'tis the season

 

Happy 1st December!  I'm still alive, just avoiding the computer a bit more and browsing around Pinterest when I do succumb.  That's where I got the idea for this herbal/fruit tea advent wreath that I made for my friend.  I've been doing quite a bit of making and still have a LOOOOOOONG xmas to-make list...and very little time to work on it.  But I love this time of year so much.  Back with pics of our Christmas tree soon.  Yes, it's up already!  First time I've (a) put it up in November and (b) been the first tree on the street.  Chri-i-i-i-i-i-i-istmas!

home for hogmanay #6 and #7

Drowning in Thoughts by Kathrin Honesta, found here.

Thoughts are the only thing I'm likely to drown in at the moment, that or origami stars!  Swimming has not been going so well :(  Last week I was too busy to manage more than one swim (or to do my weekly swim update on the blog) and this week I was busy and not feeling very well and didn't swim at all.

Here are my "stats" from last week and this.

Lengths swum last week: 60
Target total last week: 510

Total lengths swum: 466 (44 behind target)

Lengths swum this week: 0
Target total this week: 595

Total lengths swum: 466 (129 behind target)

As you can see, I'm way behind and, to be honest, just wanting to abandon the pool in favour of halloween/birthday/Christmas crafting, maybe pick it up again in January.  But I'll see what I can do this coming week and decide on a new plan of action then.

we're gonna make you a sta-a-a-ar!

I'm taking it easy this afternoon, reading in the park and learning to fold these origami stars at home, just what I needed after three days of hardcore (slightly soul-destroying) day-jobbing followed by evenings and long nights of Dulcie-settling.  Yawn!  I'm hoping she magically starts to sleep when she turns four.  It'll happen, right?  Anyway...  The origami stars confused me for a while, but eventually I figured out where I was going wrong.  Easy once you know how etc.  I'm going to make a whole load of these for Christmas, I think, and possibly for the wedding of a friend too (it's my just deserts for all the cranes I made everyone fold for my own wedding!) though with nicer paper, obviously.  I might try using some magazine pages etc for my own Christmas ones, then maybe string them into a garland.  Or just hang them on the Christmas tree.  Is anyone else getting excited about Christmas yet?  Anybody?  Anybody?  I'm using impending Christmas-ness to fill the void left by the wedding being over, so am loving the shops being filled with festive goodies when it's not even Halloween yet.  I'm already anxious I don't have enough time to turn all my festive plans into reality :)

home for hogmanay #5

 (I definitely don't look this cool in the pool, but who, other than Don Draper, ever does?!)

Lengths swum this week: 60
Target total this week: 425

Total lengths swum: 406 (19 behind target)

I've fallen behind target for the first time, but not by much and I haven't been feeling so good this week.  (Kidneys again?  Who knows, but I've got a blood test soon, so I guess we'll find out then.)  Strangely, swimming today made me feel much better than lying on the couch all day yesterday did, not that I didn't enjoy reading a book and watching two films, with a blanket, a hot water bottle and two cats!  So, swimming... I think I can claw back those missing lengths (and hopefully a few more for good measure) over the coming week.  No worries, cobber!

It was so nice to be able to google Don Draper images without fear of a self-inflicted spoiler, as Graham and I finally got to the end of the last-ever series of Mad Men last week.  So sad it's over, but I did love it.  I won't spoil any surprises for any of you, but I will share this picture of Don Draper's Double Denim (it's a thing, I swear!) which you can enjoy without fear of any major plot lines being blown.

Hummanah, hummanah!  The other weekend, I heard Katie Puckrik on 6 Music talking about the time Jon Hamm used the phrase "raging erection" in a television interview and it made steam come out of her ears.  I can quite understand and wish I'd seen it, though even hearing about it second-hand was enough to reduce me to a quivering, giggling wreck and I think I texted/whatsapped pretty much, er, everyone to share the news.  Yes, it's news! Don Draper + "raging erection" = news!  I'm going to miss Mad Men so much.  Could it be too soon to rewatch?  Probably.

home for hogmanay #4

(This was an eBay listing from the past, I think.)

 Lengths swum this week: 60
Target total this week: 340

Total lengths swum: 346 (6 ahead of target)

I only managed to squeeze in one swim this week, I'm aiming for two again next week.  I'm definitely getting back into the swing of it, craving the pool when I'm not in it and enjoying the feeling of exercising regularly.  Plus I treated myself to a new swimming suit as my old one (well, I say old, I only got it earlier this year) was embarrassingly faded in certain (embarrassing) areas and was quite close to wearing through in the, er, seat.  It felt nice to have a smart new suit and not to be checking for accidental bum exposure at the end of each length.

I was at the heart hospital today and had an interesting conversation about how patients who feel control over their situation tend to do better/have a better prognosis.  Swimming (and the fact my heart has shown some improvement for the first time since I started doing it) definitely allows me to experience the unfamiliar feeling of having some control over my health/situation, as opposed to just being a passive tablet receptacle hoping for the best.  What is the opposite of a vicious circle?  That's what swimming is - improves my health which gives a feeling of being in control which improves my health...  You get the idea.  Basically, swimming is a win-win activity.  I can't wait to get back in the pool :) 

have a good weekend :)

Here's a happy video to get you in the mood to make the most of your weekend.  Dulcie LOVES to dance and I love to watch her, especially when she throws in the odd move that she's learned from the lady who teaches hip-hop at her nursery.  The vogue to camera was a complete surprise to me :)

My phone's microphone is broken (or maybe just rubbish) so you can't hear the music too well.  It was Malcolm McLaren's Double Dutch, a favourite from my own childhood.  No wonder Dulcie couldn't resist busting a move.  For the ultimate experience I recommend muting my video and clicking on that link to play the music in another window, then you can join in and dance with Dulcie.  Enjoy!

home for hogmanay #3

Image from Seasons by Blexbolex

Lengths swum this week: 112
Target total this week: 255

Total lengths swum: 286 (31 ahead of target)

It's going well.  I think I'll only manage one swim next week, so I'm glad to have banked a few extra lengths.

In less impressive health-and-fitness news, I've gained so much weight since I got married.  Boo.  Our celebratory abandonment of our (slightly) healthier eating/drinking habits went on a bit longer than we'd planned.  I'm kicking myself.  Weight is so hard to lose and so easy to gain.  Sigh...  But you know what, I'm still a stone lighter than I was at the start of the year and am feeling like October is the month to be back on it.  I've gone tee-total for the month.  Graham and I both gave up booze for the first three weeks in August and felt so much better (and slimmer) for it.  I was so excited to lay off the booze again that I started a few days early and am on day four of my alcohol-free existence already.  I'm quite an all-or-nothing person and find it much easier to give things up completely than I do to enjoy them in real moderation.  And having a definite change in my habits is what I need to help get me refocussed and back on the straight and narrow.  I think if I lose about a pound a week between now and February (totally doable if I don't go too crazy over Christmas) I should be at my ideal/target weight by the time I next see my heart consultant.  I do love getting a gold star and a pat on the back from him, sad individual that I am.  I can do this!  Oh, yeah!