• look for offers - 3 for 2 is a good one if you have a few people to buy for. Argos are doing 3 for 2 on toys right now so I took advantage this week and got both agents a Lego advent calender and Agent M a Minecraft set (his advent calender was free in the deal). I also bought 3 Lego mixels for his stocking too which was £6 instead of £9.
  
  Many places do buy 1 get 1 half price and on occasion you'll find some toys reduced down to "Better than half price". Most stores stick to the 3 for 2 in the run up to Christmas so look about for the best offers. Any places i find I'll update on the Facebook Page so give it a like to keep up to date :)
• De-clutter and sell off old toys - Agent M has a stash of toys under his bed that he hasn't played with in months. We've had a wee talk about it over breakfast and he's agreed that he doesn't really want them any more so we decided we'll put them up for sale and the money made will go toward his Christmas this year. Yeah it's kinda cheap of me to sell his stuff to buy him prezzies but at the end of the day we live off a tight student budget so every little helps. (Plus the money is going on stuff he would want rather than sitting under his bed).

• Online only deals - Amazon is an amazing site for deals. Most of the items they have will go up and down in price meaning you can get a real bargain if your timing is right. How I do it is I add the items to my basket and I'll check it once or twice a day to see if there have been any update messages. If the price changes they will tell you and if it goes low BUY IT!
  
  There is a Lego kit I have I my basket that I'm waiting to go down again. (I have it in my save for later and i still get updates on the prices). It was £15 cheaper than in shops but I didn't have my bursary at the time so I couldn't get it. I'm waiting to see if it goes down again *fingers crossed*

• Plan a budget and STICK TO IT! - I am the world's worst for this cause I get a kick outta making things like birthdays and Christmas as special as possible. I love to treat my boys but this year I can't do that. I need to keep in my head that giving agent M to a roof over his head and food in his belly is a whole lot more important than that game or toy he won't really miss. Agent D has offered to help out with Christmas for Agent M this year so I don't need to go OTT. He'll get a lovely Christmas and I don't need to bankrupt myself!
  
  
• Where you can, Go without - Yes its really nice to send a wee Christmas card to the lady that once watered your plants while you were on holiday, or give a card to each kid in your child's class but lets be honest, its only gonna go in the bin come Jan 1st. The average card can range from 59p to £3.00 ... Getting one for your niece, brother, parents, teacher, dog walker etc, your quite easily gonna come away with a tenners worth of glittery cardboard. Then there is the stamps. Most people these days are on Facebook so instead why not send a virtual card? Cost effective and better for the environment :)
  
  If your heart set on sending cards, discount stores like home bargains do boxes for less. It might not be personalised by saying "Grandma" or "Nephew" but it'll save you a bundle. Poundland usually have a box of 30 cards for your classmates plus an extra for the teacher ... Cant go wrong with that :)

Its really easy to make and can be eaten hot or cold. This recipe makes enough for 4 servings and can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

I. Am. SO. Tired!

I'm not 100% sure as its still early days but I'm pretty sure I've lost my ever loving mind. I seem to have led myself to believe i am wonder woman and that i can do it all. Perhaps i have mistake my basic cup of coffee for a cocaine laced mug of adrenaline or its possible that i am just trying to juggle to much. Either way ... I'm headed for trouble.

Its kind of ironic since it was only 2 weeks ago i was so excited at the work load when i typed up my previous blog post.

I didn't realise from my timetable just how much work was involved in my second year college course ... and on top of that i have work experience that need to be completed along side it. That has officially taken up 4 days of my week.

Along with the evening class i signed up for, Agent M's activities, blogging, spending time with the Agents, housework, getting clients out with college to help pay bills and me time ... I'm stretched pretty thin.

Things have been slipping through the cracks (like my blog that has been practically abandoned this month) and I've been having to pass on couple time in favour of sleep, Me time in favour of college work and housework has been getting rushed (though Agent M has been helping out a bit).

I can see a collision up ahead if things keep at this rate.

