Yes it's true my weight has now rocketed back up to 18 stone. It hurts to think how I've drifted back into my old habits i.e eating junk or lots of food in general and not exercising.It really does make me feel sooooo down in the dumps, not because I weigh that much, but because I've left myself get to that point - having only last year shed a lot of weight to get to 16st 3lbs (which made me feel more than great at the time).Feeling sorry for myself isn't going to help though, getting off my lazy backside and being stronger willed (in terms of food) are the only things that are going to get me out of this rut I seem to be currently stuck in.On a brighter (well magnolia in fact) note, I've finally finished painting our downstairs hallway. Now there's only the downstairs loo, and...
For the first time in my life I actually did a spot of wallpapering today. Well when I say wallpapering what I mean is I put up DDWT Junior's dinosaur border up in his new bedroom - using the good old fashioned wallpaper paste.I now understand and fully realise why I've never wallpapered before and why I never intend to do so again! What a fiddly, messy palava it is. Novice or not I reckon it'll always be the same, little wonder then that I've always been an emulsion man :-)The other major downside of course is getting the old darn wallpaper off. You should have seen me struggle, even with a steam stripper. Still it's been an experience and one which I won't be repeating ever again I suspect!As today was officially the last day of my enforced absence from training - due to my knee...
We've had another busy day really even without leaving our humble abode, although the general mood has been of the bah humbug variety - due to me having to return to work tomorrow.I can't believe how quickly the past 2 weeks have gone by, but having said that it does feel like a lot longer, so that can only be good news and means that I've switched off from work and chilled out completely :)So how have I spent my last day of the holidays? Well, I've put up our new bathroom cabinet, got a load of stuff ready for a trip to the civic amenity site, sorted out the paperwork in the office (@ home) and played Lego/Hotwheels/Leapfrog Clickstart - oh and cooked a lamb dinner which was lush (from what the Mrs tells me).I also decided to weigh myself just to see what impact the festive season and...
After the exertions of yesterday, today was an alltogether much more sedate affair with DDWT Junior's Thomas the Tank engine train track (all 8ft of it) proving to be the centre of attention for most of the day.We did spend some time outside but that was only to wash the cars, get our weekly shop done at Tesco's and visit Borders for a browse around the vast assortment of books. One thing I will say about Borders is that they aren't cheap, well not compared to online retailers anyway - but at least you can get a better look at what you're going to buy beforehand by window shopping in-store :)My return to training last week has obviously had a positive effect on my weight, as I managed to lose 2lbs and am now standing at 16st 11lbs. I remain hopefull of shedding a few more pounds...
If there is such a thing as computer addiction then I think I've got it ....no seriously I really do think so. Why else would someone who works 5 days a week in a 'computing' day job and runs a 'computing' company in the evenings/weekends, stay up until gone 2am - yes you've guessed it on a computer?You'd have thought that catching some zzz's would have been far more important and beneficial wouldn't you. Well I keep asking myself the same question - why. Unfortunately, I don't know why I do it, I just do - but it isn't doing me any good.As a result of my lack of 'shut-eye' I woke up like the proverbial bear with a sore head and my mood was as dark and dingy as the gloomy cloud cover outside. Not a good start to the day and the ideal ingredients for an argument - which we thankfully...
After sleeping in a little later than I wanted to this morning, I finally made a start to the BHF Gower bike ride at 08:15, which was only 15 minutes later than I'd originally hoped.I'd gone solo this year for one reason and another and as a result took 1 hour 50 minutes 59 seconds to complete the 29 mile course. Ironically, this was an identical time to last year's ride, bizarrre or what. I averaged 15 mph over the entire course with a max speed of 38 mph, which was clocked up coming down the Mayals I'm sure. I did use slicks this year instead of bobbles, but conversely I hadn't put the miles in prior to this years event as I had last year. Hopefully next years attempt will be me break the 1 hour 50 minute barrier!!Perhaps most importantly I raised £60 odd in the process, so thanks...
