Challenge: Do Saturday's house clean today!

Flipping setting the bar high today - after a full day's work (in the sweltering - for Britain - heat) I would like to challenge myself to clean my entire house from messy to spotless and clean.  Right.  And make dinner?  with a hangover?  Good.  Right. Not looking forward to this one little bit!

Apologies...

Have not blogged since Tuesday!  Blame my work life!  No Assitant/PA makes me a dull blogger.

For those thinking I slacked off yesterday; I kinda did BUT I did do my mid-week clean and 2.8km run in the morning just no additional challenge!  Today WAS going to be different but is turning into the same kind of day......it's 5pm and I should be finishing off my mid week Waitrose shop by now! Ouch!  Date night tonight but I am so exhausted am really not sure we will go anywhere!  Dull, dull, dull.  Hardly goddess like - which brings me back to my original question at the start of this challenge - seriously, HOW do you all do it?  Worst (or great in my book) thing of all is this weekend is jam packed with lovely things to do!  A weekend of wedding bells and champagne celebrations, a family birthday, a long dog walk in the new Forest and discovering the new home of my friend and sister in law.  We are though, finally putting together our Italian garden on Sunday afternoon.  Gravel should be delivered tomorrow morning, rotivator at the ready, a dash to the garden centre for lots of beautiful plants and we'll be done! Finally after lots of planning and waiting (when I say lots I mean nearly 3 years of waiting!)!!

Before I dash to Waitrose, I need to show off brag share my new purchase with you.....it's for the summer goddess in me.......I introduce to you the Paul's Boutique bag:

MWAH!

 Right need to get home before Digby has eaten the arm of the sofa ...... and you think I am joking!x

Yesterday I/we have:

Whoosh.  That's how quickly my day passed.  I am an accomplished woman today!  Not only are the 4 panels of fencing painted but they are sealed with creocote and I am done!!! It's only a small part of the fencing finished but it's a real start and it even looks great!  (*faint).

• Hoovered downstairs
• Did the laundry
• Loaded and unloaded the dishwasher
• Painted and creocoted the fence by the conservatory
• Creocoted half the fence at the bottom of the garden with it's third coat - it's officially half finished!!! (Only now the second half is going to be challenging as there are many bushy plants in front of it AND am terrified of spiders - I mean petrified, was biten by one once and was quite ill and since then my phobia is pretty out of control.  I once was sat on the sofa with Henri in the early days and a spider landed on me; I screamed jumped up and took all my clothes off before running upstairs to take a long hot shower.  Now that's a phobia - so i can see me pulling out lots of excuses not to complete it!) 
• Cooked Italian ribs for supper

I did fail on the dress front for the wedding this weekend that needs a new zip though.  Tuesday is the earliest they can get it back to me.  RUBBISH!  What am I to wear now? 


And working on the Goddess in me; I have:

Nothing.  Nada. 

And indulged:

• Might have accidentally fallen in to my favourite shop and bought a tagine (must learn how to cook this dish - anyone fancy posting a yummy recipe for me in the comments????) for a bargain price!
• Had a cheeky tanning session (I do realise I am just a little addicted to this process - but how great do you feel afterwards?)

What have you done today?

Challenge: Yoga OR more painting....?

Can't do both.  Bummer.  Yoga starts at 6pm (I get home sat 5pm, so enough time to feed dog, change and get back into town - already sounds like too much effort before the class even starts) and finishes at 8pm.  At that time I'll need to be cooking dinner so no time for anything else. 

Yoga makes me feel brilliant.  Centred and calm (a feat within itself) and pretty zen!  That said I am in the middle of this fence project and I could get at least 3 hours work completed on the project tonight - possibly even finishing the fencing by the conservatory.  The fencing this morning is pretty impressive; am sooooo chuffed with the effort last night.

Am being really indecisive.  Why can't I have time for both?  Ooo yes I work full time.  Speaking of I need to leave in order to not get caught up in the horrid school traffic to be on time for a 9.15 Committee meeting.  Darn......

Today I/we have:

Mondays I love.  I know it's wierd - most people can't bear the thought of work on a Monday morning but I like going to work and getting back into my projects - that's the joy of loving what I do for a living.  I have this mantra that the minute it becomes hateful I would leave.  What's the point if it makes you unhappy?  You live once!  I am faced with a particularily hard week this week - no PA/Assistant, deadlines, hosting training sessions, training a French work experience student (this is impossibe when she hardly speaks any English and we are not the traditional of offices.  Eight times I tried striking up conversation and cracking jokes, but the jokes on me when I had to repeat it for he 5th time very s l o w l y.  She's cute as a button though - she just doesn't get me/the office/the work/the British weather/the fashion/the food!) 

