My Special K Diet - Day 7

I've reached the 7 day mark and so I'm half-way through my cereal diet. It was going so good when I was at work all week but this weekend's been pretty tough. The whole snacking thing is getting to me. I found myself have a few sneaky chocolates and more cereal than I was supposed to over the past two days. And I drank loads of coffee! But this has been a good thing ~ it's pushed me to try harder this week! Now when I reach for a snack I'll think how disappointed I was in myself before. Oh and I weighed in this morning 1lb lighter than last Sunday! So it's not been a complete success but it's definately been a weensie step in the right direction. :o) If I manage to lose 2lb this week I'll be thrilled!

Spring has come Early!

One of my "unofficial resolutions" this year was to stop procrastinating and get a huge list of things done! I'm sure you all know what it's like... you have something to do but for one reason or another you just never seem to get around to doing it, and then you forget about it, then when you remember again it just seems to fall to the back of your mind again. Well, my list is a mile long - no joke! So this weekend I'm going to put every task that I have to do in my PDA and work through them one at a time. I've even set up recurring ones so we get our chores done lol.

So far I have:
~ Every chore imaginable, from ironing clothes to tidying the spare room!
~ Letters I have to write to various organisations.
~ A list of photos I want to print or have printed for frames around the house.
~ Birthday and baby presents I have to buy.
~ Cards I have to make.
~ Websites I've been meaning to order stuff from.
~ Numbers I need to call to get details changed.

And so the list goes on... and on and on... lol.
But I'm doing not too bad. Derek and I have done so much today! We took Jazz to the vet for his check-up, went to Makro for ink for the printer and cat litter, gave the living room a good tidy (and clean and dust), moved some furniture around, did 2 washings, and put pizzas in the oven! All by 6:20pm! :oD

Not only am I a Racer Idol... I'm a Road Relic!

Yay, it's Friday!
I love Friday!! I bet you all love Friday too! Well, not you Az, I know that. It's only your Wednesday. :o)
Anyway, I came across this really cool webpage that gives you alternative words and phrases from the letters in your name. Sounds weird I know but it certainly made me laugh. If I tell you my best funnies, will you tell me yours? (*Az* I only put yours in 'cos I thought they were too funny not too!)

Here goes:

• CAROL REID becomes... A Rice Lord ~ Racer Idol ~ Road Relic!
• DEREK REID becomes... Kidder Ere ~ Dried Reek!
• ALISON CAMPBELL becomes... Imbalance Polls ~ Policeman Balls ~ Collapsible Man!

Go on, share the funniest of your with me! ;o)

You'll find the anagram doodah here!

Some other brilliant ones listed on that site are:

• Dormitory = Dirty Room
• Clint Eastwood = Old West Action
• A telephone girl = Repeating "Hello"
• The Morse Code = Here Come Dots
• Slot Machines = Cash Lost in'em
• Mother-in-law = Woman Hitler
• Snooze Alarms = Alas! No More Z's
• Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one

Any my favourite ones!

• A Decimal Point = I'm a Dot in Place
• From Hamlet by Shakespeare:
  To be or not to be: that is the question, whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune..... it becomes..... In one of the Bard's best-thought-of tragedies, our insistent hero, Hamlet, queries on two fronts about how life turns rotten.

Drunk on Country

I don't know what got into me tonight but after I watched ER and Skins (what is that all about???) I had a sudden energy boost and started aerobic dancing round the room lol. For real!!! I love 3C, the country digital music channel and the songs were just totally fuelling me! This one song made me laugh so I had to stop lol. It's called 'Watching You' by Rodney Atkins ~ these parts made me giggle:

Drivin’ through town just my boy and me
With a “Happy Meal” in his booster seat
Knowin’ that he couldn’t have the toy ‘til his nuggets were gone.

A green traffic light turned straight to red
I hit my brakes and mumbled under my breath
His fries went a flyin’, and his orange drink covered his lap.

Well, then my 4 year old said a 4 letter word
It started with “S” and I was concerned
So I said, “Son, now where’d you learn to talk like that?”

He said, I’ve been watching you, Dad ain’t that cool
I’m your buckaroo, I want to be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are

Only country singers can sing about stupid stuff and get away with it! So of course it got me thinking ~ What's the funniest or best lines of a song you can think of???

Oh and before I sign off, if you want a laugh, go see the photo from today lol.

