Friday Quicktakes

1. Loverboy treated himself to a new toy recently. Its a radio controlled quadcopter, which flies around and takes aerial photos and video and he is LOVING it. To be honest, it IS pretty cool,  seeing aerial views of your house and surrounding countryside, especially as I have such awful bearings.

He brought it with us to the caravilla and got some gorgeous footage of the coastline. Turned out it was a great talking point too, because every single time he had it on the beach, somebody came over to see what it was and to ask him questions about it. Which I suspect gets old pretty quickly because it's essentially the same conversation over and over, but as I told him, that's the price of owning such a cutting edge toy.....Which incidentally cost about the same as 10, maybe even 15 pairs of shoes......just sayin'!



 2. The following words actually emerged from my mouth the other day (and in a suitably outraged tone as well!)
'You know what I'm going to do ? I'm going to go down those stairs this minute and ring 1800 TOOTH FAIRY because this just ISN'T ON !'

This was in response to the tooth fairy not turning up.... 10 days after the tooth first came out. Shocking service, I know. In her defence though, we were all away over Easter and the dentally challenged boy only went and left the tooth at home, and then there was the added distraction of chocolate and Easter and more chocolate, and hell, somehow it was all forgotten about... until we came home that is.

And just between you and me, as this boy is now ten, I strongly suspect that he's adopting a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy where the tooth fairy is concerned,  thus making an easy few quid while he still can. Or maybe I've got it all wrong and he's actually weeping with disappointment  into his pillow at this moment.... Oh crapola.

 Update- The Tooth Fairy just made a highly unusual daytime delivery, sent her apologies for the delay and even stuck in a bit extra for the inconvenience.....one classy chick if you ask me!

Further Update-He SO knows. I cunningly made him check under his pillow for jammies that needed washing., and down he came without a word about cash or tooth fairies, but his all knowing smirk told me all I needed to know. Cormac 1, Tooth Fairy 0. 

3. Holy Communion prep is now into its final stages and I must admit, occasionally at times like this I long for a small, polite family, who would celebrate by going  for a perfectly affordable, delicious meal in which table manners would be observed at all times, and then returning to a impeccably tidy house where I'd put my feet up and catch up on the latest Grazia.

NEVER GONNA HAPPEN. Not with forty people and a bouncy castle coming.  A new barbeque has been ordered especially for the event. An industrial sized Tesco delivery will arrive midweek. Thankfully it includes lots of prosecco.

The most untidy boy in the entire world will be coereced into a suit for his big day, and then bribed to keep it on for the photos. I give it an hour til the crocs go on. There'll be babies crying and kids bouncing and money being indiscreetly counted in the corner by Communion boy and his brothers.

 There'll be grandparents and cousins and brothers and sisters, and godparents and aunties and uncles and friends.  There'll be noise and laughter and mess, and shouting over each other and joking around because that's the way we do Communions...and Christenings and birthdays and Christmas around here.

And honestly? I wouldn't have it any other way, because they are ALL my tribe and I suppose that this is what love looks like in a loud, messy, bigger family than most kinda way.
As Yoda would say, Blessed am I.

4.I'm back on the 5:2 program because I've put on half a stone since last summer. But here's the thing-I never actually stopped it....except for holidays obvs, so I may, in fact, be the only person on the planet to put on weight on while doing it.

I blame my (barely)over forty metabolism. That, and the fact that on reflection, I may have more than slightly ripped the arse outta the non fast days, in a caramel square, wine and chocolate sort of way.
So me and My Fitness Pal are keeping a close eye on the portion sizes and a ban on all caramel squares is in force until my 'just checking' dress zips up without cutting off the circulation to my head.
 Oh and wouldn't you know-here's the book our Rory  just happens to be reading right now-bad karma or what?


