Damn it, we're going to Thorpe park if it kills us!

[MilkNoSugarPlease]

:o

Well I am

And frankly a diet might :o

But we're here...we're hand holding

Are we ready??

Sigh - that's the kind of house I was meant to be living in by now.... this sod of a life is stubbornly refusing to go to plan!!

My plan is also somewhat off course, but I now quite like the turn it has taken.

DS2s autism made us make some major decisions WRT careers & lifestyle that have been good for us all(although not in a financial sense).

Yes, when mainstream options are ruled out - you have to rethink everything don't you!

How were your students? What level was your class tonight?

My class was of mixed ability. It is a drop in so not the same people every week. There were some of my regulars & a couple of new people this evening.

The idea is that not everyone can afford the now £200 per term classes at the local FE college & sometimes people can't commit to coming every week so we provide a "pay as you go" type class.

There is no set programme, each person decides what they want to make & I show them how to make it.(within reason) It is loads of fun & very informal.

Eeek! 1.30 already, I've got work tomorrow!

Must. Go. To. Bed.

Night Chip.

It sounds like a lot of fun!! I'd like to make a big bowl :)

Night x

Large bowls & platters are a very popular choice as a first project, we have some rather nice press moulds.

I always dread someone with no prior experience coming & saying they want to throw a teapot on the wheel.

Another restless night for DS3, just got him back off, so I'm on here with a glass of damson gin hoping he stays asleep now. (small glass, wouldn't want too high an alcohol in the milk)

Hello all, just to say havent forgotten you all! been a shitty weekend but will be back tomorrow¬

x

Sorry to hear your weekend has been crap Milk, hope tomorrow is a lot better.

My weekend has been ok during the day but awful at night. Poor DS3 & his teething, it always gets worse towards bedtime.

Sorry for being such a moany git on here.

Bloody hell, Milk!

Just seen your thread in Bereavement. That's just awful.

I know Sgt...just bloody bloody horrible :(

Hi all :)

Milk - have you been able to speak to your friends?

Sgt - you aren't a moany git at all!! I like real people, the ones who drive me mad are the 'oh my life is soooo perfect, I'm so PC, my Dh is devine, My DC are all delightful...' yawn, up-chuck...

Have you ever had a beginner expect to be able to do anything really complicated??? I thought a bowl would be quite adventurous enough - but a tea pot????

Hiya, no haven't spoken to them, no one has except his sister and his ex gf (They have a DS together and are close)

They have asked them to go to their flat and remove everything baby related :(

Cant imagine what they are going through right now

Hi, I'm back from a nice long soak in the tub with a book. All pink & prunelike now.

Milk, I have been thinking of your friends all evening.

Chippy, nope no pretence of perfection here. Can't be arsed with all that TBH.

Yes, I chose the teapot example because I once had someone roll up & expect to be able to make one on the wheel! I'm all for a bit of optimism but there are limits!!

Throwing always looks so easy - until you try it!

Milk :( You just can't imagine it can you :(

SGT - Teapot on a wheel?? For the love of all things holy - how?? .... You never know, I might roll up to one of your classes one day :) (I've had a bit of a fascination since Ghost!!).

I neeeeeeed to go to bed, I've got to leave at 7 in the morning - less than 6 hours away.... urgh. Especially since I've been awake since 4.30 this morning. I am going to lurrrrve the alarm clock in the morning!

Niiiight x

Milk- Did you manage to find the right words for the card eventually? Everyone must still be very numb & shocked.

Chippy- Teapot on the wheel ( not for the faint hearted ), lid, spout & body all thrown seperately, join spout to body, pull & attatch a handle et voila, a teapot!

Hehehe, bet you wish you'd never asked!

If you were ever in the area you would be most welcome.

Hope you made it up & out of the house in time this morning.

Nope! no sodding idea what to write...all just looks wrong

I'd love to do pottery...after watching Ghost! :o

My Facebook has deleted most of my contacts so people who Have/had me on theirs...I havent deleted you! will re add when using comp not phone

Milk, it's so difficult, you sit & gaze at the blank space for ages, everything you think of saying looks crass & inadequate. FWIW I thought what you suggested writing in your last post on the other thread sounded sincere.

Everyone mentions Ghost when they think of pottery ...'tis a much less sexy thang in RL!!

Anyone around this evening?

Hello! where has everyone gone!

Ok I know I've been utter crap! but this week has been mad!

Diet not to bad though!!
except for McDonalds breakfast on Wednesday...but I had to have that! friend picked me up after her night shift and drove me to work...so I bought her breakfast...and she couldnt eat alone :o

I did go out for dinner this evening also....was very healthy

Had Olives and this gorgeous garlic, cheese and caramalised onion bread....then pizza (posh so healthy )...with salad...then chocolate torte and baileys :o

was frigging divine mind you!!

how is everyone?

Hi Milk, I thought I had killed this thread by boring the crap out of everyone!

(Note to self - not everyone wants to hear about pottery).

I have been absolutely pants at the whole diet thing! My excuse is that DS3 is giving us some spectacularly sleepless nights with this bout of teething & I am craving lots of sugar just to keep me going!

Your dinner sounds great!

You couldn't bore the crap out of us :o

I do! I am, in actual fact, Demi moore in Ghost :o

the similarities are endless :o

I was craving sugar last week (had a particularly, lets say Stressful, week at work!) so though "I'll have frozen grapes for a sugar kick!"

