My crafting lately

My crafting seems to have slowed down a bit lately. I'm not sure why, perhaps I've been feeling a little bit uninspired. So I thought I'd share some recent projects that I'm proud of, to try and get my crafting mojo back!

I was really pleased with my crochet bunting using a kit from Attic24. It was one of those projects that I'd had sitting around for ages, and I was so proud of it when it was finished. It is now hanging up in Mia's room, and she loves it!

After coming back from holiday with yet another collection of shells, we dug into our collection to create some salt dough shell mosaics. They make really lovely, chunky decorations, and are currently on display in the summer house. I'd like them to go outside but I'm not sure that they are sturdy enough, perhaps I might put them out anyway as a transient piece of artwork!

Most recently I've been working on a new craft which I'll be sharing in full in the next few days. I used a mini Hama bead flower pegboard to make a flower wreath, a lovely decoration to brighten up the home for summer.

Finally I've also been creative making lots of videos for my YouTube channel. Most of my recent ones have been about our days out here and there, but here's a short little crafty one which I made with the children when we had lots of fun making garden art on the patio!

For my next project I'm working on a little kit with mini Hama beads, a craft that I find really relaxing although also rather fiddly - and you do need to keep an eye on your work in progress as a small knock can be catastrophic!

If you share photographs of your crafts on Instagram, it would be fab if you wanted to join in with our crafting community! You just need to tag your photos with the hashtag #craftingismytherapy_month, so we are currently using #craftingismytherapy_may. Every month Me, You and Magoo and I will share some of our favourites, and it's a great way to see what projects others are working on, and perhaps get some inspiration. I'd love to see you there!

Learning to ride a bike

If I'm honest, we aren't the sportiest of families. My husband and I exercise to keep ourselves fit, but when it comes to family sporting activities we don't do a great deal. We tend to stick for walks in the country and along the beach (mainly with the added incentive of hunting for Pokemon or Geocaching).

It's been bothering me for the last couple of years now that Harry couldn't ride a bike without stabilisers. I've had it on my summer activity list for the last two summers, but when it came to it he just wasn't interested in learning, and was quite happy to pootle about on his little toddler bike. A little while ago a friend kindly gave us a bike that her son had grown out of, and it had been waiting in the garage for Harry get around to having a go on it.

Then suddenly towards the end of last week, just as I was about to start making dinner, Harry announced that he wanted to have a go on the bike. It was an inconvenient moment, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity, so we all went out the front of the house, got out the bike, and put Mia on her balance bike to keep her occupied.

He didn't want any help at first but it became apparent that he wasn't sure what to do. I didn't really know how to teach him either, so I did the classic holding on to the back of the saddle, letting him pedal, and then letting go. It took quite a few goes before he got anywhere, but then he suddenly went from one pedal round before he fell of to pedalling up and down the length of the road!

It was amazing quite how quickly he picked it up, and we spent the weekend venturing further afield and making use of the cycle paths around our estate. The bike is too small for him, so we've been looking at buying him a decent bike that will last him for a few years, and then passing this one down to Mia so that she can have a go - I'm hoping that she'll pick it up just as quickly!

I'm so proud of him, he was determined to do it and persevered when he was struggling. I think it's an important life skill, and I'm hoping that if we are able to get us all bikes we can start to enjoy some fun family bike rides!

Living in a smart home

Our first foray into the world of the smart home was a few years back when we installed a Tado smart central heating system. We can control the heating from our phones, and because it works on location the heating can turn on and off depending on where we are. If we are going on holiday we turn the heating off, then time when we turn it back on so that the house is nice and warm for our return. If we are only out locally for a short time the house doesn't have long enough to get cold, and it's nice to pull into the drive and see that the heating has come on ready for us without having to worry about it.

