Sleeves Firmly Rolled Up

Normally, as you know, I get pretty narked when I put weight on after a week of being good.

However, this week, I've put half a pound on, and although the llamas haven't come out for a celebratory fiesta (although to be fair they had two fiestas last week so they could do with a break), I'm really not too worried about it.

This is good because I've taken into account that for the first couple of days since my last weigh in I was still a bit wobbly on the diet before getting back on it properly on Monday so I haven't really had a week of being good, I've had about four days of being good.  I've also taken into account the fact that I've drunk a lot more water this week, mostly due to the fact I've walked everywhere.  I've walked about four miles a day over the last week, which doesn't seem like much but it's more than twice as far as I usually walk, so for me, it's loads, and I've probably developed a teensy tiny bit of muscle.  Not to mention the fact I've worked full-time which always screws up my diet plans, and I more often than not end up skipping breakfast altogether, which isn't ideal, I know.  But still, I know why I've put on, and that's less frustrating than being really good and still putting half a pound on.  AND it means that I'm finally starting to get a bit of perspective on weight loss, realising that it can't always be a constant thing and just because I put a bit on, it doesn't mean that I'm a bad person or a failure.  Which is quite a revelation.

However, at the same time, it's also a bit scary because not being too worried about a weight gain can make you complacent.  And I'm not skinny enough to get complacent!

Andrea The Consultant gave us all the New Members' talk again.  It's not just been me that's been a bit screw-uppy, everyone's gone a bit off the boil.  It's apparently only 16 weigh-ins till Christmas, which doesn't worry me too much because obviously I don't celebrate Christmas and I've no plans around that time anyway other than to eat my own body weight in chocolate and to drink enough alcohol to make Georgie Best, Oliver Reed, Keith Moon and Robert Newton all applaud my stalwart efforts. 

But it's only seven weigh-ins until the Michael Nesmith gig, and that does worry me.  Even though it shouldn't, really.  I know if anyone said to me this time last year I'd be able to wear a size 18 dress to go and see Michael Nesmith in concert, I'd have laughed at the implausibility of both suggestions.  So, really, in that sort of context, even if I don't lose another dress size between now and then, I'm still ridiculously thinner than I was this time last year - AND I'll get to fulfill a lifelong ambition and actually be in the same room at the same time as my favourite Monkee.  I mean, it's all good.  Even if I put four stone on between now and then, the fact I'll be there is incredible enough in itself.  Not that I will, of course.  I've come much too far now to go back to how I used to be.
 
But now I'm here, two or three dress sizes to go until I get to target (I probably won't reach that decision until I've lost the next two dress sizes!), and it somehow still doesn't feel like I've done nearly enough.  I know it isn't a race.  I'm not trying to be thin for an event or because someone else is losing X amount of stones and I want to beat them to it.  I'm losing weight because I don't want to spend the rest of my life not doing things because I'm too fat to do them.  And if it takes me a year to do it or it takes me 18 months to do it - fine, so long as I do it eventually.

But I still want to get it over and done with as quickly as I can so I can make a start on maintaining it!!

It isn't an impossible ask to drop a dress size in 7 weeks.  In fact, it's quite reasonable.  I know I can do it.  So I'd best get on with it, really, hadn't I?!  I've not got time to mope - I've got lbs to shed!

Join me again at some juncture next week when I may have some sort of an update for you.  But if not I shall update again on Friday when hopefully, fingers crossed, after a whole week of being good I'll finally have a result worthy of a fiesta from the llamas!!

Rainy Days and Mondays...

I'd like to dedicate today's blog title to my cousin Angela in honour of the best karaoke story ever!

I had a really weird dream last night that Adam and I went to see Michael Nesmith but Manchester had been taken over by zombies and we were trapped in a taxi with a zombie taxi driver.  It was scary.  I have no idea where it came from either, I am not a fan of the zombie on any level, and have never watched anything involving said mythical baddie ever in my life.  Except an epsiode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. called 'The Very Important Zombie Affair' and an episode of Gilligan's Island called 'Voodoo'.  But in each case the zombie situation wasn't particularly threatening, least of all from Professor Roy Hinkley. 

In fairness, I get that sort of 'undead' vibe from Manchester every time I visit the place.

And I have to say, he may unquestionably be very close to the top of my Favourite People in Existence list and he is an artistic, literary and musical Peter Perfect - but Mr Leslie screams like a girl when confronted by a zombie asking him for his taxi fare.  Just sayin'.

Tell you what though, if any zombies even attempt to ruin my night seeing Nesmith, they'll be messing with the wrong girl...

