Thank you!

Thank you to all of you who have sent me cards, pressies, emails, pms, ims and left comments on my blog to wish me a happy birthday. I have enjoyed quite a few days of celebration with family and friends including meals out and tea parties in! For those of you who know that I was on the Atkins way of eating for 12 weeks, I have put back on two of those pounds!  Still, I have enjoyed some treats and I know that I can always go back to it. What I learned is that I have the will power to say no to foods that would sabotage my efforts. It has been my choice to eat cake and all things fattening around the time of my birthday!

Now my thoughts are turning to Halloween and I have been conjuring up some ideas for my - hopeful gettogether with my 3 girlfriends.

The tarantula spider that my friend's son had last year (that I was going to borrow for props), has since died! Eek! No worries, I have located another - not quite so big but it lives just a few streets away from me! I do like to have the right atmosFEAR! LOL. Until later then.....

Toots for now.

It's my birthday!!! Woohooo!

Happy Birthday to me!

Well, I made it to 60!!!....and here I am in my pink suit after enjoying a lovely lunch with my family in Broadstairs. Lisa and I strolled along the promenade to walk off our Sticky Toffee Pudding! In the background is Charles Dickens House.  

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Not long now!!

It's almost here.....my birthday that is! I am kind of looking forward to it on Sunday as there have been lots of events going on in preparation and I am getting used to it. Eek! To me, it seems such a big jump to another decade!

Today, I bought me a pink 3 piece Planet skirt suit!! I didn't pay the price of over £300 though....oh no. About 3 months ago, I went to a boot fair and there was a lady that had a stall with very nice clothes on rails and I first saw it then. As I didn't have the money to buy it, my sister said that she would buy it for my birthday. So, I took the lady's telephone number and thought no more of it....well, it was on my mind but I didn't pursue it. After losing half a stone on the Atkins way of eating plan, I decided to call the lady and hope that she still had the suit. Sure enough, she did and so I made arrangements to go to her house and try it on. It fits like a glove! *Ü* I was shocked when I checked the size....8!! I am not a size 8 - maybe 10 but not 8. However, the suit is now hanging proudly in my wardrobe ready for the big day. Whoohoo.

My sister didn't buy the suit in the end....she has bought me 2 pairs of Skechers shoes instead. They have been ordered but I am still awaiting them with hope they arrive before Saturday.

I booked myself a photographic workshop with the BIG cats - it will be November when I actually go. I can't wait. I am a tiger in the Chinese calendar and I can't believe I am going to get close up and personal with tigers. *Squeal*. By the way...it's the year of the tiger this year, so I reaaally wanted to do it.

My dear friends have all sent me some money collectively. I am hoping to buy my long awaited Ikea Expedit unit with it and at last get my scraproom started. It's going to be a HUGE task. There is so much that I have collected and stored in the room that I will need to do a lot of shifting before it will come to look anything like what I want but I have a mental picture and I know it will be FAB when it's finished.

So, it's going to be a long weekend - beginning tomorrow. My husband will be taking me out to lunch. Saturday, I have 2 daughters and their families coming over. We shall go to Prezzo for lunch and then I am doing a tea party here with sandwiches and homemade cakes. Sunday will actually be my birthday...oh...did I already mention that? LOL. Monday, a lady from church is treating me to dinner at Michael Caines's restaurant Abode - in Canterbury. Ooo...it's rather nice. I have been before and you get 7 courses and pay for 3! Then the week after, I shall be meeting up with the Kent Wives Association for another day of celebration jointly with Rita as she turns 60 on 21st! We shall be ladies that lunch - in TGI Fridays. Well, after all that eating and celebrating, I should think I will be back on the Atkins by the end of that week! LOL.

Have a Thuper Thursday evening yourselves.

Not so wise!

I learned something new today! I went to a local falconry display and was told that owls are not intelligent but lazy birds. They have an amazing range for seeing their prey - 4-5 miles away! WOW! They also cannot see close up due to having 'fixed' eyesight. They can turn their heads almost 360 degrees. This particular owl that we saw today, had a HUGE wingspan of almost 4 feet!

So, I wonder where does the 'Wise Old Owl' saying comes from?

 

Tweet for now,

In search of spiders!!

I am in search of spiders - not real ones but brooches. I saw this dress whilst out shopping and I LOVE the spider brooch that it comes with! I would have bought the dress had it fitted me but....alas...even the weight loss I have to date doesn't do it justice!

Then I began my search for a similar brooch and the nearest one I saw was on eBay but I'm not done looking yet. If you are on your travels and find a spider brooch which is a close resemblence to the one on the dress, I would appreciate you letting me know. Of course, it's to wear at Halloween!

Have a nice day and remember....it's only 53 more days until Halloween!

Eek....my last 2 weeks at 59!

These past few months, I've kind of built myself up for a big issue - becoming 60! Just 13 more days before I hit that big one and I'm considered 'old' by my grandson of 12 years! LOL. Well, let me tell you. This 'old' grandmother can 'hip hop, beep bop until I drop'! *Ü* I kid you not...his father is 3 years older than myself and he is not OLD!

Since I have been on the Atkin's programme, I have enjoyed many benefits - one of which is having less pain in my back - something that may have contributed to my grandson's impression of my being *whispers* ('old'). I have noticed how much stronger my nails are, the combination of foods means that there is less flatulence and I have had more energy due to not feeling tired caused by imbalance of sugar levels. My weight loss hasn't been as fast as I would have liked but I have lost half a stone in 8 weeks. As I was less than 10 stone to begin with, it has been said that is why I haven't lost a lot. So be it. I feel much better for being on it and whilst I have kept to the basic foods, I have now re-introduced different foods such as fruits, nuts, seeds and grains.

For those of you who have enquired about my mum, she is very weak and underweight. She sleeps a lot more, spends more time in bed and would probably benefit from more conversation but that is not possible for me to visit her regularly being that she lives 150 miles away and I don't drive. I try to speak to her on the phone but she lacks concentration and it's just a matter of saying hello and not much else. Still, I like to hear her voice. Thank you all for your interest and concern.

I hope the sun is shining for you in your part of the world. Have a Super Sabbath.
Toots for now,

Countdown!

It's the 1st day of September already....can you believe it?! I'm not even ready for Autumn just yet as I still haven't had enough of Summer! I have obviously been so busy that I missed July somehow! It's been a fun Summer with time spent with family and friends, doing things that we like to do.

Celebrations were in order for several family members and I even got to celebrate my 60th birthday a little as my 3 daughters won't all be able to be with me.

The countdown begins and I am not sure whether I am excited or not. It seems that I will be sharing this year with many friends and some family as we all turn 60. One thing is for sure, I am looking forward to my pension - little as it may be! LOL.

Today, I treated myself to a photography day with the BIG cats for November. I can't wait to see them. In the Chinese calendar, I am a TIGER! Grrr. *Ü*

Enjoy your youth while you can.