Im still here and i have some news...

Happy new year you gorgeous people.

I think by now its clear to see that I can not give days or times when I will be uploading content. Urhhh and that annoys me so very much. I almost gave up my blog because life is so physically demanding with a 15 month old and working and to add to all of that...

IM PREGNANT AGAIN!!! How lucky am I and It was an amazing surprise! so this time no IVF was needed. I can share with you all that I'm expecting a boy this time and we are very excited, nervous and a touch terrified but yes, it is happening and we are just taking each day as it comes. We will meet our new miracle in May 2018 :).

Christmas was very full on but lovely. The little miss is into everything and that included the Christmas tree and decorations so we never could really relax. That was hard for me because all I wanted to do was lay on the couch and eat and watch films. We didn't do anything for new year either because she is still so young so that too was just a quiet affair.

Over the last few months I have really been into my knitting. I ended up making a few Christmas presents and I was very happy with that and so where the people who received them. I only made simple gifts like neck warmers/ gaiters and hat and scarves and also a crocheted Christmas blanket but this year I aim to make or try to make more intricate and personalised gifts but I really need to start thinking now and making lists etc...

Darren got me some lovely acrylic yarn for Christmas. A lovely big ball of 200g chunky marbled with shades and tones of blue, grey and white and I am currently sitting in my bedroom and I have started to make a seed stitch scarf on 6mm knitting needles (I have currently paused to write to you). I am sitting on a camping chair with my legs on the bed and I have pippa next to me. I am up here because we have work men and women in trying to solve a damp issue in our kitchen and I can not take anymore banging in close proximity but to be honest it hasn't helped a great deal :( as our bedroom is over the sodding kitchen... typical. So whilst I am hiding out up here for some peace, Darren and Harlow are playing downstairs. I have a terrible headache so just needed a bit of space from a very active and vocal 15 month old.

I still have so much to tell you but I will save that for another post. Just remember I have not disappeared and I will keep coming back. I will chat again with you soon. Thanks for visiting xxx

I don't know where to begin?!

My garden allotment is giving me such pleasure. Every day i head outside to have a nosey and check on my growing plants. I must check my courgettes like 3 times a day to see if they have grown. I don't know what i expect to see?! a marrow? hahaha.

I said in the title of this post that i do not know where to begin and this is very true. I am not so good at organising my thoughts really. So this is why yet again ( so sorry ) i have not posted when i said i would because i don't know what to write about first, plus with being back at work and then coming home to be mummy again it has been hard to have any time to myself really.

Do i group some things together and write down my successes and problems? or do individual posts?. This is what i will be thinking about today, in hope that later on today or by the end of the weekend i will have something uploaded.

One thing i must say though is how much i have loved growing each and everyone of my plants, whether it is fruit or vegetable. Growing you're own is the most rewarding and satisfying project and hobby you can have i think, i can say this with such confidence because i have so many hobbies on the go haha. And although this is my first year i think i will be getting quite a lot from my garden allotment and i don't mind if some things do not work because this year is about learning and preparation. I do have big plans for my garden but due to lack of funds and to be honest time, i have to do things in steps and hope that i have time and money to complete what i have my heart and mind set on.

So i will leave that as it is for now and i will work on my next post :)

So excited to finally share my little journey with you all. 

Speak to you soon and thank you for visiting me xxxx

Long time no speak..

So when i last made a proper post i said how i was going to do a budget and try and live frugally through April but something happened at the end of march beginning of april in my life which was very stressful and i lost all will when it came to the whole savings thing.

Since then lots has happened and i can not wait to share it with you all.

Firstly i joined slimming world again. I had no idea you could it as a vegan but you can! So i will be making a post about that if any of you are thinking of joining, so keep an eye out for that.

Also, my veggie garden is now becoming very productive and its becoming rather colourful so i will do a post on what im growing and any troubles i have had along my short journey. So i have not completley given up on living the frugal dream :).

I am so excited to share it all with you. so over the next few days look out for that post. 

Welcome to my new readers, i love having you here. I hope you enjoy the content. 

I don't have the most exciting life but what i have i enjoy and i am grateful for and more than anything i love sharing it with you all.

I have not forgotten the recipes too, i just needed to take that time off and now i am back :).

speak to you very soon xxxxx

 

Thank you xx

I love seeing where you are all from, it's exciting and makes me so happy.

I have readers from all around the world, I never would have thought I would be this lucky. I love talking to you.

I would love to know how you found me. where you recommended or did it just pop up from somewhere? please let me know if you would, please comment or email me telling me where you are from and how you found me. Would make my day if you do, I'm so interested.

I shall now rather excitingly list my amazing audience and grin stupidly in the process :D ..

U.S

U.K

Russia

Ireland

Australia

Philippines

Malaysia

France

South Africa

Germany

Italy

Poland

Austria

Canada

I hope No one was left out.

How amazing is that list!