5. Speaking of  fast days, I've discovered zero noodles- Nigella loves them- apparently they've almost no calories, are very filling, and are good in stir fries.  I ordered them online but when they arrived and I showed them to Loverboy, he just raised his eyebrows, then tore a bit of cardboard off the packaging, handed it to me and said "Look toast! no calories and for you only 3 quid a slice!" Cheeky sod....I'll show him...and give you my honest verdict next week, peeps.







6. Boogie in the Car Seat. A great song with an important message....and it also makes me hold my head just that little bit higher!
Enjoy and have a good weekend my lovelies, Emma xx

Run Forrest Run!

So, last night I reached week 8, day 2 of my couch (potato) to 5k program, and ran for 28 minutes without stopping or dying..... How do you like them apples? Yep, the eight week program may well have taken me more than twelve weeks, and I may only just be meeting the definition of running, but for me this is MASSOOF!

You see,  naturally I'm an eater not a runner (sorta like, I'm a lover, not a fighter, only less worthy), and I arrived late to the party when it came to exercise of any kind. The truth is, I was very overweight for a very long time, hugely self conscious and pretty crap at everything in PE really, so I simply avoided it altogether.

I should come clean and tell you that that doesn't run in the family- I'm the eldest of six children and the others are all super fit and super trim-I'm the yin to their yang, if you will.  In fact, I'm the only one who HASN'T run a marathon, and one annoyingly sporty brother has even run 12 of them. (Freakshow). And I'm totally fine with that- NO worries being left out of THAT particular little Venn diagram-thank you very much. Each to his own, and major kudos to anyone who feels the need to run 26.2 miles, but personally my knees and pelvic floors will pass.

So anyway, eight years ago, after decades of avoidance, punctured by pregnancies and short lived bouts of group exercise classes (step aerobics, anyone?),alongside yet another Weight watchers sign up, I got into walking. I mean obvs I'd always walked,  (why did I feel the need to clarify that, why?), but now it became a regular  3 mile gig, 3 or 4 times a week. And this time, instead of giving up like I always had with everything else, I kept going and I loved it- still do actually. It clears my head, calms me down, and helps me think. It also doesn't hurt that I tend to go early in the morning, giving the added bonus of leaving the breakfastandgettingreadyforschool bedlam with Loverboy. Sweet..

Then this summer-I'm not quite sure why- I felt the need to step it up a bit. Maybe I was a bit bored, maybe I was encouraged by several friends who ran a little and seemed to love it, maybe I  wanted to test myself, maybe I'm old enough  to finally not care what I look like, or maybe I realise that no one gives one anyway!

The major issue was that physically and mentally, I'd always just assumed that I couldn't run, and indeed I never actually had. I literally only had to think about running and my breathing was all over the place and the mantra 'YOU can't do this!' was on a constant loop in my head. But I started the Couch (Potato) to 5K anyway- the first time that I ran for 3 minutes without stopping, I thought I was going to expire on the road then and there.
Then my good friend J, also new to the running lark only much less rubbish, advised me to slow the running parts right down-although in truth, any slower and I'd have been walking on the spot. Gradually though, it DID help me get control of my breathing and my shitty mental attitude. There were days that were awful, and weeks I repeated because I couldn't face stepping up to the next level, but little by little I began to improve. And yes, I know its all relative, and for so many it probably seems such a meagre little achievement, but when those downer thoughts flood my mind I try to tell myself  not to compare and despair....and sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.

I knew I'd keep at it when last week I invested in a few running essentials- (No, not Tena Lady, SmartArse) but a neon green t shirt and proper leggings. I even bought a pair of running shoes (neon green and pink- matchy matchy) and a black arm holder for my phone. Up to that point, I'd been sporting my old velour track suit bottoms that flapped around my ankles, and had to be constantly hauled up mid run, with grotty old t shirts that belonged to Loverboy. Oh the transformation, and you wouldn't believe the difference the new gear's made too! I'm exactly like a whippet now ....NO not really, but it does LOOK so much better.