The next element to our smart home was the Amazon Alexa, which we bought just before Christmas last year, and since then things have become much more complicated. We started out with just the main Amazon Echo (affiliate link), which was very shortly followed by two Echo Dots (affiliate link), so we now have the main Echo in the kitchen and a dot in both the living room and bedroom. I mostly use Alexa to play music as she's linked to our Spotify account. It's really good to be able to put music on in the kitchen while I'm making dinner. She's can also tell me the news, the weather, and the children love asking her to tell them a joke.

However one of the main reasons that Alexa was purchased was for the next element - the light bulb invasion. Initially intended for just the living room and bedroom, the light bulb empire has gradually expanded to include most of the house. We have Philips Hue bulbs, in a mixture of both coloured and white, some set up individually and some linked. The outside ones are set on timers, and all can be controlled by both voice and phone.

They were quite fun at first, especially the four coloured bulbs in the living room which can be set to flash on and off in time with music. The excitement has worn off a bit now, as has the novelty of controlling them by speaking to Alexa. The trouble is that as we've added more and more, Alexa isn't always sure exactly which bulbs you are referring to. By the time she has asked for clarification, and you've managed to come to a joint agreement about what you are hoping she might do, it's a lot quicker to just pull up the screen on the phone and change them yourself.

Most recently, a few weeks ago we installed a Ring Video Doorbell (affiliate link). This was quite an expense, not just for the unit itself but also for the full morning that it took two electricians to install. It is fab though, the camera is motion activated so whenever someone comes to the door it will record a 30 second clip. If someone rings the bell we have the function to answer it from our phone. So for example if I've just popped out and the postman arrives with a parcel I can speak to him through the doorbell and ask him to leave it round the side. If small boys come to the door to ask us to throw their football back (a regular occurrence) I don't need to go running to the door if I'm busy and I can tell them I'll chuck it over later. It's also comforting to be able to pull up a live view from our front door when we are away and make sure that nothing untoward is going on.

Although it's great from a security point of view although it does make me feel a little bit spied on - the husband will receive an alert whenever I leave the house, when I return, and will see any visitors that I might have during the day (most likely none!).

So what is next for our smart home? I've not noticed the husband researching anything else recently although I know that there are plenty of add-ons available that work with our existing set up. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts mooting the idea of an indoor video recording security system, but I might have a few objections to that one!

Do you have any of these devices? I'd love to know how you get on with them!

Amazon links are affiliate.

A day at Whipsnade Zoo, Dunstable

Over the weekend we had a lovely family weekend away in Bedfordshire, and we enjoyed a great family day trip to Whipsnade Zoo. Whipsnade Zoo is located in Dunstable, and we were able to cover our entry with Tesco Clubcard vouchers. We've visited a couple of times over the last few years, even when Harry was just a tiny baby, and always had a great time.

I made a little video showing some of the things that we saw:

I think that my favourite animal at Whipsnade has to be the elephants. There are lots of them and you can stand quite close and watch them walk about, we say baby elephants 'kissing' their parents which was very sweet. When we visited a few years ago we were lucky enough to see them being walked down the road, each using their trunk to hold onto the tail of the one in front!

The zoo is quite spread out and so there is a fair bit of walking for little ones. You can pay a bit extra to take your car onto the site, but you would still need to do some walking. It's also worth mentioning that you need to book a time slot for the indoor soft play area, luckily Ram was on the ball as it was closed for a private party later on in the day and the time slots do fill up.

We also watched the bird show which was very good, it's amazing how they can train them! There's a lot to do and we easily filled our day. 

The zoo is in beautiful surroundings, if you are visiting and have time I'd also recommend a stop at nearby Dunstable Downs for kite flying and glider watching.

May - Lately I've been...

It's time for another catch up post! Here's what I've been up to lately:

Thinking about

I'm feeling a bit snowed under with clutter in the house at the minute so it's time for a bit of a clear out. We need to do a tip run as we have some broken electrical bits that need to go to the recycling, but it gets very busy at the tip so we've been putting it off. There's a charity drop off box at the gym, so I'm trying to get into the habit of taking along a carrier bag each time I visit.