Having heard plenty about the Swans pre-season signings in the local media, today was my first opportunity to see them in action at the liberty stadium, with the Swans taking on Spanish la liga outfit Levante UD.The game also gave me an opportunity to check out my new season ticket seat in the Asda East Stand - also known as the Asbo East Stand due to some of the clientele that frequent it at Swans home games. Thankfully I was impressed and happy with my lot - a more central view of the pitch - so it was a wise move :)A short video clip of the kick-off - which I took - can be viewed at the usual location on YouTube. As for the game itself, well the Swans ran out comfortable 2 nil winners (with 2 goals also being disallowed for offside) - so the 7,000 odd crowd went home happy in the...
As if missing the 10k wasn't bad enough, the tale of today's weighing scale hit me harder than a Ricky Hatton punch to the stomach (well ok perhaps not that hard). Seventeen bloody stone - I hadn't been that heavy since July 16th 2006. My confidence and mood was already quite low, but this really hit me hard. I must now do something as despite all the talk, I have yet to reach my target weight of 16st (the closest I came was 16st 4lbs, way back in January). Don't get me wrong, I'm not obsessed with my weight, I'm just determined to get it off.I suppose when I look at things a little closer, my problem area is and perhaps always was - my food intake. So I've taken the advice of some of the experts on the Runners World website and have started a food diary. Training I have never found...
Awww, today saw Mrs DDWT and I notch up our 7th wedding anniversary and to celebrate we went on a bike ride - with DDWT Junior of course. Ok, I'm joking about the celebrating bit - we're off to Center Parcs Longleat for a week (starting tomorrow) for the that bit.In fact ever since, we've been married we've always made a point of going somewhere to stay as a part of our wedding anniversary celebrations. Thus far we've been to New York, London, Paris and Center Parcs a few times (which pales into insignificance I know compared to the former) but we love it in CP's and so does DDWT Junior!Thinking about it, I'm quite glad to be off from work this week as I would no doubt be inundated with all of the 'seven year itch' - no not the play the old saying - jokes going.As for our bike ride,...
Today saw me conquer the 36 mile Three Valleys bike ride for the 2nd year in succession. I was very pleased with my time of 2 hours 37 minutes - especially as this was the furthest I had ridden since October last year! Being the statto that , the key numbers from today was a top speed of 35 mph (probably due to the descent down from Cilfrew) and an overall average of 13.5 mph.I was the 2nd rider home and my time was also just under 30 minutes quicker than my time last year - so look out next year *grin*The 36 mile ride starts in Swansea and takes in the Neath, Dulais and Swansea Valleys - mainly along the canal tow paths and cycle route that cover these areas. The downside of this of course is that you have to stop quite often to bypass the various safety gates along the way - which...
Despite it being only April 1st today, I decided to submit my entry (3rd year in succession) for the Hearts First Gower Bike Ride 2007 - and no this isn't an April fools joke. This annual event is organised by the British Heart Foundation and provides two courses catering for cyclists of all abilities (and fitness levels!). One is 29 miles and the other 15 miles both of which take you through and round the beautiful Gower countryside. This year's event is on Sunday, July 1st.If you would like to sponsor me (I'm doing the 29 mile course btw) - for such a great cause as the British Heart Foundation - then please visit my personal sponsorship page and give something, even if it's only a £1, as every penny really does help.At least the bike ride will help me focus and train towards...
After what seems like 3 weeks of non-stop sunshine, it was a refreshing change to see the wet stuff this morning and this evening - albeit only for an hour or so. It also meant that I didn't have to water the garden *smile*It's been quite an eventful day really, what with DDWT Junior going to Harri T's 3rd birthday party this morning (which went on well into the afternoon) and me utilising the local civic amentity site for some free compost. Who needs B&Q eh! On a more serious note, it's actually great to see the civic amenity site used so much and pratically every visit I've made there has seen the queue of cars extend outside the site and onto the road. Perhaps not everyone is as ignorant to the importance of recycling as it's made out. Or at least that's what I hope.My early...
