Apologies

I have been a very bad blogger, I have been very lazy in writing in here, and have even.....(hangs head in shame) started a new one, just to document my Slimming World journey. So I have been neglecting this, more general blog.


I will continue to share my randomness with you, exciting things have happened, including seeing the Olympic Torch...

Losing a stone in weight....

and attending the awesome Lowestoft Air Show

So life has been busy, and I've been working as well! Please take a look at my Slimming World blog, it has lots of recipes and things on there, and to be honest, I'll be updating it more than this one.

Sleep. The Final Frontier!

The time is almost upon us. On Monday I shall (once again) be heading back to work. This time I'm hoping it's for good, no more trip ups or bumps in the road, just a straight up back to work and back to normality!

My moods are pretty much there, no more wild swings and deep depressive days. My anxiety seems to be under control, I still feel anxious, but am more able to control those feelings. However, there is one stone in my return to work shoe.....my sleep. I'm still not sleeping well, I either sleep too much or not enough  - waking up shattered and wanting to nap again later. This is the last hurdle I have to overcome, and I'm sure that when I'm working the sleep will be easier, at least I hope so.

This last week was supposed to be a week of fun, of enjoying these last few days and making sure I was in a good place ready for Monday. We did manage to head out and enjoy the sunshine on Tuesday, but on Wednesday I was walloped by a migraine, that has only just retreated today, so that wiped out Thursday completely :(

That means the (free - yay) visit to the cinema to see Avengers Assemble as been held off until the weekend. So here we are again....returning to work, having normal weekends, and getting back to myself! This time it's for good!

My Exploring Shoes

Today we had planned to go to the Valentine's Beer Festival at the BlackFriars Brewery, but neither of us had a great night and it took an enormous effort just to drag ourselves out of bed and into the car to go and pick up a freecycled DVD player.
When we were driving home we passed The WaterWays on the seafront. Due to it being absolutely bloody freezing just about all the water was frozen - it looked gorgeous, but I hadn't brought my camera or a coat and so we headed off home.

Indoors I snuggled up on the sofa, fully prepared for a whole lot of nothing, but the blue sky outside and the thought of the beautiful frozen gardens kept gnawing away at my head and so I gave up, and in the name of taking some pictures and getting off my butt (part of my ever exciting Get Off My Butt And Do More regime) I wrapped myself up all cosy and set out.

Now the WaterWays are way up the North end of the sea front, past the piers and I guess past the radar of some of the tourists who confine themeselves to the Golden Mile, but they have been there since 1928. When they were built the water contained boats which were electrically propelled around the gardens. The boats are long since gone, but the bridges are still there, and it's still a pretty little hideaway away from the bustle of the arcades and beach.

I'd never had a wander around there before and took the opportunity to take quite a few pictures, avoiding the ice and snow that was still surprisingly abundant. Most of my time was taken around the lake, where the ducks where crammed into a much smaller area than usual, and as such were easy to get nice and close to. I thoroughly enjoyed my walk, getting some fresh (cold) air, and taking some pictures and once again I find myself wondering why I don't go exploring more often.....

The WaterWays ...

Big Plans!

Next week I'm off work. "What?" I hear you cry from through the t'interwebs..."You've only just started to go back!" Well yes, that is indeed true, but my job involves working three weeks of shifts and then having a week off. This may sound heavenly but I don't get paid for that week off, and during those weeks of work I'll have rather a few 12 hour shifts, so it works out that I work roughly 48 hour weeks when I'm there...Anyhoo, that's not what I'm blogging about - but I thought I'd set the stage as it were :)

This is my first proper week off since back in August and I'm not planning on wasting it. I am going to get all those niggly little jobs done that I have been neglecting. The various piles of Things That Need Sorting Out will be getting sorted out. I'm starting small :)

Things That Need Sorting Out...

I am pondering sorting out the smallest bedroom, but it might not get done, so I might save that for my next week off in 4 weeks time!

Tomorrow, the little things in the living room WILL get sorted! I might then have a rest day on Tuesday and tackle the little bedroom on Wednesday. That leaves the rest of the week to do absolutely nothing except enjoy being at home, enjoy walking the WigglePig and enjoy my birthday - did I not mention that?? It's my birthday on Friday as well.

When you add to all this the fact that right now Great Yarmouth is covered in snow, Hague has declared that I am to be spoiled rotten today AND we have Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the house and you have one happy Karen! Long may it continue!

(January Book Club coming soon - I promise!)

Published :)

I'm published. I have managed to cross an entry off of my Bucket List! I normally always have a quick flick through the local free paper, but for some reason this week, I didn't and Hague had already made a home for it in the recycling bin. I then got a FB message asking if it was my picture in the paper.....

Cue a panicked search through the recycling bin and a peruse of the paper and there it was - my photograph in print for all of Great Yarmouth to see (if they bother looking at the free paper). I was SO excited!

Okay, so it's part of an article about the iWitness website which encourages people to upload their pictures of local events and pictures of interest, but they chose mine and it truly did make my day :)

I'm famous!

Being Thankful

I'm English, but in this ever decreasing world of ours I have friends all over the world, and as such I can't fail to acknowledge that today is the day our colonial friends celebrate Thanksgiving. Now I don't claim to know much about the whole Thanksgiving thing beyond turkeys, pilgrims and Indians, but taking time to give thanks for the good things in your life can't be a bad thing.
So here, to remind me that all is not darkness, are some of the things I am truly thankful for...

1. Hague, as always. The support of a partner is something beyond measure. There is a good reason that marriage vows have that richer/poorer and sickness/health malarky!
2. Boo and Flump. A house just isn't a home without pets, they bring so much love and want little in return. Nothing can calm me as quickly as a cuddle from one of the fluffy little monsters :)
3. My family.I've had ups and downs during my life with my family, I'l be the first to admit it...but over the last year or so they have been there for me in ways only family can be. Patient, understanding and caring, what more could I ask for?
4. My health - yes I've had health problems this year, but the treatment has been swift and I am definitely starting to feel that I'm on the up, I'm looking very much forward to getting back to work. Besides, looper status aside, the rest of me is pretty healthy :)
5. My friends. I am definitely of the quality over quantity camp when it comes to friends. I don't have hundreds, but the ones I do have are amazing. I know that if I need anything, if it's in their power they will help in any way they can. I am so very, very thankful for them, be they childhood friends, friends of long standing, or friends who are of the online variety. I love and cherish everyone of them.
6. My house. It may be scruffy, it may be in need of a tidy and needs a million little jobs doing - but - it's our home, it's warm, it's full of love and it has a pink elephant fairy hanging from the ceiling in the living room :)
7. Jenna and Carys. Yes they're family, but I feel they need their own category. The simple, unconditional love from little people is something truly wonderful, and to have two such loving, kind, sweet and beautiful little girls in my life is something I will always be thankful for.
8. Living by the sea. An odd thing maybe, but I love it. I am thankful that if I need some fresh, cleansing air I can be on the beach within 5 minutes. I can sit on the sand, hidden in the dunes and just listen to the sea, perfect peace, right on my doorstep!

So very much to be thankful for really. I hope I'm getting close to my optimistic, glass half full self and that my list of things to be thankful for will be even longer in 2012.