Back in April 2015 my audience was US, UK, Australia, Canada and Ireland- So you can see how far I've come just short of nearly 2 years and why I'm very happy and proud.

Thank you so much for supporting me. Please recommend me to any friends or family that you think may be interested and keep visiting me. I hope to be more regular with my posts as my darling daughter now has a bed time so the evenings are mine again which is rather strange.

Please hit the follow icon on my blog to further show your support <3. Until the next blog stay safe and remember to always smile because not only does it make you feel good but you could brighten someone's day without even knowing it <3 xxx

Upcoming Content..

My blog has never had much structure to it because I was never that serious or dedicated to it, but I hadn't done a post for such a long time and I realised how much I missed sitting there typing away to you all and now I FINALLY have my own laptop the only things keeping me away is motherhood and house work :( booo!

So over the last few weeks I have been doing a lot of thinking, this tends to happen when you don't have many adults to converse with haha. My thoughts somehow bought me to realise I want to be more self sufficient. I was sitting with Pippa outside a CO-OP branch near mine and I saw an advertisement for vegetables and it was advertising certain bags of veg for under 80p - Can't think of the exact price and it got me thinking about how expensive it actually is in the long run.

So my thought process then became- GROW YOUR OWN! My dad has his own allotment and it is still in the beginning process as it requires so much attention and preparation and he only has so much free time and lets face it the UK climate doesn't really help much, and so I'm used to hearing what he has grown or is growing and I became rather envious that he has all that space. I am very creative and I have dabbled in growing veg in my previous garden but it was too hot and my plants soon dried up and died in the little green house I had so I soon gave that short-lived hobby up, until now.

So in this new house it is slightly more difficult as my garden doesn't get full sun like the last one and what little patio we do have doesn't get much of that sun at all- My garden is big but it's mainly grass so I will be using pots and containers to grow my veg as I wanted them off the grass - mainly to reduce the chance of bugs and pests getting at my crops. So I will be talking about my struggles and successes of that venture which I'm looking forward to as well as tips and tricks to save you money.

The next lot of new content you will see more of will be recipes. Sweet and savoury and all VEGAN :). My sister can not have wheat or dairy in her diet so my next challenge is to try and make some very tasty vegan gluten free recipes not only for her but for you also. But feel free to make any of my recipes gluten free by swapping certain items to accommodate your dietary needs. I am also thinking of looking up popular recipes and doing reviews on them- this is just a thought for now.

So lots of new content is coming and the recipes are delicious and cheap. That is what I am focusing on, we are not all rich and even if you have enough money to buy certain brands or get take outs, we could all to with reducing our food bills- Darren informed me that last month we spent £300+ on food alone. Yet when we want food there never seems to be much to eat. So I have set myself a goal of reducing that bill by a huge amount and in April we will keep our receipts in hope of seeing a reduction and by how much. Along with the recipes I will talk about cupboard staples, items I use every day and the more expensive items I stock up on and why.

Apart from the veg growing and recipes I will talk about other aspects of my life - about being a mum, being vegan and other menial tasks.

I wanted to quickly mention that you will find a couple of recipes on my blog that are not vegan and that's because I only went vegan at the end of 2015, I don't want to delete it as that was part of who I am and I don't want to change that, but going forward it will be all vegan and it will most likely say vegan in the title just to reassure you.

I love writing to you so if you are interested then show your support by coming back to visit me :)

lots of love xxx

Book review!! #2

A while back now I did a book review and since then I haven't read much, especially since having Harlow. This review was a must because It very quickly became my favourite book ever. So lets get on with it.

You're The One that I want- Giovanna Fletcher

Darren bought me the book for Christmas a couple of years ago and I very quickly became unable to put it down - I was HOOKED :).

I usually find it hard to get into a new book, can sometimes take me a few pages to a few chapters to really start to like it but I was drawn in on the first page. The reason for this is the book cleverly started with the ending of the book and then everything is explained within.

It's a love story. I also feel we can all relate in one way or another, whether that's having a school crush, liking two people at the same time or falling in love with your best friend- It's very emotional and I even admit that I cried at the end. I will never forget where I was at the time- On a bus coming home from work at 10pm, completely gutted that It was over. I never wanted the story to end. It is so well written and with all the twists and turns that happen it keeps you wanting more.

I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil anything, I have uploaded photos above of the blurb and front cover so you can read that and see what the cover is like.

If you are in need of a new read then give this one a go, I can not recommend it highly enough. 10/10 from me!!

Give it a read and if you do then let me know what you thought of it.

Thank you for visiting- I will do another book review as soon as so keep an eye out for that :) xxxxxx

Interesting fact- Giovanna Fletcher is married to Tom Fletcher from the band McFly.. Just in case there are any McFly fans.. :)

Disclaimer- I do not get sponsored to do reviews

Does anyone else do this?