With the deluge of rain today and over the past week for that matter, I've been wondering if the months of April and May have swapped places this year. I mean let's face it, the weather is more akin to April at the moment what with all of the showers, and vice-versa the soaring temparatures and sun drenched days of April belonged in May. Is it global warming or is that just as common an excuse as the doctor describing every ailment nowadays as a 'virus'.There's is one, well two good things actually about all this rain. The first being that I don't have to water the garden (and pay Welsh Water for the priviledge) and the second being that I can go out running and thoroughly enjoy myself (as I have a liking for running in the rain - fully clothed I hasten to add!). So in an attempt to...
Well a lack of weight loss actually. The usual Sunday morning routine of stripping off starkers and trudging along to the bathroom - home of our weighing scales - is beginning to get me a little bit cheesed off. Not because of the routine, but becuase I can't seem to shift the pounds at the moment. Grrrrrr.I've been around the 16st 10lbs mark on and off for a good few weeks now - which is bugging me to say the least. Having been 16st 4lbs over the Christmas period I'm not happy with the fact that I've gained 6 lbs.I suppose it's understandable though as my eating habits haven't been as stringent as they were pre-Christmas and my training certainly has't been at the same intensity. So I've no-one to blame but myself - so a kick up the arse is long overdue I think, don't you?Thankfully...
Having not had a good old fashioned Sunday roast for a while, I decided to serve up one of my world renowned (I wish) roast beef dinners for the DDWT family today and it went down a treat. The brisket joint which we'd bought from Morrisons the previous day was lovely and tender - which made having the leftovers (for sandwiches!) a real treat.A disasterous day on the scales for me - which reflected the munchies I had during our holiday last week - with a 16st 10lbs reading. Not good and it hit me like a sledgehammer, especially as I'd been down to 16st 4lbs at Christmas. It really is time to pull my finger out once again.DDWT Junior's health remains a concern as he is still acting rather erratically, complaining of ear ache, a sore throat and having a high temparature - but...
Not much to report really as our day has been mainly a case of getting everything ready for our week long stay at Center Parcs Longleat. It's quite funny that DDWT Junior says that he isn't going on holiday, he's going to Center Parcs! No doubt this is partly due to the fact that there are so many CP adverts on the NickJr tv channel all the time.Surely the marketing people can't be targetting the kids tv channles can they? I mean little Johnny see's holiday place x and then nags Mammy and Daddy about it incessantly (replace holiday place x with toy called y if you want - same difference). You can call me a cynic if you want, but hey c'mon.16st 5lbs was my tale of the bathroom scales today, so it's been a good week on the weight front. Must have been all those runs *wink*Tech Tags:...
We ventured over to Aberavon beach this afternoon for what was the first ever visit for all of us - strange but true. It's just a shame that the early sunshine had long since disappeared to be replaced by a murky overcast sky, which eventually meant light drizzle.Considering the location of the beach is relatively near to Port Talbot steelworks (some 3+ miles or so away), the sand and shoreline is very pleasant and clean - so don't be put off by it's location. I can imagine the place is rammed when the weather is hot and sunny and there is always the nearby Aquadome to visit if the beach isn't your sort of thing.The tale of the scale saw an increase this week to 16st 8lbs, but I was pretty much prepared for this considering I haven't trained since last Sunday and that was a weights...
A quiet day in the DDWT household today with the get up and go juice in short supply. I don't know what it is at the moment, but my enthusiam and energy levels are pretty low - so perhaps it's little wonder that I'm starting a cold (DDWT Junior and the Mrs already have it).My weight at this week's weigh-in was 16st 6lbs, so despite my lack of exercise over the last 3 days or so and having eaten like the preverbial horse, things ain't too bad actually.Am planning to do a light weights session later just to get back into the swing of things, but we'll see how it goes.Tech Tags: Weight...