Oh and alas no, I haven't lost any weight yet, but I HAVE  been eating and drinking for Ireland all summer long, so I'm not overly surprised. I'm secretly hoping that once the kids go back to school, and I get back on my 5:2, and keep going with my running/plodding I might shift a few pounds. And that would be great, but honestly, even if I don't, that's OK too. Because as long as I'm working at getting the balance right health wise, I'm going to try not to waste any more time beating myself up for being the curvy size 14 that I am right now, and not the slim size 10 I probably  never will be anyway. There's that compare and despair again! Happy weekend sweeties,
Peace Out,
Emx

Friday Quicktakes

1. Well, I promised y'all I'd be honest about my 5:2 program so here goes.... I weighed myself yesterday for the first time in 2 months and I lost .....nothing. Nada, zip, zilch. So that's a total of half a stone since the end of January- not exactly stellar and I wanted to burst into tears right then and there on the scales in Boots (none at home thanks to the full blown phobia I have going on there, but thats a whole other blog post.) Truthfully, except for one week off fasting at Easter, I've been sticking rigidly to my 2 fast days per week so they're not the problem. But when a fellow 5:2er's husband cheekily asked her recently, 'Is today  a 500 calorie or a 5000 calorie day?, he may have inadvertently hit the nail on the head! Let's face it, it doesn't take Einstein to work out that I'm overindulging somewhat on the other days.

Yes, I did briefly consider chucking the whole thing in completely, but the honest truth is this program suits me. Overall, it brings a balance to my eating patterns, I feel healthier and I've lost SOME weight! (Oh, and there are loads of health benefits associated with intermittent fasting too, which I totally overlook).
Obviously I could do with reining it in on the non fast days, but overall I'm enjoying my food, not putting on any weight and I'm into size 14 jeans for the first time in years. And even though I'll not be winning 'Slimmer of the Year', or falling down a grating any time soon,  for once I'm eschewing the quick fix in favour of the long game, so I've decided to keep 'er lit for now...I'll keep you posted.

2. Years ago, before I had kids and a minivan we moved to America and I watched the Oprah Winfrey show. One day there was a woman on talking about a book she'd written called 'Simple Abundance- A Daybook of Comfort and Joy.' Basically, it's a series of daily reflections which show  'how your daily life can be an expression of your authentic self' and it also involves keeping a 'gratitude journal', where you write down 5 things you are grateful for every day.
 I know it all sounds a bit American and new agey  but I figured if it was good enough for Oprah, it was good enough for me!  I must've gone on about it a fair bit, because Loverboy later went to Barnes and Noble & bought it for me. Sadly, despite my initial enthusiasm, I lasted about a week and it ended up gathering dust under the bed.
Looking back, while I could appreciate it as a  worthwhile exercise, I just wasn't there yet myself. Maybe I  needed life experience and a few more years on the clock before I could apply it to myself?
 Then, lo and behold and as if by magic, what turned up this week when I was doing all my redding out, only the (slightly mildewed ) book and accompanying gratitude journal.  Maybe five kids later and now in my (earliest of ) forties, the time has come to give it another try. And just for the fun of it, here's a little peek at my old  gratitude journal... I DO find it reassuring that I'm still grateful for them all these years later!

3. Speaking of pics, here's how my kitchen looks... so whaddyathink? Can I just draw your attention to the lack of checked wallpaper and the smell of fresh paint? I even managed to hound Loverboy into making a photo wall for me, instead of having them all higgledly piggledy over every surface. Love love love it!

Wise up to yourself!

4. The 'rents are in Vienna this week- for the past few years we've all clubbed together and bought them a city break for Christmas, because apparently they've enough ornaments. They'll have the feet walked off them and my dad will take about 1000 pictures of old buildings which will never be labelled, and now I've got that Midge Ure song 'Vienna' playing in my head. Which randomly reminds me of a psycho I knew in college who properly stalked him! He found out where he lived in London and actually went over there and hung around his house like a bad smell-this was all pre-internet too- he'd done all his stalking research by post and phone for goodness sake! I remember listening to him talk one day and just thinking  'You're a Nut Job! Why would ANYONE want to stalk Midge Ure?'