Anyway, where was I?  Ah yes.  Manchester.  *shudder*  Let's get out of there.

I can't say the weekend has been particularly interesting.  The rain was so bad on Friday (as previously documented) that I had to postpone Zara and Nicky coming to visit as Leyland was absolutely flooded, so Saturday went from being potentially the most exciting day of the year so far to being spent doing housework and glaring disapprovingly at the rain every time I looked out the window.

In the end I gave up and watched the Bourne Trilogy.  I do love the Bourne films.  I'm not a fan of Matt Damon, particularly - but I do love the films.  They're all very exciting and there's hardly any dialogue to screw up, but there's loads of Jason Bourne looking all tortured and then going off killing people with biros and stuff - and the car chase in The Bourne Supremacy is possibly the best one in cinematic history.  I can't wait till The Bourne Legacy comes out, it'll be more of the same (hey, if it ain't broke etc!) but with Jeremy Renner AND Edward Norton on the screen at the same time!!  Eeep!!  I'm far more excited about that than the Spider-Man and Batman films put together.  Which sounds terrible coming from a huge fan of both Spider-Man and Batman, but there you go.  Don't get me started on my trepidation for the new Spider-Man film.  There's only one Peter Parker/Spider-Man and that's Tobey Maguire. 

I know, I had a similar feeling about the Edward Norton/Mark Ruffalo/Hulk/Bruce Banner issue, and I was proved completely wrong there - but Spider-Man is my all-time favourite superhero and it genuinely didn't feel like Tobey Maguire ever needed to act that role.  He just was Peter/Spidey.  Say what you like about the Sam Raimi films, but they were all very special to me (especially Spider-Man 2) and it's going to take something spectacular to win me over.  Judging by the reviews so far, I'm not going to build my hopes up.

2012 - it's an interesting year for cinema and no mistake!

I did overdo the Synnage on Friday - but I had spent the entire day being rained on and thought a couple of chuff-off brandies would have a medicinal benefit and stop me catching pneumonia.  So far, so good - I've not even had a sniffle yet.  So there must be something in it...  I've been very good on the diet front since Friday, though.  I've had a will of iron.  I will lose that half-pound this week if it flippin' kills me!!!

I might have some exciting news on Wednesday.  Why don't you join me then and find out?

Keep On Keeping On

There is a double celebration of fiesta-ing today in the Diary, and a good job too.  The llamas have had three weeks off and Enrique has started panicking that if they have any more time off, their muscles will all seize up and they'll never be able to do those high-kicks again.

To mark the glorious occasion, they've decided on a very spectacular stunt.  Miguel has bravely offered to be a llama cannonball!!  Ricardo has designed a lovely red sparkly cape for the occasion. It'll be the finale sequence to the fiesta and I'm sure it'll be a breathtaking sight!

The first reason I'm celebrating is, after a week off and not really following the diet strictly at all - it turns out I've lost a whopping FOUR POUNDS!!!  I'm now just 1 1/2 lbs off having lost 3 1/2 stone!!  For those still keeping track, I've lost 47 1/2 lbs in 23 weeks.  Which is still quite good going.

*AAARRRRIIIIBBAAAAAA!!!!!!*

The second reason for celebration is that I have actually managed to get tickets to see Michael Nesmith - after a very dramatic turn of events this morning.  It nearly didn't happen at all - but eventually I got two seats.  They're back row, I grant you, and when I had the possibilty of seats in the third row at first, it does sting somwhat, but there are only 12 rows in total, the venue only seats 460, and I think the hall is laid out in such a way that there's really no such thing as a bad seat.  I mightn't get to see every whisker on his face but I'll certainly know it's the right fella.

WOOOOOOOHHHHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

*dances round like a mad eejit*

133 sleeps, apparently.  According to my calculations, there were 136 but I'm reliably informed there are only 133.  This is very exciting news.  I just hope by then I'll be as close as possible to my target size.  I've got four and a half months to lose three dress sizes.  I think I can do it.  I hope so.  Even two would be great!! 

Anyway, back to Slimming World.  My mum joined last night!!  This is great news.  Partly because I get in next week free for introducing someone.  I really hope she makes a good job of it.  She only wants to lose the same amount I've already lost.  And I've managed it so she can definitely do it.  Hell's teeth, she's had five kids, losing a bit of weight isn't going to cause any problems!!!  Apparently Andrea the Consultant kept telling mum (and the other newbies) to listen to what I told her because I'm doing so well.  How embarrassing!!!  I wish Mum hadn't told me, I'm not a fan of all this attention. 

I'm so excited I really don't have the brain to type any more.  Let's see The Llama Cannonball in action for the big finale to end this very exciting and hysterical blog!!

