IT WAS A LONG HOT SUMMER

It's been 6 months since I last blogged.  Haven't been traveling but have been busy.

In August, I was diagnosed with diabetes and have been on medication after failing to get my numbers right with diet alone.  It's a constant battle but I'm getting smarter about the disease and better at picking the right foods to keep my numbers down.  I've had a couple of bad spikes where I thought I would have to call for help but I'm learning how to tell when I'm plummeting into hypoglycemia and eat to bring me up out of it. 

It's kind of a scary thing, this disease.  Constant monitoring of my blood and constant planning what to eat is a challenge.  However, the instant bio-feedback that the test strips provide is a great help to me.  I test before and after every meal and have learned what foods to avoid.  Have even lost a little weight in the process which makes me very happy.

During all of this medical drama, I have been crafting and getting an inventory ready for a showing in May.  My artwork can be seen on my other blog titled "YaYa's Back Porch Studio."

I'm enjoying this new endeavor and excited about seeing the fruits of my labor every time I complete a piece of art.  I built the website and may put a shopping cart on it eventually.  However, I plan on selling my work at the Island Wide Garage Sale on Grand Isle in May.  I have sold items every year with much success and hope to find a market for the work I am now doing.

Experienced another hurricane... this one named Issac.  Had some roof damage and water in my house.  Everything is fixed now and hope we don't have another one for a long time.  My outside house generator was not working so I slept in the motorhome with the generator running all night.  I had never done that before and worried all night long if I would run out of gas.  I didn't.  The house generator is now getting fixed by Lowe's and should be delivered sometime this week.  Then I'll be able to remain in my home for the next storm.

Rescued two kitty cats and placed one in a loving home and kept the other one for me.  I named her Ali Cat.  So I'll now be traveling with 3 cats and a dog.

 I've been homebound for 6 months and am ready for some traveling.  Now that it's cooler, I 've come back to the beach at Grand Isle for awhile.  Also want to visit the Paragon Casino in Marksville, LA as they have an RV Park.  Have heard a lot of good about their accomodations.   Then in December will be going back to Port Aransas on the Texas Gulf Coast.  Hope to stay a month or two and might go down to South Padre Island.  Don't have any further plans for January or February but will probably return to the beach here at home for a few weeks.

Have been thinking about trading in my Coachmen Freedom Express on a Class B Pleasure Way Van.  Did some negotiating with a dealer in Gainesville, Florida during the last few months and may drive down there in January.  When I first started looking at motorhomes I really wanted a Class B and now I think it's time to trade in the Class C and my conversion van and have only one vehicle in the diveway.  This is the unit I am looking at.

2005 Pleasure-Way Excel

So that's what I've been up to all these months.  Xi Shi and I can't wait to get back on the road again.

Me and Xi at my 65th surprise birthday party.

I arrived at my friend Pat's house on Grand Isle today after lunch and he fixed a few things that needed attention on the RV.  Then he let me drive his 4 wheeler around the island and said I can use it anytime I want.

Xi and I stopped at the Marina on our way in and took a walk on the beach.  She went for a swim and put on her happy face.  She loves the beach.  The weather is still pretty warm so I may go for a swim tomorrow.

It was so good to see the Gulf again.

Xi made friends with one of Pat's cats who wasn't too sure what to make of her friendliness.

 

Tomorrow we may go to a different RV park that we've never been to.

Had a great day and spent the evening with a dear friend who cooked me a steak and let me hook up to his electricity.  Life is good.

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Horses for courses.

I have been a bit MIA on here recently haven't I? Apologies. It is probably a mixture of being too tired from work and being ever so slightly lazy. But as it's Sunday and I've had a lie-in two days in a row I'm feeling much more energetic and hoping to have a productive day.

What have I been up to the last couple of weeks? Yesterday my friend and I took a trip to Fancie on Sharrowvale Road in Sheffield and had a cupcake and a mammoth cup of hot chocolate which left us both feeling like we needed a nap! Whilst on Sharrowvale Road we went into a few of the shops down there for a browse before heading home to our other halves who were cooking for us (risotto, and it was yummy!)

