So much to do, so little time!

31st March 2017

If it costs your peace, it's too expensive.

Last day of March, so a quarter of the way through 2017 already, that's a little bit scary at how quickly this year has gone already, I'm good with the year so far.  Looking forward to lighter nights, warmer days and having more lust for life like I always do in the summer.

I have of course took spring cleaning to the extreme, by throwing most of my house out!  Next for the clean up, I'm just googling and its suggesting things like wipe walls and ceilings, dust your home thoroughly, reseal grout lines (funnily enough I was looking at the bathroom this morning and thinking that sealant needs replacing - check me out!)

I will not be needing the gym this season, I'm going to be getting all the exercise I need right here, sprucing up my living space.  There really are some good ideas on the internet to help with most things, and it's not different with 'how to clearn', I love the idea of loading your dishwasher but not with dishes, use it to wash household stuff like toothbrush holders, glass ornaments etc, I can't I don't have a dishwasher. Cleaning windows is an obvious one, degrease kitchen cabinets, clean the cooker (boo!) I'm waiting to buy a new on because my grills broken so I've only been cleaning the top :)

Clear out vents, mmm now there's one I know needs doing!  See you can just keep going and going, so I'll save on the gym subscription and spend an hour on this daily instead because I'm guessing by the time you've done it all once, it'll be ready to do again.

We're all so busy and don't have time to do stuff, then we try to fit in an hour to exercise, when we could actually be doing the stuff we're maybe paying other people to do, like clean our houses, deliver our shopping, clean our cars - think of all the thinks that are automated these days that used to take us a long time to do back in the day.  Thinks like washing up, no machines then and the laundry was done in a twin tub or even before that - by hand, oh yeah things have got easier for sure.

Anyway, I have a sink full of washing up, a mom that wants drugging, feeding and watering, then I'm off to a Scentsy warmer party for a couple of hours this morning so I need to get moving.

Here's to a fab Friday, let's make the next 24 hours count BeYOUtiful - no excuses!

Little by little, I'm accomplishing stuff!

30th March 2017

Don't think about what can happen in a month.  Don't think about what can happen in a year.  Just focus on the 24 hours in front of you and do what you can to get closer to where you want to be.

A week yesterday my bestie told me "there's nothing wrong with the shape of your bedroom, the problem is all the crap you have in it", she then picked something up and suggested I didn't need it anymore, I almost had palpitations at the thought of getting rid of it or anything else in the room!  She then pointed out that I'm always saying don't live in the past, focus on the future and I thought yeah, good point.  When I say don't live in the past, I mean the negative things, it's good to remember the good stuff, but again as she pointed out the memories are in my head not in objects and I could always take a photo of anything to recall it. 

Well that was the beginning of quite a week, I can't believe what clicked in my head as I realised being surrounded by all this stuff was making my life more chaotic and cluttered than it needed to be, so I began the clear out.

In the last seven days, I haven't just cleared the house of stuff, lots of stuff by the way and I'm not finished yet...  No it's been more than that, over the last week, I've realised I still have that, "I want it all done and I want it done now" personality, that hasn't gone anywhere but it appears I've also grown up a little and learned how to talk myself calm and realise it doesn't all need to be done today, plus if I wait a little longer I can get exactly what I want.  After all one of my sayings is "the time will pass anyway" so I'm reminding myself to breathe, 'inhale, exhale', plan, think about it, don't go at it like a bull at a gate and work through it all.

Yesterday I made use of bin day, topped up the immediate neighbours bins and then found one that hadn't got anything in at all, they'd obviously not been in much this week, so I stole it long enough to fill completely with old paperwork I no longer need to keep and then popped it back.

Every time I throw something out, I feel lighter, it's so good.  I've also realised part of the satisfaction is in the doing, not just seeing the end results.  I feel good knowing I've worked hard to get the house to where it is, I'm also enjoying burning those calories from being active.  It's keeping my mind occupied and stopping me from sitting and vegetating in front of the tv. 

This thought is making me consider doing my own painting, I've had an offer of someone doing it for me, but now I'm thinking it would be quite therapeutic to do myself and quite satisfying lying in bed knowing I've done it.  We shall see, that's one to think about.  Not today though, today I shall mostly be working a 12 hour day and that doesn't include the hours before leaving the house at 7.30am, I've been up since 4ish, I feel good though, apart from a few aches and pains - middle again, you gotta love it!

Got my easy meals to get me through the day today, might have gammon or maybe chicken, either way they're easy to do, went for the 3 for £10 range, I might even have fish.  Need to check the dates, think I need to pop a couple in freezer as I've just clocked the fact is the 30th March, where did that month go!

Right I'm off, strong tea and coffee needed today, although I have already drunk my first pint of water and my new water bottle really is encouraging me to drink water I wouldn't normally do, plus it stops me spilling my water too!

Okay BeYOUtiful, let's focus on the 24 hours in front of us and do what we can to get closer to where we want to be.

It's all coming together

29th March 2017

Create your own sunshine.

Well I only went and lost a pound!  Who expected that, not me for sure, just goes to show the healthy is in my head even when I'm not 100% on it and tracking, I won't lie I was very, very pleased with that result.  I ate with a little more thought yesterday too, bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes for breakfast, bit of veg at last, then my main meal was brown rice with green veg, salt & pepper cod and roasted cauliflower, I did have a crisp sarnie for my tea though, didn't sit down till gone 9 so didn't want to start cooking.