So over to fence saga. .... First thing I notice is that we've bought the wrong paint colour (told you we were pretty useless!) It's Cedar Red not the dark Oak we were looking at ...... due to this error we decide it's definately the wrong colour for the fence at the bottom of the garden - won't blend at all ... so I suggest that painting the fence by the door to the conservatory to see what the colour looks like (4 panels of fencing how difficult could that be???) First of all I have to strip off all the old dead twigs and branches that have come from next doors garden before spending 30 minutes looking for the little step ladder so that I can reach the top.  Once found I start and immediately flick paint over the patio slabs (these slabs cost us a small fortune - they are genuine 1850's slabs to compliment the house).  Whoopsie.  Henri assures me the still boxed new power hose will take it off ... am not so sure but choose to believe him otherwise I could be a while finding the some kind of toxic liquid that will take it off!  As I start to paint it on it becomes obvious that it's nothing like creocote to paint on.  I actually have to be careful and do it 'properly'.  Damn it.  Three hours later and I have done only 2 1/2 panels.  Am typing in front of it now and thinking it's definately going to need creocote on top as it's more red than cedar.  O goodie.  Fence painting may take up the rest of my life at this rate!  So much for doing these challenges all 'goddess' like with no whinging!

• Painted a different fence!
• Henri's done all the ironing again (am a lucky lucky wife!)
• Henri has fixed the wardrobe and sorted out his clothes (whoop de whoop - been asking for ages!)
• Cooked Ravioli al burro for supper

And working on the Goddess in me; I have:

• Completed a 2.3km run first thing this morning (there was though, ALOT of procrastinating at 6.30am but finally find the strength at 7.15am when I reminded myself how much cake testing I did yesterday!!)

And indulged:

• Soaked in a bubble bath for longer than necessary (and it was after this morning's run, no wonder I was 10 minutes late for work!)

What have you done today?

Seedlings ....

UPDATE:

Look at my little beauties aren't they cute all sprouting and standing proud....am concerned I have too many though - where the heck will they go when I need to plant them out???? Not thought this through at all have I?!

Challenge: Start fresh on the (sodding) fence with Ronseal

Ronseal One Coat apparently.  We'll see.  Cynical much.  Yes!

Must also remember to get organised for the week ahead - it's a very busy one at work - and one without my PA and Assistant (cripes).  Must absolutely take my dress to the menders .... (see if I could only sew, then I could whip in a new zip in no time; not a challenge I can see me undertaking anytime soon...!) Need to sort out paperwork for H's business, need to pay a few bills, the ironing (*groan), buy card and pressie for H's dad, call the council.  I can already see this week could be one I will wish to forget by Friday! 

I also wanted to get more running in this week and actually attend the yoga class (missed 3 in a row - ridiculous!)

Yesterday I/we have:

Seriously, I was too shattered to write this yesterday - so apologies.  Baking is utterly exhausting, probably because I find it so bloody impossible!  First cake was a simple almond cake (simple - my arse -hurrumph!). Let me show you:

See lovely!! Was so excited about this until I left it to cool down and came back an hour later to this:

WHAT IS THAT BIG DIP IN THE MIDDLE????? Now, Henri swears it's lovely but it's beauty is definately not.  So.  I start again.  This time a vanila sponge.  Guess what?  The exact same thing happened.  God only knows what it is I am doing wrong BUT I could not serve this to friends and family let alone make cake gifts with this (can you imagine receiving this disaster??!!)  We have both taste tested.  Alot.  I think I might have gained 3 pounds just testing different parts of the cake.  Beginning to feel like a wobbly baking loser!  At least no such challenge will take place next weekend as we have a full weekend and zero time for such baking misery!!! ....(o god a wedding next weekend and I have to shift the extra cake weight!)

