Saturday

Home from an amazing trip back to UK

I have just been over to UK for a trip to celebrate Alison's 50th birthday and Alex's 14th birthday. I took him as his birthday present, and he planned part of the trip, and I made it all happen.

The fun thing about this trip is that we had so much time to talk and laugh, experience new places and mix and mingle with so many friends and family members.

I will always remember this trip. I am already looking forward to taking Ben for his 14th next year. I have no idea what he will want to do, but just the one on one time was so special. It is rare to have that time when you have four children.

Of course I ate too much, it was just too tempting to eat the foods I miss from home while I was there. So sausages, ham, going to the chippie, cornish pasties, egg and cress sandwiches, crisps- the list goes on, my savoury tooth was in seventh heave. So I am glad to be home and back to eating more healthily, as it did not take long to feel sluggish and bloated. I am happy to be back eating sensibly and healthily. I find it interesting that I could not control my desire for these foods. I have decided to look at it as perfectly alright. eating while on holiday is holiday!!

Now I am home I am back to my garden, and about to plant my tomatoes, peppers, and try onions this year as well. Allan has planted my new citrus trees, so they are all look great, my perennial herbs are all doing splendidly, and I need to plant my annual ones now as well. Going to be a busy week in my garden for sure.

I am also excited to re-pot my Star of Texas hibiscus plants that I have grown from seeds I harvested. A first for me, so  very excited.


Thursday

The last year the boys are together in Middle school

 The phrase time flies, is so true.

Of course I am hoping that the the phrase 'as you get older time goes more quickly' is not connected with the first one.

anyway....

I can't believe how quickly time has flown, this year for school is nearly over, and that means that Alex will have two years at Bowie with out his brother, and I am sure in many ways he will love it, but for me, it always seems harder when they are not together, they have been together so often on this journey of childhood. Being only 18 months apart, they have been very close, although the gap between them seems bigger in the last year, 6th graders and 8th graders have very different outlooks on life in this house!!

I am enjoying my time as a parent, it has some very tough moments for sure, but the variety and the laughs, the emotions good and bad, the unconditional love that we as a family have is so wonderful.

Not every moment is blissful for sure,  but every moment is real, and we still all come together for a meal each day and laugh, discuss and debate. I miss my older two not always being around, but when they are, meal times are a riot. I love that they do come home and chill here. I am know I have been far from perfect as a mother, but somehow we have all managed to survive being a family. I am sure it is eating together every day that makes a big difference.

Wednesday

One of my latest projects.

Good evening all,

As I type this I am thinking about the cookery book I am writing and how I need more hours in the day. My ideas are flowing and I am not keeping up with them. I have notes everywhere and am now trying to keep notes on my computer, as well as mastering Pages and using it efficiently. Does anyone else find computers hard work when you go outside your comfort zone of what you know and try and expand your horizons.

I have been on a mission to write this cook book for a long time, and I am now telling the world, because that is accountability for me. Difficult to pretend I am not doing it when it is out their on the web.

I really hope you all have a dream that you can turn in to a goal and then a reality. It is very powerful for self esteem and inner peace. Those in this house are all helping me, and have roles in this process. I am loving that this is a project they all have an input with, in different ways and that changes as we go, but the support from my boys to see this to fruition is inspiration and motivation all by itself.


Tuesday

I am on Twitter

I have decided on  a few ways to use social media, and I know myself, so it is not all of them!! but I am on twitter. My Twitter feed generally pulls from my FB page but not everything is on my FB.

Why do I do that, because if you are a Twitter lover, then you want to see regular posts and that means I do not have to worry about always posting, I know that my post from my FB go to Twitter. and those that Tweet and follow will still get daily messages. I like to put up extra tweets every now and again, so you get some special feed. If you have taken the time to follow @tamzinloveslife then you should get some special information as well. It is only fair in my eyes, and thank you for following me.

I am enjoying using social media, but have found I need to limit the platforms I use. I do not have enough hours in the day to do justice to all of them, and I struggle to see how to use some of them, that must be the dinosaur in me. You never know one day I might 'Snapchat'!! I have an Instagram, but know I have not mastered it, and I am not worried about that, but there are so many other social forums out there as well. For now I am just using Facebook, blogging, Twitter and LinkedIn. Plenty for me to get my head around.

So if you would like to follow me then please do, I am enjoying watching my followers increase, slowly but surely. For reasons i can not explain it gives me a buzz to see people following me. A middle aged woman, still out there running, cooking,with a entrepreneurial  look on life, and living life with pizazz. I intend to grow old disgracefully!!  So much more fun.

Monday

Pain and Gain tasks.

