1066 All Stars

Middle of week 13 - 26th November

Starting weight - 12 st 4lb

Last weight - 11st 2lb

New weight - 11st 3lb

Comments

* I try not to hope for a particular weight on the basis that if that hope is not met, it can only lead to disappointment. But what is life without hope? Balance under pins everything of course. Constantly thinking positively, to the surprise of some I suspect, is as unhealthy as negative thinking. But a sprinkling here and there keeps us going.

* Why am I rambling on about this? Because today I had hoped to get to 11st 1lbs. It was always a bit unrealistic. Whilst I recorded my last weight as 11st 2lbs, to be more precise it was 11st 2lbs 7/8ths so a minor variation is enough to push me back up to 11st 3lbs.

* I quite miss writing my daily blogs. They were a fun way to explore issues and maintain visibility and involvement in what I am eating. It became less of a blog and more of a diary that I shared with the world (if the world consisted of the 3 people who read this). On the other hand, writing blogs so frequently can risk straying into a little 'woe is me' territory as I strive for content. Instead of acknowledging an issue and moving on, it becomes a running theme, the point of the blog no longer to explore, understand and correct but simply to document. Altogether now...balance is the key.

* I had planned on publishing a second edition of 'Bring Me That Horizon' to add a further chapter with my more recent blogs. After careful consideration, and the unheard of step of actually talking to the wife, listening to what she had to say and agreeing with her, I have decided to hold off a potential second book for further down the line. My blog writing hasn't suddenly stopped, nor is it likely to in the near future and so I'll settle for correcting a couple of typos but leaving the content unchanged.

* I am close to publishing my short story collection. I am not entirely satisfied with it. I feel that I would be ripping people off if they buy it, much as I do when someone buys 'A Matter Of Time' (available now, folks). But it is difficult to maintain perspective on one's own work. Ultimately I guess judgement is for others. I have written it, if they choose to buy it then that is up to them. Look out for 'Sins Of The Father', coming soon to Amazon.

* On the other hand I am still not sure what to do with my children's stories. Of everything I have written, with the exception of a couple of particular blogs, this is the work I am most proud of. I genuinely believe these are good quality stories with important messages, some of them quite complex life lessons, hidden in the seemingly simple structure of a children's story. I want to publish them just to have them published but I also want to do them justice.

* A few pieces have popped up on the site recently so do have a sniff around. I wrote a piece on living with anxiety at Christmas ('The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year') that I hope people will take the time to read. This year will be the first without my Dad, which of course brings up its own feelings. It is important not to push them away but instead to sit with them, accept them, then let them pass in their own time.