Last weekend an old friend of Jonathan's came to stay with us with his girlfriend. They were both lovely and we had a great time apart from we went bowling and no matter who I go bowling with I always lose. We went to Cubanas in Sheffield for our tea, completely over ordered and then spent all evening determined to finish every last bite. To say I was full was an understatement, and I didn't have any meat dishes!

Anyway, I took some photos a few weeks back and completely forgot to share them with you but basically I wanted to share my new jumper with you. That's as exciting as it gets folks!


A couple of months ago I took a trip to Meadowhall to buy some work clothes but didn't find anything I liked apart from a couple of things in H&M which fell apart (literally - they were disintegrating in front of my eyes!) as I was in the changing rooms so I gave up and popped to M&S, probably to get some Percy Pigs knowing me. On my way out I spotted a rail of jumpers which looked and felt so soft, and came in an array of colours and patterns. To cheer myself up I bought the horse print version which was just under £30 but I figured it would last as M&S is good quality stuff.

Once the weather started to turn colder it got its first outing and I have worn it about a million times since . It's so soft and cosy. I wish I had bought another one!

It's one of my favourite things to wear at the moment, paired with jeans and (if it's not raining) my star print pumps from Anniel (c/o Sarenza). I find it much easier to dress for colder weather and love it when my faithful Ugg boots get to make an appearance.

Anniel pumps c/o Sarenza

I need to get my backside in gear as I've got one last lot of holiday photos to share with you, and as we have been back for 4 weeks it's probably about time I got those up on the blog. Apart from that I'm gearing up for Christmas (sorry!) so I have a few festive blog posts lined up for Christmas present ideas and crafty bits and bobs.

Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

P.S. Jonathan wanted to share his new shoes which are by the brand The Cassette (c/o Sarenza). I'm sure you will agree he looks very dashing :)

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(NOW CLOSED) GIVEAWAY: £100 to spend on shoes! (via Sarenza.co.uk)

The title says it all and it's not too good to be true! I have teamed up with the shoe website, Sarenza, to host a giveaway where one person can win a voucher worth £100 to spend on shoes. Sarenza have over 500 brands to choose from including some of my favourites; Dune, Georgia Rose, Melissa, Converse, Ugg and Anniel.

If you live in the UK, have a Facebook account and would like a chance to be picked at random to win all you have to do is "like" Sarenza's Facebook page and comment below to let me know. One comment per person please.

Their Facebook page is brilliant and one that I "like" myself. They announce sales and competitions on there without overloading your news feed like some brands tend to do.

This giveaway will stay up for a couple of weeks so you've got plenty of time to enter and pick out the shoes you will get if you win. I warn you, there is a lot of choice so don't blame me if you spend a lot of time looking! :)

At midnight on 24 October no further comments will be accepted and I will pick a winner at random.

Good luck everyone!

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Our trip to Tenerife (part 2).

How is it that once you get home from a holiday it suddenly seems like it was forever ago and as though it never happened? This only means one thing: start planning the next one!

Two weeks ago today we were on the plane flying home but it feels like two months ago. The one positive I can find is that it's not absolutely throwing it down with rain like it was two weeks ago.

As I took so many photos I wanted to share a few more with you (if you missed the first post it's here). I'm a real nosy parker and love to look at other people's holiday snaps, so if you've posted any lately you'll have to let me know. There will probably be a third blog post too. Sorry! I am always a bit too snap happy, especially when I discovered the "sunset mode" on my camera while we were away. The sunsets were so beautiful so it was great to capture them in photos.

I rediscovered my love for reading whilst we were away. I had a bit of a shaky start as the book I started reading first was tripe, but I managed to finish it and then ended up at the supermarket a couple of times to buy more books to keep me going, reading a book a day by the end! Once I have peace and quiet I can really get into a book especially if it's a good'un.

I have been reading quite a lot since we got home too so a Kindle has gone to the top of my Christmas list. I never thought I'd go over to the dark side but it would be so handy for taking on holiday and to work (for my lunch breaks). I won't give up 'proper' books though, not just yet.