More progress made on the declutter mission, 2 more kitchen drawers cleared, my bedroom is almost finished, just got to clear the drawers under the bed, need to decide whether to keep or throw old photo negatives.  I can transfer the photo disks onto pc then a memory disk then dispose of them.  I'm going to make a start on my office today, need to do some of my proper work first - the stuff that pays the bills, then I'll have an hour of sorting before my bestie comes for lunch and I go to work tonight. 

I'm realising I need to be patient and that it will be worth waiting, looks like I might be having fitted wardrobes, my V's and her chap came round last night and he measured up for some ideas I have, so we shall see if it's feasible.  I'm excited for a nice bedroom.  It's almost empty right now, two more pieces of furniture go today, that will leave just one that isn't staying but I'm not sure where it's going yet, it's a wooden linen cupboard that would make a lovely project for someone, shabby chic or similar.

I also have 2 pieces of artwork that I no longer want on my bedroom walls so need to rehome them, then I can start to look at getting it painted, carpeted etc from scratch.  Clean slate to work from will make it easier, just the bed in the middle to work round.

My brains finally starting to calm down about it all, it's been preoccupied all over the weekend, but now it's quietened and I can approach it in a more practical way.  I'm breaking it all down, whilst I continue to plan and decorate my bedroom, I can sort my office, then the utility room, the rest is just tidying the living room and kitchen just need a bit of a tidy and normal housework on them.  This time next week, I should have a much tidier house, then to work on keeping it that way.  That should be easier, remember my new motto;

 Less stuff means less to clean, less to organise, less to store, less mess

This also works with my being healthy;

Less food, means less to choose from, less to eat, less to overindulge on, less weight gain

I can't eat what isn't there!  Last weekend I didn't have any bread in the house, so I couldn't live on toast and sarnies, I had to eat something else!

Yep, I'm enjoying the second half of March, I may not have started full of enthusiasm, I started with Miserable March if I'm honest but it's ending Marvelous March, just shows how life can change in a moment, so if you're not in a great plate at the moment, it could change any time soon. xx

Steady does it...

28th March 2017

Remind yourself that you don't have to do what everyone else is doing.

Day one for me!  

I know, I know, I say it a lot, I apologise for any feelings of groundhog day I may have just prompted but hey, it's who I am, I haven't tracked or Smart Pointed anything since Friday, I haven't been silly, I've been too busy but I could murder a vegetable or three.   As for bread that's so last weekend, yep, day one of getting my healthy back on, it would be so easy to say oh I've got all this house to sort, I'll get back to it after that.  That's going to be weeks of sorting, so no we will let the house take a little longer and the food be a little healthier.

I do it every time, get an idea in my head, then it grows and before you know it, a bit of a declutter has turned into a house makeover!  Then I go at it like a bull at a gate and do too much, yesterday I had to stop at lunchtime, I suddenly hit the tired wall, so I spent the afternoon looking round Ikea at stuff which made my feet ache terribly, so today other than my Weight Watcher work I shall take it steady, cook a good meal and stop and enjoy how far I've got already.

The nicest thing happened yesterday, after spending 4 hours clearing moms room, she sat in bed supervising :) Anyway, I went to make her a cuppa, heard a noise and went to look, there was Angie with a black bin bag in her hands and all the rest had gone, when I asked her she said, "I could tell by your Facebook post you were a bit stressed, so I'm taking these to the tip for you, one less job", I was so pleased I could've cried!  She's having a Scentsy party on Friday which I'm going to, I'll need to buy something to help her order, if you're thinking of treating yourself to a warmer or any new waxes, why not pay the love forward and order it through her party online, even if you can't make the party, she will still get the rewards as your order will go on her party, https://lynnewyatt.scentsy.co.uk/party/7620605/angies-party.  It's nice to be nice and she was truly nice yesterday, oh and whilst we're talking about helping each other out, Bonnie's been a blessing too taking away all my stuff that's useable/sellable and I don't need or want anymore, that's another problem solved, she's going to sell it all and make money for her charity fundraising this year, she's not only doing race for life and a sponsored slim (brave girl), she's also having a Cancer Research charity fundraiser event on June 3rd, 10.30-1pm where we hope to raise lots of money - put it in your diary, more info will follow as we get it, but if you have anything that could help us raise money, let us know, prizes for raffles, tombolo's etc. 

Yeah everything really is easier together isn't it.  I used to be stupid proud and say I could do everything on my own, didn't need help, not anymore, these days if someone's willing to help, they are most certainly welcome to and I'm truly grateful for it.

My poor mom's just woke up in pain, she hasn't slept very well at all, it's no fun this getting old lark!  Good mug of tea and her drugs and hopefully she'll be feeling less pained soon.  Isn't it funny how for years I've often forgot to take my medication in the evening, but since having to remember to ensure mom takes hers, suddenly I'm remembering!  Why is it, we're better at taking care of others than we are ourselves?

Anyway I'll leave you with that thought because I need an invigorating shower to liven me up, then I'm off to see my wonderful members in Willenhall.  There's a great monthly pass joining offer this week too, only £16.09, no joining fee - great week to join!

Turrah BeYOUtiful, take care of you today.