Sunday 29th Jan 2012

I will have to make the most of today, as tomorrow will mark the dawning of a whole new chapter of my life. I know I have told you this before, but this is a serious business and is definitely worthy of another mention, before it leaps onto me like a ton of bricks.

One good thing has happened already this morning, I lost another 2lb in weight, which means I have lost.... (drum roll here).......7lb in the last three weeks! So onward and upward with the Weight Watchers diet. They even gave me a star when I logged onto their site this morning. How cool is that?? Now I need to sit back and wait for all the other wonderful things that are going to happen today. (Big smile here)

I went to Newcastle on Wednesday and met up with my sister and cousin. They showered me with presents for my birthday, while we had coffee and brought each other up to date with what was going on in  our lives. I think I was able to sum up my last month very quickly, which gave the other two plenty of time to fill me in with their news, both good and bad.

When we had finished chatting I wandered around the town looking for something to wear at my niece's forthcoming wedding. However, I didn't see anything even worth trying on, as all the shops seemed to be selling off their winter stock and truthfully, I wasn't impressed. Therefore I will have to make another trip, which isn't so bad as I might have lost a bit more weight. - hopefully!! Actually I didn't buy very much at all. I didn't even spend the £25 worth of M&S vouchers I had collected. And that brings me to another thing, M&S have been moving things around in their Newcastle store and not for the better. Since when do you find  make up etc located in the men's department on the ground floor. when all the women's stuff is on the first floor? The children's gear has now been placed upstairs where all the women's classic wear was. I could ramble on for ages here about what they had moved and where they had put it, but I won't. Suffice to say I am not very happy with what they have done. I might even send them an email. (At least they haven't moved the cafe in the food hall where they serve a delicious chilled white wine.)

The rest of the week went much the same, except bits and pieces day was Friday instead of Thursday. I was too shattered after my trip to Newcastle to even think about rushing out Thursday morning!! Crikey, is that the first sign of my age!!

Soooo next week begins with a bang tomorrow. By the time I write my next blog, I will be a decade older and if that doesn't call for a glass or two of wine, I don't know what does.

Have a lovely day,

Cheers!!

Another Week!

It's Monday again! Having just got through last week, you know what? I have to start all over again! These Mondays are starting to come around very quickly - too quickly.  By the time next Monday comes around, it will almost be the end of January. Not only that, but I will be entering a whole new chapter of my life and the frightening part is - I can't do a damn thing about it!!

Where do I go from here? I'm told life will go on exactly the same, but will it? Will people start to look at me differently??  I damn well hope not, because I am the same person and there is plenty of fight in me yet!! Besides, I still have things I want to do and one of them is get a story in Take a Break Fiction Feast.  Any brilliant ideas on how I might manage that would be good.

Anyway enough of that! I just wanted to get it out of my system!

On Friday evening I was at friends' house for drinks. There were around ten of us, so it was really very nice. It's good to be able to have a chat with friends. However, I didn't drink too much because, as you know, I'm on a diet!! Yes I am really sticking with it this time.  I lost another pound this week making in 5lb in two weeks, so I must keep it up.

Someone in Texas has sent me their manuscript to read, as they want my advice. I'm not sure yet how they came hear about me or why they think my advice is worth anything. However, I'm in the middle of reading the story now and it's quite good actually. But it seems this person can't find a publisher to take it on and wants my opinion.

Another person in New York has also asked me to check out the alterations she has made to her novel, so it seems I'm going to be busy this week.

That's all for the moment,

I hope the sun is shining in your world.

Cheers!!

The Diet

So far the diet is going well. I have joined Weight Watchers online and am trying hard to follow all their instructions. (Though I had to figure out their website first)   I also had a few tips from a friend and quite honestly, I found her suggestions to be very helpful. So with a bit of luck, I shall start to see some rewards for my efforts.

Apart from that, all is much the same. I haven't done anything or been anywhere exciting. I think I am saving it all up for my birthday at the end of the month when I will be waving good bye to my 60s and entering a whole new chapter of my life. A new dawn, so to speak. Put like that, it doesn't sound quite so bad!!

On that note, I think I will close,

Have a lovely day,

Cheers!!

New Year

First of all I would like to wish you all a Very Happy New Year! All the best for 2012.

I should have said all that a week ago, but I don't seem to have got my head around it being a brand New Year already. It's not as though I have been swamped with invitations to parties or been rushing here there and everywhere to make sure I haven't missed anyone out. Quite the opposite. In fact, we had both a quiet Christmas and New Year. So I have no excuses at all.

Anyway, I am here now, though unfortunately, I still don't have anything to tell you. Life this week has been the same as ever. Quiet, quiet and more quiet. Apart from the gales! They were dreadful. There were times when I felt that our roof was going to sail off somewhere into the great beyond. But we are still intact, so that is a blessing.

We have booked up a couple of holiday breaks. Both are in this country, as we are not really keen on jetting off anymore. We are going to a couple of tried and trusted hotels, where we can laze around, be fed, watered and entertained. We have been several times before, so we know exactly what to expect.

Something else I must do this year is to lose some weight!  I have shouted this from the rooftops in the past and nothing has happened, so this time I am whispering it. Ssh - I am going on a diet. Don't repeat it in case someone hears and blows the whole thing. This morning there was a recipe booklet in the newspaper. The meals are for dieters, so I am going to check it out. I'm still whispering, as I haven't yet told the rest of my body what is going to happen. This needs to be done gradually, otherwise my whole system will go into defiant mode and drag me around cakes, biscuits, and that wonderful stuff called chocolate.

I think that is all for the moment, best quit while I'm ahead.

Have a great day!

Cheers!!