On the scale of Absolutely Marvellous going down to Shitty Stickville, I'm hovering somewhere in between, sliding rapidly towards the latter.
On the positive front:
- I've exercised almost everyday since Christmas (except yesterday other than walking the kids to school).
- I've made time for myself. I went to a fitness class today - even though it was during work hours. It was a shrine to 80s style aerobics with plenty of tummy crunches and unladylike butt lifts, but you know, as long as it tones and shapes, I'm good with that.
- My husband and I are getting along surprisingly well, particularly when you throw in the cons which I list below. And we've had no more poo incidents.
- I've been very good about my eating/not drinking. This has made me feel virtuous. It's also made me feel hungry, but virtuousness is more satisfying right now.
- Last night our children slept right through and my husband woke up by accident at 7.20am and both kids were still asleep. This was the first time EVER that this has happened (the sleeping late bit). As a result we were all late but woohoo, long may the lie ins continue.
On the not so positive front:
I hate not eating. Especially when I live in a house full of leftover quality street chocolates from Christmas. My self control is being tested to the full. GI diet food tastes fab for about 3 days. Thereafter your body starts shrieking for fat and refined sugar. Lentils and oven roasted chickpeas can only do so much. When I don't eat, I want to comfort myself with a glass of wine. When I can't drink wine, I want to comfort myself with a large bowl of chocolates. When I can have neither, life is just sad and grey.
The looming spectre of the taxman is casting a gloomy pall over everything. Everything. I can think of little else. All of a sudden the credit crunch, recession, economic state of absolute shiteness seems to be much, much closer to home and it's making me edgy.
As a result of the greedy taxman, we've had to cancel the one little ray of hope that was keeping me motivated - our trip to see family in South Africa in February. We were going to get hot sun in February. This alone was worth a million pounds, but the taxman doesn't care about me getting a tan or avoiding getting SAD.
(Incidentally, me going to South Africa and having to expose my pale body was the motivation behind losing 6kgs in 6 weeks. Now I can feel my self control slipping.)
Just because shit never comes in single doses, our car has decided to be ridiculous. Today the instrumentation panel told me that it was in dire need of coolant. The car itself registered -9C so why it needed to be cooled down, I'm not sure. I've deduced (using my excellent mechanical skills) that it apparently has no water in it. Why it's only now realised this - having stood still in the cold for several days - I'll never know, but I've sent husband on an errand to buy anti-freeze. I'm not sure Paddington Station stocks it but here's hoping. However, that's not the car's only quirk. Midway through telling me about its thirst for coolant, the car decided that having front windscreen wipers that work was overrated. And just stopped. So now I have no wipers. And in a country not blessed with rain-free days, this could become a problem. But as I have no money at all to pay for someone to fix it, I am just going to have to fashion a way of wiping the windows using a big elastic band or bungee cables attached with pritt stick to a squidgy window wiper thing.
So you see, 2009 is definitely not starting off on a crackingly good note. I do however think I will take a leaf out of my cleaner's approach to problem solving. When I asked her if she could come once every two weeks instead of weekly so that I can save money (but still not be carried away by dust bunnies) she said to me in her Romanian English: Sorry, but anudder lady has said she no want me. So this would not be good for me. Sorry. I must come every week.
Right then. That's me told. Hope your 2009 is shaping up slightly more positively? Tell me the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is getting closer. Please.
