Turn them Negatives into Positives.... TODAY!

Hello Everyone,

Hope ye are all keeping well since the last time I was speaking to you, it was nearly a month now... I can not believe just how quick the time is going, so much has happened since I last wrote the blog...

As you may or may not remember my last blog post was a full on rant really- I was so fed up with how I was getting on in my weight loss journey, I had aches and pains everywhere, especially in my foot and I was just getting heavier and heavier and I was completely and utterly lost....

In that blog post I set out on a little task, I decided that on that day I would stop feeling down, living in the past, putting things off, I also decided to stop feeling like I was a failure, I stopped thinking about all the things that happened long ago and I tried to stop thinking that I couldn't do anything right,

I must say that by even making these few changes in my routine it has made such a huge difference to how I feel about everything in my life. I have also had a few non-scale victories because of it.

I went to see Ed Sheeran in Croke Park in the end of July and I stayed in a hotel, although some people may see these as just part of normal life they meant so much more to me and I know that for most people they wouldn't bat an eyelid at the thought of staying away or going to a concert but to me it was a major deal. The week before I had thought several times that I couldn't do it and I know that everyone thought I was going to back down because usually I would but this time I even surprised myself,  I took a risk and I went and I thoroughly enjoyed it and even writing about it now I feel such a sense of pride in the knowledge that I did it and everything went well and I know that the next time I go I won't be as nervous or anxious (I hope!!).

By going to the concert it also showed me that I have an inner strength that I don't realise I have but since that week I now know that there is definitely something that steps up to the mark when we feel like we can't do something, it gives us a little push and ultimately I think we're pushed if it is right for us. I believe that everything that happens to us, whether it be good or bad, happens for a reason, it might not be nice at the time but I think it benefits us because it determines who we become so if anyone reading this right now is feeling down or going through crap in their lives don't worry it won't be forever and it is shaping us into the people we are going to become, it's in our paths for a reason just believe in yourself that you are strong enough to go through it and trust me you are strong enough - have self belief!!

I re-joined my group and I am on week 5 at the moment, in the last 4 weeks I have lost a total of 9 pounds! I am so thrilled with how I am getting on, it's not easy, it requires a lot of dedication, persistence, and hard work....

But do you know what? It's bloody well worth it!! Seeing the number on the scales decrease week after week is worth so much more than a bar of chocolate (and I hope that mentality is here to stay!!)

This time around I feel completely different about the way I am approaching things I have to say that organisation is key. I now plan all my meals in the evening for the next day so I know exactly what it is that I am eating and I stick to this plan. I don't find it too hard really to be honest because I know what I'm going to have next so it isn't a case of  standing at the fridge or the press and wondering "what will I have next?" (From past experience that question is an avalanche of bad choices waiting to happen because it's too easy to grab the quickest thing and have it or have three or four slices of bread while waiting for your food to cook, its not a crime, its just reality and its not easy to sit around and wait for something to cook especially if your stomach is rumbling) therefore plan your meals and never worry about being hungry.

Another change that I have made is the amount of fruit and vegetables I have been eating has increased dramatically, I find it so much harder to eat fruit compared to veg, I'm a real lover of veg and find it very easy to eat it, the same can not be said for fruit but I am trying and I am determined to get there so I keep trying new fruits until I find some that I love to eat!

I also write everything down that I eat on my tracker, even though I have planned my meals I still like to acknowledge what I eat on a daily basis and I think it's a good habit to get into!

I want every single person that is reading this to look to themselves, be proud of who you are, be happy with your individual journeys, even if the weight is slow to come off, that's ok, we're only human it's ok to not stay on plan 100% of the time, it's ok to feel like throwing in the towel every so often heck I have felt like that several times but just remember these are feelings, they come and go and when you feel like this remember why you started this journey, remember how you felt before you started to lose the weight and remember just what it is you want to achieve.

One bad day does not have to lead to one bad week, don't let it, you are in the drivers seat, you have the power to achieve anything you want to do but you can not expect to see a change if you don't make one so go out make a change, a small teeny weeny one and reap in the rewards.

I'm going to set a little challenge for us all, it's five small words but do you know it will make a big difference to you and to the life you live, the words are: Take Small Risks Every Day....

Take a risk, this risk can be as small as you want it to be, start off by aiming small that way it's easier to achieve and you won't feel as if you haven't succeeded, you don't have to broadcast it to the world just do it yourself and I know it can be hard and there will be times when you curse yourself for promising to do it but just try it, I know for me I feel better after it, I'll give you an example last Saturday night I went to a hen party, now to be very honest I'm not great at social events and especially events such as hen parties, I dreaded going but I put on the dress, did my hair and make-up and I went, before I left I asked a friend, a very close friend if I looked ok and their reply had a smile on my face for hours- they said I looked slim!!!!! Their support was enough to keep me on track for going. That night I took the risk and went, I felt uncomfortable, I felt huge and even at stages I felt my eyes well up and I just wanted to cry but the point is I went, I took the risk and I did it. That night when I came home I was looking through photos that were taken during the night and I was so disgusted when I saw myself in them. I didn't recognize the person in the photos so I vowed to never look like that again in a photo and I'm going to aim to get to a stage that when I look in the mirror or look at a photo I see someone that I am happy to be. I am going to turn all the negatives into positives and I challenge you to try and do the same.... you can do it....

Just Remember:

No one ever got to 

the top of a mountain 

in one giant jump. 

Challenges can be overcome, 

and goals can be reached 

but it can only happen 

one step at a time.

Take a Risk and Remember that The Best Project that you will ever work on is you, so work hard, give it your all and be the best possible person that you can be, because in the words of L'Oreal "you're worth it".

Stay Strong,

Little Miss Sunshine 

xxxx

Here's to Fresh Starts and New Beginnings....

Hello Everyone! 

Gosh it's being ages since I last wrote a blog, its been well over a month anyway and I have to say I missed it so much!!! 

It's actually weird to sit down and start back into it again but it's a nice kinda weird even though it involves a lot of other feelings and emotions too.... 

Just a little note on how my weight loss journey has being going, well I would first of all take the word loss out of the equation as I actually haven't lost one ounce but I have gained and gained a good bit.. I hurt my foot therefore exercise went out the window, even walking, normal day to day walking proved to be very painful and I often found myself coming home from work throwing on the slippers and just sitting down because the pain was just so bad, of course I didn't go into the doctor purely out of fear of the obligatory weight talk and even the mention of the word BMI  sends a cold, dead shiver down my spine, deep down I think the pain in my foot is my body telling me to lose some frickin weight because I literally can't hold my weight anymore but not even that was enough to make me cop on.... 

