Monday, January 31, 2011

Lesson No.3: Fake it 'til you make it ( a lesson in fake nails)

Last week saw my first foray into the world of fake nails.

For 6 long months I have been trying to coax and persuade my natural talons into making a spurt beyond the top of my fingers.....NOTHING....they are are stunted. I have massaged them with various creams for the hands. For many a year I have been told about the wonders of Sally Hansen and did not need to avail of her remedies. But the time had come and I purchased "Sally Hansen - Hard as Nails".




3 or 4 weeks later I was still a victim of peeling, exposed layers of nail. I was in despair. My birthday was around the corner and I longed to have beautiful nails. But this is not a tale of failure. This is a story of success and dare I say it beauty.

To demonstrate my lack of willingness to venture into the world of  fake nails I have a packet of battered Broadway Nails in my drawer circa 2001. My psyche never accepted that I would entertain gluing pieces of plastic to my own "ingne" (Gailge for nails believe it or not, learn something new every day).

However the time had come!!! Inspired by my friend's modelling of some verrrry natural nails the previous weekend, as I flew around the aisles of Dunnes doing my grocery shopping, I grabbed my second ever pack of Broadway nails. This time I had fullest intentions of actually wearing them.



With dinner booked for 7.30 on that Saturday night, yours truly decided at approximately 6.20pm (and minus my outfit being adorned or my hair being adjusted or tights being removed from their packaging), now was the time to try out the art of fake nails for the first time. Mistake no.1!!! I had no idea what was the appropriate amount of squeezing required to extract the glue from the tube. I 'thought' I was squeezing out glue and that it was just quite invisible. I in fact was trying to apply the nails with air rather than glue.

Panic ensued, there were nails all over the ground. My room looked like the scene of a horrific torturing whereby I had lost my nails. Time was not on my side, and neither was this flipping tube which was holding on to its sticky contents for dear life.

Half an hour later, all 10 digits had been tackled. And while as the evidence will show the new talons were of moderate length, I felt a little like the sister of Edward Scissorhands.



This was not the end of events. I still had to pull on my dress that was a size too small and needed alotttttt of manoeuvring!! The new 40 deniers ended up with a hole in the crotch before they even reached their destination of my waistline.

The drama did not end here - an hour into the meal, I felt my tights making their slippy descent. We've all been there ladies. Fear gripped me. If I attempted to sort the situation, more holes and ladders could be the end result. When in doubt, grab the closest female friend who is not easily traumatised...The following events were like a flashback to my school going years as a 5 year old when your mother nearly lifted you off your feet as she tried to force you into a pair of tights that were doomed to itch you for the day.

I can safely say..... it was all worth it!!!!! I love fake nails and I am totally converted!!!!




The Lesson:

  • Time, ladies, time!!!! This is not a process that should be rushed.
  • Always always have your glue in your bag (in case of emergency).
  • Tights should be in place for the night ahead PRE-nail application.
  • Finally, pain is beauty.......




Note:

Excuse the ink marks on the nails, pics were taken on the Monday after the event after a day of tackling a blobby biro.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Lesson No. 2: A New Wei(ght) of Life

Let me introduce you to the 'Wheel of Fat'.



That's right, 2 weeks ago I met my new best friend....this...twisty..fiddly..round wheel of confusion.

Last October, I had a revelation... I was in fact almost 2 stone overweight. I'm not sure who was more surprised, me or the scales who had been abandoned for many months.

Love is life changing...it is also life fattening! So I'm blaming love and contentedness. It could not possibly have been the larger than life portions of pasta that I'd been eating up to 3 times a week, or the sneaky Happy Meals from McDonalds (not actually that happy when it comes to my torso) or the smelly garlic mushrooms every Friday night (accompanied by the potato pie, breast in a bun and pineapple fritter). Mmmmmmm, ok this nostalgia is doing me no good whatsoever.

Anyway...after years of 'being happy with my curvy, real woman body' and being vehemently opposed to any measures that meant restricting my food intake, I realised I had to wake up and smell the Ryvita.

A month and a half on, I'd dropped a stone following the Weightwatchers programme and all was well with the world (and with the buttons on my jeans!).

Then came ...... ProPoints !!!!!! And the 'Wheel of Fat'.

One week into this new "programme" I was a 1/2 a pound up, totally disillusioned and possessed 1 or 2 paper cut fingers from twisting this wheel thing-a-majig.

Last Thursday, I bought the Weighwatchers ProPoints calculator and probably became a victim of effective marketing. However, for all my whinging at the demise of the old Points progmme, I have embraced the calculator and disposed with my beloved  (ahem) 'Wheel of Fat'. I have a renewed sense of enthusiasm.





The Lesson:

  • Preparation is key ladies.
  • Braeburn Apples are our friend - I hadn't eaten an apple in about 5 years but these are snack sized and don't send bitter juice into the eyes of my colleagues at lunch time.
  • Just because fruit is not point free, does not mean my digestive system is open to this 'eat all you want' approach. Not pleasant I know but ladies and gents you have been warned.
  • No pain, no gain.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Lesson No. 1: Home Baking

As you get to know me, it'll become clear that Weightwatchers has become a feature of my life and so therefore has the odd spot of cooking/baking. This blog will NOT be a Diary of a Weightloser, however the new "gift" that has been given to me is an interest in cooking!!!

3 months ago if I wanted to fry an egg, I would holler at Daddy dearest to come to my assistance. It has been known to take 3 broken eggs to achieve the great culinary feat that is the "Fried Egg". But gradually I have been dipping my toes into the unfriendly water that is the world of cooking!!!! Now, Darina's Cookery bibles still scare the bejasus out of me but online personal recipes where it's spelled out for me...that I can cope with it....

Despite all this, come New Years Eve (and prior to the fall down the stairs that I took on route to dinner....that's another story) I got a random notion that I would bake Queen cakes (clearly not a Weightwatcher's classic) decorated á la Christmas theme...to take to my friend's New Years Party. Furthermore I would resort to the age old recipe that was used in the Friday cake sale days of primary school.

Now in what world I thought Drunken Revellers would suddenly decide that iced Queen cakes would be the perfect accompaniment to alcoholic beverages, I just don't know.

Queen Cakes / Butterfly Cakes (as from my Mother's Cookery Book circa 1972)

6oz margarine (that's Stork to you and me)
8oz caster sugar
4 large eggs
8oz self raising flour

  • Now, this recipe is meant to make 25-30.....har-dee-har..... I got the grand total of 16.
  • Royal icing as it turns out is a feat that can only be accomplished by the consummate icing professional. The worktop looked like my snow covered back garden as the icing poured off my over-sized deformed buns!!!!
  • The piéce de resistance had to be my Christmassy decorations though that nearly broke my brother's teeth as he sample tasted my culinary delights.
Below...is an image of my forlorn buns still sitting on the snack's table at approximately 2 a.m. on 1/1/11...4 hours after the party had started and only 1 bun gone !!! Note: the extra tasty factor that is the burn!!!!

Result of Lesson No.1:
  • More icing sugar required
  • Practice my new skills more BEFORE I bring the goods to the party!!!
  •