My Special K Diet - Day 3

Ok so I'm half-way through day 3 at the moment and so far it's going very well. Yesterday I ate grapes for breakfast, Special K for lunch and then my lovely Hubby made a vegetable balti and basmati rice for tea. The only snack I had was one weensie wee chocolate biscuit when Mum and Dad were through. So not only was I healthy, I also managed to squeeze in 4 portions of fruit/veg! ('Cos I had orange juice as well.)
Today I had a yoghurt for breakfast and Special K for lunch. Feeling pretty full actually which is good.
It's actually really hard to stop snacking, especially at home. I get so nibbly after dinner! But I'm hoping to see results by Sunday. If not, I may not have the motivation to go on with week 2.

After this 2-week plan I'm considering a 2-week dairy-free diet, or maybe a low carb one, just so I don't get bored. But I need to do some research. I have no idea what counts as low carb... Any ideas?

Water, Water Everywhere!!

Oh my goodness! These past couple of weeks have kept me so busy! The house has been falling apart ~ well not literally obviously but it feels like it. It all started 2 weeks ago on Sunday when, after a long relaxing soak in the bath, I drained it as normal and then heard Derek screaming from the kitchen below! The bath water wasn't draining to the outside, it was gurgling through the pipes and coming out the open washing machine door and overflowing the sink. The floor was soaked!! I swear, we used every towel we own to soak it up!
Then of course the drain problems just seemed to spiral out of control lol. Geez, I can laugh now but it really wasn't funny at the time I can tell ya. It was so bad, it got to the stage where we were doing dishes and the dish water was filling the washing machine, and when we washed clothes in the machine the soapy suds ended up in the sink lol. What is with that??
Last Saturday, after unsuccessfully trying to use a home-made drain-cleaning concoction made from baking soda, vinegar and salt *talk about chemistry* we went to Asda at 1am to buy Mr Muscle lol.
7 days later, we called the plumber lol.

New Baby Girl

* * * Congratulations * * *

*.*.*

to my friends

Michelle and David

on the birth of their new

Baby Daughter

*.*.*

Bethany Rachel

8:06pm, 7lb 5oz

*.*.*

a new Baby Sister for Amy

and a wonderful addition to their family

Such a Sweet Tale

I was reading (seriously, that's twice in one month lol) an article in the Barbados Nation News today that made me smile and I thought I'd share!

Basically it was about a Husband, 100 and Wife, 97 who have been married for a whopping 73 years! Their secret? They've never argued a day in their life! :o) Can you imagine??
They first met while working as labourers at a Plantation and were married on Christmas Eve back in 1933.....
"All I can tell you is our secret was loving one another. We didn't have any arguments; no fighting; no quarrelling; and we didn't leave each other. We kept like that from the first day up until today," said Ma as she is called by everyone.
"From the first time I saw her, I knew I loved her. We courted for a little bit before we got married. And though it was the custom back then, I didn't have to ask permission from her mother or father," said Pa who has a remarkable memory for a man his age.

Hahaha, Derek can barely remember what he did yesterday never mind 73 years ago!!

This part made me giggle - When it was time to pose for pictures. Pa jumped at the opportunity to plant a kiss on his wife's cheeks and was happy to accommodate when the photographer asked for a few retakes. Heehee.

They had 8 children and Pa worked until he was 70 years old - phenomenal! And they have a wealth of knowledge ~ staggering for a combined age of almost 200 years! :oO

And when asked if they were still in love after all these years, they affirmatively responded.
"Oh, yes," said Pa emphatically.
"Yes, yes, yes! Praise the Lord!" Ma chimed in.

Apart from being a nice story, I also learned that they used to use shillings in Barbados ~ I didn't know that!

All Trained Up!

You may have noticed the serious lapse in posts over the past couple of weeks... well, that's because of two things ~ 1, we've been having serious house troubles which I'll tell you about in a minute ~ 2, I've been in Edinburgh a lot training.
I've endured 4 days of finance courses 'cos my new job is oh-so-important lol. So now if you want to know about journals, audit trails, trial balance reports and budgets I'm your woman! :P But seriously, it was really helpful and the few days in Edinburgh were very welcome.
I won't bore you all with work stuff so go read the other posts...