The last few weeks I ate so much s**t, it would make Gillian McKeith of "you are what you eat" have heart palpitations and literally turn her nose up in absolute disgust....  you name it and I probably ate it- I'm talking pastries, biscuits, cakes, coleslaw, potato salad, bread and I ate enough cheese that would make Gerry out of the cartoon "Tom and Gerry" a very jealous mouse indeed!! 

I just kept eating, I didn't give two damns about the effects all this bad food was having on me, I stopped going to group because "I thought I could do it on my own" (hahahaha more fool me and a note to anyone who is thinking along the same sentiments- DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT GIVE UP ON CLASS, trust me you will be sorry you did!) 

I have to say even though I was eating so much I felt kinda content in my life, I was happy which is completely out of character, I didn't feel the usual guilt that I normally associate with over eating, I knew I shouldn't be doing it but I was happy so I adopted the attitude of "to hell with it, I deserve a treat", deep down I felt that lump in my stomach, it's so hard to explain it's kinda like a knot and I have it constantly, it never leaves, it's like my stalker really as no matter how hard I try it will not budge from the pit of my stomach- this knot is, I feel, my guilt, my shame, my embarrassment, my humiliation, my sadness that I have allowed myself to become a girl I no longer recognize as I am covered in layers of fat, when I look in the mirror I can't see anything only my weight, that's all I recognize now and  I feel as if I've abandoned the true me and all for the sake of a bar of f***ing chocolate (how stupid can a person really be, why is it that we feel we can't function in life without food? why do we rely so heavily on food? why do we use food as a crutch when we're happy, sad, tired, excited, nervous?)

Then came the moment of realization that I needed to stop the way I was going... 

On the morning of Saturday the 11th of July, I woke up just like any other morning, got up, threw on the dressing gown and went to the kitchen to make breakfast, I made toast and lathered the butter on in every corner and did it twice just for good measure and to ensure that I left no piece of toast without a bit of butter, after all it would be a tragedy to have a bit of toast without it being fully covered in butter! So far everything was going just fine, I was in good humour thinking of what I would do with my day, I made a cup of coffee and brought it and the toast into the living room, I left them on the coffee table and then I went to sit down on the couch, when I sat down I heard a huge bang, at first I didn't know what it was then I realised that I had broken the couch, I initially started laughing because that's how I deal with nerves, I laugh as I don't know what else to do then after a few seconds of laughing the tears began to flow and realization kicked in of what had just happened- I broke the couch, a big couch, a strong couch, a sturdy couch and I went and broke it.... 

If there was a hole in the ground at that very moment I would of gladly gone into it without a second thought, I wanted to disappear somewhere and never come back, I often read in the magazines of people having a life changing moment when they knew it was time to lose weight but I always thought it would never actually happen, although I still lived in fear of something happening, I was always one step ahead and I took measures to avoid these "moments"-I won't go on a plane out of fear of the seat belt not going around me, I don't go out in case someone comments on my appearance, I won't go shopping or try on clothes in changing rooms in case they don't fit or I can't get anything in my size or getting stuck in something in the changing room and having to call the assistant to cut me out of a dress, I avoid going to theme parks because I have visions of getting stuck in the chair and having to be cut out of it, my passport is out of date the last two years now and I won't even renew it because it would mean that I have to take a photo and I just don't want to be seen like this now, a good friend of mine got me the application form to renew it and i just can't get the photo taken out of pure and utter shame!! There I was taking all these precautions protecting myself from mishaps that may happen on the outside world that when I broke the couch I was utterly devastated because my home was the place I considered to be my safe haven, a place where I could be "safe" and not worry about finding myself in any life changing or embarrassing situations (how wrong I was)

Now people who know me will say "you think your big, your not actually that big" the truth is I am however I do not look anything like the weight that I actually am, sometimes I thank God for that other times I ask why because it nearly gives me a comfort that its not too bad, I have seen people in magazines in their before pictures, they're lighter than me yet they look twice the size and it tricks me into thinking it's not too bad and I eat more but that Saturday was my "moment of realization", it was at that minute that I knew I couldn't keep going on the way I was going because if I did I would be 30 stone before I was 30 and I would probably be in a documentary for Discovery Health about "Ireland's fattest person" or something along them lines and I don't want that.

I can't begin to explain how I felt all day that Saturday, I cried, I cursed, I paced the floor thinking of what I would do, I went to the shop, this is a danger zone (Did anyone else just sing a bit of Kenny Loggins there?!?! Me Too!) for me as I wouldn't take any notice of buying 4 or 5 multi packs of bars and eating them on the way home but that day was different I looked at the chocolate but I no longer had craving for it, I no longer felt as if I needed to have all that chocolate, I no longer saw it as a life saving drug or something that I absolutely had to have in order to function properly. The knot in my stomach was so strong now that I had physical pain and I felt as if I was going to vomit. I was disgusted with myself I thought about so many different options of how to lose weight, I went from thinking about the sensible option of eating less and moving more to a fitness boot-camp out abroad to even looking up gastric bands! 

I decided in the end to just re-join group (the best option I think and the most realistic out of all my options and the most affordable option), I had to join a new group as the other group didn't suit me that week and I didn't want to wait another week because I was in the zone now and I wanted to start and get going.. 

So I went, I was sick with nerves, I drove up and down past the venue for about 15 minutes wondering would I or would I not go, then a strength from within grabbed hold of me and said "Just go", then the thought of the couch came into my mind and I knew I had to go in so I parked and went in, it was in a GAA center so it wasn't just the slimming class there, when I walked thorough the doors I hadn't a clue where to go, I felt like a child again lost and looking to be found, I stood on the floor and just stared into space, I didn't know where to go I was hoping and praying that someone would come along and I could ask, however no one came so I had to look around, I walked towards the first door I saw I went in and to my pure embarrassment I walked into a group of men playing football, I felt just like Bridget Jones when she went to the party dressed up in fancy dress while everyone else was there in their formal wear, when I walked in I froze I didn't know what to do, looking back the most logical thing would of been to just turn around and walk out the door silently and quickly but do you think I did the logical thing?? Of course not! I stood on the floor for what felt like an eternity (even though I think it was less than a minute!!) but given the amount of embarrassment I felt (I could feel my cheeks going a shade of Red that Rudolph would want to have himself for the festive period) I stood there, everyone turned around and just looked at me and I couldn't think of anything to say only "Sorry I'm looking for slimming world, this isn't slimming world" I had a nervous laugh then turned around and went out the door, even going out the door proved a challenge as I was so nervous I just couldn't really get the door to work in my favour and as I walked out the door I'm nearly certain I could hear a little giggle coming from the room, this was enough to make me want to just jump in my car and drive home but the picture of the couch was cemented into my mind and I was not going to give up now.....