When I see people doing dishes on the TV or in films they stack them neatly and there never seems to be many dishes. However, when I do them I almost see it as a challenge to get all of my dishes done and to somehow fit them all on the wrack. It was only just now as I was stacking them that It got me thinking, I don't often see this in other peoples houses. I don't dry mine straight away because I hate the idea of dust going on my dishes so i let them drip dry.

I have so many dishes because I cook all of my meals from scratch, so yes lots to wash. Here is my mountain of dishes, let me know if you do this too so I know that I'm not alone haha :)

An emotional morning

Whilst Harlow was napping on me this morning I put on a recorded episode of Country file a winter special as I love looking at the hills and animals but now I regret watching it.

They where talking about cattle whilst standing with them and they where discussing the profits the farmers will get and touching the cattle and saying how much meat they will give from certain areas of it's body. It really made me sad and then on a different clip they where talking about sheep in the lake district and once again they where discussing the meat they will produce, they then make one of the sheep get into a cage which weighs them and then they spray the sheep, I'm assuming that meant they are nearly ready for slaughter :(. This really affected me. I just started crying and couldn't stop. The sheep looked so innocent and clearly uncomfortable and whilst it is standing there patiently, they are discussing its death and the money they make from it right in front of it :( ,completely disrespectful. 

I know that's what happens but it's a living breathing animal with thoughts, emotions and social skills. We are all aware It happens but that doesn't make it right. The slaughter or murder of animals for food has become so normalised that people do not even question it. I was watching kids tv this morning with Harlow and they humanise the cartoon animals and give them human voices and chores and do basic every day activities and kids love them, the parents then buy the merchandise for their children and come sunday they sit down to a beef, lamb, chicken or pork roast? Are the children actually aware that they are eating their favourite cartoon character? Can children even link the two?? I know I didn't at a young age. It's so wrong :(

Like I said I know these things go on in the world but it doesn't make it right. I am also aware that I can not save all the animals, that's what makes It so hard.

Sorry this isn't a happy post but this is just some of the frustration and anger I feel towards this topic and I don't for one minute believe if you eat meat your a bad person but I do know we don't need animals to live off. I think more education on the subject needs to be given so we can all start seeing what is happening and start making a change. 

Thanks for visiting  me xxx

Vegan Banana bread

So the other night I was feeling particularly down for a couple of reasons so I went online and found this recipe, I had all the ingredients in and it seemed relatively easy so I made it. MY GOD!! It is so delicious and between Darren and I we ate the whole thing within a matter of hours and then the next day I made another one haha.
During the cooking process your kitchen smells so tasty!!

The main flavours that stood out to me where of course bananas and the nutmeg. Before going vegan I used to really enjoy egg custards and the level of nutmeg you can taste on the egg custard is the same as on this banana bread.

You don't need any fancy equipment just some basic cooking cutlery, a loaf tin and 2 mixing bowls.

I did do a freeze test on a thin slice (I was not willing to waste a thick slice if it didn't work out :p ). It took about 30 minutes to defrost it so if it was a thicker slice you would probably need to give yourself an hour to be on the safe side. The 30 minutes it took for my thin slice meant it was no longer frozen but it was still quite cold so bare that in mind if you are giving it to friends.

Freezing your banana bread is ideal if there is only a couple of you who would be eating it and you don't want to eat the whole thing, believe me it really is so easy to do. If you where going to take a piece to work with you it would be defrosted by lunch time or even a summer picnic.

The finished product is very moist and soft and like I said I got 12 decent slices out of it. It does not contain any refined sugar. Here is the recipe ;

It's very simple so I will list the ingredients and the instructions at the same time <3

Pre-heat the oven to 170 C or 338 F and Grease your loaf tin with a very small amount of melted coconut oil.

firstly if you don't have apple sauce in your cupboard then you need to make it, this is how I made mine. I used one small to medium apple, any will do. I peeled and cored the apple and cut each apple slice into 4 so they where small. I then put the apple pieces in a pan with a small amount of boiling water and allowed the water to simmer and the apple will start to soften. I used a potato masher to mash mine and if you feel you need more water then go for it but you only need a very small amount of this apple sauce so don't go too mad with the amount. (If you have little ones you could always double the apple sauce and give it to them on some porridge for breakfast)

4 spotted bananas

     1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup of apple sauce

1/4 cup coconut oil

1tsp of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

In your bowl you want to mash up the bananas, I used a potato masher. Do not worry if there are larger chunks of banana just keep mashing until you are happy, next add in your coconut sugar and use the masher to combine the two ingredients together. Then go ahead and add in the rest of the listed ingredients and mix well.

In your second bowl add

1 1/2 cups of plain white flour (feel free to use wholemeal)

2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda/ baking soda

and mix really well, I used a whisk to ensure it was well combined. Then add all the ingredients together and when your happy its all combined, pour into your already greased loaf tin and put it in the oven for 40-45 mins.