• Pruned and staked the garden roses
• Visited B&Q for more creocote (and ended up with Ronseal fence paint.  Conversation went something like this: L the creocote I bought is down that aisle.  H: Right. Erm why didn't you buy this Ronseal fence paint in the first place; it's cheaper than creocote and the croecote isn't working.  L: any chance you could have outlined that from the beginning as I painted half of it 3 times now????!!!!) and it rained all day so no painting took place (I was secretly very pleased and yes I know that's not the attitude!)
• Walked extra long lovely country dog walk albeit in the drizzle
• Sowed chilli, golden tomato and carrot seeds (getting a little over zealous!)
• Baked
• Cooked Chicken alla Milanese

And indulged:

• Watched 4 episodes of Supernaturel!

What have you done today?

Challenge: Sow chilli & tomato seeds / Start creocoting other half of fence!

Forecast: rain.  Actual weather: rain (and it started just as I came downstairs in time for me to dash to the washing line to bring in the mainly dry laundry.  Without coffee any kind of Sunday morning 'dashing' is not a good thing.)  So on my only day off in the week with my husband and we are bound indoors - not that Henri will mind as he has a cold and being made to power hose the conservatory roof and patio probably wasn't in his top ten things to do today!  It's May.  Mother says that Great Grandmother used to say "Cast not a clout til May is out!".  I think that means don't complain about it not being summer until June, so shouldn't expect sun I suppose.  It's early so the rain may disapper later on (ever the optimist with weather - am always dressing inapropriately.  In my head it's sunny outside therefore I will wear less clothes and then step out into the 'sunny weather' and it's freezing and because I am usually running tardy I have no time to throw on a new outfit.  It's not right to trick me like that - sun outside should equal warmth.  O how I dream of living in Miami!) and we may be able to finish the fence....(there are other fences sadly, sorry to bore you - this one is the biggy though, the one you always notice.)  So in true Challenge spirit if it continues to rain I will not sit on the sofa and cosy up to watch a movie but I will find a suitably equal challenge like cleaning all the windows in the conservatory - 17 long panes of glass .......

Not having learnt from the Marigold sowing and actually enthused by the fact that they have already survived 4 days after their transfer I am going to sow Demon Red Chilli's and Golden Tomatoes (fun factor here is that there are in fact golden not red - it's sad that I get excited about the colour of fruit that I will be growing.  In my 20's I used to get excited about being on the 'IN' list to Elton John's Aids Awareness party or partying with Mark Lemarr - these days; golden tomatoes.  It's fine, I've moved on - I chose a life in the country.  I was suduced by wanting to create a perfect country home, having a perfect business and being able to eat from my perfectly planted garden!  I've along way to go and I remind myself daily it's the achieving that's exciting. Hmm).

A cake WILL be made, the challenge will be completed - in fact the minute I post this blog I will begin to baking process.  I also aim to make bread today too (doesn't that sound impressive?  Yep - except I do have a big cheat; a bread making machine!  It still counts though....)

Yesterday I/we have:
Fail.  After yesterday's smugness, today haunts me with a failure, I have not baked today.  The indulgent side of me got far too greedy and took the afternoon off with a friend chatting and planning and chewing the cud on issues close to our hearts and drinking far too much coffee.  Was a brilliantly fun afternoon but not without guilt. After she left I dashed around making the bed, putting washing away and painting the fence just so that when Henri got home he'd think I'd been a wonderful busy and acconmplished wife!  Chores done in haste always means something goes awry.  I mean seriously how idiotic is it to creocote a fence in a white t-shirt?  I was so busy slapping the stuff on the fence to at least complete some of today's challenge that I didn't realise I had also decorated (Henri's) white T-shirt, my face and my arms!  There was zero point in protecting my hands with builders gloves! However, all is not lost today I have managed to:

• Stripped bed
• Took Digby on extra long walk (sounds like I am a great pooch owner right? I must confess the ulteriror motive was actually to tire him so that when Lou came over he was too tired to want to continually bring her his ball to throw!)
• Washed the laundry
• Hung out laundry on the line (it is nearly dry out the clouds look dangerously like the are forming an evil plan to soak it all!)
• Re-made bed (anyone else hate doing this - the duvet is a simple design but it's such a devil to get in it's cover!)
• Made Italian ribs with tomoatoe, mozzerella and basil salad
• Painted 3rd coat of creocote on fence
• Picked up pooch poo (Oooo the glamour)

Tomorrow is another day ....

And working on the Goddess in me; I have:

• Took off all nail varnish and treated nails

And indulged:

• Spoke with mother at length
• Had coffee / lunch/ more coffee with Lou - a 5 hour treat!!

What have you done today?.....writing it down gives you an odd sense of achievement - boasting if you like, and why not?....