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*wince*

Ricardo, you really ought to check that you're not firing that thing off anywhere near a wall....

*sigh*  We're a llama down, ladies and gentlemen, but don't worry, it isn't fatal - he just needs a good rest and he'll be right as rain soon.

Join me next week, when hopefully I'll have calmed down slightly, and I'll give you an update on Miguel's progress.  Hooves crossed he's well on the mend by then!!

Harmony Constant

I don't think this will really get it out of my system, but here it is anyway:

29 OCTOBER!!  SOMEWHERE IN MANCHESTER!!!  ROBERT MICHAEL NESMITH!!!!  AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I found out the news via Milton Keynes' finest export first thing this morning.  Normally I'm a miserable old sod of a morning.  I don't do conversation, I don't do eye contact and I certainly cannot smile before at least my second coffee.  But this morning was different.  The overcast drizzly British summertime morning seemed bright and breezy.  A song filled my heart, my eyes brightened, the smile on my face spread from ear to ear. 

Needless to say, the first thing I did when I arrived in work was book the time off.  It's happening.  It's finally happening.  Me.  Nesmith.  Same airspace.  In the words of Dusty Springfield - I just don't know what to do with myself.  I'm so excited it's beyond ridiculous.  I'm already trying to decide what to wear and realising that I might just be at my target size by October and I don't know how well I can cope with the dual excitement of Nesmith AND skinniness...

I need to link my excitement over the forthcoming Nesmith gig to a recant of my adventures at the weekend.  And I can't do that in a particularly smooth manner.  So... er... I won't.

I went to see Westlife on Saturday with my pal Sue.  She's a huge fan and was so upset that they'd announced they were splitting up before she'd had chance to see them live in concert that she thought 'to hell with it' and ordered two tickets, she didn't care where they were.  They weren't together, but they were on the same row - and I, in an unselfish act of kindness *removes tongue from cheek*, agreed to go with her to save her husband the trauma of spending the evening in a room with 16,000 screaming women.  Which is understandable.

They were actually very good.  Of course, I've liked them since they won the Smash Hits! Pollwinners Best New Act as Westside in 1998, and I used to be absolutely mad about them until around about their third album when I just became far too 60s for anything modern at all.  It also sort of coincided with the time they started to be marketed as a sort of Housewives' Choice act and, well, I'm not a housewife so I suppose I'm not the target audience any more.  I went to see them on their first arena tour back in 1999 (I think), when they were just another boy band as the boy band trend was dying out - and 90% of the audience was made up of 13 year old girls, and they were pretty good then, but naturally, over the years they've just gone from strength to strength and are genuinely a very good live act.  Vocally they're all absolutely spot on and their crowd interaction was brilliant. 

Everyone had a good night.  It was pretty emotional for them, it was their last gig as a group in Manchester.  I suppose it must be a bit weird if you've been doing the same job since you were 18/19 and then you get to 32 and decide it's time for a change - this tour is sort of them working their notice period.  Must be really bizarre for them. 

They did, however, at one point do a cover of 'Don't Cha' by The Pussycat Dolls.  I think the phrase "least said, soonest mended" would apply here.  I don't think the reaction they were after was hysterical laughter, and I'm not proud of myself for it, but it was hilarious in all the wrong ways.  Just... no.  Really.  Just.  No.  Someone will have put it on YouTube by now, and I'd recommend you take a look just for the comedy factor.  Which I have a feeling wasn't quite intentional.

All in all, though, it was a great night, they did very well.  It's strange that it's all over.  It's like they were the last of the great boy bands of the 90s (anyone who is of the mindset 'there were no great boy bands of the 90s' is simply wrong - the 90s were the decade of the boy band, it's like saying there were no great beat groups of the 60s!!).  There's quite a large chapter of my teenage years that's been closed by their breakup.  I'm not sad or upset or anything, it's just a bit sort of... strange.  Still.  Onwards and upwards.  They'll probably get back together for a reunion tour in five years anyway!!

I have no news on the weight loss front.  I'm pretty much back on it now - I discovered yesterday that I'm drinking far too much diet coke and it's made me a bit poorly, so I've quit that.  Herbal teas and water all the way it is, then.  Serves me right, of course.  If I'd only been sensible in my eating and drinking habits in the first place I wouldn't be in this situation now.  Still, if I didn't need to lose weight, I wouldn't have started this blog and what would you have to while 10-15 minutes of your day away with?!  Exactly.  You're welcome!!

Join me again on Wednesday when I might've calmed down slightly from the Most Awesome News Ever In My Life.  But don't count on it...!