I finally saw a sign which lead me in the right direction and I finally got to the right door. I stood outside the door and took a deep breath and walked in, I sat down for the new members talk and I cleared my mind of everything I had heard before and just started fresh... after all this is a new me... When our induction was over I took a seat for the meeting and listened to how everyone had done during the week... I picked up some handy tips and it was nice to hear how other people were getting on with their journey..

After the talk came the hard part- my very own weigh-in, I was so scared stepping up on the scales, then the number flashed up, a number that has never been on the scales before when I stepped on, at that moment my world crumbled around me, I was now the heaviest that I have ever been, I was a weight that an average man would not even be and yet there I was staring at a number that I never ever want to see, it disgusts me, it really does so between seeing the number on the scales and breaking the couch I had enough fire in my belly to give it a proper go this time, I cried all the way home, I cried when I got home, I cried going to sleep and I cried the next day but I was ok with that I think sometimes that has to just be released in order to move on so I let the tears come for as long as I had to... 

On Thursday morning I woke up, I measured my milk for the day (something I never did in my life), I packed my bag with all my meals for the day, which I had planned the night before and I headed off to work, I had my breakfast at work (2 weetabix), this in itself is a big change because I would usually get up at 6 am and not have my breakfast until half 9 or 10 o'clock however not anymore I had my breakfast at 7 am and for my 9.30 break I had fresh fruit and yogurt! Then I had my lunch which was a pre planned meal and dinner was also pre planned.

I planned my meals every day this week, I have filled out a tracker everyday this week (everything went down on the tracker), I have done some form of exercise everyday, even though my foot is still sore so I only do weights and that kind of stuff as walking still is too sore on my foot but I like exercising as it does so much for my head, I just feel so good after it! I have drank more water than usual, however for the coming week this is something that I aim to improve on as I would like to drink more! I'm eating more fruit and veg and being totally honest I feel so good staying on track and sticking to the book... 

I have had a golden week and I am so very proud of myself as I think it is the first time ever that I was so strict with myself, last week at group I said that I aim to lose three pound this week, I hope I achieve this aim as it really would be the icing on the cake (even when I type that I have no craving whatsoever for cake, if that was a few weeks ago I think even typing the word cake would have me salivating at the thought of the word!! so I think I have actually gotten better in that regard! Hooray!) however, if I don't achieve the three pound I just have to carry on because I know in my heart and soul that I have given it 100% and I know that if I continue to give it 100% that I will eventually see the results!

Sorry for the rant, I wanted to write this even though I have to say that I would of found it so much easier not to talk about my embarrassing experience, I felt I had to, I would like anyone who is reading this and feeling that they can not do anything about their weight to please, please, please look at yourself and just say "I can do this and I will do this", I know it's scary, it's hard, it's frustrating, it's emotional, it's tedious, it's boring, it's strict, it can be disappointing, it needs a lot of dedication, hard work, sacrifices have to be made, good habits have to be undertaken, it requires persistence but just think when you get to your goal and you feel that sense of pride and the sense that "yes I achieved this, it took lots of hard work but hell I got there in the end", just close your eyes and picture yourself at goal, think about what you will look like and how you will feel, can you get a warm feeling in your stomach? A sense of excitement? Remember that feeling and any time that you feel like giving up close your eyes and picture yourself at goal. Within you right now at this very moment, as you read this is the power to do things that you thought you could never do, clear them negative thoughts, start to say "out with the negatives and in with the positives" The power that you have is very strong and it can be used by you just as soon as you change your beliefs... 

A negative mind will never giver you a positive life....

Today is the day that you stop:

• Feeling Down
• Living in the Past
• Putting Things Off
• Letting People Use You
• Feeling your a Failure
• Thinking about Long Ago
• Putting up with Nonsense
• Thinking Nobody Wants You
• Thinking You can't do anything right

Today is the day you STOP and the day you start fresh and new!

If anyone is struggling e-mail me: littlemisssunshineisshrinking@gmail.com, 

I'll be your listening ear, you can vent away and if I can help with anything I promise I will try my very best, never feel alone because trust me your not, if you know anyone who needs a little guidance share this with them sometimes all they need to see is that someone else is struggling too to know that it's ok to feel that way...

Don't spend your life counting the days instead make each day count... You were born to make an impact and just remember that each and every positive step you take in the right direction is taking you that one step closer to your goal....

Stay Strong, 

Believe and Trust in Yourself,

Little Miss Sunshine

xxxx

weigh-in 7 and Body Image

Hi Everyone,

Happy Weekend!

It's so hard to believe the weekend is upon us again, the time is absolutely flying by it's crazy!!

This week I couldn't weigh-in I was sick in bed with a double ear infection and chest infection, I would of preferred to be going to weigh-in on Wednesday, I felt so crappy and all I wanted to do was sleep, food didn't even enter my mind (I knew I was very sick when I couldn't eat- not even toast persuaded me to eat- damn cold really had a hold of me!!)

So, this week I'm really conscious of not over-eating and losing the complete run of myself because usually that's what I tend to do after a dose of a flu or cold, self-pity takes over me and I think I "deserve to have nice things especially after being so sick" but not anymore!! 

I've turned over a new leaf and I want to make sure that it's one that's here to stay.

Over the last few weeks I've felt really low and not very optimistic about losing the weight, I've cried, I've ate, I thought about food almost constantly and not the good types of food like apples, oranges and pears oh no I've had cravings for cakes, chocolate and crisps (I don't even like crisps but still craved them WTF!!),  I've had sleepless nights and I've cursed myself several time for ending up the way I have.. 

I basically just came to the conclusion that I absolutely hate the way I look..

This got me thinking about why so many people are so consumed by the way we look and how exactly these thoughts affect our lives day in, day out.

So I bought a book, when I came in with the Easons bag everyone in the house just let out a sigh and the obligatory eye roll followed closely by the "what you buy in Easons today" line but I don't care I'll be the first to admit it I absolutely love buying books they are a guilty pleasure and the way I see it it's not as if I'm spending the money on food so its a gain to my library and a loss to my waist hurray!!! 

