Dear Blog, lovely blog readers and generally all my social profiles,

Its not that I don’t love you, writing you, reading your comments, swinging by other blogs, hanging out sharing a #hashtag and pinning stuff. I do love all that stuff, I really do. I feel bad I’ve not been doing it, my absence frustrates and nags at me so I want to explain.

First my blog got hacked and disappeared, not sure how, I’m told it was a WordPress thing but I am technically inept and reliant on my clever techie guy friend to help me out, which he has and does and I am so very grateful for. Thank you Paul for putting www.cheshiremum.co.uk back in its proper little place on the tinterweb.

Second I have landed some great social media projects with my business Social Boutique thank you to all the bloggers I have worked with recently, your support has been amazing. I will continue to find and share great opportunities. I am now working three to four days a week and in an office too – check me out! Interestingly I don’t have 3-4 days a week childcare which keeps life interesting – my parents and husband are keeping things running whilst we all find our new mojo. I am loving who I am working with, what I am doing and at last I am saving some £’s towards the house redevelopment – there is news and that’s coming right up in the next post!

Lil H turned 6 in April – Happy Birthday to my little dude, he had a great day and celebrations and we now have two Guinea pigs living at Lancaster Villa – called Pinkie and Sonic (Gin & Tonic was declined as a suggestion – pah!)

I’m still running, I’m up to 3km and still loving it. I’ve also had some major parties down in London celebrating some milestone birthdays – it would appear many of my friends turn 40 this year, suggests I may do too … I am in denial, lets move on! I have new shoes for this weekends bash – do you love?

So that’s what’s been going down – in a nutshell I’ve been busy working but everyone is busy, that’s just life but something had to give and it was my blogging that had to fall by the wayside.  There are some highlights to highlight and they will follow in a quick flurry of posts so bear with me … if you’re still here of course … hello? Anyone even reading anymore?!

It is 2013.  In December I will reach “that” birthday.  You know the one where my age will no longer start with a 3 but a 4 *gulp* how did that happen?  I started thinking about this milestone last year, 39 was creeping towards me and I am still carrying a two stone of baby weight for Diva G as well as the very hard to shift last stone to goal. Lets face it three stone isn’t going anywhere either quickly or without effort so this year I have taken action and I am dedicating this year to “sorting it out” and also once and for all.

I know I need to move more but I hate exercise and don’t ever feel I have found one I enjoy.  I know I need to eat less / differently but I feel quite bamboozled by three decades of dieting and different diet regimes, weight watchers, Atkins, GI, Hay diet, 5:2, slimming world – combine them all together and you can eat everything and everything and guess what that doesn’t work!

I’ve had a good start, I have lost 10lbs so far this year being careful about what I eat, not having a single drop of alcohol in January has most definitely helped.  I have also starting running, no that isn’t a euphemism actual factual putting running shoes on, going out my front door and running following the “Couch to 5k” C25K programme on my phone.  I was someone who couldn’t run to the end of the road without their lungs trying to leave through their throat to someone who can run for more than 30 minutes and only walking a couple of times.  I’ve been pounding the pavements at least three times a week, five times this week (personal best effort!) and whilst I don’t find it easy, I do enjoy the time on my own and the feeling I get afterwards.  A good start but it isn’t going to be enough to drop three stone nor is it giving me a diet approach for life. Luckily I know a man who does and having proved I can knock the leisurely, almost unconscious drinking and eating on the head for the last five weeks and create time to regularly exercise I am now embarking on a personal training academy with personal training coach Greg Johnson here is the new face of my motivation!

I am one of a small group of ladies meeting up twice a week for a group training workout program which is specifically designed for females to blitz body fat, tone up, increase confidence, boost energy, repeat after me “the summer body is earned in the winter”!  The programme runs monthly and starts tomorrow night with free taster sessions tomorrow night Monday 4th February 6:30pm and Wednesday 6th February at 6pm at Wilmslow High School. If you fancy joining the group connect with Greg Johnson on Facebook or email Greg, greg@iamgregjohnson.com for more details.

It’s not just exercise and working out, it’s the whole approach to nutrition and life style that Greg shares that delivers great results to his clients. I have Greg’s cookbook which I can already see will become a bible for mealtime inspiration, have been to supermarket, I even went for a run tonight and am ready to continue what I have started.  I want to think differently, learn new things and feel better. I am genuinely excited, I am going to meet some new people, new friends I’ve not yet met. I need to a new tribe in my world, I have many great pals in life but none who are on the same weight loss and fitness journey and being with people with similar goals will help me and I hope I will be able to support and help them too. My fitness and weight loss is my priority this year and I will be blogging how I get on as I start at PT Academy tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Get gifting purchased by end of November and any pressies to be posted on their way by the end of the first week in December.

Get a good box set and allow four evenings for wrapping – Dexter – Seasons 1-5 Complete [DVD] was my choice for 2012!

Getting together with good pals from far away before Christmas was great fun, using the time between when the kids break up before Christmas was lovely.

Popcorn and movie night to mark the start of the Christmas holidays with The Polar Express [2005] [DVD] [2004].

A magical movie which taken you on a roller-coaster ride serving you hot chocolate by singing waiter in this holiday classic.

Plan the food, plan the food and plan the food – before you buy the food!  Otherwise too much will be bin bound – an expensive mistake in 2012.

Stock up on Calpol, Infant Neurofen and cold and flu medications – be prepared – its wouldn’t be Christmas without Calpol!

Having a relaxed approach to Christmas day and by relaxed I mean no sit down meal until Boxing Day works.  An immense buffet is the way forward and I got to enjoy them opening & being excited by all that Father Christmas brought.

