Sneak peek anyone?

I've started our new 'bus' blog'. It's a work in progress, as I'm currently trying to fill in the back story from when we started this adventure to where we are now.

But I'd love to know what you think of it, so please wander over for a look.

One thing I know you'll agree on - the design is gorgeous. Done especially for us by the wonderful Kate. Thanks Kate, we love it.

So - here it is.

On happy ground.

The end is nigh!

Sitting here early on Sunday morning, it seems hard to believe there are just five days of work left.

I expected to be approaching this time with mixed feelings, but, with the exception of rare and brief moments of blind panic, I can only see this as such an incredibly positive move.

It might be different if we didn't have such exciting plans in store for the next few months. But even without those plans I can see that leaving my job is a great move for me. I've done the high pressure thing for long enough - my heart's just not in it any longer. I've loved my work for years, but it's time for a change.

And what a lot of change my life has seen in the last five years. I've seen my wonderful boy grow through the last years of his teens and start off on his own path. I've changed my physical health so much. I've recognised my relationship of 15 years just wasn't right. I've met and fallen in love with the most wonderful man. And now we're going to embark on the most wonderful adventure.

And more change is coming - the end of this blog is pretty much nigh itself! But not the end of blogging for me. Stay tuned - new blog adventures will be announced soon!

Summarising last week's insight

When it comes to food intake, I need to think a bit more about what I do. It is most often the 'mindless' eating and drinking that causes me problems.

I need a mental checklist along the lines of:
Why am I looking in the fridge/pantry?
I am actually hungry?
If I am, is this the right thing to eat?
If I'm not, why do I feel like eating?

But I also need to do a bit of retrospective thinking. This works something like - if my poor choices are always made around 5pm, why? Is it because I don't eat enough lunch? Or do I need a more substantial afternoon snack? Or is it boredom/frustration/loneliness/habit? And so on to cover other problem areas (like weekends).

I need to be particularly mindful of this as my life is about to change so much. I have two weeks left at work; I don't want to wake up a month later and realise I've put on five kilos.

But I don't want to have to be completely rigid about eating. I want to enjoy food and the circumstances that surround it - the planning, the shopping, the preparing, the eating. It is a social activity and I won't let it be turned into some kind of purgatory.

Thought. Balance. Living.

Today's insight part 3

Concentrate on overcoming impulse with thought.

Today's insight part 2

But I have to remember that deprivation can be as destructive as over-indulgence.

Finding the balance - that's such a big challenge but really seems to be the key.

Today's insight

I need to decide what is more important to me:
how great that food (or drink) will taste now, or how I want to look and feel for the rest of my life.

At least we'll be clean!

We're at that really frustrating stage of the bus build - forking out lots of money and seeing naff-all progress!

In fact the bus is probably now worth even less than when we bought it - it's got lots of holes in the floor and the sides.

But we do have - an outside shower. Not that there's any water connected to it.