After having the children at home over Easter and spending a lot of family time together I've been thinking about them and wondering what they get up to all day. I'm also thinking about the summer holidays, they will have 8 weeks off this summer for the first time as they have changed schools - I'm wondering how I'm going to fill all that time!

Crafting

I finally finished my crochet bunting! After my last few projects I've acquired a bit of a stash of different colours of yarn, so I'm thinking about some new crochet projects. My sister bought me a book of crochet mandala patterns and I've already made a couple that I'm quite proud of. I'm thinking about having a go at a larger one that I can use as a lap blanket at my desk in the winter. 

Watching

One of our favourite TV series is back - Better Call Saul - so we've been enjoying watching that. Otherwise I've not watched much else. I have picked up the YouTube a bit, I enjoy videos by Cruising the Cut about life on a canal boat, and I follow lots of parent bloggers that make videos like the ones I do which are always fun to watch. I also love watching the Honest Trailers on YouTube and eagerly await new ones - have a look here ScreenJunkies or just search for honest trailer, they are hilarious!

Eating

I've been doing very well at watching what I eat lately. Despite putting on 2 kg over Easter I've managed to get down to my 'low' weight so I'm pleased with that, and it means that I can fit into all my clothes! Hopefully I can keep it off for the summer, maybe if it's warm enough I'll even face the world in shorts!

Travelling to

For the first week of the Easter holidays we were lucky enough to enjoy a lovely family holiday to Fuerteventura. We stayed in a hotel on Jandia beach and spent lots of time playing in the sand and relaxing on sun loungers by the pool. 

Closer to home we've been exploring the local area lately and making the most of the beautiful weather. We've had walks up to Cissbury Ring, Highdown Hill, and through the lovely bluebell woods near our house.

Reading

I very much enjoyed I See You by Clare Mackintosh which I picked up in the library the other week, definitely one to recommend. While we were away I read Coffee, Tea, The Gypsy and Me by Caroline James which was a fun, lighthearted read that I downloaded when it was in the freebie Kindle list. I love 'shopping' on Amazon and downloading all the free books, I've found some good books that way!

Planning

I'm working on a video challenge this year where I want to publish 52 videos. I've managed 15 so far which puts me a couple behind schedule, so I've been coming up with some ideas. If you want to see my latest videos you can find them on my YouTube channel. I really love making videos, people scoffed at my Media Studies A-Level but that was where I first learned about editing clips together (in the very early days of digital video!) and I love the fact that I can make them and call it 'work'!

I'm also trying to make some plans for the garden this summer. Mainly involving clearing it out a little bit, I'm not much of a gardener!

Looking forward to

At the end of the month we are going with Harry to watch Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London which I'm really looking forward to. We originally had two tickets and it was going to be me and Ram, then Harry read all the books and we thought that he'd probably appreciate it more so I was going to take him. Then another ticket became available as they'd been booked as part of a group, and so all three of us are now able to go which is brilliant. From reading the script it does look as though it might be a bit intense, but I'm hoping that Harry will be able to cope with it. It will also co-incidentally be the final performance by the original cast which is quite exciting.

I'm also looking forward to the weather warming up a little bit. We've had our first barbecue of the year already but it was a bit too cold to sit outside, I'm hoping that it won't be long until we can get the garden furniture out.

What have you been up to lately?

Keeping fit with a Fitbit

Last October for my birthday I got a Fitbit. I have the Fitbit Charge 2 (affiliate link) which has a large display and heart rate tracker. It is quite bit on my wrist which I found a bit difficult to get used to at first, but having been wearing it for six months now I'm used to it. One thing that I really like about it compared to the not-very-reliable Garmin activity tracker that I had before is how responsive the screen is when I raise my wrist - it turns on straight away so that I can see the time and daily steps.