No, sorry nothing beats Haribo or chocolate when tired :o

Oh it was :o

what did you have>?

Lovely DH bought me some of that Lindt chocolate with orange bits in (my fave) yesterday after my 2 hours of sleep, I also ate most of a packet of almond biscotti at about 3.30am! Today at work I ate a large slice of coffee & walnut cake & a packet of crisps (as well as my actual lunch).

TMI Warning- my period starting the other day has not helped the feeling of all round crapness! (Sorry, definately over sharing here).

Sgt Please don't think you bored me away - I love our thread! I had my friends kids here Friday night, then we all went to the park & then the Kids Flicks on Saturday - it has been full on since Friday, this is the first time I've been on line!!

I love to hear about DS, pottery, your Mums garden & everything else! No such thing as TMI on MN!!

I think some of the others have decided to join more weight loss active threads, but maybe they'll drop in here too ?! (KickArse/Titsalina come on - you know you want to!! :) )

Milk I love hearing about your charges, you mad hours, your friends, your mug purchases and the meals you are looking forward to - food should be enjoyed, not endured.

I'm happy to 'hang out' here with you guys, I don't mind how focussed the thread is or you are - I just like you guys :)

Hopefully a few others will join us too - to keep the thread active (but not too 'in the news').

Now for the weight loss stuff

I weigh more and am far fatter than I have ever been before. I am now unfit as well (which I haven't been before). I am struggling to do stuff, it's bloody embarrassing. I have a LOT of weight to 'give away'. It is stopping me doing a lot stuff. I have a huge list of reasons to 'give away' the weight - but the amount I need to give away scares the shit out of me and makes it seem impossible. However, I am currently gaining weight at a rate I have never done before.... that is scaring me a lot. Photos of me freak me out, I can't believe I am so big.

I have decided to make a 'determined effort' for 4 weeks to see where it gets me. Starting tomorrow and 'ending' on October the 23rd.

My aim: Current clothes to fit comfortably (currently very tight and uncomfortable, busting buttons & having to lay down to do up zips etc). Some clothes I could wear a month ago, I have no chance of fitting now :(

I am going to:

• Walk an hour a day for as many of the days as possible - hopefully nearly all of them, getting back to doing my 4 miles in an hour which I was doing before (now 2 years ago (gulp)). I think at the moment it will be a little over 2 miles as I am really unfit, but will find out tomorrow!!

• As much other exercise as I can - including cycling (which I love)

• Eat lots of 'live food', an apple a day (really makes a difference to how I feel - it's the pectin I think) vegetables, fruit, salad as well as lots of beans, lentils etc. My diet has been bad for a while, all my food has been 'dead' food and just lately has lacked much in nutritional value. Cut down on processed carbs.

• Eat less bad food - I'm not 'cutting it out' because that leads to a bad cycle with me.

• No bingeing, NONE. For one month. I can have anything I want, but not in a quantity that I would be embarassed to admit to you guys (that's my marker).

• Try to get in a better sleep pattern. I think I eat to keep me awake and I sleep so little I eat to 'get through' the day. Plus not sleeping in itself is apparently bad for your weight.

I do have medical problems that make weight loss very slow for me and I find that really, really, depressing. However, I can't let it stop me from 'chipping away' (see what I did there :) LOL ) at my weight and stop gaining.

I have also had a very rough time emotionally this year (I wont talk about it on MN - I just can't - I need here to be somewhere to avoid the reality) and I have been bingeing a lot - I'm not sure if it's a way to have some control over the uncontrollable or if it's just a way to suspend reality or just trying to fill a huge emotional gap with food. There is something immensely satisfying about being able to eat whatever I want, when I want and how much I want - I enjoy it. I can also not eat for a couple of days - I could starve myself to thinness - I could be anorexic quite easily, it's moderation I struggle with. At the moment all I want to do is pull up the duvet, eat shit and get lost inside the internet - do anything that avoids reality.

I decided to do this month long thing on Saturday night... then tonight I found a quote I had written down earlier in the year - 'Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain'.

Chippy - nice to have you back, sounds like you had a lovely weekend with your friend's DC.

I'm so sorry you've been having such a rotten time this year & FWIW I do understand the wanting to avoid reality while on MN. I have mentioned DS2s autism on this thread, but I don't hang out on the SN area because I live & work with it, I don't actually want to spend much of my "down time" talking about it too.

Your month long plan sounds great & very do-able, it has made me feel a bit more motivated so I'm going to be a bit more focused about what I'm doing. I'm going to cut right back on bread products & cheese (one of my many downfalls, I could give up chocolate more easily than cheese) - I am a bit of a cheese ponce. Will also up my fruit intake.

I am horrified at photos of myself too, I can't believe it's me! I am heavier than I have been since just after DS2 was born- I put on loads of weight then too!

Enough of that! Back to the idle chit-chat. DS3 is walking!!! He took his first steps on Friday while I was at work, felt a bit about that but DH was so proud & happy to tell me about it that that would be churlish, so I now feel (he deserves some of the really special moments too).

I have put a couple of new pics of DS3 & DS1 on my profile, DS2 is being a little camera shy at the moment.

Right, I'm off to make myself a coffee & watch Chuck. Back later.