The only negative point about our holiday was the selection of food on offer. As a vegetarian I struggled to find anything to eat. I spent a whole week eating vegetable paella and cheese pizza, and by the end of the holiday I'm pretty sure I had a carb addiction from all the bread rolls I ate before our dinner came out! Jonathan was in his element though, with the massive array of fish dishes to choose from. I guess it's my own fault for being awkward!

I can't remember if I've mentioned it already but we took hand luggage only, as we only needed a handful of outfits, something to swim in, toiletries, etc. We took mini sized toiletries and saved space by buying our beach towels when we arrived. I thought it would be a nightmare trying to fit everything in that I wanted to take but it was absolutely fine. We had a piece of hand luggage each and even after our clothes, shoes, toiletries, camera, various adaptors/chargers, and books went in we still had a bit of room to spare. As we flew with a budget airline we not only saved money by not taking a suitcase, but we also saved on time as we didn't have to wait by the carousel for our luggage to turn up and the amount of washing to do post-holiday was minimal. Result!

Part 3 (the final lot of photos - promise!) will be up soon.

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Tapas and treats.

Last weekend we arranged to meet up with our friends to go for lunch, but between places being fully booked, not open for lunch or not having any vegetarian options (my bad!) we eventually decided on The Mediterranean in Sheffield which promised authentic Spanish tapas.

The restaurant itself is lovely inside sporting a blue and white theme, very appropriate. The service was great, really attentive, and we weren't waiting long for our food to arrive. The great thing about tapas is it just comes out when it's ready so you can start to tuck in and wade your way through the mountains of food you have ordered!

My only criticism, as a vegetarian, would be that if I went back I would have to order the same things again as only about 1/4 of the tapas menu was suitable, but that's my hard luck I suppose. The main menu didn't have anything I could have, but I did clock some tasty stuff on the "specials" board including a vegetable moussaka. The meat eaters were particularly enamoured with the seafood stew, and I really like my stuffed baby aubergines which were stuffed with Spanish rice and pine nuts.

After we were suitably stuffed from lunch, my friend Katy mentioned that Fancie wasn't too far so I suggested we call there before heading home, as there's always room for cake! I opted for the Raspberry & Almond cupcake which was huge, yummy and had the biggest mound of frosting on the top which admittedly, after a big lunch, was a struggle to finish. Having picked up a loyalty card I plan to head back again soon to try their other flavours. It's so hard to choose as they all sound amazing but I particularly like the look and sound of the Carrot and Snickerlicious flavours.

For the rest of the weekend I was pretty much at home alone as Jonathan was out playing badminton matches and watching a couple of ice hockey games. I didn't mind too much as it gave me the chance to watch The Notebook and cry my little eyes out under a duvet on the sofa without feeling too silly. I also did some reading, made a start on making my Christmas cards (yes I know, very organised!) and danced around the living room to Hairspray, fast forwarding to the best songs.

Vans c/o Sarenza

Using one of my Sarenza ambassador vouchers I recently ordered a new pair of trainers/shoes/pumps (not sure what to call them?!) by Vans (specifically the Authentic Lo Pro W's) and wore them for the first time over the weekend when there was a break in the rain. My faithful Keds are starting to look a tad worn as I wear them all the time, so I thought I'd try a brand that is new to me.

I was torn between this pair and the red/white striped pair but I thought that black/white would be easier to match up to outfits. I plan to wear them with jeans and a jumper on casual days. My aim is to keep them looking clean and to keep the white bits white, but if they go the same way as my Keds (i.e. super comfortable, easy to slip on and always waiting by the back door) then I'll get plenty of wear out of them and they won't look new for long.

If Vans are new to you too, then here's a little bit about them:

Vans was created in 1966 by Paul Van Doren. The first brand store opened in Anaheim in California and it was in 1976 that skateboarders started taking an interest in the brand's shoes. Aware of what was happening, Vans listened to what they wanted and on 19 March 1976, the very first Era was launched in two colours, red and blue. The shoe was created by two professional skateboarders, Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta. The Slip On was introduced in 1979 in California. Today the Vans collection includes over 60 different styles!

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