all work and no play!

Hi all!
 I've gone completely off the radar lately, and completely off the wagon I'm afraid! Work has had to take a priority lately, I've been knocking out 200 hours a month recently, sometimes 70 a week...so you can understand trying to eat carefully, exercise, and blog about it all has taken a hit as a result!
 I haven't been completely terrible, I admit to loosening the reins a bit and not being as strict as I should be, but I have definitely not reverted back to my old ways! I've had a couple cheeky nights out, and also due to being broke I've been necking the cider rather than my beloved Malibu and Cranberry purely because you get more for your money, but that sadly includes a full on beer gut!
 You'll be pleased to know I have managed to get on a nice little shift pattern at work, starting in a couple off weeks, which will definitely make things a bit easier as I will have more of a routine to work around and I can plan my workouts ahead. Things are still in hand though and the shift pattern may not be around for long, so keep your fingers and toes crossed for me please!
 I'm off to make myself a little workout plan that I can hopefully stick to regardless of where I am (for those of you who don't know, I practically live out of my car boot between home, work and John's!), and I'll be in touch with updates!
 Hope everyone is well :) x

fashionably late!

 Hello!
 Muchos apologies for yet another late post, what a hectic week or two it's been!
 I actually measured myself the day after my last post but haven't had chance to write as it has been my birthday and I've also been caning the nightshifts, so I'm gonna give you my measurements as of feb 3rd and hopefully I'll be a bit more prompt with my updates in future! So, moment of truth:

• Bust 42 inches on the larger part and 38 on the smaller = minus a whopping 3 inches from last month!
• waist 34.5 = -1.5inches
• hips 42.75 = -1.5inches
• left thigh 24.75, right thigh 25.5 = -2inches
• left calf 17, right calf 17 = -.5inch
• upper left arm 12, right arm 12.5 = -5inch

 If my maths are correct, that's a total inch loss of  9 inches!!!! I am so chuffed! Unfortunately I've not had the time to do any major exercise, but I have been eating well still and I'm joining that gym tomorrow, so I should be able to kick it up a gear too :) John took me shopping to get me some new clothes for my birthday last week, and while in River Island trying stuff on, I actually needed a size 12, woohoo! Now for me I usually find River Island quite small fitting so I never even consider anything smaller than a 14, but I actually needed a 12 in a jumper and a knitted dress! Yeah fair enough, jumpers and knitted dresses aren't that fitted or anything, but I'd still usually need a 14 in these kind of items, so I was still very pleased with the 12s thank you very much :)
 Here I am sporting the knitted dress on a meal out for my birthday

  In hindsight, taking photos after dessert (yes I had a dessert, it was my birthday!) was a bad idea, hello bloat! It was a great night though and the food was lovely.
 I also had a gathering at John's house on the Saturday before my birthday, here I am sporting my bargain Triple S dress, albeit slighty drunk

 Sadly because of the horrendous downpour of snow that day we didn't make it into town, but we still had a goodnight, and I was hangover free the next day, bonus!
 Considering I never get out very much, I had a third night out last week. Me and my friends Kirsty and Sean went to our local Lloyds bar for curry club and cocktails, and we were also joined by some other friends later, it was such a good night, I really wish I could get out more!
 Here is me wearing my latest River Island purchases (I got the top with my birthday money and the skirt was a gift from Kirsty)

 Sorry about my jugs!
 It's actually been a good week or so, can't believe I've still put in so many hours at work around the birthday boozing! Back to good girl after a work gathering at TGI Fridays tomorrow though :)

 I had a mega trip to Boots last week and spent almost £40 purely because I felt I deserved it! I bought myself a Max Factor Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint in shade 04, and I LOVE it! It's a gorgeous pinky red colour and not too intense, as I really can't pull of deep shades without looking like a fella. This is what it looks like on

 I also got myself a Models Own nail polish in Champagne, it's like a gold-but-not colour, totally undescribable but gorgeous, and also if you buy two of their polishes you get a free black Nail Pen in Boots at the mo, so go take advantage!
 Number 7 products were also on 3 for 2, so I got my favourite tinted moisturiser, the Intense Volume Mascara, which make my lashes look all fluffy and feathery :) my favourite product though was the Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask for dry/very dry skin that needs an 'intense moisture boost'. I loved this product loads, I've used it 3 or 4 times already and it makes my skin feel lush after. If you've got dry skin this is what you need, and my skin is also really sensitive and this doesn't irritate it at all. Also, you only need one pump if that, so it'll last ages!

