I am trying to lose weight and get fit

Being overweight, I am looking at ways to lose a few stone, and MY GOD, DO I NEED TO LOSE A FEW STONE!  My diet isn’t really that bad, all though I do have the odd treat now and then. I have a savoury, more than a sweet tooth, although I am partial to wine gums, gummy bears and jelly sweets that do not contain fat or as much sugar as any other type of confectionery or candy as our American cousins would say. When it comes to savoury, I love salt and vinegar flavour crisps which I don’t tend to eat that much, although I do buy the odd multi pack of KP Meanies which I have been guilty of consuming within an hour. Funny thing is, my younger brother Arren (sounds like Arren but starts with a D) has the same love for these savoury snacks. In saying that, I would buy Meanies every 2 months or so. The truth about me being overweight is the lack of exercise more than anything else.

It wasn’t that long ago when I used to do a lot of exercise as I used to love cycling and I was once super fit. I used to cycle 10 miles into work and then 10 miles back, in all weather conditions. This changed when I purchased my house which was about a mile from where I worked at the time and before I knew it, I was really unfit and now I’m at least 6 stone over weight. One of the biggest factors of me being overweight is the fact I totally lost my confidence and motivation. In fact it is more down to motivation than any other factor. I try to get myself motivated but, I just can’t seem to keep it up which in some way may be due to me being unemployed and finding it hard to find any kind of work. Even when I tried to get back into college or do an up skill course, I get rejected. It just seems to be a vicious circle that I am finding hard to escape. The good thing is that I am not depressed which is a blessing as I had suffered depression since I was about 12 so you can imagine I lost some of the best years of my life. ANYWAY that’s another story.

Two years ago or so, I bought a set of Nordic walking sticks and I am now using them. Yesterday I brought my dog for a walk along the canal and once I let him of the lead I was able to use the Nordic walking sticks for really the first time (although I have used them briefly in Donegal) I have to say using the Nordic walking sticks is really good as you tend to get a full body work out. OK, I do feel a bit self-concuss about looking like an overweight doofuss, but I was surprised at how fast I was and how much ground I was covering, also it seemed way easier than normal walking as a lot of the strain is taken by your arms and sticks. Yeah I can see me getting into this Nordic walking although I would rather do this with human company than with my dog. The problem with doing it with a dog is, you have to put him on a lead and it is almost impossible to use the sticks as he always gets in the way. I have also been using a fantastic pedometer made by Omron which shows the amount of steps you take and it also records the aerobic steps that you take, which is when you walk fast and use your lungs more. Yesterday while on my walk with my dog I made 6482 steps of which 3233 of these steps were aerobic. My goal was to do 10,000 steps but as it started to rain and I got soaked to the skin, I thought it better to get home and dry than catch my death.  I think if I keep this walking regime up, I should be able to lose weight and get fitter in no time. I am looking forward to getting fit and maybe my old clothes with start to fit me again. I am going for another walk with my dog today although the sky looks very grey and I think it may rain. 

Mobile apologies

About 14 months ago I changed my mobile phone to one of those LG Cookie fresh phones. I have to say that it was a really good phone with a fantastic MP3 and a radio that you didn’t have to use with earphones. Well with all the wear and tear of it being in and out of my pocket, the phone just got all scratched and grubby.  Although I am an adult, (I promise) I still have the pockets of a nine year old boy, which means I could have anything in them although I no longer play with plastic soldiers, marbles or toy cars, you name it and I’m sure I have had it in my pocket at one time or another. WELL anyways, I decided that it was time to change my phone for a more up to date model plus I would get free phone credit. Win Win Win , so I thought. Two weeks ago I got a new Samsung Tocco Icon with its brilliant screen, fab MP3 player and also its android operating system, it even came with a memory card and a lovely leather case which will protect the phone from school boy’s pockets like mine. It looks really up to date and very stylish. All in all it looks to be a very good phone, but let me tell you folks, looks can be deceiving to say the least. Over the last week about the only thing I have been doing with the phone is calling or texting people (all my texting is done from the Vodafone website and not from my phone) with apologies to almost everyone on my contact list. Trying to text from this phone is dam near impossible and when I tried I found that the touch screen is designed for people with really small slim fingers and not for adults. Every time I tried to text, the message was incomplete and got sent to everyone and anyone. I can promise you that my fingers are not big thick sausages and I have got a delicate touch as I am a trained cabinetmaker. Even making a phone call is a task on its own. I rang the wrong number three times in a row when I was trying to call home the other day and kept getting through to a Mrs Cahooley by mistake. Thank fully Mrs Cahooly was very nice about it after I called her for the third time and once I told her what was happening, we both had a good laugh about it.  I am afraid, as I am on the dole, I will have to stick with this phone as it I can’t afford to buy a different one, although I recon, if I can get a new battery and some Tcut, I may be able to bring my old trusty LG Cookie back to life again. Also if you are reading this blog Mrs Cahooly, I promise not to call you again if I can help it.