I've been trying to multi task like right now I'm blogging while Agent D has a go on the PS4 (its hardly couple time but he's settling for it as he gets best of both worlds). When Agent M is at his swimming lessons, i do a few laps in the big pool too so I'm getting my exercise in (plus climbing up and down 4 floors worth of stairs all week has to count). When he goes to my dads on the Saturday night i try to get as much crammed in as i can ... College notes typed up, Housework done, shopping, plan out the meals for the week, laundry washed/dried/ironed/put away, dog washed, then by the time it rolls around 8pm i put on a DVD and I'm lucky if i make it till the end before I'm fast asleep.

I need to get into some kind of routine or get organised but i just don't know where to begin. At what point do i go "bugger the dishes, i wanna read a chapter of my book" or "the washing can wait, i wanna go for lunch with Agent M" ... Will that not just set me up for more work in the long run?

At what point is busy just too busy?

There has to be other mums out there that can do all this ... What is there secret? How do they juggle work/family/home/personal life without having a nervous break down?

Answers on a postcard please (or comment below)

Till then I'll just have to keep picking up my dropped balls *snicker* and keep trying to juggle i guess

So we are a month into my weight loss and on the whole, its not been as great as i had hoped.

All in i have lost and gained weight but at the end of the month i have lost a total of 3lb ... Still its better than nothing and its to be expected to have a bumpy start. This last week has been terrible in terms of eating healthy. 3 take outs in one week is really bad (even before i wanted to start loosing weight and i think that my feeling really ill at the beginning of the week has been partially down to me having junk food for the first time in a month ... plus the fizzy juice from the party. Not sure if junk food poisoning is a thing but if so, I've done myself a good one.


I'm hell bent to get my shit back in order and write this week off as a one off (we don't have big family gatherings enough for me to have to worry about it happening again any time soon).

One thing i am really proud of is that i have been going to fitness classes and working out more. I'm loving the Aqua Trim at my local swimming and there are a few other classes i wanna try out too. I did try Bums, Tums and Thighs but i only lasted 20 minutes in that class before i had to run out to vomit. Next time the instructor says this class is hard for beginners, I'm gonna listen! I've made a note of some others that will fit in with my College timetable that look fun ... i just hope i can manage them *How hard is Zumba?*.

In the mean time however I've decided to make myself a motivation board.



From the top left ...

• I bought a small wipe board from Asda on which i have my "target and goals for the month". Yes i have blanked out my current weight and target as i am not ready to reveal my shame yet but i have those numbers glaring at me so i can keep the goal firmly in my head!
• The "pounds to lose/pounds lost" section is just twine with mini pegs on them. That way i can see the loss and be able to watch it "drop off" as it where before i see any physical change in my body. The top 2 rows are what i want to lose and the bottom row is what i have lost so far. It might not be much now but I'm still gonna keep trying :)
• The "Before and After" is a digital representation of what i look like now and what i will look like when i reach my target. I know i wont look exactly like that but lets be honest, seeing how i can look is gotta make you wanna try harder, especially when you hate how you look now.
• "My Measurements" is a new bit (hence why i haven't filled it in yet) but I'm going to track my weigh loss around my body too. I've been told that as i build muscle i will possibly gain weight but still be getting slimmer so I'm going to get my measurements too so i can still (hopefully) see some loss.
• "Motivational quotes" that i found on Pinterest. Its all part of the motivation :) You can see all the pins i have saved on my pinterest at the bottom of this post, along with other fitness themed pins.
• I like knowing what's happening and when so i have an "Exercise plan" for the week to keep me going. Since i am in the salon till late on in the evening on a Thursday and Friday I've decided they will be my rest days, along with Sunday as that's generally when i get prepared for the week ahead (washing and ironing the school uniforms and making lunches up etc).
• Last up i have a list of some "Weight Equivalents". This is one of my favourite finds. It gives you a list of weights and what they equate to. For example losing 1lb is the same as losing a guinea pig ... My 3lb loss is the same as the average human brain which is alot more visual that just 3 pegs. 

I know your probably reading that last one and thinking 84lb??? Yeah, My aim is to lose 6 stone. The fact that i can even lose 6 stone and still be in the double digits in term of weight is horrific to me. Like i said before I'm still not ready to say how heavy i am as I'm too embarrassed by it but at least I'm trying to do something about it.