Another race day approaches

As my next race day approaches I wonder why I always feel ill prepared for it. Strange really as I do train and have been doing a lot of cross training as well. Life always seem to me to throw these feelings when you least want to feel like this.

I was listening today to an interesting podcast, by Steve McClatchy, about the brain and how it has a flight reaction or a fight reaction, and it was discussed more as a gain or pain , very interesting and has made me wish to buy the book he has written. I really related to the whole principle of the how the brain likes to be in one mode or the other, but can not move easily between them. The article was looking at how we prioritize, which I am a big fan off, and how we can put off somethings for the mundane but needed, e.g.: putting the rubbish out, ironing, washing up etc, these things have to happen but they are not a gain for us at all, where as when we set goals, like loosing weight, achieving a MBA, learning the piano, a language it has a gain for us, we have to really focus and put time aside to do these things. The essence of the podcast was that when you are 75 would you remember you had worked hard to get a MBA or write a book, of course, but would you remember putting the rubbish out, highly unlikely. So the prioritizing of time really is worth it, the feel good of achieving on the to do list( or honey do list) is not actually a lasting feeling. . You can be productive but not achieve. A great article. The effect on your life is a 90% gain/10 % pain for actual benefit to you as a person and growing and succeeding. Frequently we put the to do list first. Time to stop or delegate the to do list. You can not delegate a Gain. Why I love my diary.

All that waffle was really me saying the time fitted in for the training is SO worth it for me, even with my doubts about finishing right now.

The right nutrition is in my body, I have a great support system, on the day my daughter Cara will be cheering me on and a fabulous friend will also be doing the 13.1 miles as well. Of course being around a Texas vineyard is a bonus, we get a commemorative glass and to taste wine afterward. I must say I have never really thought about drinking wine after running, we will see how I feel on the day!! But the views will be fantastic.

Sending a hug to all you achieving your dream and goals. Life is for living. I firmly believe that. Never settle for less.
#tamzinloveslife

Weight Loss Page SPOT



I have started using the new Lead management system, this will help me to be a better person at Contacting. This video is just me attempting my first SPOT linked to my own web site- such fun. Isagenix does give us some great tools.

try again- hello

I just wrote a blog post and it has vanished into the ether!! so I will try again, it might appear again, who knows. it was on my Ipad, and I am now on my laptop. here we go again.

It has been a while since I last wrote a post, the problem being kids and the summer holiday. I have manged to keep up with my FB, sort of, but getting time to write posts not so good at.

I will be glad when they start back at school, as I can get into a routine again, which will be good. Love the long holiday but my life goes to pot, just all over the place and no solid routine!

We have been away on a road trip, to CO and AZ, which was lots of fun, seem friends and eaten at two hard Rock Cafe's, which is a favourite of my boys.
Denver Hard Rock cafe

and then Phoenix HRC
They have enjoyed visiting them and collecting the t-shirts ( Alex) and the drum sticks( Ben).

I have managed not to put any weight on, with my travels, which is great and I am now heading down to the 160's , which is my aim. I am loving my new found energy and figure. Love being able to fit in anything in my wardrobe, a fantastic feeling. Thank you Isagenix.

My veg garden is coming along, we are eating our own tomatoes and peppers at the moment, and I am going to plant my onions and garlic soon, and going to try courgette ( zucchini), beetroot, and plant an aubergine bush as well. This fall i will put in an apple tree, bay tree and plum tree. I am hoping to put in a grapefruit, two more lemon and two more lime trees. My key lime tree has lots of limes on it at the moment, which is very exciting. I need to put a stone circle around the base of them as well, so I can water easily and edge them as well.

I am loving the fact that Isagenix is keeping me on the healthy eating side of life. My boys are totally committed to Isagenix and love it as well, which is a bonus. I need to make salsa today with Alex, his favourite dish!!

My Stampin'Up lets me enjoy my hobby and surround myself with stampers, and Isagenix is opening up my world to people who wish to be fit. great news really.

I am just back from Milwaukee as well. a quick trip to see a friend.

Milwaukee boating lake, Shannon and I pedaling away with a beautiful back drop

I have just had the most awful migraine, which is no fun, and it was most probably harder,a s I have not really had any until recently, the joys of detoxifying my body, i thought maybe it was the altitude in CO, but now the nurse in ER yesterday told me it is likely to be a menopausal problem- the body just rebelling.  Since I know I have not been religious on my daily routine, I need to bring it back, as I was loving the three months of no migraines. a good reason to focus on my routine, and staying in control of what i am eating, regularly with organic produce.

well I will sign off and will try to write more often. I am off to the Isagenix conference in a few weeks, which will be a lot of fun. morning work outs every day, a gala where I get to dress up, and surrounded by positive people, who wish to be healthy and build a business . i am very excited about this.