My Special K Diet - Day 1

Well my New Year's resolution of eating healthy hasn't really gone with a bang yet. I'm so good at work but at home it's a disaster zone! We have so many chocolates and biscuits left over from Christmas that I can't bring myself to throw out. But instead of ignoring them, Derek and I are eating them!!! :o( It's so bad!

So I decided to bite the bullet (rather than the choccies) and just go for it... start a diet. But where to start? As we wandered up and down the aisles at our local Tesco, I spotted the ad on Kellogg's Special K. They were promoting their drop-a-dress-size healthy eating plan PLUS the cereal was on special offer! So I bought a box of original and a box of chocolate/strawberry. Wondering how cereal containing chocolate can be as little as 3% fat? There are like 2 chocolate flakes per box lol.

The plan:

• Breakfast ~ 1 bowl of Special K
• Lunch ~ 1 bowl of Special K
• Dinner ~ A healthy meal not made from Special K lol
• Snacks ~ You're still allowed them as long as they're cereal bars or fruit
• Drinks ~ Water

So ok I'm on Day 1 but so far so good lol. I had a yoghurt and small bunch of grapes for breakfast (which I know isn't Special K but is still super healthy and super yummy!) and I just finished a bowl of Special K for lunch. In case I'm starving by 5pm I brought an apple and another yoghurt with me so I have no reason for popping to Starbucks! :oP

I wonder how day 2 will go.....

Eating Out in the January Sales

Ok so I'm taking saving money in the January Sales to a whole new level tonight! Derek, my friend Louise and I are eating out at this lovely Italian restaurant in town called Di Maggio's. Anyway, the point of this post is that we're getting a starter and main course (pizza or pasta) for 10 pounds! That's pretty good considering the menu is usually around 15 pounds! Ok ok ok I'm easily bought lol. But it was actually advertised in the January Sales! How bizarre!

I was actually going to post this before we went out but decided to wait until I got home.

The meal was great!! I was meeting Louise straight from work and had some time to spare so I hit the shops. I shouldn't have 'cos one of my resolutions was not to but non-essentials, but I justified to myself that PJ's and underwear are essentials. :o) Only spent money in La Senza. I bought 2 pairs of cute shorts n vest jammies and a matching bra and shorts undies set. 'Nuff said lol.
Anyway, met Louise at the bus station and of course by now it's raining. Typical! The shops are closing so we seek refuge in Starbucks before meeting Derek at Di Maggio's. The food was great! I had mussels to start (yum!) and then a sausage gnocchi dish. No room for dessert so we walked in the pouring rain up to the Counting House bar. And that's where the photo from today was taken. :o)

So ok my not spending money thing ain't going so well, but my increased social life one is! A happy balance I think you'll agree! :o)

I'm drafting as you read

As you read this post, I'm drafting the past 2 weeks worth of entries. Ok, so maybe not something for EVERY day but there's been a lot going on and I've just not had the time or energy to post. It's a pathetic excuse, I know, but I'm making up for it now. Promise! Make sure you check my photo blog as well, 'cos it'll be updated over the weekend too.

Luv y'all!
~ Caz ~

P.S. I learnt that the cute wee ~ that I use a lot *lol* is called a tinde... did you know that? :)

Crafty Chicks

I think I told you all at some point that I wanted to start making and selling more cards? Well, after designing and handcrafting all of my Wedding stationery, Mum and I thought we'd branch out and try to reel in some orders from other people. Well, so far we've only had one but hopefully *fingers crossed* it should generate more! Tonight we finished the order! Yay! 85 invites, 85 reply cards, printed envelopes, 60 order of service... yup we've been busy.

If you take a moment and swing by the photo for this day you'll see me and Mum at work. :o)

Oh, and something else today... I bought Derek's birthday present but ~Shhhhhh~ don't tell him!! ;o) 21 days to go..... which means... Jen's baby is due in 3 weeks too!!! And Michelle's in 5 days!!!

Desperate Housewives v. ER

Ok, so hands up if you're a fan of the residents of Wisteria Lane! I am! :o) The first two episodes of series 3 were on last night so I was happy for 2 hours lol. Derek even watched them with me (but I think he was only watching to see the pretty, rich ladies...)
I had kinda forgotten what happened at the end of the 2nd series but really wasn't disappointed last night! What other show can squeeze so much hilarious drama... a body discovered, a mix-up at the fertility clinic, a wedding, a couple meeting at the hospital where their partners are in comas, a man accused of murder on his wedding day... into 2 shows?!?!
Now series 13 of ER is starting tonight and I really, really, really hope it's going to be a good 'un!