Please note that every oven is different so you may just need to check on your bread to see how its getting on. If you use a cake tester, it may not come out clean because of the bananas and apple sauce and it will look under cooked if you cut it straight away but it will firm up as it cools. It is delicious warm and would be lovely with ice cream. This is not my recipe. I found it online and I will try and link them.

Darren and I went through our second cake quite quickly but we gave 2 slices to his folks to try and those four in cling film are currently in the freezer. The rest we ate the same day, it really is terrible but once you have made it you will understand just how delicious it really is. The only expensive items in the recipe would probably be the coconut oil and the coconut sugar. You can of course use castor sugar or even brown sugar. I luckily had all of the ingredients in already so no cost to me. Please give this recipe a go. It does not taste like it has no eggs or dairy in it and I guarantee everyone will enjoy it and will be rather impressed too. Thank you for visiting. Feel free to comment and tell me if you liked It as much as I do xx

  Side note- I have since made this banana bread and I only realised part way through mashing bananas that I had no apples to make the apple sauce so I took a risk and just added another small ripe banana and it turned out just fine. Much nicer with the apple sauce but it is still very tasty without  :D xxx

Slimming world review

One of the most Viewed posts on the blog is Slimming world updates. I Just wanted to clarify to my lovely readers that I no longer do slimming world (which Is probably obvious).

I did however want to say that I loved doing it and as you can see I did lose a lot of weight. I highly recommend it as it's not restrictive at all and if you put the work in, you really do lose the weight.

One main reason I don't follow it anymore is because my main goal at the time of doing it was to lose weight to qualify for IVF and I did it. When I was pregnant I barley ate especially in the beginning because of feeling so sick, and also I became vegan a few weeks before the IVF. As far as I'm aware Slimming world don't do a plan for plant based eaters, please correct me if I am wrong. And seeing as I would have to do all the meal planning and researching about syns with sweet and savoury vegan foods such as cheese and chocolate, I didn't think it was worth the money. But if they did do one in the future then I would really consider going back on plan. 

I did speak to a rep about it in October and she said that a lot of people are turning plant based. I asked if they had any recipe books or plans for a plant based diet yet and she said no but the more people ask about it and enquire to Slimming world the more likely that it will happen, so fingers crossed and if your interested then get asking :).

When I was on the plan I found a great deal of support, information and inspiration on Facebook groups. Just do some searching and add yourself. I also googled the syns of specific treats if they weren't in my book.

Good luck to any of you that are doing the Slimming world plan :) Wish you all the success that you so desire <3 xx 

Meet Harlow

Hello, 

I have already told you that my beautiful daughter Harlow was born on sept 27th 2016 but I have not yet shared any photos of my little angel.

She is such a cutie and I just adore her so much, I was unsure of whether I wanted to post any photos of her on my blog but the ones I have chosen she will be with me so none of her alone.

She is such a happy baby and she laughed for the first time a few weeks back and it was magical!

Here she is ...

I know I am biased but isn't she just so cute xxx

  

R.I.P Our beautiful Doggy

I have some terribly sad news to share :(, our beautiful furbaby Jack passed away on October 21st 2016 peacefully in our arms.



Life truly will never be the same and our home is so empty without our little boy. I had jack for 6 years almost to the day and Darren shared our fury friend for nearly 6 years. Just as i described him on his shared page with pippa, he was a loving and very loyal dog and we are so sad to no longer have him in our lives and at our sides. 

He became very sick in his last two weeks, it was so sudden and the vets predict it was most likely due to a brain tumour. Like i said it was so sudden and he had such a terrible time that the kindest thing for him was to let him go. I still can't talk too much about it, it's still too soon. He wasn't alone as i said both Darren and i where with him to the very end. Jack was my first Dog and he will forever be so special to me. 

It has been a few months without him and it's been a difficult time. I just hope he knew how much i loved him, all those days i didn't kiss or cuddle him or just look into his beautiful kind brown eyes i will always regret, but you can't spend all your days doing that as you also have your life to live and i understand that but when you lose someone close to you, you always wish you could go back one last time or you wish you would have appreciated them more. The problem is you won't know you'll feel that way until they are gone and i have learned so much since his passing.

We still have pippa and she hasn't been the same since he's been gone. The first few days where the hardest, we just wanted to be able to sit her down and explain what had happened but obviously that wasn't possible and it made his passing even harder with her missing him. We have a little mat in our kitchen and jack used to sit on it but especially in his last weeks and pippa would just sit there and wait and even now to think of that it really upsets me.
 Since then she has been a little bit better, we have since washed that mat and everything jack was in to try and make it a little easier for her but like humans she will mourn for him. 

We had all of this to contend with whilst seeing to our newborn baby, she has been my best distraction through it all. when you have a newborn or a baby or child in general, you have no time to sit around and mope because they need feeding or changing or just need you and i have found myself on random days at different times, just crying because i miss him so much and i am always so busy and when i catch up with myself, it hits me all over again and it really is the hardest thing.