The book I bought this time is all about helping a person to feel beautiful and I bought it with the blog in mind because I'm going to read it and any bits I find useful I'll incorporate them into the blog! 

The word "body image" is something that has been plastered across many newspaper headlines and glossy magazine covers in the last couple of years and even more so lately it seems that every time I walk up to the magazine stand in a shop it's pictures of celebrities with bikini bodies that are simply amazing or then on the other scale it's some poor unsuspecting celebrity who may have overindulged on their holiday, like us all and they're photographed with their bikini sewn into them and horrible headlines being written about them, and if it's not the bikini photo opportunity its the slim celebrity standing beside their old larger self in the form of a cardboard cutout telling the world how they lost four or five stone in a  few weeks and with very little effort being required (oh please pull the other one celebrities- it takes a lot of sweat, a lot of tears and sacrifices to lose weight don't sugar coat it making it out to be easy, I've bought the celebrity fitness DVD'S thinking I too could achieve their quick fix and while they're just showing a hint of sweat on their forehead I'm thrown on the ground, red faced, sweat pumping and barely able to breath- not the best look and definitely a note to confine the workout to the comfort to my own home!!)

When we were young we would see body image being portrayed in the form of cartoon characters, the beautiful character was always, slim, always a miss goody two shoes, with the perfect hair, face, body and features, she was usually a princess or had a good career then on the other end of the scale was the villain, usually a short, stumpy, grumpy, mean person with a big nose, bulging eyes, warts and a very ugly personality. In the films it was usually beautiful woman and dashing, handsome men who ruled the day and brought world peace to proceedings while villains were ugly and disfigured and usually ended up going to jail or dying- what does this say to us about body image???

                                                

On the left we have Snow White, a young, beautiful woman who ends up being rescued by the handsome prince and on the right we have the witch, a woman who if full of warts, who is big and ends up being destroyed- which one would you prefer to be? 

Body Image has always played a huge part in our lives even in Early Childhood! 

Then came the era of the Barbie, aah Barbie, the perfect woman, the slim face, perfect blue eyes, long, glossy hair that never looked frizzy or tangled, she had the perfect eyelashes and eye brows, a rock hard torso, the perfect belly button, slim, tight arms a pert bottom and boobs, slim, long legs and her clothes always looked so well on her (yes I know she was a doll but she had a massive impact on the way women felt about themselves so much so that one woman spend thousands of euros on twenty operations, yes you heard right TWENTY operations to look like a life size barbie!!!) I believe that if barbie, this fictional character was indeed a real woman she would in fact be in hospital with severe malnourishment and all kinds of vitamin defencies (then again am I only trying to make myself feel better? who knows!)  Why wouldn't we at the age of 7 or 8 think that Barbie was the best thing since sliced bread, every television ad she was in she was either speeding around in a convertible with her friends and her cute little dog, out shopping buying anything she wanted, obviously not having to consider the financial impact of her spending spree (once again I realize I'm talking about a doll- don't worry I haven't lost the plot!), and when she wasn't shopping or racing in the convertible she was out and about with Ken, her little man friend, who was just a little too cool for school for my liking but Barbie was fond of him and lets face it who would of argued with Barbie? Not one.. Why?.. She was a perfect character who hadn't one flaw and in turn was full of confidence and a force to be reckoned with! 

• Body Image refers to "the way you see yourself and imagine how you look".

By having a positive body image means that, most of the time, you see yourself accurately, you feel comfortable in your own body and you feel good and content about the way you  look.

• 
  
• It is very common to struggle with body image no matter who you are and especially in this day and age when there is so much emphasis placed on the way we look, trends and fashion. 
• 
  
• By having a negative body image is not good and it can lead to serious eating and exercise disorders.
• 
  

We all have a body image. We all have feelings about the way we look. And we have ideas and feelings about how others think about our looks. Your overall body image can range from very positive to very negative. You may feel good about certain parts of your body or the way you look and not as good about others — that’s completely normal!

The next question I want you to answer is this- Do you think you have body image anxieties? 

The following are some questions I found to help you answer this question:

• Do you spend a lot of time focused on one particular aspect of your appearance such as your flabby stomach or big legs?
• Do you feel that part of your body is flawed in some way and that body piece needs to change in order for you to become more accepted e.g. "I need to do sit up's to tone my flabby stomach" or "Squats would help do tone my big thighs and wobbly legs" 
• Do you try to hide the flaw or do you think about constant ways to improve on the flaw?
• Do other people around you try to reassure you that you look fine despite it being very hard for you to see their point of view
• Have you considered surgery to try and fix this flaw?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions please don't worry I know I said yes to every single one of these, I think it's important to know that there's not one person who doesn't care about how they look and if they say they don't I think they're telling a little white lie!! 

Looking after our bodies is a key part of feeling good about ourselves in terms of our emotional and physical health. There are certain times in people's lives when they feel insecure about their bodies and the way they look, this could be after having a baby or if you've recently put on or lost a load of weight, my point is there is always one stage in a person's life when they're not completely happy with the way they look and that's ok however the problem comes when the insecurity of how we look becomes a permanent fixture and takes up every waking moment of your day, this is not a good situation to find ourselves in and being 100% honest this is the situation I find myself in.

By having negative image can inspire distorted perceptions of how shape, size and the way in which we accept ourselves both how we see ourselves and how the people around us see ourselves. 

I personally see my flaws as a sign that I have failed in life, making me unhappy in my own life and I often tell myself that "I'd be so much happier if I was thin" or "If I was thin things would be different" 

For me I can see myself as having many flaws and it is so hard to actually sit down and just name one or two because I feel there is nothing that I can pick as a positive, yet when I look at others I can see so many positives and reasons why they should be happy within themselves. I looked it up on the internet and some common areas that people with body images tend to focus on are: 

• Facial Features such as our nose, eyes, teeth, hairs, ears, mouth or lips
• The shape of our face
• Our weight, whether we feel too big or too small
• Believing we're too flabby, too toned in a certain area and not toned enough in another area
• Our Skin can get us down whether it be us having acne, moles, skin tags, wrinkles, stretch marks 
• We might feel or hair is too thin or too thick or we might have excess hair on our face or body
• We might zone in on one or more areas of our bodies we're not happy about such as our stomach, legs, arms, bum, thighs, feet, our neck, our face, our foreheads, having scars somewhere on our body and face the possibilities are endless and vary from person to person
• Some of might even be conscious about our height believing we're too tall or too small.