Yes, I Read the Papers (the free ones anyway...)

On the train into work this morning I had time to grab a copy of the Metro, the free commuter newspaper. After skimming through the pretty drab pages a wee article caught my eye and my immediate thought was "Ooooh I could post this on my blog tonight!" And post it I did lol.

The article was entitled "The jargon we should all sunset" and basically it was all about new indecipherable management speak likely to be hot in offices around the country in 2007. Currently used expressions like "thinking outside the box" and "park that thought" are likely to have passed their sell-by-date but here are some buzzwords you can come to expect this year...

• Getting down with the kids meaning a manager trying to interact with junior staff.
• Open up your kimono meaning putting your cards on the table.
• Let's raise the anchor and let this one drift meaning to forget about a bad idea.
• A thought grenade is the result of a productive thought shower, it is an explosively good idea.
• Let's sunset that is what happens to bad ideas - they never surface again.
• Workers will never again attend meetings... information touchpoints will be on the agenda instead.
• Little 'r' me is the new request for a private answer to an e-mail.

So there ya go. I'm not totally convinced these little gems will appear in my office any time soon! I do like a couple of them (let's sunset that and information touchpoints) but seriously, open up your kimono lol. And how patronising would it be to get down with the kids?!?!

Anyway, while I'm on the subject of newspaper articles, I was reading a pretty funny one in the Scotsman online today about the warped view of the foreign tourist to Scotland. Click here for the full article. Basically it was saying that although tourists to Scotland in 2006 may have displayed excellent taste in their choice of destination, they really could and should have researched a little more. Here are some of the stupid questions put to VisitScotland (the tourist board) last year...

• Clearly confusing Loch Ness with Sea World in Orlando... "What time of night does the Loch Ness Monster surface and who feeds it?" Answer - Nessie is pretty much a mythical creature who tends not to leap through hoops!
• Not realising that an island in Scotland was the same as an island anywhere else in the world raised the question of "Which bus do I get from the Orkney Islands to the Shetland Islands?"
• Because Scotland's two major cities often get confused *sarcastic roll of the eyes* the question of "Is Edinburgh in Glasgow?" was raised. Just while I'm on this, I'll clarify that Scotland is, in fact, not in London!!
• "What time does the midnight train leave?" There are no words!
• The small island of Iona was pointed to on a map while one tourist asked "How do I get to one zero NA?" *Sigh*

Oh I could go on and on and on and on and on... but I won't! Lol. Ok just a little (Az this is really for your benefit 'cos I know you deal with these eejits everyday lol. A couple of other really bizarre questions were "Can you tell me where the mountain is in Scotland?" and "Are there any curves in the roads here, or are they all straight?"

I know we all have our moments and hey, I even have ditsy and dense moments lol, but come on people! Would the same people ask which subway line runs between New York City and Seattle? Or where the ruin is in Rome? Or if Canada is in America?

Actually... I think they would.....

Feeling Inspired

I had a great idea today!! To start a photo blog of my everyday life! I realise that most of you guys have been my friends for like 10, 11, 12 years but because we've been e-mailing it's been really hard to share little things with each other. Things like my home... my favourite pair of shoes... my commute to work... what I see out my bedroom window... where I keep my CD and DVD collection... So much!

Click here to see a little piece of my life today (and every day!)

OMG it's 2007!

Happy New Year to all my friends around the World! While I was wandering about the house this afternoon my Uncle and his family in Australia were raising a glass to bring in the New Year. And then when I text Sarah in Canada at midnight it was only evening where she was... It's an amazing feeling to have such special connections in so many places around the World.

Ok so what are your resolutions this year? My main ones are:

• Keep this blog going all year *lol*.
• Do Pilates twice a week.
• Join the gym!
• Arrange more social events with friends.
• Go to Toronto to visit Sarah and Jen (Jen the only reason Sarah's name is first is 'cos I started e-mailing her first lol.)
• Save money.
• Continue making cards (and hopefully get more Wedding orders!)

What did you all do to bring in the bells? Derek and I were through at Mum and Dad's with my Grandparents. Kinda cheesy I know, but we spent hours playing the Family Fortunes DVD game and card games for pennies lol. My poor Grandad lost loads to Derek!

Anyway, have a great year and let's keep this going! :o)