





DON'T SWEAR AT ME;
I'M STILL HUNTING FOR THE IDIOT WHO STARTED THIS!

Thanks very much to one of my favourite bloggers Diane at Diane's Place for sharing this blog award with her fellow bloggers. I always love reading what Diane is making for Sunday dinner. It always sounds delicious and interesting ( and unusual for those of us who live here in the UK-stuff like Mexican Chicken Casserole but made with cheese...). I am drooling so better stop thinking about food.
Part of the deal is to write seven things about yourself that your readers may not know about you...
Here goes:

1. I live in Cumbria but I am very proud to be a Geordie ( ok- so you all knew this).
2. I am a Christian and my faith is very important to me. I have an active role in my Church which is also a central part of my life. I have been going there ( St Mary's in Windermere) for nearly ten years, and have some wonderful friends.
3. One of my very dearest friends lives in Seattle. She met her husband at our millenium party! We visited last year and have booked again this year- hurray.
4. I met the footballer Pele and didn't know who he was, even when he told me. Oops. I was a teenager.......
5. My favourite place in the world ( that I have visited) is Florida. I love the US.
6. I hate rain ( this is no news to my family) so it's odd I live in the Lake District!!
7. I am not very keen on tv- I really can take it or leave it.
8. I really dislike the British soap operas and don't watch any of them.
9. I had cataracts in both eyes at the age of forty.
10. I have never been to New York and it has always been a big goal of mine. This year- I will achieve it!

If you would like to take part, you need to pass the award on, and join in the meme. Enjoy!

This photo was taken by my favourite aunt who lives in York. Isn't it beautiful? Very inspirational.

I have lost three pounds ( of mince pies) on my diet so far. I started on Saturday and this is day four. I feel much better already but I think this is pyschological. In control and focussed again after the festive splurge.
I have two days away in Birmingham now, and won't have a lot of time to think about food or indulging and then I will have nearly done a week.
The difficult days are nearly over ( when the body realises there aren't any carbs around...) and its all results from here now.
The snow is thawing rapidly, and getting about is easier at the moment.
Onwards and upwards .........

Two days in and no cheating

This picture was taken on my birthday in October 2009 and at the time it was taken I was struck when I looked it at it how much weight I had really lost since January. It still has that effect on me now.

I am very excited about losing some more weight. Before the gallstones starting mis-behaving I had lost three and a half stone on a programme called LighterLife. It is becoming very popular in the UK now.

I had a break from the programme to have a holiday and that is when the gallstones flared up. I had to stop the programme and change track. I lost more weight sticking to a very low fat diet until the surgery. Now the evil gallbladder has gone, and I am ready for the challenge of getting rid of the rest of the pounds.

When I joined Lighterlife in January 2009 you had to have at least three stone to lose to join the programme. Now there are more flexible and inclusive options.

It is an extreme programme, but it worked really well for me. It suited my personality. I liked the 'freedom' of disconnecting from food totally, and not having the challenge of deciding what to eat. Other than black coffee, black tea and water and the foodpacks, you can have nothing else. It is a very low calorie diet and after the first two/three days you don't feel hungry at all. Hard to imagine? Well- I didn't. I found it much easier to stick to than I imagined. The hunger goes because you are in a zone called ketosis.

I got to a point where I could go out to eat with other people and just drink black coffee. I amazed myself. I was in the zone. And the best part- the results are damned quick. It is the most appealling part. When you have a lot to lose, speed helps!

Some folk said 'you will have to learn how to manage food at some point-is it a good idea?'. I do take that point. However,the rationale for not eating food while you are on the plan is to give you the chance to think about why you got fat in the first place, and to explore your habits and reasons for over-eating.

I did notice some interesting patterns. The biggest shock was how well you can be when eating so little. I can honestly say I felt marvellous the whole time I was on the plan. Full of energy and focus. Even when I was eating very little on the low fat diet I noticed how well I was on very little. Big portions and greed- one of my biggest downfalls.

So, I am back on it and have done two full days. It has been a bit like slipping into a pair of comfy slippers. I am back in the groove. I know my weak point- Friday nights.I pine for wine and a lovely meal out. A deeply ingrained anchor.

Read here for what I do to distract me when the time comes. Til then, wish me luck burning off the festive excess.

A lighter beginning

I think this is a nice shot of other half and I taken in San FranCisco last July. We had to buy fleeces there because we were so cold. We went dressed ready for hot weather and we were shuddering most of the time.It was a shock. I enjoyed the visit lots and would like to go back ( taking more suitable clothes!).
Those fleeces have been very handy. Other half has hardly been out of his -really helpful for de-icing cars and digging snow.
I think I look at bit too portly in mine, hence the photo to set the scene for this post.

Today, I am back on my diet again. Yes- I have started it once more. If you are a regular reader you may remember that I started a diet last year at this time and lost about three and a half stone, before taking a break for this very holiday above.

That is when the major gall stone problems started. I stopped the diet and went on a totally low fat diet until gall bladder surgery in November. I lost another two stone. So five and a half all together.

Since then I have been enjoying myself...........over Christmas and New Year, and the first week of January I have had a lovely relaxed time with food and wine. And I felt I deserved to relax a little.

But now, I must finish what I started and get the rest of the weight off for good. I have promised myself it will happen.

And today- I begin. Little voices whispered in my head- surely not with this cold and ice... why not wait til it has all gone? No- life doesn't go away for the dieter. If you are determined it will happen. And I am so encouraged that I don't have such a big hill to climb as last January. Three stone will do it I think, perhaps a little more, perhaps a little less.

The first few days are pretty tough. I will post tomorrow and tell you how I am doing it and how I am doing after day one.

WISH ME LUCK!!

There's snow business like.............

Freezing United Kingdom. If you want to see a picture of what we are suffering here ( for those of you in warmer climes). Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

My car hasn't been out the path for days and now won't start at all. It is covered with ice and looks very fed up. We are relying on other half's all wheel drive - if you don't have one at the moment life is difficult here if not impossible.
Another drop of snow and we will be well and truly stuck.
Already have had a day postponed next week, and I suspect that Monday will be disappearing too today as the snow forecast for the event is dire, and they are already knee deep!
But every day we wrap up warm, make the fire up and keep laughing. Teenager's school is hanging on in there, and even he has relented and is wearing thermals and gloves ( it must be damned cold- he is a hardy beast).
Hope you are all safe and warm- wherever you are.

Elf spotted on a bridge

Here is a photo of an elf spotted on a bridge in Scotland over Christmas. She looks reflective doesn't she, as if she is going to create some mischief sometime soon? Check out the hat that cover her pixie ears.
Rare to spot the little people but it was Christmas day and very quiet everywhere, especially with the heavy snow all around.
Maybe if you make a wish, she may just grant it.
Good luck!