When I first got my Fitbit I set my daily target to 10,000 steps as was recommended. But I'm afraid that I didn't take it very seriously, and I didn't challenge myself to reach it every day. Some days when I went for a run I would go over, but many days I was around the 5-6000 steps mark which didn't feel like much of an achievement. My lowest step count in a day was just 409 steps - although to be fair that was Christmas day when I barely moved from the sofa!

So in January I made a resolution to complete my 10,000 steps every day. I discovered that in order to hit that magic number I had to do at least one extra activity, whether that was a run or a long walk. At the beginning of February I wrote about how I was managing my 10,000 steps, and at the beginning of March I upped my target to 11,000 steps. Nearly two months on I'm not finding that any more difficult, and so I'm thinking about increasing it again to 11,500 or even 12,000.

I've discovered a good trick for bumping up my step count when I can't leave the house, whether due to inclement weather or childcare responsibilities. We are lucky that the ground floor of our house is quite spacious, and if I open all the internal doors I can just march around the house in circles. Even better, I can do this while I'm reading a book at the same time. I can easily knock out a 30 or 40 minute walk, and although I must admit that I feel a little bit dizzy when I'm finished it's an easy and quick way to get to my target! It feels a bit like cheating, but it gets my heart rate up and it definitely counts!

I'm also enjoying some friendly competition with friends and family members. I rarely talk to them about it so they have no idea, but I feel a sense of smug satisfaction when I'm top of the leader board, as well as admiration for those that are achieving above my targets. I've not taken part in any challenges yet but I've heard that they can be very good for motivation, I'm just worried I'd get a bit obsessive about it! I do really love getting the badges, my best so far is 20,000 steps, but I'm sure I can do better than that!

One thing that I've noticed about the Fitbit is that it particularly loves stairs. Even on days when I've been for a run and am feeling knackered I don't always meet my calorie target. But if I've been going up and down the stairs a lot, for example on days when I've been busy doing washing and putting it away, or just general tidying, I easily burn more calories.

Talking of calories, the Fitbit has really made me appreciate how few calories I actually need to eat. According to my Fitbit, which seems accurate, I'm usually burning around 1,900 calories over the course of the day. When you think that a takeaway pizza 12-1,500 calories you realise that treats like that will definitely add up quickly! I'm not regularly using the calorie counter as an aid to weight loss, but I've found that when I am tracking calories, which I do from time to time, having the daily exercise definitely helps with the weight loss.

I'd love to hear how other people get on with their Fitbits or other activity trackers - how many steps do you aim for in a day?

My Attic24 Summer Bunting

My latest completed crochet project is the Summer Bunting by Lucy at Attic24. I love all Lucy's crochet projects and had been wanting to try one out for a long while, but being fairly new to crochet I wanted to start with something simple. The Summer Bunting is available as a kit to purchase from Wool Warehouse, and at just £9.50 for everything that you need I think that it's a bargain! I chose to complete the project in the pink yarns as I had it in mind for Mia's room, but it's also available in shades of blue.

I received the bunting kit as a Christmas present the year before last, and I'm afraid that I had put it to one side while I was working on my crochet blankets last year. I'm not very good at following crochet patterns, and I wanted to make sure that I did it right. But in the end I found the pattern pretty easy to follow, and although perhaps I may not have got it quite right all of the time, I'm very pleased with the finished result!

The bunting uses four different colours of yarn, and the pattern just says to spread them evenly across the triangles. Next time I would plan it out in advance, as I hadn't thought through logically how many different combinations there were! That is what delayed me a little bit going along, as I wasn't sure the best way to do it. I think that I managed to sort it out though.

Bunting is very difficult to photograph nicely, but here it is hanging up in Mia's bedroom over her bed. She was delighted with it and chose exactly where she wanted to hang it.

There was plenty of yarn leftover once I'd finished the bunting - enough to make many many more strings! But I've added it to my stash for now as I have a few colourful crochet projects in mind. I've also been busy browsing the Attic24 kits and pondering my next purchase, there are some lovely blanket kits that have caught my eye!