 So overall it's been a good week for me I think! The only downsides have been not being able to exercise, my guinea pig has shown no signs of improvement, and I also lost a shift at work last night thanks to my car exhaust breaking, which cost me £250 to fix (bye bye holiday fund!) after the mechanic also discovered my tracking was knackered and I needed 2 new tyres immediately and I'll have another one to fork out for next month, gutted!

 My plans for the next few days are lots of work, join the gym tomorrow, my Dad's birthday, a trip to Leeds on Friday with John and Newastle with me Treacle next Saturday, busy busy busy! I shall try to be good though and stay on the wagon, and I'll keep you updated when I can :)

 Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @MrsPumpkinShoes, and also if you want a free Graze box go to graze.com and use code 6PF69Z4

 Until next time! x

up and down!

 Well, I've been a naughty blogger again, no posts in far too long! The only excuse I have is that I've been having a bit of a shit time lately if I can be quite honest, and when it hasn't been so shit, it's been busy!
 Enough of my moping though, lets get to it!
 Things that have made me happy this last couple weeks are the simple things: lovely texts and thoughtfulness make me smile for ages, and thankfully I've been on the recieving end of such texts from my lovely manfriend, it's weird how even if I haven't told him something's bothering me he seems to know anyway and goes out of his way to make me smile. I won't get soppy and say what the texts said as they were our little in-jokes that would make everyone who knows me disown me!
 Also I finally had my hair dyed after stripping it, it's gone a lovely shade of ginger/copper, I love it! I'e also invested in some more Lee Stafford hair products that I can't wait to try out. Pics will come in the next post I'm sure, as it's my birthday on Monday and I'm having 3 separate celebrations over the next week, can't wait! Speaking of my birthday, I finally found some shoes to go with the dress:

believe it or not, they're really comfortable! Can't wait to paint the town red and have a boogie in these! I also got my first birthday present the other day and I'm absolutely in love with it:

Kermit is awesome!

 In September last year, I went to see a band called The Boxer Rebellion at Shepherds Bush Empire (you may recognise them if you've seen the film Going The Distance, they're great!), they were so good, and they did a beautiful cover of Depeche Mode's 'Enjoy the Silence', and while bored the other day I searched for it on YouTube. I didn't find the one from Shepherds Bush, but I did find them performing it live at another venue. It's honestly stunning and I wanted to share it with the social networking universe, so I put it on Twitter (@MrsPumpkinShoes) and also linked in the lead singer of the band...he only bloody tweeted me back didn't he! This really did cheer me up, thank you Mr Nathan Nicholson!

 Also, my Glossybox arrived, yay! Got some lovely moisturiser, Clarins face products, eyeliner and primer :)

Things that made me not so happy:

 I'm not having much luck in the world of driving, I ran out of screenwash on my journey to work, scariest drive I've ever done! Also I seem to keep having near-misses thanks to people who clearly can't drive!

 I've been doing a lot of mixed shifts lately and as a result my sleeping pattern is completely messed up, I've resorted to using Johnsons Baby Bedtime products to see if that helps, watch this space! As a result of the lack of sleep, I've also had a whopper of a spot breakout, just in time for my birthday, fabulous!

 I've had to cut my nails right down :( they got so long and lovely...then they started peeling and breaking, yack!

 Amongst some other things, my poor guinea pig shows no signs of improvement, he has lost almost half of his body weight and is not the cute little porker he used to be. He seems ok in mood but he looks knackered and is still in pain from when he had a bladder stone removed, I don't know if it's come back or what, but I fear it may be time for him to go to guinea pig heaven soon, I'm really gutted. Here's Homer looking after him:

My babies <3

 On thesubject of watching the figure, I feel like it's slowed a bit thanks to the dramas in my life, but I'm headed in the right direction :) I should have weighed and measured myself today or yesterday but I've just not had the time, I'll do it soon and update you all :) last time I was weighed tho I had lost 6lbs. I've been eating really well on night shifts, filling up on fruit and seeds etc when everyone else has ordered takeaways or snacked on chocolate.