Choose a boxset or two to see through the festive season, there is time and the TV schedules get some quality programmed viewed of your choosing.

Getting together with good pals after Christmas would have been fun too – make a new year plan that’s not at home when Christmas is at home.  Four different walls would have been a welcome change!   Have already had a chat with Independent Travel Expert Laura Featonby and Lanzarote and Egypt are under consideration, although the house project may command the £’s!  

A January dryathalon is a good idea!  Day 17 in 2013 and not a drop of alcohol has past my lips!

Here’s to an amazing year and Christmas in 2013!

I have had a personal one to one battle with the mulluscum virus “molluscum contagiosum” over the last six months or so. I discovered what I originally thought was eczema under my 3 year old daughter Diva G’s arms, they looked like this:

A few little pearly blisters under her arms became a few more which spread to a few on her body and to the top of her legs. They seemed to come and go and until they started to increased in numbers and a few get a bit red and infected I didn’t give them much thought. I say it was my battle because Diva G was unaffected by their presence but I was vain on behalf of my little princess and they are unsightly, especially when infected. I was told by the GP’s they could only treat the infection and the mulluscum would go in six months to two years. TWO FREAKING YEARS!! Are you kidding me? Sorry no, I wasn’t accepting that it’s 2012 for Christ’s sake, surely there’s a treatment? Apparently not.

I searched online, asked the conventional, alternative, UK and US based dermatologists and was unanimously told the same thing “it will go of its own accord.”  For me that’s just not good enough, Diva has beautiful sun dresses and party outfits which expose her mulluscum and it just doesn’t look nice at all. As much as I tried to check my own maternal vanity on her behalf, the time came when the spots spread to the top of her inner thighs and they would rub, bleed and hurt her. Another unsuccessful trip to the GP followed and I parted with £25 online for Forces of Nature mulluscum control treatment “No More Mulluscum”.  As well as being extremely expensive for 11ml it didn’t work for us.  At first it seemed to work but it was impossible to apply to just the papules and made the rest of her skin surrounding the mulluscum really sore.

I was keeping the recurrent infections at bay with prescription medication but mulluscum is a stubborn bitch, but then, so am I!  I did however feel quite helpless, the doctors, Google and my twitter massive had  no more suggestions to try.  Then I discovered a local to me, mum run business LJ’s Natural Solutions who creates her own natural and organic skin care products initially from her kitchen table.  I emailed with Lisa who suggested I try her Organic Scratchy Balm made originally for and named by her daughter.

After a week of using it at bedtime there was a visible improvement, which continued to improve and heal the skin, three weeks later and I went to apply the scratchy balm and there is no more mulluscum to apply it to.  It has gone!  LJ’s Natural Solutions Organic Scratchy Balm healed Diva G’s mulluscum so if you are fighting the same mulluscum battle I have been or similar eczema or skincare challenges I highly recommend LJ’s Natural Solutions, the Organic Scratchy Balm which we used cost £8.95 which is amazing value for money.

Related links
Website:  http://www.lj-natural.com/#
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/LJs-Natural-Solutions/114762658557415
Etsy store:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/LJsNaturalSolutions
Twitter:  @LJNatural

I opened the fridge and stacks of buffet remains stared back at me. Mostly cheese and cold meats. It’s New Years Day and I am cheesed and buffeted out! But what to do with it? Hmm. Then I remember an old Nigella recipe, blew the dust off “How to be a domestic goddess” and adapted her Pizza Rustica to the contents of my fridge and produced a very yummy pie indeed. So if like me you were a little ambitious in your cheese board purchases here’s an idea for you…

For the pastry:
250g plain flour
125g cold unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons cold water
1 heaped teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon caster sugar

For the filling:
Circa 400g ham & sausage: ham, chorizo, gammon etc.
Circa 500g leftover cheeses: mozzarella, cheddar, stilton, parmesan etc.
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 clove garlic crushed
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes
1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs
Black pepper to season

For the glaze:
1 beaten egg

Official Nigella recipe says 22cm spring form tin, buttered but I don’t have one so used a square ceramic lasagne dish.
Oven at 200c/Gas mark 6, dropping to 180c/Gas mark 4

1. Start your pastry – pour the flour, salt, sugar & butter in the food processor bowl & stick in fridge. Stir together the yolks & water & pop this in the fridge too, leave for 10mins.

2. Butter your dish or tin.

3. Start your filling – chop up into chunks circa 1-2cm & gently fry your sausage, chorizo, gammon, ham etc and leave to cool for 5-10mins.

4. Make your pastry – pulse the butter, flour, salt & sugar together until it is like sand / porridge oats in texture. Add the egg yolks & water mix until it is just about to come together then stop, squidge it together with your hands & divide into 2/3rds (base & sides) to 1/3rd (lid). Roll out the base & line dish, wrap lid pastry in clingfilm & rest all in the fridge.

5. Chop up your softer cheeses & coarsely grate any harder cheeses e.g. Parmesan.

6. Return to your cooled sausage & meat mix and add the beaten eggs, stir in the herbs, chilli & garlic to the hammy eggy mix and add the mountain of chopped cheeses.

7. Pour the filling into the pastry lined dish and roll out the lid & place on top of the filled pie. Pinch the edges or press with a fork, brush with egg to glaze and stab it a handful of times to make steam holes.

8. Bake – 10 mins at 200c, then turn down to 180c for a further 45 minutes.

9. Leave to cool!

Leave it to cool for at least 10 mins before serving, it’s best after about 25mins but is delicious at room temperature or a snack straight from the fridge the next day (if there is any left!). Makes 8-10 good-sized portions.

Enjoy!