Donegal sky

I went home to Donegal for a few days as my aunt Veronica and Angela were visiting. My mum and Dad and two aunts had spent a week touring around Ireland, staying in hotels and living it up.  Good for them I say. They had a few days in Dublin and probably saw more of it than I have, even though I live there. It’s a wee bit embarrassing as they went to Kilmainham Gaol which is only down the road from me.  Needless to say, I have never been to Kilmainham Gaol which has important historical relevance for Irish freedom and our independence from the crown. Here is a link you can read.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmainham_Gaol

After they had holidayed for a week or so, they all went back home to Donegal were they could really relax for a few days.  One evening the sky was so beautiful and the colours were so rich and varied they did not seem real. I would have loved to have painted a picture of the Donegal evening sky. I did however take a few photos that really don’t do justice to the beauty we have in North West Donegal. I think the polarizing filter has muted the colours, which is a shame as I think the photos could have been fantastic otherwise.

 Here is a few of the photos of our Donegal June sky.

FETAC 4 MERIT?

Last January I did an ECDL course which teaches the proficient use of Microsoft Office. As part of the course, we did a few other exams such as City & Guilds Office procedures, City & Guilds Typing and manual handling. WELL this morning I received my FETAC 4 certificate for Manual Handling and I was shocked to see I only got a Merit. A MERIT?  FECK SAKE!   This was the easiest exam to do and all we had to do was demonstrate that we could safely move a few boxes and answer a few questions.  I think there must be some mistake  A FECKIN MERIT?  Now a merit is, I suppose a B grade so in a way it isn’t bad. But manual handling was the easiest exam ever and how I could have got the Merit is beyond me. Even if I came in on a wheel chair, with two broken arms and a blindfold, I would still get a better grade than a merit. When I went to college last year, I only got a merit for drawing because I missed most of those classes.  Not only that, I am a qualified cabinetmaker and I spent most of my working life safely manual handling the furniture and cabinets that we made. I just can’t believe I got a merit.  ??????   

I am sure my grade would have been at least 99% and that would have been on a bad day.

Modules at FETAC Level 4, 5 and 6 are graded as follows:-

Distinction 80-100%

Merit 65-79%

Pass 50-64%

About FETAC

The Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) is the statutory awarding body for further education and training in Ireland. FETAC makes quality assured awards that are part of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) from levels 1-6. Meeting learner needs is central to the work of FETAC.

FETAC:

• makes and promotes awards on the National Framework of Qualifications
• determines standards and award requirements
• validates programmes leading to awards
• monitors and quality assures programmes and services

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCa0pSTURjM

OMG my poor hometown Ramelton

I'm just after watching this on youtube, about my hometown Ramelton in Co.Donegal in Ireland.
My family still live there and I am so worried about them. Please watch the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCa0pSTURjM

The plants I planted

 

I’m sure you all remember I blogged about the plants that I planted a few weeks ago?

Well if not, I planted  Sweet Pea, Pansy and other flowers. I also planted onion seeds, lettuce, sweet peppers tomatoes and other veg as well. They were in pots and I also purchased a few planters along with bags of compost and soil. It was only over the past few days, that they started to grow, which seems a wee bit slow to me. ANYWAY to cut a long story short. I had to go of and get my car tested today (NCT = National Car Test which is like the UK   M.O.T.) I left Rocky (my boxer dog) out in the back garden, on his own for about 2 hours. When I came back, I opened the back door AND by the look on Rockys face, I knew there was something wrong. I went out to the back garden and OMG; Rocky had torn everything to shreds. Every pot and planter that he could reach was smashed and flung about. It was like a tornado hit the back garden. The only thing I could do is tell rocky off and he is still out in the back garden BANISHED for now. I think he thought I was going to slap him because two years ago he did the same and I gave him a wee slap (this was the only time I ever slapped him and it wasn’t hard enough to hert either) Don’t think I will have any fresh veg or flowers this year, thanks to my k9 friend.  He is in the back and is afraid to come in the house. He knows he did wrong and I kind of wonder if he learned a lesson.