 To be quite honest, I'm convinced eating well has helped me feel more awake on night shifts, I usually really struggle but the last few have been somewhat easier, definitely and incentive to keep it up, this as well as my jeans feeling way more comfy and a definite visible change in my waist!

 I've even stuck to my one takeaway a fortnight rule, although I could really devour once sometimes, I'm resisting the urge and snacking on my Graze Box instead - if anyone would like to try one for free, use this code: 6PF69Z4 #shamelessplug

 I've been going to aqua aerobics and aqua jog when I've not been working, a Zumba class has also started at the same venue so I'm hoping to try that soon, and I've also found a gym for £20 a month, which I'm going to join next pay day, look at me go!

 On a parting note, I bought the current issue of Cosmopolitan today, if you ever need proof that curvy rules over skinny, here it is:

 beautiful or what!

 Laters x

If you're good, you CAN have your cake and eat it too...sometimes!

 Olaaaaa!
 So I had a great week last week, here is a run down of the highs and lows!

Highs

• so last Tuesday I went to Nando's with one of my good friends Kirsty, she'd never been before and she loved it :) I was good and didn't have dessert either, go me! While we were in the Durham area we had a look around the shops, and I found the perfect dress for my birthday

it's so comfy and also has a drop-hem, which I love as I awlays struggle to find shorter dresses that leaves something to the imagination (ie my backside!). It also helps that it was a bargain at £25! I'm looking forward to toning up a bit more and hopefully by my birthday in a few weeks and feeling really good on the day :)

•  When I got home from Durham I was still so stuffed from Nando's but I knew as I was going to my first Aquajog class that I should eat something so I had a couple of Ryvita and low fat cream cheese. It also didn't help that I was really nervous for the class (I'm not a strong swimmer and I was aware that we'd be in the deep end of the pool so we wouldn't be touching the floor for the whole hour), so I felt a bit sick before going, but once I was there I LOVED it, it was so much fun! We wore a belt that helped us float with ease, and it really works you from head to toe; we did some cardio that also doubled up as toning due to the resistance of the water, and we also used some floats as weights for extra toning, it's definately something I want to keep up!
•  On Wednesday my free Graze box arrived, I was very impressed! I got The Herb Garden, Cranberry and Honey Nut Granola, Walnut Whip, and the Orange and Ginger Flapjack. Go to Graze.com to see for yourself what they're like, and if you want a freebie, enter 6PF69Z4, which will also get me £1 off for every time it's used, wining! I liked what I recieved as there was a wide range in terms of calorie and nutritional content, and you got a leaflet with all the nutritional information so you know exactly what you're getting! I especially loved the Herb Garden, which also turned out to be the least calorie-tastic.
• I have also discovered Linwoods milled flaxseed, sunflower, pumkin, sesame seeds and goji berries, and I am AMAZED! They are superfood and go with pretty much everything. The back of the pack tells you what they contain and gives you lots of yummy ideas for what to eat them with. I especially like it with salads, sandwhiches, soups, and sprinkled on top of fruit and yoghurt. You can find them in Asda next to the muesli. Honestly, try them, they're so tasty!
•  On Friday it was a special day for me and John, it was our 4 year anniversary, so I decided as I've been good lately, I was going to relax myself and have fun for the weekend. We went to our favourite italian restaraunt on the evening and I had potato skins and a thin crust pepperoni pizza, no dessert though! We then went to the cinema to see Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, it was good but ever so slightly disturbing! On the Saturday we got on the train and went to Newcastle for the day. When we arrived we went to Starbucks for a (skinny!) coffee, then we had some fun with the statues:

 after that we did a spot of shopping, I got a bargain tshirt for £5 from Triple S in the sales, and also some lovely bits from the Body Shop; I managed to get an eyeshadow for half price (£4), a hair butter for coloured hair which was £3, and their famous body scrub for a fiver, which is usually £12! After a toastie for lunch we checked out the new Urban Outfitters and all the other lovely shops til we could take no more of the crowds, then went to TGI Friday's for tea, where I thought 'sod it!' and we had a couple of their lovely cocktails and a cajun chicken ciabatta, it was lovely and I didn't feel guilty at all, we had a great day :)