5. We're off to the Caravilla but I've mixed feelings because it means we're going to miss the GAA festival weekend right here at home. There's a local 'Strictly Come Dancing' -closed rehearsals have been going on for months and the competition is FIERCE! There's also Bingo, a big Sunday morning breakfast but I'm most gutted to be missing Con Jovi on Saturday night. I know it's not the same but I'll just have to put on my 'Slippery When Wet' album up at the caravilla instead.

6. You know what's coming, don't you?.....Here's this week's Booster Seat Boogie. Enjoy every long haired moment, skinny jeaned moment and do have a fabulous bank holiday, whatever you're up to, Emmaxx

Friday Quick Takes

1. Its been a house of sickness this week- we've had a relay team of at least one, mostly two boys off at a time. That's just one of the many joys of having five children - the flu takes twice as long to go around the house. Poor Mac has been hit with it the worst- you KNOW a boy's sick when he shows no interest in his new DS, refuses chocolate and ice cream, and actually SUGGESTS going to bed himself.
 Rory, on the other hand, who was also 'under the weather', gave an Oscar winning performance in an effort to extend his one day off. Big beseeching eyes, shuffling slowly around the house, that trembling little voice saying 'No dinner for me, Mummy-my tummy's sore..... Well, maybe just a wee bit..... No, a bit more than that....... And I'll maybe take that piece of cake too.' Aye right,pet. Is your bag packed for the morning?
From a purely selfish point of view, it's been three, long, tough weeks- the sickness coming right on the back of  Loverboy's jolly/worktrip to India. But them's the breaks, and thank goodness, everyone's on the mend now. *touches wood repeatedly*

2. My 5:2 eating program, which coincidentally  I've also been doing for 3 weeks,  has been going....very well actually, but if you want weekly weigh ins and hip measurements, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong blog. I've an aversion to standing on  the scale- once a month is enough for me-but I CAN tell you that I've lost the Christmas lbs, and I definitely feel my muffin top is somewhat reduced. (Of course it's all relative isn't it, because If I were an ACTUAL muffin, I'd be one of those humongous American style ones, whereas you're probably a perfectly proportioned fairy cake!)
More importantly though,  I'm finding it works for me.  I don't want to big it up too much-  there's certainly no before and after pictures- but I'm not finding the fast days too difficult. I actually enjoy the challenge of seeing how far I can make those 500 calories stretch, and then it's lovely not having to think or focus on it for the other 5 days.  In fact, on those other days, I'm finding that I appreciate the taste of food a lot more, and I'm much less inclined to graze mindlessly on the kids' leftovers. So at this stage, I'd say that I'm tentatively optimistic. As in, come July I might actually fit into those tight jeans hanging in the back of my wardrobe for the last 3 years, not as in, here comes ginger Kate Moss!

Come to Mama.....

3. Are you just LOVING Mr Selfridge? Cos I am! I watched 'The Paradise' before Christmas and adored it, but thought between that and Downton, I might have had period drama fatigue- clearly I was wrong. My mum actually bought me the book  it was based on several years ago, (well, it WAS Book of the Week on Radio 4), but I was a bit ho-hum thanks Ma, and anyway I'd had a pile of Grazia mags to work my way through, so it just sat on the bedroom  windowsill and got all sun faded.. Now of course, SHE'S hooked on the show so has huffily  retrieved it, but tells me that I can borrow it when she's finished!.

4. Finally, I wanted to say a big thank you to anyone who nominated me for the MAD Awards 2013 this week- I'm so very grateful! If you haven't and you'd like to, just click the badge at the top of the page- it only takes a minute, nominations are open until 18 February and I promise that I'll love you long time!