By having pre-occupations with our body image it can impact massively on our day-to-day living, it takes up an awful lot of time and it tends to have a negative impact on our family, social and romantic relationships, personally I know I avoid going out on night outs and even to the cinema, concerts, going to see friends or shopping because I feel so self-conscious about being seen out in public, I never feel I look nice enough to go anywhere and when I do go I constantly find myself comparing myself to others and thinking that everyone is talking about me, a few weeks ago I made a conscious decision to try and nip this in the bud I promised myself that I would try and stop thinking this way and stop comparing myself to other however, I found this very hard and even when I did stop the thoughts and was patting myself on the back I realised I was comparing myself to others even without me consciously knowing it!! 

I compare myself to everyone around me and this makes me feel very insecure being around other people, worrying about my self-image distracts me from the outside world, it stops me from starting new relationships because I am so scared about being judged or laughed at, I abstain from talking about the way I feel because if people knew I was thinking about the way I look a lot of the time they would think I was a vain, self-absorbed b***h, and even if I get a compliment I find it very hard to accept it as I think the person who spoke such kind words about me are only saying it "to be nice" or "to make me feel better about myself", it's such an awful way to be, I know it is yet why do I find it so bloody hard to change?? 

It also impacts my work life, I would love to go to college, I'd love to have a degree yet I'm afraid to go for it because of the fear of rejection or a fear of not being able to go to lectures because I would feel I am not good enough. When at work (I work in childcare) I feel I am not good enough for the job I feel that if I was thinner I would be better able to keep up and be more energetic. By being constantly focused on my physical defects it has resulted in my self-esteem being shattered, my self-worth is basically zilch, and it's not a nice feeling... 

Our childhood beliefs play a massive impact on the way in which we view ourselves now as adults. Above I mentioned Barbie and childhood fictional characters, why wouldn't we believe that these fictional characters had the perfect lives when the beautiful princess always came out on top or Barbie drove the top of the range cars and had a fantastic life. Of course we associate beauty with good and ugly with evil after all isn't this what the fairy tales led us to believe? We walk past shop windows and we see the mannequins on the windows, why wouldn't we believe this is the way we should look, this is the figure we should strive to have when it's what the way the mannequins are or it's the way the models on the catwalk look like, we are put under pressure to look like this, even when it comes to buying clothes plus size is now being advertised as ranging from size 14 to 32, SIZE 14!!!!! Imagine the impact this has on a woman who has gone from size 28 or 26 to a 14, after all her hard work she is still defined as being plus size, this angers me and saddens me instead of feeling proud of what they have achieved, women are still being scrutinized and judged for being size 14.....

When we grow up we accept what we've been told because we know no different, we have no basis for comparison, the beliefs and impressions we have of the world as well as the view we have of ourselves and of others are all formed when we were young. Our beliefs tend to be centered around ideas of self-worth, achievement, acceptance and love-ability, children as young as five now know and recognize the difference between right and wrong and by the age of seven children are able to show dissatisfaction about their bodies- think about that for a second, a seven year old worrying about how they look and how other perceive them. Then come the teenage years and we all know how crappy this can be and it can be just a river of potential insecurities.... 

I often hear people saying that if a person was ever teased about their appearance as a child it stays with them forever, because it may have instigated beliefs that will lead to having a profound effect on your self-esteem as an adult. All it takes is one negative comment, just one to have a haunting effect on a person for many years to come and even though they're only opinions it actually doesn't matter because these opinions can turn into facts in that person's head thus in turn forming the basis of beliefs that we hold of ourselves. 

Our fear of rejection and want to belong fuel our body image anxieties, our appearance can become the focus of our attention if we are under pressure or unhappy in other aspects of our lives, if we are emotionally distressed our body is such an easy target because it's always there but no matter how much we strive for physical satisfaction won't actually fix things for us if we do not deal with the underlying issue, how many times have we lost a bit of weight and thought it would solve all our problems only to find it actually made no difference because something else was making us unhappy that's why its so important that when we are on our weight loss journey that we not only focus on losing weight we also have to look at all aspects of our lives and identify areas that are bringing us down, we need to have calm and tranquility running through all areas of life, that way when we lose weight we can actually enjoy the results of our hard work!! 

Since the day the world began people have strived to be the best they possibly can be and appearance plays a part in this too, people like to look their best and to be honest who can blame them, don't they deserve to want to look good? We are living in a culture that is obsessed with looks so much so that we often forget to look beyond the face and look into the soul and personality of a person, being attractive is not just about looking nice it's as they describe in the x-factor as having "the full package" so if you're an absolutely stunning looking person fair play however it's no good if you're a d**k head so for me attractiveness is not only about the look of a person, it's also their personality, their manner, their style, their body language, their sense of humour and their intelligence. 

In our look obsessed society sometimes these very important aspects of a person are often over looked or seen as not being too important but how many times have we seen someone so attractive and when we got talking to them their physical appearance changes when we get to know them because they're arrogant and self-centered.... same can be said for someone who we thought was average looking they could turn out to be the most beautiful person in the room with their kind nature and fun sense of humour.... 

Never judge a book by it's cover...... 

If your dream of a better life are centered on improving our appearance we will never actually appreciate what we have now and what exactly is happening to us now in the present moment. Our life is not actually being damaged by the way we look but rather by the way we feel about the way we look. 

Recognizing the difference between the way we look compared to the way we think we look is the first step to feeling more beautiful.....

It's not our body's that are holding us back it's actually the way we are feeling about our body that is holding us back.

Our appearance and how we look and feel should not define who we are.....

An exercise I saw which helps someone to feel more beautiful is to write down the reasons why it is you want to feel beautiful, this list can be as long or as short as you want it to be, the length of it doesn't matter however it is important that it is true to you and it is something that you want for YOU!! 

Things that you might want to write down may include you want to be more confident, you want to feel good about yourself or you want to stop feeling that you are not good enough or you want to stop comparing yourself to others, whatever it is it's the reasons why you want to feel beautiful no one else but you, I know that doing this list can be hard but it's important I'm going to do it and when I have it done I'm going to put it somewhere that I can access it easily and whenever I'm struggling with negative thoughts I can refer back to this and remind myself of the reasons why it is that I am distancing myself from them thoughts. 

This list is something new and it is battling with the thoughts and beliefs that we have had for many years, they're not going to disappear over night but they will do hopefully over time! There will be times when I know I will want to just go back to my little " safe haven" of hating myself but I have to push beyond this feeling, look at my list and realise why it is that I am doing this and all the wonderful and fabulous things I am going to gain by feeling good about myself! 

