More fame....sigh....

I was papped by Beth when she came up to stay. She took loads of pics of me and the dogs and, as Beth and Peridot have a more private blog code than I, you're stuck with me!! I must say, it was nice to have my own private photographer recording my day....

And a reunion too. I went across to Manchester yesterday afternoon for a photoshoot with the other women from the show. It was for a double page spread in , wait for it..................drum roll..................Womens' Own!! I was initially unimpressed by that publication too but now am informed by the Sky publicist that WO has reinvented itself and is at the upper end of the womens' weeklys. So there!

Anyway, it was a proper laugh. I was first to go so had hair and make-up done and then picked dresses. The stylist had brought a selection but I had also brought my 2 wedding outfits just in case. And she chose the black and red one which I wore last weekend! So the bloggers' choice was vindicated. She liked the black and pink but thought it was too black - the brief from WO was for colour. Personally I thought we would have looked like Smarties if we had all worn block colours so a bit of black and a pattern broke it up a bit!

Compared to the shoot for the Sky mag, this was much much better. Then we had been wearing leggings and vest tops and posing with bikes and helmets. There were loads of serious shots of us grimly not smiling. Yesterday it was all smiles and laughter and glasses of champagne and, somewhat strangely, jumping! The story will appear in WO on 29 September so get out there and check me out! I was interviewed over the phone this lunchtime which was amusing. We had a good hour's chat and I surprised even myself by my positivity about the show!!

Anyway, my 15 minutes of fame are kicking in properly now so it's probably a good thing that we're off on holiday or I would have spent the next few weeks getting more and more excited and nervous about it. This way, I'll be too busy trying to spot animals and capture that perfect photo to worry about what my bum will look like on telly!!

Food and weight wise, I have been a bit on the stagnant side. I've lost that 4 maybe 5 lbs since filming ended but no more. I had wanted a bit more of a cushion for my hols but now I realise that that is just old-school thinking. Why do I need a cushion if I'm not going to be over-eating?? I'm concerned that it will be difficult to exercise out there but I can only do my best and, if I'm not doing much in the way of exercise, well, I'll just have to eat and drink less!!

Several of the places we're staying in have swimming pools and maybe even gyms so I can always grab a workout when it's possible. While I won't be able to go running or even walking when we're camping in the middle of game reserves (for obvious reasons) there's no reason I can't do crunches and squats etc if I'm really struggling. Diarmuid has helpfully offered to drive the car alongside me as I run but I can't quite see that happening!!!

I hope it's going to be a holiday of a lifetime and I'm also hoping that I have changed the habit of a lifetime and don't return from it with an extra half stone!!