• Yesterday I got home and finally got round to stripping my hair with the help of Mother Bear, I'm quite pleased with the results, but even after washing it with my beloved Aussie shampoo, I still can't get rid of the eggy smell, and I daren't dye over it just yet in case it just falls out, so this is what I look like at the minute

• my final highlight of the week is that curiosity got the better of me and I got weighed shortly after my last post, and I was mortified to discover I am 14 stone 3lbs, 4lbs away from the heaviest I have ever been, gutted! BUT in spite of my pigging out (had my first takeaway in 16 days last night), I got weighed today and I have lost 2lbs, yay! I'm not going to get weighed regularly,  I just wanted to know where I started from, and now I can continue counting inches lost as opposed to lbs!

Lowlights of my week included my DIY gel nails coming off less than 30 hours after I did them, won't be repurchasing those! I've been a bit tired and bloated this last week, not helped by the fact that mother nature has been in town too! I have also found out that my Glossybox won't be posted until the 27th of this month, which is a bit later than normal, so I hope it's good when it eventually arrives!

 My plans for this week are night shifts tonight, tomorrow, Friday and Saturday, which I am not looking forward to! But on the upside I will be going to aqua aerobics on Wednesday seeing as I can't do aqua jog. Also I'm going to Nando's with me Treacle on Thursday which I'm really looking forward to as I haven't seen her for ages, we've also booked up to see Ross Noble in November, yay!

 I've noticed that these posts are getting far too long for once a week, so I'm hoping to post more often when I can, as I doubt many readers will have gotten to this point now lol for those who did, thanks for reading!
 Have a great week! x

first week over!

 Hi all!
 I hope 2012 is treating you well so far, I have had a very good but busy week!
 On the 'being good' front, I managed to turn down dessert every day at work and stick to just 3 square meals, and sometimes a very small meal when I got home (bearing in mind I was eating breakfast at 6.30am, lunch at midday, tiny rubbish teas at 4pm, I'm usually hungry when I get home at 8.30pm so half a tin of soup does the trick). I also had a salad for tea once or twice at work and really enjoyed it, I was very shocked, and I was so full I had to leave some! I've managed with next to no snacking too and lots of water, and no pizza for 10 days!
 I've been speaking to my Dad and he's going to experiment with healthier versions of my favourite stuff, and I've also had some contact with a guy I know of who runs a bootcamp locally and as I don't have the time or money for his bootcamp he has e-mailed me a food and exercise plan which looks great, I'll be incorporating that into my efforts when I print it off and see how that works, I'll keep you updated :)
 Sadly I've not had time to exercise this last week due to doing 5 12 hour shifts, but I am starting a new class tomorrow called Aquajog at my local swimming pool, and I'm honestly terrified but I can't wait, it seems to really work you, I'll let you know how it goes! Despite not having had any time to exercise and not sticking to a strict diet as such this last week, I couldn't resist a cheeky measure of my waist when my Mam left her tape measure out...and...I've lost half an inch,  woohoo!

 Naturally I am quite chuffed at this progress, but there are some other things that have made me happy this week:

