The First Offering from The Cat’s Pyjamas

Ta-Daaa!

Without wanting to sound awful, I am rather pleased with how this pot turned out! Not only is it actually symmetrical but I love the colour of the glaze too. I think I’m definitely coming close to finding my potting-style!

Happy Independence Day!

Back on the (Diet!) Wagon Again!

Ok, so my diet didn't exactly get off to the best of starts. I think that (maybe) I managed to stick to it for about four days before the chocolate call just got too loud and I caved. And my clothes feel suspiciously tighter than this time last month (when I supposedly started my diet). And definitely tighter than this time last year. But all is not lost! I have started again, with renewed focus and renewed vigour! This time next month, I will be lying on a beach in Spain. In a bikini. Next to my Size Ten sister. And if that isn't enough to keep the diet focused, then I don't know what is! I mean, surely, SURELY, I can manage to diet for four and a half weeks?! Fingers crossed (and lips tightly shut!)....

Galveston

We left Houston the morning of Easter Sunday and arrived in Galveston a little after midday. It was pretty overcast and, as every weather forecast we’d heard that morning had threatened heavy rain, we figured we best make the most of the dry weather whilst it lasted. So, reasoning we’d only have an hour tops before the heavens opened and not wanting to waste any precious sun-bathing time by applying sunscreen, we dumped our bags in the motel and headed for the beach.

Two Day Diet

So, I've decided to try out the Two Day Diet in an effort to finally win the battle against the bulge. Like most women, I've tried many diets but none seem to work for long (I'll hold my hands up to the fact that that's due to lack of will power!) and some just gave way to a near-dangerous obsession with counting points (There was a period last year where literally every conversation I had with friends somehow managed to snake its way back to how many points were in a cracker and how much exercise I'd have to do in order to deserve it). And so I welcome with relish (the regular, good kind of relish. Not the Burger kind) a diet that promises I can eat normally for five days a week and only diet for two days.Granted, those two diet days are limited to 500 calories each but surely even I can stick to that?! For the rest of the week I'm planning on aiming for between 1200 and 1500 calories a day, still less than the recommended 2000 calories a day. I'm hoping that will still work but I guess only time will tell as I'm finding it difficult to find too much information as to what I should actually be eating on my 'non-diet' days, other than that it should be 'healthy, Mediterranean' fare.

And so, with that in mind, I began my diet today with a rather tasty Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Salad from M&S with low fat creme fraiche and two Ryvita. Even though it was a relatively small meal, there were enough flavours and textures to keep it interesting and to leave me feeling satisfied. Dinner was then roast chicken (sans skin), salad and home-made potato wedges. Using the 'My Fitness Pal' app on my new HTC Windows 8 phone, I reckon I had about 1300 calories in total which is a solid start! The real test will come on Tuesday and Wednesday, the consecutive days I've chosen as my 'diet' days.

Fingers crossed I don't fall at the first hurdle!!