With the weather being so great we decided to head off down to Swansea Bay today and make the most of the winter sunshine. DDWT Junior loves the beach and like most kids takes great pleasure in splashing in the flowing tide and chucking pebbles in the sea. It was a good job we'd taken some spare clothes along though - as per usual he got absolutely soaked!I took this last picture for posterity, as it shows the high-rise cranes sandwiched between the Marriott hotel and some of the existing Swansea Marina properties. The cranes are situated on the Meridian Quay development - which will be Swansea's highest residential building (and personally a bloody big eyesore due to it's sheer height compared to other buildings in Swansea).I'll no doubt look back on this blog post in years to come -...
Huh, if only I was talking about the football yesterday. I'm referring to my weigh in this morning and the storming sight of me now being 16st 4lbs, the lightest I have been in 6 years!!! It certainly gave me a lift as I was feeling a wee bit down in the dumps after the Swans defeat yesterday. Mrs DDWT has now also decided to undertake the regular Sunday weighing slot - but I'm restricted by copyright to divulge any of the details (plus a thick ear of course!).Been banging my head against the wall today trying to find an unlock code for my sony ericsson mobile - which is tied into the Tesco network, as I want to move over to T-Mobile without buying a new handset. I was contemplating using one of the many phone unlocking people out there in cyberspace (or on the high street for that...
If today was anything to go by I think that Winter has finally decided to rear its head. The cold and biting wind that engulfed us as we walked around Blackpill Lido was testament to the forthcoming cold snap that the weather forecasters have been promising. The sight of the odd hail shower throughout the day certainly emphasised the point even more.The cold was not enough to dampen our spirits though as it was a treat to have such a sunny January day - something which has been sadly lacking the last few months - on which we could enjoy the beautiful Swansea Bay shoreline. DDWT Junior certainly enjoyed his stint in the playground by the lido - even if the lido itself was closed, much to his disappoinment.Another week goes by and I finally got round to having my 'nude' pictures taken -...
The house of DDWT is half asleep today after the excursions of the yesterday. In fact the only things we did were take down the Christmas decorations - without any protest from DDWT Junior - which was most unusual and visit Nana and Grampa DDWT for tea.Good news on the weight front though - 16st 5lbs, despite the Magners and large bread/crisps/chocco intake yesterday. Diet..... what diet *smile*Tech Tags: Sleep Weight Diet...
Well it's not really, but seeing as it's Christmas Eve I wish it was as it never seems to snow at Christmas in these parts, well not for donkeys years anyway.With all the shopping done today has been a day of final preparation, prepare the food for the traditional Christmas dinner, make final arrangements with everyone for tomorrow and leave out a mince pie and glass of milk for Santa (oh and a carrot for Rudolph).As you can imagine DDWT Junior is thriving in all of the pre-Santa visit activities and is like a livewire to put it mildly. We've managed to get him to bed at his usual time of around 8pm but I've a feeling we're in for an early start tomorrow! But hey who can blame him, I remember those days well myself *chuckle*Talking of DDWT Junior, in order to keep him amused earlier...
Yes indeed, we've finally managed to finish all of our Christmas shopping - so it's now time to enjoy the final run up to the big day. We always try and leave the worst until last, and for us it's always the family cards that cause the biggest headache (and often the most expense). However, a visit to no less than 4 different card shops solved the problem in less than an hour - a result!The flu symptoms that have been sweeping the house of DDWT have finally caught up with me today and I'm also now coughing and spluttering with the rest of them. Just what I wanted for Christmas NOT. I can see me having to endure vast quantities of Covonia cough mixture and Night Nurse in order to try and keep the worst of it at bay and more importantly get rid of the lurgi pretty darn quickly.More...
My regular Sunday morning weigh in today gave me a surprise and a huge amount of confidence - 16st 6lbs. That's a HUGE 7lbs lighter than last Sunday and just goes to prove how dodgy our bathroom scales must be!! Joking aside though - I have knuckled down once again this week and it's obviously paid dividends.Whilst I was weighing, we took the opportunity to weigh DDWT Junior as he hadn't been done for quite some time. So it was a nice suprise to (a) see him acutally get on the scales without any fuss and (b) to learn that he is now 2st 8.5lbs.With Christmas coming ever closer, we decided it was time to check out some new Christmas decorations and with the Evening Post advertising 20% off all B&Q Christmas decorations - it didn't take a genius to figure out where we were heading...
I'm depressed today. Not for any one particular reason just a combination of a few - the main one being a distinct lack of sleep. It's stupid really and I only have myself to blame - why do I go to bed at 1am in the morning, knowing full well that DDWT Junior will awake the house at 7am 'ish without fail. Cue grumpy, short-fused and impatient Daddy all day. Not good.My mood wasn't helped by the tale of the scale either - 16st 13lbs, another 3lbs BACK on. Where did it come from, well quite simply it's due to my over indulgence (yet again) on biscuits and numerous buffet bits (from my visits to Cardiff last week). My self control seems to have gone awol and with it my streamline self. I'm really p*ssed at myself to be quite frank and I'll be pulling my finger out this week to order...
We had planned to go into Swansea this evening to celebrate Sion Corn Sunday and the switching on of the Christmas lights, but the rather windy and wintry (i.e. wild) weather put the mockers on that idea.It isn't that we mind getting cold or wet or that we were being grumpy - it was just that as the house of DDWT is still recovering from it's last bout of illness, the last thing we wanted was to make things worse and get back to square one. No thanks.The weather somewhat matched our moods really and it was certainly a day when we patience was in short supply. It's quite amazing really what a lack of sleep can do for you. I mean who'd have thought that people can turn into a short-fused, ratty, miserable, moaning monster just becuase they didn't get enough sleep (and that's just me!).A...
Today my cold started with a vengence and it's a real stinker. With a nose that's flowing like a tap and eyes that are streaming like I've been watching 'Kramer v Kramer' all weekend, I'm in a real state.
Copious amounts of day nurse, night nurse and halls menthol lyptus are being consumed in an attempt to dry things up, but it looks like I'm in for the long haul this time around unfortunately. Thankfully Mrs. DDWT is almost fully recovered otherwise I think we'd be struggling big time, especially with DDWT Junior being such a livewire.
The tale of the scale was a high point of the day though, with it once again reporting me being 16st 7lbs.
Tech Tags: Cold Weight...
No not the bloody fireworks, me now I've reached 16st 7lbs! At last, I've finally reached my target weight which I set way back on January 1st. So let this be an inspiration to anyone out there who wants to lose weight - I've lost two and a half stone, purely by watching what I eat more carefully and doing exercise.
After the jubilation of my weighing scale performance, I spent the rest of the morning/afternoon doing DIY stuff about the house and generally catching up with our 'to do' list - which never seems to shorten unfortunately.
The house of DDWT then headed off to St. Helen's in Swansea this evening for the City and County of Swansea's fireworks show - which in all fairness was a spectacular sight as well, and watched by far more people than my weigh-in this morning!!
Here are...
The normal mundane Sunday routine was broken up today with the Swans having moved the visit of the Lions of Millwall from the previous day - for various reasons. It turned out to be a very eventful day - both on the field and off.
The Swans were excellent value for their 2-nil win and in all honesty should have bagged a couple more, but for some poor finishing and a missed penalty by LT10. Having said that, it was easily the best performance that I've seen in all of the homes games thus far this season. Some might argue that a VERY poor Millwall side made the Swans look good, but I disagree with that sentiment. No doubt time will give us a true indication of which is correct.
A number of players stood out for me, but I felt that little Leon Britton was outstanding - not for the...