•  My lovely boyfriend has been working super hard this week, he works full time and is also studying for an A-Level in English Literature and he starts his exams this week, so I've barely seen him and missed him lots :( I finished work early on Saturday though so I went over to see him when I was done and although we didn't go out or anything it was nice to catch up with each other and have a cuddle on the couch with a film :) it's our 4 year aniversary on Friday and I'm really looking forward to it, we're going to have a night out then go road tripping on Saturday :)
•  I have a couple of guinea pigs and one of them has been very poorly, I sadly don't know what the outcome is going to be but he's been giving me some lovely cuddles lately, he's so cute <3
• I have REALLY enjoyed work this week, it's strange doing day shifts as I was on night shifts for so long, but I've been getting right back into it and I love it.
• It was my Grandma's birthday on Saturday so we had a little gathering at hers yesterday, nothing special but it was nice to see people and it gave me a good excuse to try out some new hair and make up products I bought a few weeks ago. I got the Lee Stafford Big Fat Healthy Hair Shampoo and Conditioner, which is brilliant to use if you're going to blowy dry your hair. I also used the Matt Fat Texturising Powder, and Umberto Gianini Backcomb in a Bottle, which were both quite difficult to use at first but it turns out perseverance is key here! I used 17 Wild Nude Cream Eyeshadow, and Rimmel Colour Mousse in 012 Mocha and was quite pleased with the results (primer is a must here!):

how huge does my arm look! I couldn't be bothered to straighten my hair after I dried it so I just stuck some Lee Stafford Matt Fat Hair Mustard on and worked with it, it's by far the most value for money hair product I have, I've had it for over a year and it's not even half gone, it's brilliant! I'm going to invest in some more of the Big Fat Healthy Hair Range tomorrow, it looks amazing!

•  I had a lovely lie in today and chilled out a bit. I did my nails with the Nailene Ultra Quick Brush on Gel Kit, I didn't use the tips as my nails are quite long lately, so I just applied the gel and applied Avon Nailwear Pro nail polish in Sequined Turquoise, I was quite happy with how they turned out:

 The picture isn't great, I'm still getting used to my new camera, which is coincidentally the same colour as my nails!

 I'm off to Nando's tomorrow with a good friend of mine who I haven't seen in far too long, and she's never been to Nando's before :O should be fun! I also got a code to get a free Graze box, which I'm expecting to be delivered on Wednesday, and my Glossybox should be here in the next few days too, lots to look forward to, so lots to look forward to next time, hopefully another half inch off my waist will be one of them!

Lets wipe the slate clean!!!

 Dear me I am a bad blogger!
 I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year!
 As you may be aware, I started a new job in September, and I've been working CRAZY hours, like 13 hour nights shifts, usually 3 or 4 a week, so as you can imagine, blogging has taken a hit on the priority list, as has eaten healthily, cos when it comes to eating on a night shift, you eat what helps you stay awake! I have actually been trying to be good, but looking back, I've eaten those foods that pretend to be good for you but actually aren't, step up Morissons salad boxes! You think you're being good but because it's self serve you end up with lots of naughty white pasta and potatoes, and not enough greens!
 And exercise? Nope! I've gone from swimming 3-5 times a week to once a month if I'm lucky cos if I'm not at work I'm asleep. But enough is enough, it's time for me to pull my finger out and be a bit more strict with myself!
 I'm making some changes though. I don't want the focus here to be about weight, so the scales are going. I probably weight upwards of 13 stone now, but it's about feeling good whether you're 6 stone or 26 stone, so sod weight! There'll also be no food and exercise diary as such. I will be making changes to my diet, eg. smaller portions, salad and veg with everything where possible, pizza once a fortnight MAXIMUM, less lucozade and cider, more water and exercise etc etc. Instead of the food and exercise diary, I will be focussing on what makes me feel good. Things such as healthy versions of my favourite treats, fun exercises, but also my favourite clothes and beauty products, as well as other things such as days out and other fun stuff...I'm gonna make it up as I go along and hopefully keep it up more this time! Although this isn't necessarily about losing weight, it IS about what makes me feel good, and at the minute what would make me feel really good is losing a few inches; so to that effect, on the first of every month (or there abouts) I will be taking my measurements. This (unfortunately) includes January, I have measured myself on the largest part of each area that I want to focus on, which are as follows (don't judge me please :p):

• Bust 43inches on the larger part and 40 on the smaller (though I fit into a 36 bra easily!)
• Waist 36
• Hips 44.25
• Left thigh 25.5, right thigh 26
• Left calf 17.5 and right calf 17
• upper left arm 12.5, right arm 12.5

If you want to know what these measurements look like, here is one of the lesser flattering photos of me from New Years Eve

this here is my motivation! I am a big girl but I don't think I ALWAYS look this bad, but I am aware that 'surprisingly good' photos happen too, it works both ways :) despite the hideousness, here I am having fun with my lovely manfriend:

we had a great time, just what we needed :)

 So, this week I'm working 12 hour shifts tomorrow, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but I will try on my days off to be super good, keep track of my progress and get back to you all with what's making me happy in 2012!

