I also thought it would be great to put my Word Warrior verse on each months "cover page" as a reminder each and every day that I open my journal.




For week three I decided to add a little washi tape to my page and love how it makes this little journal even more unique to me.




As I've already said, I love how this months journal has come along.  Living with a grateful heart is impacting my life more and more each day.

Step 3 : Being careful not to burn your hands, pour the liquid wax from the old candle jar to the new smaller glass container.  Once you have poured it in place your birthday candle in the glass container and hold it there for 30 – 60 seconds. ( you will find that the wax at the bottom of the glass container starts to harden first as it is poured into the cold glass container.


Step 4 : Allow the wax to harden and then you have a new candle.

     
 So, this is what you need if you decide you would like to have a go at making it.

1.5-2kg pork shoulder, all fat removed
5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp mustard powder
500g passata
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tbsp sweetener
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 As some of you may know my One Little Word for 2014 is Intention. If you missed my initial post about it you can catch up here. One of my intentions for this year is to exercise 3 times a week and eat well to change my body and health for the better.

I want to keep myself accountable to this one in particular as its one of my bigger intentions and one that I really seem to struggle with.  So, how am I doing so far with this?

Exercise wise I haven't been able to keep to the 3 workout sessions per week, however what I have done is found myself a gym with a bunch of classes that I like the look of, and have signed up.  Membership begins the 1st of February.  One of the ways that I plan to ensure that I do my 3 sessions a week is to book them into my calendar at the start of each week, as if they were appointments or work meetings.  Hopefully next month I will be able to report back on all the new classes that I have been a part of.

As far as the eating has gone this month its been a tough month.  The first ten days of the year I decided to commit to a ten day detox in which I avoided dairy, wheat, sugar, sweeteners and all processed foods. The toughest part of that for me was having no milk in my tea. By the end of the ten days the only thing I could think of was a decent cup of tea!

Last week my mom and I joined Slimming World. Essentially its a weight loss club, but the way that you eat with this plan is far more a lifestyle plan than a short term weight loss plan.  Its all about clean eating while minimizing processed foods and sugars.  Food wise its been a good week for me and the scales show it. First weigh in and I have lost three and a half pounds.  Its a good start and definitely a step in the right direction.    

All in all, so far I think the steps that I have taken are helping me get to where I want to go.  I found this quote and picture on Google a while ago and came across it again last night.  I really feel that this quote and sentiment is meant for me. So, I am taking hold of it with both my hands and reminding myself about it day in and day out.

 The final week of my December Daily Album ~ week 4 and a wrap up.  If you missed the previous weeks you can see week 1, week 2 and week 3 on the links.


Day 20 I treated my mom, dad and brother to a meal out at Spur. Now Spur is a South African restaurant which we used to go to all the time growing up, so when I saw that the place had opened here in the my local town in the UK i just new we had to all go.


Day 21 was about the books that I have enjoyed reading this month. Studying for my degree doesn't give me much time for fictional reading so when I get the opportunity to do so I jump at it.


Day 22 is all about the mince pie...need I say anything more. Day 23 I went for a deluxe manicure and loved every minute of it.


Day 24 is all about Movie night.  I haven't had much chance to watch  many movies this year so this was a real treat for me.  And finally a few pages of Christmas day and the family.


 

Unfortunately the one thing we didn't get on Christmas day was a family photo so I dug out an old one of us all and used that. I also created a pouch at the back of my journal to keep my special Christmas cards from 2013.

Watching: There is just so much to love about the new year. One of the things that I love about the new year are all the new TV show seasons which come back on.  Before I share with you all the new shows that I am watching or about to start watching I want to just say that despite what you are about to read, I try not to watch too much TV. Just want to put that out there!  So here are the programs that I am watching right now or will be very shortly. Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, Hawaii 5.0, Motive, NCIS, Greys Anatomy, Castle, The Big Bang Theory and Blue Bloods.  I love all of them! 

Loving: bubble bath, my kindle and lite candles. That is how I am finding myself relaxing more and more these days.  I love my "me time"

Eating: Right now I'm eating Slimming World style.  That means clean eating all around.  My treats at the moment are Options hot chocolate and mini marshmallows.  

Going: To be making a start on my very last university degree course tomorrow. The funny thing is that I am not sure if I am feeling happy about that or not.  I guess I have ten months to figure it out.

Making me happy: Smidge makes me so happy every day. He is so excited to have me come home and insists on always being by my side.  His purring, playful, loving nature is too gorgeous for words.

So, how about you? What are you up to today? Feel free to do your own "currently" post on your blog and link back in the comments for everyone to check out. 

 

I love the new beginning that January brings and I always look forward to the picking of my One Little Word to help me set my new goals.  This year however, I have decided to do this a little differently. Instead of setting myself some goals, I want to set myself some intentions for different areas of my life. I don't want to be able to just tick off a list of actions at the end of the year, I want to see and feel growth in myself and in my life.

Day 13 is about the traveling that I have done this month and the lights that I have seen across the country while doing this.  Day 14 is a letter that I wrote to Santa giving him my wish list of course.


Day 15 I wanted to share the wrapping paper that I used this year. It was lovely paper but was terrible at actually sticking down.... many a rolls of sellotape where used to ensure the gifts remained a surprise!


Day 16 was a day of gratitude for me which I wanted to share.


Day 17 shows me spending some time working on my journal while day 18 shows my house. This is the first year that I have spent Christmas in my new home and it was a lovely time.


Day 19 was my office's Christmas party which we had up in Manchester. It was a lovely evening but I didn't manage to get any actual people photos of the evening.

Thanks for stopping by, week 4 should be out shortly.

This weekend I made this Pepperpot Stew from the Slimming World magazine. It was so delicious I had to share.  If you fancy something a little different then give this a go - you wont be disappointed.


This is how mine turned out. I decided to serve it with Quinoa, however rice or potato or even buttered bread would be just as delicious!  Let me know if you decide to make some and how you find it.

Day 6 is all about what I love about Christmas while day 7 shows my gorgeous Christmas tree.


Day 8 are about the lights in my town and local mall.


Day 9 is all about Smidges first Christmas and his love/hate relationship with the Christmas tree and its ornaments.


Day 10 shares some stories about how and where I got some of my ornaments on my tree. They have come from all over the world and I love each one of them.
  

Day 11 is all about the effort that I have made these past few weeks to ensure that i get some time to relax. Candles, a bubble bath and reading a book in bed are all things that I have enjoyed doing recently.

Weeks 3 and 4 will be up shortly so please have a look.