So this post was mean't as a final goodbye to my jack, so all my readers know and to anyone else out there who has ever loved and lost a pet no matter how big or small, i know how you feel and i am so sorry for your loss.

One thing that gets to me is that Harlow will never grow up with jack and i was never able to get a photo of them together and when we feared we may lose him, he was that sick it wasn't even possible for that to happen and it didn't look like jack anymore. 

To my jack, you where my first proper pet and i fell in love with you big time, you where my best friend through really hard times and i loved how you wouldn't leave my side if i was sad or crying, you where such a loving, loyal and beautiful companion and i will miss you with all my heart. I am so sorry you where sick and that Darren and i couldn't make you better. You bought both of us so much happiness and we hope you had a good life, we will always miss you and you will never be forgotten. Thank you for loving me the way you did and i will never forget the way you looked into my eyes.
love you always- my matey jack <3 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  

 21/10/2016 I lost my best friend x 

My infertility story- IVF part 1

I wrote announcing that i was pregnant a few months ago now, but it wasn't easy for us and i wanted to write about our struggle because it is something that is very common but the couples that are fortunate enough to not have gone through the struggle of infertility will not understand how mentally and emotionally hard it is and those couples who are suffering will understand completley and i wanted to share my story with you so you can be more understanding towards struggling couples and to those of you who are struggling to let you know i understand and i am here for you and to give you the heads up for what lies ahead.

I will do this in two parts as it's such a lot of information to fit into one big read, especially if you are reading this on your phone, so please come back for part two.

So lets start at the beginning  :)..

I have always wanted to be a mum, since as far back as i can remember. I was always maternal as a child and when my little brother was born in 2002 i was over the moon and i mothered him as much as i could and enjoyed every moment ( I still do and he is 14 now :p). 
I suspected i may have problems conceiving a good while back now but the doctors always put my missing monthly cycles down to hormones and pretty much fobbed me off every time, until i went for a blood test because enough was enough and like i suspected i did have something wrong with me, i have a very common condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). What that means is that a womans levels of the sex hormone estrogen and progesterone are out of balance and this leads to the growth of ovarian cysts. Pcos can cause problems such as fertility issues, missing menstrual cycles, cardiac function and even appearence.

Darren and i had been together for a long time and realised we where not falling pregnant naturally so i went to the doctors where they did another blood test and reffered me to the fertility clinic in the womens hospital in liverpool. 
My first appointment was 31st dec 2014. The first few visits where pretty boring, just paper work and weigh ins and more blood tests when you get your period etc..
One of the hardest parts of having pcos is that you can gain weight very quickly and it is very hard to lose that weight. At one of my appointments when she weighed me i was told i was obese and this really hit me hard! i was devastated i was a size 14 in most things and weighed around 13 stone. I was told in order to recieve any help i had to lose the weight (hence why i was doing the slimming world). 
I also had to have something called a hycosy where basically they put a catheter through your cervix with a clear solution and when they put that solution into your uterus they watch to see if it goes through your fallopian tubes so they can rule out blocked tubes. Thankfully mine where fine. Darren had to have tests done too so they could check on his sperm.

At my next consultation it was with a consultant who gave us darren's results and the plan of action for our course of treatment. Sadly due to both of us having troubles and finding out i do not ovulate, their decision was to go for IVF. I could not believe i needed ivf, me?! 
I have never known anyone more maternal than myself and i needed science to help me have a baby, i was so shocked and devastated, As where my family. I was told at that appointment that they would give me 6 months to lose 2 stone and i said i am not waiting 6 months to even get started! so she said 4, and i had to meet her in the middle so i said ok. So she gave me a date to aim to and off i went on my 4 month journey to lose weight! 

The appointments where very far apart and so far i had waited 9 months before even recieving any treatment. I handled it very well so far as i had the weight loss to focus on, that was my goal to drop 2 stone and i was also put on 500mg of metformin 3 times a day to help me get to that goal. Most days where ok but others where hard, sometimes i would find myself in tears thinking about how unfair it was for people to fall pregnant so fast and when you go through something like this, it feels like everyone around you is pregnant. 
What a lot of people don't understand is that when you suffer infertility, it is a real strain on your emotional wellbeing as well as your mental wellbeing. I know for me i felt like having a baby was just what we are made for ( im not being sexist, i mean that we are naturally able to concieve because we have the body parts to do so) so i felt like a failure and people say oh "it will happen" and "your time will come" and my most hated one "just relax and it will happen", i do not ovulate so how can i get pregnant?
It really is hard to want something all your life that seems so easy to achieve yet your body is unable to do so. I went through a stage of resenting myself which was very hard.
Darren was amazingly supportive through all of this. I absolutely adore him!