Update!

 So, my posts have been sooooo few and far between lately, I need to pull my finger out while I have the time, cos I soon won't have much free time at all!
 I last left you a few weeks before I was due to attend a wedding of 2 very good friends of mine. It happened on August 15th, and it was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine :) I managed to keep working out and swam up to 5 times a week leading up to the big day, and for all there were no significant changes to my body, I felt better knowing I had made an effort to look good :)
 HOWEVER the day dress (blue maxi pictured on previous post) turned out to be a bit of a disaster, so 5 minutes before I was due to leave I decided I HAD to change. I wn't go into details about the disaster, but I was gutted, and I ended up settling for a black maxi dress as I had nothing else appropriate to wear, and to be honest I felt like I was dressed more for a funeral than a wedding :(

 I love these photos, but the dress clearly let the side down here...thankfully tho, I was able to get back to our hotel room and change for the evening do, and I felt 100000000000 times better - and I think the pictures show how an outfit you're comfortable in makes such a dramatic difference in how you look:

 above is me and my teeny tiny totally beautiful bezza Ruksana, and below is me and my lovely manfriend John :)

I am totally in love with this dress, would definitely wear it again and again!

 July turned out to be quie the eventful month. Not only did I attend a gorgeous wedding, but I officially got my degree in Sociology with Psychology (graduation in November, scary cap and gown moments!) and I also had my hair coloured ginger....yes, it was voluntary, and I love it!

 ey up ginger nut!!!

 I'm generally feeling quite happy and confident this month, I've also managed to get a job doing some bank hours as a support worker in a mens mental health rehabilitation unit, and I've spent a bit of time with old friends I went to school and college with, I wanted to show them the delights of Hartlepool and it was so much fun :)

 Me and Laura, we go waaaaaayyyy back! I wish I could say there were photos of me looking less drunk, but there weren't! Such a good night though...and I adore this dress too, I'm thinking blue is my colour!

 As you can see, I've been quite busy!

 I still stand by what I said in my last post, however I also strongly believe that (personally) the less I look after myself, the more crap I feel, so I do want to continue making an effort to get healthy and shape up so that I can always feel confident and know I'm not a slob.
 So I've been keeping up with my swimming, it's pretty much the only exercise I can do that doesn't hurt my back, I've been twice this week and plan on going again Friday and Saturday. I'm also walking to work whenever I stay at John's house, and when my back calms I'm going to start with my little girl weights again too cos I'm hating my arms! As well as this, me and a couple girls at work are keeping food diaries, I would recommend it to anyone who wants a bit of shock treatment. Seeing it all written down works wonders! By doing this I've come to realise how erratic my eating pattern is: some days I will stuff my face with chocolate, crisps and pizzas and not feel full, and like today, I've had two yoghurts and a stir fry and don't feel hungry at all! I've learned I need a steady, regular pattern of eating in order for my body to work with me, as I want to be back into my size 12s by Christmas. If anyone wants to send me any size 12 skinny jeans as motivation, feel free!
 I want to go travelling a bit this year, I'm off to London yet again next month, and I'm also thinking Barcelona as a graduation treat, my friend Dan is moving to the Ukraine for a while so I'd like to visit him. There's also a hen do in Magaluf in the pipeline, and John and I also want to go to New York and Canada next year so I can see where he used to live :) that's a lot of kodak moments and I want to look and feel great for them!

 I'm hearing a lot of good things about green tea being an amazing fat burner and metabolism booster, and I know we sell it at work so I'm going to give it a try, I'll let you know how it goes! I really don't like tea at all, I'm a coffee girl through and through, so it may be an acquired taste for me!

 I think I'm up to date now, apologies for the super long post, I'll hopefully be back a bit sooner next time! x