The Plan For February

I've been a bad losing weight person for the last couple of months.

My gym visits trailed off as the winter months caused my duvet to be wrapped closer around me, the chance to actually see my husband instead of heading out into the cold for an evening gym session was too tempting, the healthier food choices were pushed to one side as the comforting familiar foods of Christmas filled my cupboards and the walks around the local area stopped because the thought of Christmas preparations were all that filled my head.

The backup plans of the guilt over paying for an used Gym membership, of logging what I ate and what activity I had taken part in on My Fitness Pal and even the grief/pressure I asked my friends and family to give me if I didn't tell them I had been to the gym all failed.

I dreaded standing on the scales. Convinced I was going to be back at the weight I started at. And yet I hadn't. Over this period I put on 3lbs. I was surprised and pleased. Only 3lbs? I could lose that in one week if I wanted to.

And I do want to.

So I spoke to Flyfour about my plan for February. It's 28 days. A short month, but four whole weeks for me to focus on.

So I'm going to make sure that my calorific intake for the month doesn't exceed 1440 calories a day.

I'm going to make sure that I go to the gym in the morning at 6am for a thirty minute workout and again in the evening for the same.

I'm going to make sure that I do my Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred properly every day.

I'm going to go for either a walk or a bike ride before I pick the children up from School.

I don't think that it is a lot to ask, of either me or my body. I think that this is the kick start/boost that I need and I just hope I can keep on track with it.

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Grandma Likes Gin

Last week I got to go to Big Boy's school for the morning. The activities were themed around Little Red Riding Hood and we were asked what we'd take our Grandma if she was sick. I decided to make a basket for my Nan.

Grandma's Sick Basket

Do you think she'll like it?

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My New Year's Resolutions

I make New Years Resolutions every year, some I am more successful in keeping than others, some I know that I have no real hope of achieving, but I know that if I don't challenge myself I'll never grow and some end up taking me down a road I didn't expect. This year I have several resolutions that I want to try to keep, to challenge me, to help me grow, to help me become a better version of me.

1) Lose Weight. I want to weight 11 stone at the end of the year. If I keep pushing myself and lose at least 2lb a week then hopefully I should be able to achieve this. It's going to be hard, I know that but hopefully my other resolutions will help with this too, and this years I'm working with Weight Watchers too, so I know I'll have support.

2) Drink four bottles of water a day. I got a new water bottle for Christmas, it has a handy measure on the side, which tells me that I'll be drinking 24oz of water each time I finish a bottle and as it has a tally on the side, I can keep count on how many times I empty the bottle too.

3) Visit the Gym at least once a day. I need to get back into the habit of going to the gym every morning at opening time. That way my gym session is out of the way, I've exercised and if I want to go back to swim during the day (or for an extra work out) whilst the children are at School and then again in the evening it means I know that I am working myself harder and will be more pleased with the end results.

4) Be a better friend. After all the soul searching I did a few years back about having friends (and realising that online friends count as much as friends who live in your street) I realised in the last few weeks that this year I've been a bit of a shit friend. I figure because I see people everyday in the playground or on Facebook that I know what they are up to, what they are going through and that's not true. This year I'm going to make sure that if you are my friend you know it.

5) Be a better Sister, Daughter and Granddaughter. See above but replace the word friend with either sister daughter or granddaughter.

6) Be a better Wife and Mother. Ditto again but replace the word friend with wife and mother!

7) Read. I love reading, I always have and I think that I always will. This year I want to read at least one book a week, which I will document here on Pippa World, just to make sure that I do. Now that I have a rather lovely tablet (thanks to my lovely husband) I'll be able to read lots of ebooks more easily too!

8) Prepare for Christmas all year. I really need to make sure that this coming Christmas was as special as the Christmas we just had and I'd really like to make sure that we do a few extra bits and pieces that I've forgotten about or missed. by preparing in advance. I'll do Reindeer days on the 25th of each month  both here and on the A Mothers Ramblings Facebook page so that Flyfour doesn't see everything I'm up to!

9) Keep on top of the chores. Sometimes I don't do the dishes for a couple of days. This isn't a good thing and so I want to try to make sure that I keep on top of all of my chores. The washing, the cleaning, the dishes, the gardening, the shopping, the cooking...

10) Declutter and DIY our home. There are a lot of things in our house that we don't need, that get put up on a shelf just in case we need it, that get stored in the loft until next time or worse get put in my bedroom because they have no place else to live. This has got to change and this is the year it is going to. The other thing that we really have to work on is making our home look like our home. We need to decorate and do a lot of little DIY jobs that won't take long if we actually do them rather than just list them!

11) Spiritual matters. It's no big secret that I'm a Mormon, or that until recently I didn't go to Church. I have however been going for a couple of months and I want to really push myself to remember to pray, to think of others, to study the scriptures etc. Tops and I have been trying to learn the Articles of Faith each week (one a week) and I'd also like to teach Tops the order of the books too.

12) Blog. I have so many blogs these days (it's okay you only have to know about Pippa World and A Mothers Ramblings for now) that some of them sometimes get a little neglected. Not this year though. This year it is going to be different and I'm finally going to get them all where I want them to be.

13) Swagbucks. I want to not miss a target for a single day this coming year, that way I'll be able to pay for Christmas from my own savings and with the cash we save through the year we should be able to save up enough to have a decent sized emergency fund.

So that is my plan for this coming year. A lot to do I know but I figure that if I keep busy it will be 2014 before I know it, I'll be healthier, as happy as I always am AND hopefully be living in a home I love with all my heart.

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