So i lost the 2 stone and at my weigh in appointment which was 1st september 2015, i was told i was successful and that they where able to put me through for the funding permission for the ivf. I remember walking into town with darren and feeling like someone had just told me i was pregnant, all my hard work paid off and we where on our way to becoming parents.

(fast forward a bit)- We where told we where granted permission to go through with the ivf and the next step was to recieve an information pack with a dvd in it and once we had recieved all of that we will soon have a consultation with a nurse to decide what our ivf protocol would be. So at that appointment they decided the short cycle was what would be best for us and she gave us some information and took more blood ( I had so many blood tests through this process) and we where sent on our way. Basically i just had to wait for my period which was so frustrating as it was so irregular and i just wanted to get on with it. Our next appointment was with a nurse for a drugs teach appointment, they basically go over what the dvd covers and you get to have a go at touching the needle you will be using and you can ask any questions you may have with the nurses. 
 This was really strange and exciting. I'm holding this needle thinking how the hell am i going to be able to stab this into myself? but i mentioned being excited because i was one step closer to hopefully being pregant...


To be continued in part two xx

The baby is here!

As the title says, The baby is here and i am back!

Being pregnant was so much fun but hard as well. 
I really suffered with headaches and it was very hard to function, even just every day activities. Sometimes even just checking my facebook on my phone was too much, never mind coming on here a few times a week. I had the headaches every day for what must have been like, 9 weeks in total and then after that every now and then until later in pregnancy when i didn't really suffer. 

Feeling my little baby kick inside me was just incredible. After suffering with infertility, it was so special and mean't everything to me for sure. 
From the get go i just knew just i was having a girl, i have heard people say "you just know", but i really did and it was such a strong feeling.
My older sister and her boyfriend bought Darren and i a 16 week private gender scan and when we went and i was laying on the bed, i had a slight doubt that it may be a boy but it didn't last very long and the sonographer said what would you like it to be or words to that affect and i said girl and she pulled a certain face and i said is it? and she nodded. Best feeling ever, 1- because i was right and 2- because i was about to have my little princess :).

Seeing your baby on the scan screen at 12 weeks is amazing. I obviously had a 7 week scan but you really can't make anything out at that stage as its so small but at 12 weeks, my god! She was huge, well so she seamed anyway and also she was asleep haha, i had to move about because she was asleep and we couldn't really see her moving but when she did we where so shocked and couldn't stop smiling, it really is the best feeling ever.  After that was the 16 week gender scan which she was so active for, she was kicking her legs all about and turning around so much and once again we where completley in love. We didn't really get to see her at the 20 week scan because at that one it's more about checking the babies heart and head size etc.. but because of the position she was in the sonographer couldn't get to see her heart chambers or her umbilical positioning so we got an extra scan a few weeks later to check everything and everything was fine and at that one we got some scans of her hands and feet and it made me melt! her little hand!!!

Anyway moving on.. i will do a birth story for you to read if you are interested. I had a c- secion so come back to read that one.

My beautiful little princess is called Harlow and we love her so so much. what a journey this has been. We are incredibly lucky to have her and i would do it all again to be blessed with another child.

So that is why i have not been active on here for such a long time and i am so sorry to all my readers who will have come back time and time again to see nothing and i just hope i can get you all back again and more.

Another Topic i will be talking about is my vegan journey and all my feelings regarding that so please come back and have a read.

Thank you all so much for visiting and i hope to see you back again soon :) 

Subscribe so you don't miss out on any new posts and interesting stories that are coming your way <3 xxxxxxxxxxxx

 
 

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT

 So i have some pretty huge news to share with you all!

I am PREGNANT :D 

We have had one hell of a journey to get to where we are right now and if you are all interested in that journey i will do another post specific to that another time. 

Currently i am 13 weeks and 5 days pregnant and not even announced it on facebook yet BUT i didn't want to lose anymore readers with me being absent for so long now. We have just had a very difficult journey to get to where we are right now. We are so happy and very excited for our little arrival and i will do another full update as i say on the topic another time so you can read all about it then.

My other huge announcement is that i am now a Vegan :). And once again i will do a big post on that explaining why and also how its affected my health so far on my journey.

A lot has happened this year so far and its been a completley new and exciting journey for me and my family as my sister is also pregnant so this year not only will i be a mum myself but also an auntie and our little ones will not have much of a gap between them so i am incredibly excited and goodness knows what this blog will turn into but it's going to be one hell of a journey and it's going to be a thrill to share it with you all.

I was having a quick look at my audience and where everyone is from and i love how many different countries and cities have found my blog, so i want to thank you all for taking the time to come by and take a look.

I still do not have my own laptop :( i will look into getting one soon but i am poor so we shall see. My boyfriend just had to buy a new one because his one broke and he is pretty much always on it so i thought i would grab it quick just to let you all know i am still here and i can't wait to come back with more posts and hopefully gain some new viewers too.

