Day 27 ... out and about

This weekend Bizzy B is away on respite which happens once every 4 weeks.  He goes to his special needs school on Friday morning and transport take him to the children's home and they bring him back to school on Monday morning.  I miss him terribly but I do find the rest very valuable.  It gives me some time and space to recover a bit and a chance for me to spoil the other members of my family who usually miss out.

Usually, I am guilty of being so tired I don't actually go out or do anything exciting.  This weekend though we decided that we should do something so my Partner and I planned a day out shopping. So, we went to the city of Bath.  It was perfect.  I wont go into detail but being a parent to a profoundly Autistic child who can't communicate, who wears nappies full time and has aggressive tendancies is tough and it puts paid to even the most simple and ordinary things  - like going to the shops.

It's not my birthday for 5 weeks but we thought we would go and I could choose some presents.  So my partner treated me to a new coat (embarrassingly mine was a few years old and looked it ... you know when it goes bobbly and the linning is torn and the fastenings are dodgy ... the whole thing was past it!). 

and he also got me these ....

I have huge plans this year for our garden and I have been saving for a new shed and greenhouse so that can help contribute towards my lifestyle choice.  I grew up in a household that grew their own fruit and vegetables and it was brilliant.  I miss it. So these boots will come in very handy for the garden as well as all this rain we are having and maybe if we get any snow.  The welly socks really make them too and I love the colour of the boots which is 'Mint'.

Anyway, this was the first day during whole30 (on Day 27) that I have actually been out and about for lunch time (not counting the funeral) so that shows that I don't go out much.  so after a hearty breakfast I packed a salad in a tub and took a cold bottle of water to drink with the intention of buying some protein in the form of plain prawns. 

I bought a pack of plain prawns with a cocktail sauce on the side (which of course I did not even open or eat) and a small box of plain cashews which I only ate half of and another bottle of water. 

So in all I had a lovely day and this is what I ate altogether on Day 27 ...

Breakfast

Leftover pork fried in the pork jelly (fat removed)
Rocket
Raw carrot
Cherry vine tomatoes


Lunch

(As above)
Plain prawns
Rocket
Red Pepper
Cherry vine tomatoes
Raw carots
Cucumber
Closed handful of cashew nuts

Dinner

Fried chicken
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Rocket
Cumber
Garlic mushrooms made with ghee and parsley
Small portion of coconut meat.

what a lovely day :)

Excuse me ...

... excuse my rather plain blog but this is my first post!

I started this blog months and months ago with the intention of blogging my new life but that didn't happen.  Today though seemed like a good day to start after reading this blog post here.  Better late than never I suppose!

I like to think I am crafty and I take every opportunity I can to create something.  Like Sophie I am a full time carer and I also often get asked where I find the time to make and do stuff.  I guess I make the time whenever I possibly can because I really crave any opportunity.  Also because its really important to me to feel like I achieve something personally. As Bizzy B's full time carer I currently don't work - that's not to say I haven't tried ... I have tried really hard and over the years and I have been a Marketing Account Manager, a Police Officer, an Estate Agent, a Youth Worker and more recently an Administrator in a School - but that's another story!

Don't get me wrong ... being a carer comes with many great rewards but sometimes the results are slow and it can be rather self limiting and lonely so for now me making things is equivalent to a personal accomplishment which is really important for ones self esteem.

So how and where do I craft?

During the day I spend my time caring for my son and family and at the same time because I can't really craft around him I dream and plan things I want to make and do.  I have an ongoing list on the 'Notes' Section on my iphone of all the things I want to investigate further when I have the time. Usually at night, even though he is a poor sleeper, I will always try and make something regardless of the many interruptions I get.

This is made easier since we gave up our dinning room and moved Bizzy B's room downstairs (this was a last ditch attempt to help my daughter and my neighbours children sleep!) as Busy B's room was upstairs and the noise was impossible.  It's still not ideal downstairs as he's noisy where ever he is during the day or night and of course now I have the added issue of having to trample up and down the stairs throughout the night, often half asleep and in the dark etc, but (and here comes looking on the bright side) as he's not upstairs and off the rafters he seems a lot less thuddy .... sort of.
So moving his room downstairs freed up his bedroom space upstairs.  This has at least given us back some extra living space and afforded us a bit of luxury space in the form of a studio/craft and spare bedroom area.  This means I can lay out unfinished projects and just grab and go and I often lie down in this room for vital sleep when Bizzy B is on respite or at his Special Needs School during the day although I am often reluctant to do this as I am missing craft time but sometimes its really necessary. 

It's a great place to escape all carer responsibilities and let the creative juices flow.  This is not just important for me but important for my Daughter, also known here as 'Miss C', who also needs time and space away and especially as she's about to start College (her desk being the one on the right hand side of the room where the laptop is).  Needless to say this is a Bizzy B free zone!  

Sadly I don't get in there as much as I'd like too but at least there's a place waiting for me and I feel oh so lucky to have it.