Gingerjo’s Blog

Or rather an old hobby revisited…

I bought a handbag to go with my wedding dress covered in little silver crystals but I felt it could be brightened up with some little blue crystals so I went to Hobbycraft and bought a little pair of pliers and a mixed bag of crystals. I’ve been toying with the idea of taking up jewellery making again (haven’t done it since I was a teenager) and thought this would be a good time to dip my toes in the water.

I really enjoyed it - it’s painstaking work but I’ve always been good at concentrating on fiddly tasks and it keeps my fingers occupied. All the time they are manipulating little beads and stones they are not reaching for the fridge door.

So I went back and bought a necklace making kit - I thought the necklace in question would go well with my bellydancing skirt and top. I’ve never actually made a necklace before (I always used to make earrings) but after a bit of practice tying the knots I made a pretty decent job of it. I don’t think you can tell it’s home made. Indeed I was admiring a necklace in Dorothy Perkins this afternoon that used just the same techniques.

I think a visit to the jewellery making bits and bobs section of eBay may be in order - it might help keep me from raiding the fridge over the Christmas holiday!

Yesterday I was given two free last minute tickets to see The Venetian Twins at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton - it was a corporate hospitality event. So Mark and I went along, not knowing what it was about or what to expect.

We haven’t been to the theatre in ages and we haven’t been to the Octagon before so were we rather looking forward to it - something a bit different for a Thursday night anyway. And it was really good fun - I thoroughly enjoyed it. The play was mad - it was set in early 18th Century Italy and was about the chaos caused by twin brothers unwittingly turning up in the same town to get married unbeknowns to eachother. One was immensely stupid and that other rather clever. Yeah, yeah I hear you cry.

OK, it did have a lot of the Shakespearean farce about it - with one huge bonus - it was actually very funny (I have to confess I’ve never found Shakespearean farces even vaguely amusing). The performances were superb, especially the guy playing the twins, and the set really inventive. They had little trampolines all the way around the stage so they could bounce on and off and around and about for comedic effect. And the other actors were in full view making the sound effects etc when they weren’t ‘on stage’ themselves.

It really made me feel good. Apparently not everyone felt the same way though - one corporate guest went home during the interval saying it was the worst play he’d ever seen. Well if we all liked the same …

It’s costing me a fortune in clothes. The trousers I bought about 5 weeks ago are already hanging off me. I look like a kid playing dress up with her big sister’s wardrobe.

I’ve finally got in my last pair of ‘drawer under the bed’ trousers. They are a pair of beige cords I bought in M&S in Norwich shortly after I moved there. They were a bit tight but I figured I’d lose a few pounds and they’d fit great. I’ve had them nearly 5 years and never worn them yet! That was about the time I started piling weight on. They look good now though and I shall wear them this weekend. I’m really glad fashions haven’t changed much in the last decade.

It’s only a couple of weeks since I got in my other ‘diet target’ pair of trousers I bought shortly before I left Glasgow. I’d been on a diet after I’d finished writing up my thesis and everyone said how good they looked. I already need to wear them with a belt I’ve shrunk that much. God it feels good!

Work should watch out though - I can wear my navy blue interview suit again. They’d better not upset me or I’ll be off job hunting, confident in the knowledge that I’ll have something nice to wear when I get an interview. Actually, a really good marketing job came up this week at Salford uni. If I went for it I’m sure I’d be in with a good chance, but I’ve too much going on at the moment to apply for it, and, for the most part, I’m happy where I am. Besides I’ve got some interesting projects going on at work at the moment and I’d like to see the fruits of my labour. I’ve enough challenges to be getting on with for now.

Wow, I’m under 12 stone for the first time in years. Only just mind, but it’s a milestone and it feels great. Of course I have to drop a point - only 20 points for me to eat tomorrow unless I earn some by doing some exercise. I’ll see how I feel tomorrow. I’ve been really stiff after my bit of running the other day, but then no pain - no gain.

Whoo hoo! I’m 11 stone something!

In a few days (once I’ve used up all the points plan only foods I have) I’m going to try the Weight Watchers core plan. I’m quite excited about it because it means Mark and I will be able to go back to cooking for eachother. On the points plan and with me having been working so much overtime we’ve largely been fending for ourselves and my diet’s become low calorie but neither healthy nor sociable. Hopefully the core plan will make it easier for us to cook for eachother.

I do think it will involve a lot more cooking from scratch, but Mark really likes trying out new recipes so I’m hoping he’ll enjoy it. It doesn mean that I have to pretty much give up bread, cheese and packet sauces, but not all the time - some packet sauces are quite low in points so I’ll be able to count them from my 3 points per day. Also it means I won’t have to make lunch every day because I’ll be able to get a baked potato and beans from the canteen.

The only thing concerning me is that I have to give up my weetabix minis with chocolatey bits. I really love those chocolatey bits, but I’m hoping that ordinary weetabix minis with some frozen cherries or raspberries will be just as good.

On the way into Manchester yesterday to pick up Mark’s ring (which wasn’t ready yet) we popped into this little craft centre in the Northern Quarter. There’s a little jewellery shop in there that makes bespoke jewellery so I’ve asked them for a quote for a wedding ring that will fit alongside my engagement ring perfectly. They are going to call me in the next few days. I really hope their rates are reasonable because it would be fabulous to get the perfect ring!

For the first time in a very long time I actually ran today! After walking for 5 minutes to warm up I ran for 2.5 minutes at 5.2mph then walked for 2.5 minutes at 3.6mph. I repeated that 4 times so I ran for 10 mins in total. This gave me 1.5 activity points. I then walked so that in total I’d walked for 20 mins gaining another activity point. I was really pleased with myself because I seriously didn’t expect to be able to run for 2.5 minutes. I thought I’d collapse after 30 secs. Afterwards I did my weights routine which gained me another activity point.

What a good girl I am!

I’m quite excited really because I’ve discovered that Weight Watchers activity points do not take anywhere near as much collecting as I thought. They only require a fairly small commitment. For instance I’ve worked out that at my current weight (around 12 stone) I only need to do 20 minutes of low intensity exercise to earn 1 activity point. Basically that’s walking to the shops and back or playing step on Wii Fit for 20 minutes. How easy is that!?

I’ve also discovered that my Bellydancing class gives me around 4 points. I would never have thought it was that high. Obviously as I lose weight I’ll have to do adjust the minutes per activity point but that’s OK.

It’s still a huge motivation just to know how easy it is to gain points!