5. Finally finally, I heard this song on the Radio yesterday and it brought me right back and just made me smile. To think that I used to know ALL the moves!  Enjoy and happy Friday! Emmax

Friday Quick Takes

1. Big news this week? Well, Loverboy's in India with work for 11 whole days and I'm flying solo. So this weekend, while he's off to see the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World,  I'm off to Tescos! The woeful injustice of that aside, I find that whenever he travels, (and truthfully, it's not THAT much), I marvel anew at how single parents manage to do this ALL THE TIME. Hats off to each and every one.
 So even though I realise that I've absolutely NO room to complain...you know I'm going to anyway!
It's the little stuff - finding the car already defrosted on a freezing morning, that shared cuppa before bed, locking up and switching off the lights at night, diesel in the car.... Oh hell, it's the big stuff too- talking over the minutiae of the day that NO ONE else in their right mind would listen to, the much needed hug, knowing what I'm thinking without any words...and goodness me, the bed feels awfully big without him!

Of course the upside is, (and he'll be just DEE-LIGHTED to hear this), being on my own makes me realise that I often take him for granted, and for that reason alone I suspect that a little absence CAN be a good thing. It DOES make the heart grow fonder and allows me to more fully appreciate our life together-  a fresh light is thrown on the everyday...for a while anyway! Another positive is that I've had to hit the ground running form the moment I get up, til I go to bed- it's something of a military operation keeping all the balls in the air on my own, my phone is constantly pinging with alerts and as a result, I'm far better organized...but still, I'm very grateful for lovely friends and family doing a few lifts here and there!

2. I've started a new eating strategy, (I'm NOT calling it a diet), which I really feel positive about. Now I could write a novel, never mind a post, on my complicated relationship with food over the years, and the tears and time I've wasted on one diet after another, but I won't. I will say though that I've worked hard to accept the fact that I'll never to be a skinny minny like my Mum and two younger, fabulous sisters. In Gaga's immortal words- Baby, I was born this way! So over time, I've learned to avoid the fluctuations, ditched the diets and focused on the health and exercise aspects instead.  Big deal, I hear you lucky ladies think who do this instinctively, but hey, I'm a slow learner!

Anyway, you know that doctor on TV- Michael Moseley? He did the two Horizon programs last year that created a huge buzz? Well, I trust him, he's got an honest face, (and he's quite fanciable in a nerdy sort of way), so when I read about his 5:2 program (5 days off, 2 days fasting), I thought I'd give it a go. Apparently, there's all kinds of health benefits like lowering your risks to all kinds of diseases,  although shallow as I am, I kinda skipped over all that to the looking younger and losing weight part! The thing is, I was already doing this a bit myself and most importantly I think it could fit well into my life..without getting in the way of the important stuff like eating out and having a few drinks at the weekend-that's my gut feeling anyway.(boom boom!) But I don't want to get tooo carried away,  because this has only been my first week, but I'll let you know how I get on with it .....and I promise I'll be honest.

3. With Loverboy away, I'm using the opportunity to gorge myself on all the sky+ shows he vetoes when we're watching TV together- the ones I usually watch when he's out or  I'm doing the ironing. Like Gok Wan (I LOVE that man), One Born Every Minute and Real Housewives. Well, I became uncomfortably aware that when I'm  watching One Born, I take a perverse pleasure when a woman says beforehand that birth is a natural process and pain is to be embraced and she definitely- without a doubt- no way never -will take any kind of pain relief WHATSOEVER ...and then ends up sucking down the gas and air and screaming like a banshee for an epidural and lots of drugs. And even better when she starts swearing like a sailor!  Do you think that makes me a bad person? Don't answer that....do you? Don't answer that.

 4. Here's a wee Friday happy pill song for you- I love Kirsty MacColl (RIP Kirsty) and  the other day when The Lukester and I were driving home from the shops, 'There's a guy works down the chip shop swears he's Elvis' came on-great song! Instantly, we both went into boogy woogy mode along the motor way- him in his car seat, me in the front- we really did dance like no one was watching! (Which wasn't strictly true because I'm pretty sure I saw a lorry driver sniggering, but it was worth it!)
  Enjoy...and Happy Friday peeps xxxx