Thankyou all so much and if you would like to follow me on my new and very exciting journey then please subscribe and stay tuned for my upcoming posts.

speak to you all soon, take care and have a fabulous weekend from beki and bump <3 xxxxxxxxxxx

I'm back and it's nearly halloween!!!!!!

I do still exist,
 I have just been so busy with things and just not had the time at all to come on here and update you, sorry.

How are you all? gosh i have so much to tell you all but just not yet! 

I am loving that it's Autumn, finally! been waiting all year. This is my favourite time of the year and im feeling so festive. Mischief night tomorrow, dreading it! people from america, do you have mischief night and if yes, what happens in america? in fact anywhere else in the world apart from the uk?

I will tell you what happens here in liverpool; bad things, haha. Usually ill be on the bus on mischief night coming home from work and smack, the bus gets egged by a gang of young lads. Somehow they think its fun? even funny!!? It really is not! OR you could be walking home or wherever and smack, you get egged. It hasn't happened to me YET, but seeing as i've said this, it will most likely happen to me now haha. OOPS!

 Are you all excited for halloween?!


I will be honest, halloween isn't that much of a big deal for me, growing up we would never go out trick or treating but that was ok because we would do things in the house like duck apple and apple on the strings (not sure what that game is called). But then in 2002 my little brother was born and when he was old enough we started going out and it was a new thing for me and my sisters. I personally do not like anything scary, it doesn't impress me at all, so for me halloween is my brothers birthday. However this year, me and darren decided to carve our own pumpkins because we have never done our own before. It was so much fun and they look fab!
My little brother came over last night and he carved his very own pumpkin too, it looks fab! 

I will put pictures up soon of halloween and jamie's birthday, including our pumpkins :)

Thank you to everyone who is still looking at my blog and sorry i have been away for so long. 

hope you have all had a fab evening and speak to you soon xxx

 

Christmas preperation :D

I have not been on here because i have been super busy preparing for CHRISTMAS!!! Yes you read that right.

 Christmas is the most magical, Happy, festive time of the year and it's mine and darren's Favourite time. I started making little things in february haha, people think i am crazy, I just believe its called being organised. Any how, i am not going to post pictures just yet as i want to save that for Nov- Dec to give you some winter inspiration. 

I am making all kinds of things but what i am concentrating on more at the moment is scarves for Autumn/ Winter. I will be showing them on my facebook page soon to sell and i will put some up on my blog also. They are really lovely!! 

You never know i might do a give away if i have enough interest. If that is something you would like then please comment below :). 

I wish i had my own laptop but can not afford one at the moment and with Darren starting a business i can not get access to it a lot of the time so i have to get in when i can. I miss updating you all but i have tried doing it on the blogger app and i can not change the font or anything so i Can't personalise it for me. 

Anyway i am off to finish my scarf so i can start another before my shift tomorrow. 

Thankyou for reading and speak to you all soon :D xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

slimming world update #8

Hello, its been a month tomorrow since i last updated you all on my slimming world journey. Well i had my important appointment and guess what.. it went well! 

I can't tell you all what it was for just yet but i will when the time is right :) and when it is, i can not wait to tell you all what's going on :p.

So when i was last weighed it was 11 st 6Ibs and i had 2 days till my appointment, so my lovely new friend taught me a little trick.  I only did this as i was desperate and wouldn't recommend anyone trying it as it's not the safest. Basically the night before my appointment i took some water tablets and i lost 4Ib in water weight for my appointment which had me weighing in at, 11st 2Ib, which mean't for my appointment i was exactly 2 stone lighter. I was so chuffed, can't even tell you. Since tuesday i have eaten a load of crap which i am not happy for but i needed a blow out, i tried so hard and i needed a treat but i don't feel good for it at all, i'm all bloated and feel horrible. So i will be back to slimming world strictly in time. 

Due to the whole water tablet business i won't be weighing myself for a good few weeks, maybe 4 as i have been naughty and i will have gained a few pounds from this week alone. I will keep you all updated when i do weigh myself though.

If anyone is doing slimming world, please comment and let us all know how your getting on. I have basically lost 24 pounds on slimming world and would 100% urge you to keep going and if you have not then please start. I didn't pay to be a member as i can not afford to but i did google all about it and joined groups on facebook and found out about it all that way. 

Thank you for reading and supporting me on my journey so far, i still have a lot to lose but.. depending on how these next 3 months go could change that. We shall see. Stay tuned!! 
 

Happy Birthday Princess Pippa

So it was Pippa's birthday 18th July and I made her and jack a dog friendly birthday cake :).

More of a doggy chocolate rice crispy cake

They smelt so good!! I just bought a bag of dog chocolate from Asda and really cheap rice crispy cereal and made them the way you usually would ( melt the chocolate and add in the cereal and then place in a cup cake case or mould) but with these I added a small amount of honey. Very small amount just to help it cling together as there was not much chocolate. I made this the night before and popped it in the fridge to set.