Carrie Bradshaw once said " Don't Forget to fall in love with yourself first" and she also said "Eventually all the pieces fall into place... until then laugh at the confusion, live for the moment and know that everything happens for a reason" 

For one woman Miss Carrie Bradshaw was a smart cookie!! 

I'm going to attach a video that is sung by Nicole Scherzinger, its called "Until you love you" I love the song, it's emotional and the lyrics are so true, so very true indeed "Take a look in the mirror you're beautiful"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6HWjCi-wzI

Sorry for the long rant.. it was one of those days...

Once again thank you so much for taking the time to read it and remember I am contactable through e-mail if ye ever need anything...

Make Good Choices,

Little Miss Sunshine

xxxxx

Weigh-in 6

Hi everyone, 

Hope ye are all keeping well and ye are having a good week! 

Weigh-in five produced a good result I was down half a pound!! I was so happy especially after the last few weeks I've been feeling very disheartened by everything.... So to have a loss was fantastic, I know its a small loss but given the past few weeks of gains and maintains it was a welcomed change!! 

I bought a fitbit flex just over a week ago and I have to say I love it, it cost €89 in Argos and it's so small and light which is great because I was a little bit nervous that it would be big and bulky and very noticeable but it looks just like a watch and in Argos you can ask to see the product before you buy so you can be certain your happy with the look of it before spending your money!! 

The fitbit counts how many steps you take in the day, the calories you burn, how many km you walk in the day and it also allows you to log in the food you eat on a daily basis as well as monitor the amount of water you drink and it even logs the amount of sleep you get, it really is an all rounder!!! 

I am very happy with the fitbit, i feel it keeps me focused throughout the day and it makes me get up and move more because i want to achieve my step goal (I've also realised that I've got a competitive streak inside me as i want to beat my goals from the day before and the saying "the only person you should be better than is the person you were yesterday" resignates with me everyday now and thats one of my new mantras!! 

Exercise is something that I have put on the back boiler lately and I regret that so today i threw on the runners and went out on the treadmill....

It felt great, I said before going out that if I started off by doing ten minutes, only ten minutes that I would be doing well, I put the headphones in, turned up the music and away I went, I ended up doing 45 minutes of a very fast walk, the sweat was pouring out of me but I felt absolutely fantastic... Why? BecauseI took control, I went out and walked all my thoughts away, all my troubles and anxieties and not only that it also increased my steps on the fitbit so it was a win/win situation!!

For the month of June I plan to do at least ten minutes on the treadmill or going for a walk everday, just ten minutes nothing more, although if you can do more that would be fantastic but if you can't don't worry because you've done your ten minutes and that's all you set out to do, set small goals and they're easier to achieve..

Research shows that exercise can boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy, as well as reducing your risk of stress, depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Exercise is essential if you want to live a healthy and fulfilling life and it's medically proven that people who do regular exercise have:

• up to a 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke 
• up to a 50% lower risk of type 2 diabetes 
• up to a 50% lower risk of colon cancer 
• up to a 20% lower risk of breast cancer 
• a 30% lower risk of early death 
• up to an 83% lower risk of osteoarthritis 
• up to a 68% lower risk of hip fracture 
• a 30% lower risk of falls (among older adults) 
• up to a 30% lower risk of depression 
• up to a 30% lower risk of dementia

Just looking at them statistics I think its amazing to think that if we just do some regular exercise and watch our diet we can combat the above diseases.. 

The power is in our hands now, we have a choice do we want to be healthy and happy or do we want to be unhealthy and going in and out to hospital for the rest of our lives with mysterious illnesses, not knowing why we feel so crappy and sick. 

Take this month, take ten minutes out of your day and go for a walk or a run or take up a class such as zumba or something, anything your interested in, try it for one month, you deserve this chance, each and every single person reading this is beautiful and unique in your own way, you were put on this earth to do great things, start by taking that first step, move more, eat less and be happy....

You can do this and you will..

One step at a time..

One pound at a time..

Make Good Choices,

Little Miss Sunshine 

Xxxx

weigh-in five...

Hi Everyone,

I hope ye are all keeping well and ye are enjoying the bank holiday weekend, I hope ye made good choices and if ye didn’t never fear tomorrow is a new day…

Weigh-in five came this week and I stayed the same, I’m five weeks now going to class, trying my hardest week in, week out and all I have lost is 2.5 pounds, this is not where I had planned on being 5 weeks in…

My plan was to lose 2 pound a week and that would mean that by now I should have at least ten pound off! Even thinking about that now makes me feel so disappointed in myself, I wanted to lose stone in 7 weeks and I know now that I am nowhere near achieving this goal….

I’m not going to dwell on these figures because the more I think about it, the more it makes me feel so upset so onwards and upwards from here on in!!

I have stayed well on track and haven’t veered off the road at all, I’m proud of this because usually when I have a few weeks of losing now weight I throw in the towel and that’s it but this time I haven’t done this nor do I intend to…

It’s a journey with lots of bumps and hollows and there are many obstacles that get in our way and definitely now I am facing a big obstacle, but I am determined to see this through, even though it is taking so long and sometimes I do lose my patience and I think why am I even bothering but then I picture what I will feel like walking into a shop and buying whatever I want to buy and not being left with just a few bits that fit and even if they fit I still look like I'm massive and I never feel comfortable in myself and that is just one of the many reasons why I want to lose weight...

I have an underactive thyroid and I'm just wondering does anyone else have this and if so did it have any impact on your weight-loss?? 

"Find your Dream, Follow it, Finish it"

Make Good Choices,

Little Miss Sunshine

xxx

Weigh-in 4...

Hello Everyone,

Hope ye are all enjoying yer weekend and ye all had a very successful week at the scales! 

Well weigh-in number four came and went and if ye read my previous blog ye would of read about how I felt about this week, I felt I had something off however the scales had different news for me... I was up two and a half pound!!! (....major sad face....)

Oh guys I was so upset, at first I have to say it didn't hit me too much, I was so shocked because I really did feel as if I had been so good all week and I was expecting a loss, I had a little chat with a girl who asked did I write down everything I ate, of course I didn't because I'm one of those who would "keep track of it in my head", she said that when she started she wrote everything down that she ate and it helped her so I made an executive decision there and then to write down absolutely everything that passed my lips this week and so far I'm sticking to it and being perfectly honest I feel great writing everything down, I feel really in control and I know that everything I have eaten is written down on my tracker...

I stayed for the meeting on Wednesday and in the meeting every person has a chance to talk about how their week, a part I really enjoy because every week you pick up little hints or tips and it gives you a little boost, I sat on the chair listening to all the other women about how their week went, then I heard my name and my stomach filled with dread, my eyes filled with tears and the words just couldn't really come out, before I knew it the tears were strolling down my face, it was such a blast of realization that I had actually put on 2 and a half pound... I was sitting on the chair crying and in my head all I was thinking was "please stop crying, wait until you get to the car or till you get home just don't do it here", I felt so embarrassed, I am an emotional person but I just wish sometimes I didn't have to be so emotional!  I have to say the support I received was just so encouraging, everybody was so kind and they listened to me even through my blubbering words! 

I would advise anyone who has had a loss, a gain or a maintain to stay for the meeting because it really does help, it gives you a motivation to keep on track for the next week and it's nice to hear everyone's stories as it helps you realise you are not alone and it may only be one little thing someone says but it may make a big difference to you on your weight loss journey! 

I started again as soon as I came out of the meeting Wednesday evening.. I planned my meals for the next day and I knew exactly what I was eating for my breakfast, lunch and dinner.. I meant to take photos of my meals to post them up to the blog but I forgot but I will definitely take photos next week and ye can see my efforts! ( don't be expecting a culinary delight or a five star restaurant presentation, I'm not the best cook on the planet but I have to say anything I've made this week hasn't tasted half bad at all!) 

This week it would of been so easy for me to just go into the shop and buy all around me and have a fine feed of crappy and fatty foods but I came out of the meeting with determination and I decided to remain positive, it wasn't easy after two weeks of gains on the scales but I knew if I stopped now I'd only feel worse about myself and i would probably go up another dress size if not two.....

In times when we feel down or fed up and we feel as if everything around us is going against us we have to think about all the positive things we have going for us in our lives, let the positive thoughts dominate our attitudes, let go of the negatives, focus on what exactly we want, stay focused on the goals and stop at nothing to achieve the goals...

Make a list of all the positive things in our lives.. it can be something as small as having nice eyes or maybe it might be our families, partners, friends, children, our jobs, house, car, whatever it is write it down, everyone will have a different list and everyone will have different reasons for why something makes them happy, it doesn't matter what the reason is, the fact is that it makes you happy.... The list will be a good exercise to carry out, it will develop us as an individual as well as allowing us to see the bigger picture in relation to our weight loss. 

For me I know that by being over weight it seems to dominate my whole life, everything revolves around my weight (and I mean EVERYTHING!!!, this is not good, I know it's not good yet I can't stop it from determining what I do on a daily basis) I can't seem to be able to think about anything without it revolving around my weight and size, I feel like everyone is talking about me and how I look and all that does is dent my confidence even more and sink my self-esteem even lower..

I remember once telling someone that I felt so conscious being seen out in public, so much so that I would avoid all social situations if I could, the person turned to me and with a smile on her face she said "you know people don't care about how you feel or look they are all so busy with their own lives they have hardly time to look at yours", at the time I thought it was a bit harsh but I never forgot the words she said and looking back on them now that girl was right really, everyone is so busy keeping up with their own lives that they really probably don't even notice that I put on 2.5 pounds!! It still doesn't stop me from thinking that people are taking about the colossal size that I am and how I've really let myself go..

Something that I need to do is stop thinking about what others are thinking about me, I can not see into people's thoughts (although sometimes I would love to have that super power- some people are really confusing!), I can not project or implant the thoughts I have about myself into people's minds, I need to stop thinking that I know what people think about me, it's a pure waste of time and emotions... 

To stop this I have to switch off the negative thoughts I have about myself, this is a process I am going to find extremely difficult because I am so many years bringing myself down that it is second nature to me now, so I will find it very hard but I am going to give it a go and see how I get on. If anyone reading this feels the same please try to do the same we won't stop the negative thoughts overnight but if we take each day as it comes and take it one step at a time hopefully we can try and turn the negative thoughts we have about ourselves into positive ones! (We can do it and we will do it *punches fist in the air*) 

Our ability to stay positive can be influenced by the people that we are with everyday therefore do yourself a favour and surround yourself with people that are fun, motivating, positive and people who want to see you suceed.. by surrounding ourselves with positivity it means the positive attitude rubs off on us! 

We need to believe in ourselves, this is so important, I was looking at Britain's got Talent tonight and I saw Simon Cowell, he is a man who has no specific talent, he can't act, sing or dance or anything like that but he doesn't need to possess any of those skills and do you know why? Because Simon Cowell is a man who has a great sense of self-identity and he believes in himself, he knows that he can achieve anything that he puts his mind to.. so we need to take a leaf out of Simon's book (maybe a small leaf- baby steps at first-we'll build on ourselves when we find our feet!) and we need to believe in ourselves and in our ability to achieve what it is we set out to achieve. 

Having faith and belief in ourselves is something that each and every single one of us has the power to choose and when we do begin to believe in ourselves I have a feeling our lives will change majorly for the better! 

Please do not push away things that you want to achieve now because you don't feel comfortable with how you look or how you feel about yourself... This is something I do all the time, so many times all throughout my life my weight has stopped me from doing things such as going to the teenage discos in my teenage days, going swimming, going to the cinema, going to dinner, going to gym, going to concerts, going to stay with friends, going to college, going out on nights out,  there's so much I'd actually be here all night listing them all off! My weight has essentially put my life on hold because I am so ashamed and afraid of being judged or talked about.

Fear is a very powerful emotion, one that can either be a help or a hindrance, it can make or break you, unfortunately in my case I let it break me but now I need to try and see past the fear and try to seize the day. Fear is a natural thing and at some stage in life fear is felt by every single one of us however it should only be a short term emotion, it should come and go and it should NEVER EVER hold us back and stop us from fulfilling our dreams, therefore I am going to try and banish fear from my life and I hope that by doing this my life will be different as a result of the change in my attitude! 

I've mentioned in several of my blog posts about setting goals for ourselves, if you haven't already done this why not get a pen and paper now and jot down a few goals? Ones that are important to you and ones that you want to achieve for yourself and no one else.. Make the goals realistic and try not to have every goal focusing on weight loss, look at your life as a whole, maybe there's a place you have wanted to visit for months or there might be a handbag that you've had your eye on for ages or maybe there's a course you've been interested in doing whatever it is write it down, if you don't want to write it down a vision board might be a good thing to do- this is basically just sticking pictures to a sheet- not just any pictures though, they have to be pictures that you would like to see yourself achieving (remember to be realistic, the last time I did a vision board I had a mansion, a cameo on the kardashians, a wardrobe full of Michael Kors handbags as some of my visions, to say they were realistic is just a tad bit too much but I did like to dream of all the handbags!!)

If you feel a vision board is too much effort there's great power in visualization- visualize what it is you would like to achieve, there's so many ways of setting goals there really is no excuse to not make any!!! 

Remember don't be too hard on yourself.... there will be days when you stray off plan, that's ok, don't dwell on them and please don't let one bad day turn into a bad week, trust me you will regret it, take it for what it is- a bad day, recognize it, acknowledge it and then  move on from it. There will be times when we get knocked to the ground but the important thing is that we never give up the fight and we get back up and continue our journey.

"The Only Limits in Life Are The Ones You Make"

Have a good week, 

Make Good Choices,

Little Miss Sunshine

xxxx

It's a New Dawn... New Day...

The Ocean-soo pretty!!!

Hi Guys,

Soooo it's the night before weigh-in number four, (I know the weeks are fricking flying!!)

I feel positive, although I felt the same way last week and had a gain so I'm kinda nervous about this week now, I stayed on plan, however, I did feel my motivation lacking slightly at the weekend, I felt like throwing in the towel, I didn't feel 100% and all I wanted to do was lie on the couch with some nice munchies, sweet treats and a bunch of DVD's!! I did lie on the couch and I did binge on re-runs of Keeping up with the Kardashians and Friends (Don't judge me- I love the Kardashians, they're so bad they're good- I'd watch them 24/7 if I could!) but that's as far as the binging went there was not a sign of any sweets or chocolate in sight so I was proud of myself for that (claps all round for Little Miss Sunshine!!)

While I was taking time out I did think of the reasons why I want to lose weight, I was so close to just giving up and I didn't even realise it, well I did but I'm stubborn so I didn't want to admit to it! (damn stubbornness is a curse at times and it's definitely on my list of things to change!), it took a little pep talk from my mother for me to realise that yeah I am lacking motivation and really and truly I can not afford to lose motivation so early on in my Weight Loss Journey...

I thought about the reasons why I want to lose weight, I have written them down so many times before so this time I wasn't going to write them down instead I just thought about them, I'll admit I got a bit teary, for anyone that knows me this isn't out of the ordinary I'm an emotional kinda girl, I was an emotional wreck during Saturday night's Britain's got Talent and even on Saturday I was watching a football match, the Liverpool match to be precise (not my choice!), I found myself welling up watching Steven Gerrard taking the lap of honour on the pitch for his last ever game at Anfield, this is a man I never met and never will but it didn't stop me from feeling an overwhelming sense of emotion for him and his family as he said goodbye to such a big part of his life, a part of his life that was a constant fixture for him for many years.... I know EMOTIONAL MESS!!!!

This got me thinking.....

I got a light bulb moment so to speak, the reason I am losing motivation is because I don't actually know what my life will be like being skinny,.. I am all my life being heavy, I don't actually know what it feels like to be skinny, to look skinny and this frightens the hell out of me, it's the fear of the unknown....

The easiest thing in the world would be for me to hide away right now and pretend to slim but secretly binge on food, it would be so much easier for me to say "I'll think about it tomorrow" or "I'm too tired today to deal with this", it would be so much easier for me to just hide away and not face up to things...

I'm fed up of every Sunday night lying in bed saying "Well tomorrows Monday I'm going to start tomorrow" 

When it comes to me and diets I find myself talking more about the diet and what I'm going to do rather than actually doing it! I'm great at planning, if I lost a pound for every time I planned what I was going to do I'd be a skinny mini now without a doubt!

Therefore I need to change this pronto!! 

So I made a plan (I know, I know I'm trying to steer away from the plan but this is a plan that I'm going to actually carry out!)

The first thing I need to do is change my attitude towards dieting- I'm not going to even use that word anymore, as far as I'm concerned the word "diet" does not exist in my dictionary, no if I want to change I have to do more than diet I have to change my whole attitude towards food, and exercise.

I am not embarking on a diet I am overhauling my whole lifestyle, a complete turnaround, gone are the days of wanting to lose half a stone in a week, a dress size in two weeks...

I'm welcoming in my new mantra of:

"one day at a time, one pound at a time"

I need to realise that my attitude change has to be a life long thing, it's not a quick fix, its not going to happen overnight, it's not going to be easy but anything that is ever worth it in life never comes easy...

I have a terrible habit of comparing myself to others, wishing I looked like them or I had their figure, this is something that just comes naturally to me and I find it very hard to not do it however I am going to try really hard to detach myself from the constant comparing myself to others and I am going to try and focus on what I have myself and find ways to change my flaws, I'll stop at nothing to turn them negatives into positive (I feel it's going to be an emotional roller coaster- note to self stock up on the Kleenex!) Remember that the only person you should try and be better than is the person you were yesterday, please love yourself for being you, accept that there will be days when life throws you a pile of crap to deal with, don't crumble, embrace the challenges, face your challenges in the face and say "I can do this nothing is going to get in my way" 

I heard this saying once "You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore", now is my time to start crossing the ocean, bit by bit I'm not going to get over it straight away but that's ok, I'm prepared to work hard each and every day to stay on track and every day I am going to use my mantra:"one day at a time, one pound at a time" and while I'm in that ocean I will keep swimming till I get all the way across and when I get there I will have a huge grin on my face and I'll take great pride in waving goodbye to the old me on the shore!!

We can do it and hell if it takes a few years we will do it!!!!!!

I have printed up loads of recipes today so I am going to start cooking I'll make sure to keep ye updated on how that goes (I'm no Nigella Lawson so it could be a bit of a disaster but new me and I have to start doing something I never did before and cooking is one of those things!)

As I type I have the television on in the background and it's a sign an advertisement just came on for the Irish Open and what was the song in the background? Only "It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me and I'm feeling good" (Did ye just sing that in your head? Yes! Snap, me too!!) Anyways it's a sign it has to be so Tuesday the 19th of May is our new dawn, our new day, our new life, grab it with both hands everyone and make it a good one!!

Thanks for reading I hope ye enjoy it and remember I'm always here on e-mail if ye feel like a rant, heaven knows this weekend I could of done with one!!!

Stay Strong,

Little Miss Sunshine 
xxxx