A walk at the coast.

Taking advantage of the weather being dry this morning though a little dull we decided to take a walk at the coast. We didn't want to go to Aldeburgh so decided on Thorpeness it was very quiet it always is this time of the year. The Meare was closed and we didn't see another person along the beach the sea was a deep grey with plenty of wash and foam 

we took a walk amongst the houses up to The House in The Clouds my daughter loves the fact it's owned by fairies. 

We did see some civilization near the golf club. Most of the houses are shut up for winter I guess the majority are only used as second or holiday homes which is such a shame we did see a nice new build but with a price tag of £795,000 we won't be buying it as it only had 4 bedrooms not much garden and not much else either another case of paying for the location. I would want a lot more if I was ever to buy a house for that much.

On the way home I called past Fugal in Suffolk and picked up some eggs they were the last dozen and I must say they are absolutely delicious I had two for lunch the yolks were very yellow I'm going to do a spot of baking for lunch boxes as I have a first aid course tomorrow so I'm up to date especially as I'm a leader at Beavers and welfare officer at the cricket club and will be out all day. 

So that really it for today. 

Rain stops play.

I knew I should have gone for a nice walk straight after school drop off the sun was shining and it was a bit brisk but no I decided to do some housework and clean the oven by the time I had finished this the rain came and came. I don't mind walking in the rain but I'm not going to get soaked through. 

So I now have a shiny clean oven thanks to oven pride so I will do some baking instead we need sweet things for lunch boxes so a chocolate cake for Mr M and the little one and some Gluten,dairy and egg free rocky road for Little miss. That should keep them happy for a day or two until I bake again at the weekend. 

It's stopped raining now bit I need to pick some books up from the libray for our book club and I have a couple of books on Suffolk to pick up for an article I'm writing. 

Other than that it's been a quiet day.

A cold and foggy walk

Waking up this morning to frost and dense fog the children were dissapointed we have not had snow yet they are desperate to have some to go sledding at the castle. After a morning of housework and cutting up old towels for cleaning cloths they are great they are abrasive and fantastic at bringing a shine to the bath without chemicals and best of all they are washable. I'm sure many if you have been doing this for years so please excuse my lateness on this occasion. 

I decided to make the most of the dry weather and go for a long walk sticking to the back roads as the footpaths across the feilds are very muddy and waterlogged after so much rain we have had. I walked with a friend who has a dog so we have a good catch up and put the world to rights on the way round I think in total we walked about 4 miles in just over an hour which is quite good going and walking when it's cold certainly makes you feel much more invigorated. There wasn't a lot to see as the fog was so thick at one point it looked like it was clearing up but as I type this is appears to be coming in again. 

Lunch was some homemade soup today and I think I might try and tackle my daughters bedroom I could be gone for a while.

That job you wish you never started!

You know that job that always seems like a good idea but then turns out to take longer than you first thought and leaves you wishing you didn't start it in the first place. I had one of those days with my little boy well enough to go to school I thought I would tackle his bedroom. I don't know why or how it got so muddled as everything is supposed to go back in its place but a boy of 6 doesn't always listen to me and will often put things in any box or draw. 

Starting at 10 today and finally finishing at 2.30 just in time for a quick lunch and to pick them up from school he now had a very tidy and organised bedroom. Lego is now back in its relevant box books are back on the shelves and the hundred of cars,diggers,trains are now in the right box. I was very ruthless and binned any broken toy boxed I filled bags of cuddly toys and games and puzzles that he has grown out of and are now ready to sell or take to the charity shop. 

I moved wardrobes and his bed around resulting in a much more organised room hoping it will stay that way for a little while at least. 

I'm dreading starting on my daughters room it's pink girly and filled with lots of trinkets and important bits of paper containing lists  that must not in any circumstance be put in the recycling give me a day or two and I will tackle it and make sure everything is back in its rightful home. 

Don't you find it all to confusing sometimes.

This time of the year it's inevitable to starting thinking about being healthier losing those few pounds we carry around with us I'm no diffrent I am still carry about 10-14 extra lbs from the birth of my second child who is now 6. I have always been sporty and never had to worry about my weight untill a few years ago but now I would like to just be a bit slimmer the confusing part is how to go about it! Logic is eat less move more which I try to do.  Though with so many "diets" out there it's easily to get confused but I'm sure as soon as you come of the wagon the weight plus extra will pile back on. 

I walk a few miles each day if possible maybe get on the bike or do some exercising at home. So keeping active is the easy part the hard part is food.

I love food,cooking and baking I find if I'm on a diet I stop doing these thing and start thinking about food 24/7 I know it's not healthy to cut out certain groups and I also want to set a good example to my children so they have a healthy attitude to food so I have decided I'm not going to follow a fad diet I'm just going to cut down in the bad stuff which is chocolate and sugar in my tea and eat three normal meals a day and fruit for snack and see how I go. I'm still going to bake for us as a family but most of all I'm not going to obsess over it and hopefully those warrant lbs will just melt away. 

It's been a lazy day with a bit of washing looking after my poorly son and planning what and where to grow some vegetables this year. I think I'm going to forgo a flower bed in a prime sunny spot this year so I can grow more beans and peas as my current veg plot only sees the sun untill about mid day so spends a lot of time in the shade and everything I grew last year was not very successful. 

Cuddles and not a lot else.

My little boy has tonsillitis it came yesterday evening and we spent most of the night awake with trying to manage his fever, from cold flannels to using calpol and ibuprofen every two hours nothing seemed to touch the fever he screamed if the light was turned on and one point was saying his heart hurt. Having had my daughter have meningitis at 4 weeks old fortunately I am aware of the symptoms though it didn't stop it crossing my mind luckily we could bring his temperature down and he seemed to settle in to a sleep next to me while Mr M went in his bed.   

So this morning was a trip to the doctors where he was diagnosed with tonsillitis so it been a day trying to keep his fluids up and cuddles on the sofa watching copious amounts of cartoons which after only nearly 3 hours sleep I don't mind as it means I can catch up on everyone else's news and events.

It will be a quiet weekend end while he recorparates so I expect to be baking with my daughter as we are running short on packed lunch treats to see us through next week. 

Another busy few days

It's been rather busy here with the children starting there various clubs and activities and with Cricket season just around the corner I'm a huge cricket fan and love to go to see England play at Lords when we can. I am also on the committee of our local cricket club in Yoxford so with pre season friendlies to organise and training to be done in first aid and coaching I haven't really had much time to do anything else I'm only just about keeping up with housework and my day job. 

A website called Suffolk Days which I started two years ago offering honest reviews and ideas on where to go,stay and eat in Suffolk. This has become very popular so with the help of my FIL who is now retired we are making it bigger and better and coming away from monthly issue as I seem to be spending most of my time at the computer/tablet/smart phone I have decided I'm switching it off at 8.00 at night I'm not checking emails, social media or texts untill the next morning. Hence why I have been quiet on blogging as I really haven't had much to say I have just about caught up with my favourite blogs though which I have been doing in my lunch hour!. 

The only way I have seemed to fit everything in is by putting it in the calender right from housework to fitting exercise in to how many hours I spend on Suffolk Days even blocking out meeting friends for a coffee. I seem more organised and but it's going to take a while to get used to hopefully things will calm down soon once the training courses are out of the way and we find ourselves in a routine though some things have had to give the children have Rachel dropped one activity and I unfortunately havev given up tap dancing which I stated in September it was just another thing to try and fit in.

L 

Busy few days

Well we are back in the routine of Mr M commuting everyday, the children back at school and various clubs so I have been busy organising my calendar making sure I don't miss anything and it's already getting pretty busy. It has been difficult getting the children up a ready for school but I think they are glad to be back catching up with friends who they have not seen for a couple of weeks.

I have been catching up on housework and my day job finding people holiday accomadation in Suffolk and so far I have had some interesting requests a house that will sleep 22 for two weeks a romantic secluded traditional Suffolk pink cottage and some glamping. It looks like people are thinking about the summer already and holidays. 

Whilst the sun is still shining I think I will head out for some fresh air and a walk 

A bit of everything today

It's been a mixed day starting of with taking the decorations down and doing a through clean. I always love how spacious the room feels but don't like how bare they look so to compensate I put some of the fairy lights in a vase to create a little lamp. It certainly brightens up the the corner where the tree used to be in the dining room.

We decided to take the children to see Frozen at the cinema in Woodbridge today as a last treat before we all return to the school/work routine it's a really lovely filmed based on The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson it has some sad parts disney films always make myself and daughter cry but it also has some really funny bits also.   

Coming home we had a mixture for tea using up the left over veg, sausages and eggs the cupboards are now bare ready for them to be stocked up tomorrow. Yesterday we sorted out our budget for the month and already was able to put some into savings as a couple of DD were less that we budgeted for. So that was a small bonus. Tomorrow we are going to Ikea I can hear the groans already but we need a couple of desks and desperate for a bookshelf and as we don't want to pay to much for them this seems the best option. I used to beable to pick bits up quite cheaply that I didn't mind painting but now it's become popular to up cycle I find it harder to source good quality second hand furniture cheaply. 

Tonight we have been in the garden using my sons telescope he got for Christmas. It's a good clear night and we have looked at quite a few stars and also was able to pick up Jupiter with a few of its moons I have taken a picture which really don't do it justice. Hoping for a clear night tomorrow as it's the time when Jupiter is closest to the earth. Also we are waiting for a full moon so my Son can have a really good look at the craters. Well we have had a busy day I'm not sure I will blog tomorrow as I'm sure no one really wants to know about the flat pack furniture store. 

                                         

  

Keeping up with traditions

Despite the weather being awful we still ventured out to a New Year tradition which is a trip to Aldeburgh for fish and chips. The hot parcels soaked with vinegar taste so much better eaten when it's freezing and the wind is blowing which today it certainly is. 

Aldeburgh was busy as expected but the queues at the chips shop were ok I expect many people didn't want to wait in the cold. After eating our chips we took a walk along the sea front it was more being blown along. The sea was rough and even the poor seagulls looked fed up and unable to fly but I Kind of like it that way. 

It was good to get out in the fresh air and blow a few cobwebs away I'm not very good if I have to be indoors for to long I get a bit of cabin fever and the children certainly benefits from  out doors and having a run around. 

We are back home now to a nice cup of tea and and slice of Christmas cake. 

The photo below is looking from the top of the town steps. As I grew up in Aldeburgh I know many of the small side roads where we can park.