 

 

Good morning birthday girl!!

clearly she wasn't as excited to see me first thing as I was her. She is 3 now :)

 

 

"ooooo can I have one?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack decided to be brave and gobble them up off the plate :)

 

 

Jack liked them more than Pippa for sure!!

 

 

she didn't get any toys for her birthday because she doesn't really play with them. She has a teddy she sleeps with and chews but she doesn't play like other dogs do with balls an such, Jack doesn't either but I think that is because as a puppy he wasn't encouraged to. He was a rescue dog so I am not sure of his past but as long as I have had him he has only wanted to play 2 or 3 times an each time is only a few seconds bless him.

 

She shared her birthday with her brother Mateo. He lives with my mum and doesn't look much like Pippa. Here is some pictures of them as puppies..

 

Hope you all enjoyed these photos of Pippa, Jack and Mateo. My two dogs didn't eat all of the cake I gave some to mateo to enjoy on his birthday, and anyway my two don't eat junk food so it was a complete birthday treat <3 xx

see you soon xxxxx

Slimming world update #7

I am theee worst person for saying i will do an update on a certain day because i never do and then two weeks later i pop back up :( im rubbish. sorry.

So i weighed myself on Tuesday and i now weigh 11st 13Ibs. I am so very happy about this. I have 11 Ibs left to go till i reach my 2 stone weight loss goal.

Last time i saw the doctor i asked about taking the metformin and how it will affect my weight when i come off it and she said i will have to be careful i do not balloon :( well i was on a little downer after because you try so hard and then to fear it could all come back is rather daunting. So yeah, need a plan in place. When i have lost the two stone i will carry on with slimming world, I don't have any intentions of stopping. 

For anyone who has not read my previous Slimming World posts, i was 13 stone 2Ibs when i started which was 83.8 kg or there around and i was advised by the hospital to lose weight for something i will mention when the time is right and i am now 76.2kg. At my first hospital appointment my bmi was worked out at around 33 and according to my boots digital print off slip it is 29.4.

I have recently got my bike fixed so i have been cycling to work and back which is typically around 12-13 miles depending on my route and if i am going straight home or not. A friend at work suggested i use an app called 'Strava', it is free with in app purchases but it's great, it records my routes and tells me my miles and how many miles i have done in a week and i added my friend, so now we can talk about our rides and compare times. This week so far, i have done 39 miles. I don't tire of riding, i love love love it. It is my version of a car, i just hop on and away i go to my destination. 

what else is new... Oh i finally tried that other slimming world frozen meal i had in the freezer. It is called Hot - smoked salmon farfalle.

I didn't like it at all :(. It looked nice and smelled nice but i could not stand the taste. I am not a fussy eater, i don't know if i have mentioned that before, i will eat most things apart from meat. I only eat fish, and salmon is one of my favourite fishes to eat :( so i was very upset to find this too didn't taste nice.

I'm not saying other people won't like it but for me it was a no go :(. There is only one more left that is veg friendly now and thats the potato curry. I have no idea if i am going to spend what precious little money i have left on it, in fear it will go to the dogs :/ 
let me know if you have tried them. FYI you do not need to be on slimming world to give this a go, or any of them. It is just normal food but healthy and not filled with fatty oils and butters etc.. good for everyone, but not my taste buds sadly.

By now you should all know how bad i am at being good.. Food wise. Usually i'm an angel haha. well the other night a dominos kind of slipped and fell into my mouth with dominos cookies too, I just blinked and boom. oops??!!
And last night i had a hankering for sweets and chocolate (BLOOMING HORMONES), so i kind of ate a share bag of revels and this morning at 6 am i ate a bag of  minstrels (not the massive share bags but the smaller versions of them, not that it makes it any better :/) and some sweets. What is wrong with me? I have 39 days left until my appointment and i am still not taking this seriously. I have not even been back the gym in like 3 weeks. I moan about not being able to afford the gym and that but then i have a pass sitting in my purse and i do nothing, typical beki that is.
I am taking my biking seriously though, the thing is, when i go the gym i tend to use the bikes and walk on the treadmill because i don't like running on them, so i kind of feel like i'm already doing those things daily anyway? and i can't just go swimming at any time as it's only available certain times of the day because of schools and classes- see perfect at making excuses for myself :(. 

Just look at what i had for my lunch when i came home from work today..

Fries, some grated red leicester cheese and onion gravy. Now this would be ok if i measured out the cheese and used that as my healhy option A and made my own fries. Dissapointed in myself today.

Well i am currently waiting for my mum to come get me and then we are going to asda to do a food shop for a soup i am making this evening, it's a speed soup so if it tastes nice i will post pictures and the recipe for you all to try. It is mean't to be slimming and super filling :)..

I will keep you posted. Sorry it's such a long post. see you all soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx