Compare the Meerkat

I was completely stumped by this week's Gallery prompt of Mother Nature. It's not really a time of year to be out a lot with your camera and anyway, I am not one of the world's nature photographers. I don't have many pictures to fall back on, so had resigned myself to giving this week a miss.

And then, Garry from The Blog Up North published this forlorn picture. And it prompted a memory of a trip to the zoo of our own, admittedly completely different and somewhat lighter in mood. It's a bit of a cheat for the prompt, but I know there are often different interpretations. So shoot me.

Last May, I took the children to Blackpool Zoo on Spring Bank Holiday Monday. It was their first ever trip to a proper zoo although we'd taken them to a marine park in Portugal the year before. As my husband was working in the morning, the children and I did most of the trip on our own, wandering back and forth around the zoo, stopping and starting at random, allowing for loo stops, sandwich consumption, ice cream purchases, and chasing of birds. I forgot my camera in the rush to get myself, children and packed lunch ready but I did have my phone with me.

Monkey and Missy Woo loved seeing all the animals. There was, however, particular excitement when we found where the meerkats were housed. Maybe it's those ads, although I do have a recollection of Monkey saying he'd seen some at school on a DVD they'd played to his class. They couldn't wait to see them, and afterwards, they insisted I take this picture of them.

If my photography skills were halfway decent, you'd see that they were stood in front of a larger than life meerkat cutout. Try saying that without your teeth in.

Do you think they'd pass for the real thing if they snuck into the meerkat enclosure? Would Aleksandr sniff them out as impostors or are meerkats really simples and not notice? What do you reckon?

I'm going to Cybermummy11 - thanks to SeaWorld Parks!

This is a sponsored post.

I only started blogging last April and last summer, I noticed a lot of bloggers talking about Cybermummy. It turned out to be an blogging conference for parent bloggers in London. Much as I would have liked to go, it fell on the weekend of Missy Woo's birthday party. So, when this year's date was announced, I was pleased to find I could make it. My next problem was affording it - the cost of a ticket, travel to London and a hotel room soon add up to a lot of money. I'd heard that some people had got sponsored last year but wasn't sure how to go about it. 

After following up a few possibilities, the lovely Laura from Are we nearly there yet Mummy? asked me if I was still looking for a sponsor and when I said yes, she passed my name on to a then unnamed possible sponsor. They then get in touch and I was blown away when I found out who they were. After a bit of toing and froing during which I wrote a pitch for the first time in my life, they confirmed that they'd love to sponsor me. Wow. I'm going to Cybermummy! 

So, who are the lovely people that are sponsoring me? Only SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment in Florida! If you've been on a Florida theme park holiday or are planning one, you'll be very familiar with them. They have 4 parks in Florida - SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove in Orlando and Busch Gardens in Tampa. Until I had children, I was never into theme parks but Monkey and Missy Woo have been to ones on a small scale in the UK, and are starting to show interest in the bigger ones. I know they would love SeaWorld as they love zoos and marine parks and would love to see Shamu, the famous killer whale. I love the educational aspect, as you can learn about the work SeaWorld does to rescue and rehabilitate marine animals. They would also love Aquatica, which is a waterpark with rides, as well as the chance to meet more animals. They are perhaps a little young to make the most of Discovery Cove, which is an all-inclusive sandy tropical oasis, where you can do the thing that is on most people's list of things to do at some point: swim with dolphins. That's pretty cool. From this summer, Discovery Cove will also have a 2.5 acre Grand Reef, where you can paddle in shallow water or dive deep to see some of the 10,000 animals. You can even trek the reef on foot wearing dive helmets to look at the wildlife. 

But I am pretty sure what the children would love the most is Busch Gardens. Monkey has been on a rollercoaster ride once and loved it. He's now just about big enough to try out their new ride this year, Cheetah Hunt, which takes you through an African landscape as if you were the fastest animal on land, twisting and turning at 60mph before a final plunge into the abyss. I'm not so sure about Missy Woo as she may be too small, but she chickened out on her last rollercoaster ride - much to her mother's relief, it has to be said. However, we can all enjoy the Cheetah Run where the trainers hold daily sprints with the cheetahs to show just how fast they are, or you can view cheetahs up close from glass panelled viewing areas.

Oh yes, my children would dearly love the SeaWorld parks. Sadly, I don't think the pennies will stretch that far this year. However, if your pennies will stretch to it, there is a special "3 parks for the price of 2" offer for all tickets booked by the end of May and activated by 31st December.

So, they are my lovely sponsors, without whom my trip to Cybermummy would not be possible. I'm truly gobsmacked and very grateful that they chose to sponsor me for this event. It's the one big event that bloggers travel to from far and wide, not only to learn more about blogging, but also to put faces to names of the people behind the many blogs we all read. Thank you, SeaWorld Parks, for making it possible for me to be part of that. And a huge thank you also to Laura (whose blog never fails to make me laugh) for recommending me to them.

Sleepyhead

She's asleep. She actually looks as if she knows the camera is there and she's pretending to be asleep just to humour us so the photo can be taken, a hint of a knowing smile on her lips. Knowing her as I do now, I wouldn't put anything like that past her but she's only a baby here, right? In fact, I just checked - she's eight days old in this picture. The angle has cleverly disguised the baby acne she had so I think I got her best side. And I'd forgotten how dark her hair was at birth. 

My little sleepyhead, now known as Missy Woo. 

This is my entry for this week's Gallery at Sticky Fingers. The prompt this week is Body Parts. Why not take a look at visit some of the other entries - or even join in yourself? 

Giving

Giving from the heart. It means so much more than something tangible. The only problem is that giving from your heart so often means giving a piece of your heart and with that comes responsibility for the recipient, whether they know it or not. Whether they like it or not. That piece, that precious piece of your very being, is fragile and needs care. It needs to be nurtured, like a seedling germinating; just the right amount of food, water, and love. So easily squashed whilst it's still small and precious.

They cannot give it back to you. You can take it back if you choose. You can choose to leave it where it was and hope that it's cared for. That the recipient has recognised its value, its wonder and its mystery and chooses to cherish such a gift from you.

That's why you have to give carefully. Choose wisely. And accept that the recipient is human.

(This piece was written for the Writing Workshop on Sleep is for the Weak. The prompt was Giving, to help launch a new campaign by anti-poverty charity ActionAid.)

My birthday treat - and review - at The Longridge Restaurant

As you know, it was my birthday on Thursday. I managed to secure a babysitter to look after the children and planned a trip out. After looking around at the local eating establishments on various review sites, an old favourite stuck out at me - The Longridge Restaurant. We'd been there a few times over the last nine years but hadn't been for ages - children and the more limited funds that part time working brings put paid to that. They had an offer for a 3 course meal and wine for £50 so I rang to ask if it was still on. Unfortunately, I got an unsatisfactory response and was told to ring back on Thursday! I fired off an email to them saying I wasn't happy with the service. Imagine to my surprise, a couple of hours to receive a call from the head chef, Chris Bell, ringing from his holiday in Ireland to apologise for the confusion and offering to sort it out. An email exchange a few days later with a lovely lady at the restaurant and we were booked in for the night of my birthday.

Off we went on the night up to Longridge. The restaurant is never going to get much passing trade - it's not located on a main road, more of a side road (although there is a brown sign directing you to it from a main road) so really, you have to know it's there - and its reputation - to make the trip. The situation is odd, a 19th Century stone cottage, surrounded by houses and just by the exit of a large holiday park; incidentally, where the children spent a happy week with grandparents in August. The restaurant is the original restaurant opened by Paul Heathcote in the 1990s. It used to have a Michelin star and everything, but more recently has fallen on harder times and lost its star in 2007. Paul Heathcote had even put it on the market to sell it when the head chef that rang me returned after running a local pub with his wife, who runs front of house. The place has been done up since we were last there but remains in character with the building. The style is what they call modern British with a distinctly local twist - lots of black pudding, Goosnargh chicken and duck, that sort of thing.

It was busier than it has been in other visits when it arrived, which is good for the first Thursday in January. We sat down in the bar and perused the menus. The lady serving us - who was the lady I'd been emailing, it became obvious - told us we could have 50% off anything off the main menu. And that included the gourmet menus.

All of a sudden, we had a sudden rush of blood to the head and decided to have the ten course gourmet menu. Yes, that's right - ten. From being an evening when we were out to have a quiet meal to celebrate my birthday, we were looking forward to a very special evening. Trying a gourmet or tasting menu is something I had always wanted to do but the cost was seemingly beyond us. I think my husband thought it was the price on the menu was per table, not per person (!) but still, he stayed true and didn't tap me up for some of the bill at the end.

The first course arrived whilst we were still sat in the bar. Two canapes each; a Lancashire cheese fritter with apple jelly and a Morecambe Bay shrimp tartlet. The tartlet was absolutely outstanding and flavoured with a little dill, one of my favourite herbs. I'd taken the photo of this before we had decided on the gourmet menu and luckily, I'd snapped it on my phone. Apologies for any of these photos being a bit on the blurry side.

We were then taken through to our table and this is the view that greeted me when I sat down:

All a tiny bit intimidating. We were muttering "start from the outside, work in". We were a bewildering array of bread. I chose brown bread with onion, husband chose white bread with brie. I made the better choice - my bread smelt and tasted oniony and the crust was beautifully crunchy against the softer crumb.

Next to arrive was the soup. On the menu, it was billed as butternut squash soup, which I know the husband was looking forward to as he had that very dish, with truffle oil, there once and it is one of his abiding food memories. What we were presented with was a jug of mushroom soup, and a tiny soup bowl containing artichoke purée and toasted pine nuts. I only took a picture once I'd poured soup in.

This didn't disappoint. I love mushroom soup anyway but it was really nice with the artichoke purée stirred into it. The pinenuts made a real difference to the flavour - they were what I called just the right side of burnt - in that they were browned but not bitter. There was still some left in the jug so I had some on its own; still nice, but better with the accompaniments.

Our next course was a fish based course. Gravadlax of salmon, Morecambe Bay shrimps, horseradish (I think), creme fraiche, dill and marinated cucumber with a pear and apple chutney.

I've made gravadlax before but this, of course was so much better than mine! (Funny, that..... ) The salmon was so tender, It didn't need to be cut, it just pulled apart. We worked out the horseradish flavour; the husband said he thought he didn't like horseradish but I'd seen Nigel Slater saying only a few days before that if you think you dislike it, try the fresh root rather than the stuff out of jars. This was far more subtle. The pear and apple chutney was a nice change - much spicier than anything else on the plate but also lending a sweetness to the dish. I liked it but husband didn't rate the chutney as part of the dish.

Toddling along nicely now and yet another fish based dish arrived. Here was where I nearly failed you. It was scallops which I adore and I was just about to plunge my fork in the dish, when I remembered I was meant to be photographing it and grabbed my phone.

So, this is seared scallops with wilted spinach, artichoke purée, cranberries and pickled celeriac. Now, I've had scallops with apple before now, but never cranberries (they were cooked, a bit like cranberry sauce). The sweetness went well with the scallops. The pickled celeriac added a sour note. I loved it but husband didn't like it as much as the previous courses. A qualified success, I think.

Then, we had the proper fish course, proper fish knives and forks and all.

This is roasted turbot, an it's on top of some little gem lettuce and slivers of Cumbrian ham, topped with a slow cooked duck's egg. The yellow you can see at the top is the yolk oozing out of the egg. The turbot was much firmer than I thought it would be, but then I guess that's because of the roasting. I don't think I'd ever had turbot before so it could very well be that it has a firmer texture. The ham made things salty but the real star was the egg. Runny oozy, only just cooked and a really rich flavour. This wasn't something I had expected to be wild about but it was incredible.

Then we got a risotto. Again, we deviated from the menu which had advertised a Morecambe Bay shrimp risotto but instead they brought us this:

It's a mushroom risotto, with shavings of Parmesan, toasted hazelnuts and truffle oil. Now, I'm always impressed by a good risotto. I always manage to colour it slightly but this was perfectly creamy - almost like a savoury rice pudding. The smell from the truffle oil was amazing. I'd never thought of putting hazelnuts on a risotto and didn't think it would work but it did and added to the earthiness of the risotto. The shavings of Parmesan were seriously good too. The truffle oil lingered in the mouth for quite some time, even after the risotto was long gone.

I didn't feel too bad by this point but realised the main event was coming up next and I was feeling slightly full. A slightly bigger portion this time - the main course.

 

This was duck breast with seared foie gras, celery and celeriac, potatoes, cherries with a cherry reduction. Now. I hadn't expected to get foie gras with this dish and I've never had it before, to my knowledge anyway. I'm not sure if it was mentioned on the menu, but if it was, I didn't notice it. I do have issues with the way that a lot of foie gras is produced (and I've since tried to find out how the foie gras used here is produced, but so far, no word) but I thought I would try it anyway. And you know what? I liked it. It didn't taste livery at all to me, just meaty with a really light texture. The duck was pink, as you can tell, and melted in the mouth, it was so tender. I could however feel myself filling up fast so I decided to leave some of the dish although I ate all the duck and the foie gras. Husband, who likes to eat things together in a set combination, nicked some of the celeriac and celery me off me. I didn't feel the potatoes added too much here so I left one of those too.

Phew, we were getting there. I remembered at this point to text my babysitting friend to let her know we might be later than planned - after all, it was 10.15pm by this point and they'd sat us down nearly two hours before. We were then given a little pre-dessert.

It was coconut mousse, topped with cherry sorbet. The mousse was extremely light and a lot more subtle in flavour than I imagined it would be whereas the sorbet was really fruity and sweet. It was a lovely combination (and I don't normally like cherries that much) and it was lovely to have something so light at this point.

Nearing the end now, after the pre-dessert comes..... dessert of course. We knew it was chocolate tart and we'd seen some other diners eating fairly large slices of it, but thankfully they were eating off the main menu and when ours arrived, it was substantially smaller. Good job, or I might have burst.

The tart came with a passion fruit sorbet and the smear is a rosemary caramel. The caramel was salty and I thought quite subtly flavoured with rosemary, which I couldn't necessarily taste combined with other parts of the dish. The passion fruit sorbet was fruity but had a citrussy edge as it tasted a bit like lemon curd to me. You really needed to eat the tart with either the sorbet, the caramel or both as it was like eating solid chocolate and thus, was not particularly sweet and very rich. I'm so glad the portion was relatively small. Not being a chocoholic - although I do appreciate good chocolate - I would be happy with a portion of this size after a meal off the main menu.

We were, at last, on the home stretch. Cheese and biscuits. Having seen it on the menu, I hope that it included my favourite blue cheese, Blacksticks Blue, which is produced a few miles away from Longridge.

I wasn't disappointed! A sliver of Blacksticks Blue, the round one is Kidderton Ash (made by the same producer as the Blacksticks) and finally, there was some Cornish brie. There was also some celery, grapes and some fruitcake as well as the biscuits. Husband doesn't like any blue cheese but he did try the Blacksticks and then donated his to me. Hurrah! He said it was the best blue cheese he'd tasted in the same way that it was the best kick in the teeth he'd had! The brie didn't taste of much, but I put this down to the temperature at which it has to be stored and thus can't be ripened.

Phew, we were done. But were we? We ordered a couple of coffees and oh no, they brought out some petits fours!

Left to right, there was cocoa-covered candied peel, chocolate truffles with a white chocolate covering, a prune and armagnac tart, and some fudge. I tried all of it - the truffles and fudge were gorgeous but I wasn't wild about the prune and armagnac tart. Strangely enough, we didn't really finish these - but this was technically our eleventh course and we were fading fast. 

Whilst we were waiting for our coffees, the head chef Chris came to speak to us to apologise again for the mix-up and to check we had enjoyed the meal. I thought it was a nice touch for him to make an effort at the end of service to come to see us. Big thumbs up to him and his team for producing some outstanding food and a birthday experience I'll never forget. 

So, that was my birthday treat. Dull, wasn't it?! I was trying to think if I had a favourite dish and I really can't choose one! It was all good. Some of the combinations were definitely not ones I'd have normally tried but it was good to put ourselves in the hands of the chef and eat things together we might not have otherwise selected from a menu, and found that they worked. I'm glad I took pictures of everything, even if I did look a bit of a nerd snapping with my phone every time food arrived. I had intended to tweet the odd bit but I was worried about my battery so I saved it all up until we got home when I twitpicced them all to twitter. 

(I have not been paid to write this review. I have chosen to do this off my own back, because I enjoyed the experience so much)

Epiphanous celebrations

Photo credit: cornnius

By the time you read this, I'll be another year older. For today is my birthday. When your birthday is the first week of January, it's a challenge to celebrate. The whole world spends all its money over Christmas and New Year and by 2nd - or possibly 3rd some years - are on a real diet, or at the very least, a money diet and the return to work marks a distinct end to the party mood. If friends and family have not budgeted for your birthday present, forget it. You might get something in February. Or March. (I had an ex once that finally bought me a present in April. The following year, I lent him the money for my present. The year after that, we'd broken up). My husband hates having to buy me two presents so close together - just because he lacks ideas, not begrudging the money - but forgets that means he's largely off the hook for the rest of the year.

A birthday at this time of year means that you are at the mercy of the worst that winter can throw at you. My 21st birthday meal was cancelled because the snow followed me up the M1 back to university for the start of term and there was no way that 10 of us could go out further than the end of the road. Last year was the same - school was shut for the first week of term, and the in-laws didn't want to come over to babysit, understandable with all the snow and ice. So, like the mad fools we are, we set off on a family trip to the Trafford Centre where they were still trying to clear the car parks with snowploughs where we had lunch in a nearly empty restaurant and the manager gave us free cake when he found out it was my birthday.  I bought steak from M&S and cooked my own birthday dinner.

Winter illnesses can also get the better of you when your birthday is this time of year. Mum tells the story that she went to get me up on my very first birthday, and found I had chickenpox. Lovely. My 7th birthday party was actually a mumps party (remember those?) and one year as a child, I had the gift of a sickness bug. If it's not me, it's someone else. Husband had only just recovered from a sickness bug when we went out for my birthday a few years back,.

We let the feast of Epiphany pass us by in this country, but there are about 20 countries where they make a big deal out of it and have a public holiday. For some, it is their Christmas, or at least the day when they get their presents. I keep saying I'm going to move to Spain for this very reason. Strangely enough, we went to Spain straight after New Year one time for a holiday with Monkey, to Andalusia, the driest region in mainland Europe. It rained and was cold all day long on my birthday (the only day out of 14 it did so) and we sat in just reading books. We went to the Algarve in 2009, which mostly went to plan although Portugal doesn't celebrate it in quite the same way as Spain does.

Oh yes, an epiphanous birthday is a joy. There are upsides. You rarely struggle to book a table at a favourite restaurant (unless they are closing for the staff Christmas party) although the atmosphere can be a little lacking or get tickets for cinema or theatre. You can take your birthday money and shop in what's left of the sales. As no-one has any money, you don't feel obliged to invite lots of people out for the night. They'll say no! Savings made on rounds.

This year, Missy Woo is beyond excited about my birthday. She's reminded me every day of this week how many days it is until my birthday. I know it's because she thinks I'm going to have a party and so she is going to be sorely disappointed. Although, the morning is going to be filled with two little excited faces wishing me Happy Birthday and helping me open presents. They may well be cold excited faces because the boiler broke yesterday and we have no central heating or hot water until the engineer returns with the part he needs to buy.

The official definition of an epiphany is "the sudden realisation or comprehension of the (larger) essence or meaning of something". Well, every Epiphany, I wake up and realise I'm a year older. Scary prospect when you've reached 46. At the same time, I realise I'm probably very lucky in the things I do have, whatever I say about it. I may not get the birthday of my dreams (and I may, on occasion, have sneaked a half birthday in because the weather is better in July!) but my birthday is the only one I've got so I may as well make the best of it.

My tips for starting a New Year fitness regime

Photo credit - dariuszman

So, it's 3rd January and lots of people made New Year's resolutions to get fitter, lose weight, be more healthy, yada yada. Obviously, these normally involve starting a new fitness regime. I've started many in my time, and not just in early January, so I thought I'd pass on some tips. Obviously, you can choose to ignore them and it's a long list, but you will have a better chance of keeping it going for longer and seriously improving your fitness if you follow as many as you can. Feel free to add your own tips in the comments at the bottom of this post. Please remember I am not a qualified fitness instructor, this is just what I have learned over the years of being a punter. Some of these are learned from hard experience, some I've learnt from others.

1. Get proper medical advice if you have a condition or an injury that might mean that exercise could be harmful. Do this before you start if this applies to you.
2. Choose activities that you think you will enjoy. There is no point in doing something that you hate, because you will fall at the first hurdle. You can run, take up a new sport, join a gym, go to classes, or workout at home. If you're not sure what you want to do or will like, try a few things out but give each option a good few weeks. No-one is ever good as soon as they start. 
3. If you join a gym, try to get a trial period before signing your life away or pay as you go for a while. Check any contract very carefully as some gyms charge large cancellation penalties. Don't be swayed by fancy facilities at a private gym - council run leisure centres are often cheaper and the staff are normally well trained. They also allow you to pay as you go although memberships will work out cheaper. Don't think that paying lots of money will guilt you into going. That's how fitness clubs make their profits - all the people that pay hundreds of pounds a year who go twice. In total.
4. Get the right equipment. Some people find they are more motivated by buying new fitness gear. You don't need to, but if it works for you and you have the money, do it. There is, however, one piece of equipment where no reasonable expense must be spared - running shoes. Please don't think you can get by starting to run with any old trainers. A trip to any of the sports chains (Yes, you JJB, JD Sports and the like) will not cut it either. Go to a proper shop for runners where they can analyse your gait and help work out the best type of shoes for how you run. If you don't, you risk developing shin splints, which will seriously hamper your progress. Invest in good shoes and the risks are greatly reduced. Definitely worth the money. 
5. Put your workouts or runs or classes in your diary like any other appointment. It takes about 3 weeks to create new habits, so making time for your workout may be an effort at first. So many good intentions fail because people don't make the time. You only need about 3-4 hours week to get started. Putting the time aside to do your workout will help you see yourself as a regular exerciser until it becomes second nature. Home workouts are particularly prone to other distractions. I got round this by doing EA Sports Active's 30 day challenge which recorded what you have done and when so you had to do the workouts. 
6. Consider having a fitness buddy. It works for some - it will help motivate you each other when the going is tough and you're answerable to them if you want to bunk off. Or you could spend your whole time trying to get them to go. Your call. 
7. Start out gently and build up gradually. I cannot stress this enough because it will help prevent injuries and stop you getting demotivated. To get fitter, you need to challenge yourself, but not to the point of pushing yourself too hard. If doesn't matter if your first few workouts feel easy; just make a mental note to run a bit faster, work a bit harder or whatever it is next time. The first few workouts - if not the first few weeks - are for you to find your level. And remember it's your level, not anyone else's. If you really can't keep up, don't try. 
8. Set goals realistically. Particularly true of running, I think - there are plenty of running programmes around which you can follow. Stick to them, don't try to do them at twice the pace. You won't become fit overnight, it will take time to see results. And see point 7!
9. Make sure you get enough rest. When do you think you actually get fitter? Is it whilst you are exercising? It isn't! When you exercise, your body is under stress. When you rest, the body repairs itself and if you've been challenging it with exercise, it adapts to the challenge and you become fitter or stronger at rest. When you're starting out, it's a good idea to rest every other day if you can, but if your schedule doesn't allow it, working out for a couple of days then taking a rest will do. Overtraining gives no time for recovery and can turn niggles into injuries. 
10. Have contingency plans. This particularly applies to outdoor pursuits, like running, which can become dangerous in winter weather, but it could something as simple as your class being cancelled. Have a back up plan so that you can at least have a workout when this happens, especially if the activity is going to be laid off for more than a couple of days. I go back to EA Sports Active on the Wii when a class is unexpectedly cancelled.
11. Listen to what your body is telling you, particularly if you get ill. You will get ill or injured at some point. How you manage it is important to the speed of your recovery. If you get a cold, you can probably still exercise if your symptoms are above your neck and the rest feels fine, but if they are below the neck, it is best to wait until you get better. You can make yourself very ill if you exercise when ill so admit defeat and concentrate on getting better. Same goes for exercising with an injury - rest if necessary and if it's more serious than you first thought, get proper medical advice. Better to miss 1 or 2 workouts to get better than have to miss 12.
12. If you are exercising with the aim of losing weight, try to measure as well as weigh yourself. Keep a record of the measurements and measure regularly but only about every 2-3 weeks. This is because you may find that you lose fat but it not show on the scale. Muscle is denser than fat so it looks slimmer - and believe me, it's a good thing to have more muscle. 
13. Don't expect to lose weight by exercise alone. As I was once told, "you can never outrun your mouth". Watch what you are eating. Some people start to eat more after they have exercised when in truth, particularly at the start, they may not have burned that many calories. My pet hate is someone coming off a cardio machine at the gym saying they've earned themselves a chocolate bar (the calorie count on those things is often way out). You may find may appetite is increased but try not to overdo it. And DRINK! Keeping hydrated may take away the hunger pangs. Honestly. On the flip side, don't starve yourself - exercise needs fuel. 
14. When starting out, or starting back even after a shortish break, you are likely to get achey in your muscles the day after. The technical term for this is DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) and it will pass after 2-3 days. Your body will get better at reacting to the exercise over time but the first few can really hurt. Warm baths or a sauna can help, and if it's really bad, so can painkillers. 
15. Always do a warm up before each workout with some gentle exercise and do a cool down afterwards. Learn how to do a few basic stretches but don't overstretch.
16. Finally, don't expect there to be an exercise that will spot reduce fat from one problem area. It's just not going to happen. 

Finally, let me end by giving you some links to some useful sites or posts: 

jagsfitnessblog.com - written by my friend Jo about her own weight loss and fitness journey. She has written some useful posts on Frequently Asked Questions and Diet and Fitness Myths which are well worth a read.

stumptuous.com - lots of useful advice for all, with a particular slant towards women using weights. 

ExRx.net - a huge free resource with calculators and exercise directories, featuring videos of how to perform each one.