Loving Life & Losing!

19th February 2017

There are so many reasons to be happy.

Another good day yesterday, cracking morning meeting followed by an area meeting with my colleagues where they'd treated me to a lovely bouquet of flowers (they smell divine), a cake with my award on, a bottle of champagne that I look forward to drinking in March and a lovely picture to remember my award, it was lovely I also had another gift and a couple of cards, so thoughtful and lovely, totally unexpected too. 

Yep, yesterday was a good day and didn't seem as long as Saturday's can feel when you throw in an extra half days work at the end of a busy week.  It was good  to catch up with everyone and find out what's happening in the Weight Watcher world, of course it's always good to find out what new products are on the horizon, ssshhh don't tell anyone but we've got Belgian dark chocolates 1sp each, solid chocolate pieces individually wrapped -  I like this idea.  A new cook book called Kitchen Favourites, I do love a cook book as you know.  Some new berry and seed oaty bars, there was more I can't remember, I do remember mint chocolate moments mmmm.

I think I fancy having a play in the kitchen today, I've been enjoying No Count since Tuesday, when my boss weighed me and I've lost 2lb since my 'official' weigh in on Monday.  We get weighed out our area meetings quarterly and it was December 3rd last time, the good news was I'm back to my pre-Christmas weigh in, which I'm pleased about because I gained over Christmas then I had my birthday, then my besties birthday, we're usually so busy in January and February with work I don't focus on my weight loss but this year I've been much better and it's paid off.   

I fancy me an Indian so I'm going to attempt my own, let's see how it turns out!   Yesterday I ate well even survived being out most of the day, breakfast was curry beans and egg on a toasted thin (run out of bread)

Lunch I made me a chicken burger on pitta with tomato and a bit of cheese (1sp from weeklies).

For my dinner I did my version of a big mac and fries, used 1sp of my weeklies for cheese ;

I did have a bit of cake at the area meeting, I'm not going to worry too much about that as I've only been eating 3 meals a day since Tuesday so I should have weeklies and Fit Points spare, I'm sure you don't have to track a cake that has your face on it - surely not!

Oh and guess what?  I'm on the home run, single figures on my countdown back to wine, it's 9 days left - woo hoo, worth it though as we've raised £1,093.78 so far - how fabulous is that (plus £203.70 Gift Aid) thank you, thank you, thank you, just incredible generosity from everyone. 

I had cakes made for my colleagues, look aren't they fab; 

The lovely lady (Lisa) was making cake for my tea party but I asked her to do this instead, so she donated her time and the cakes and I donated £40 to the Tea Party cash, I'm also donating £20 for a bottle of posh gin donated by Tina (she won it - how fab is that!), plus moms pocketed a purse so that's another tenner and of course I'll be throwing in the money that I've saved by not drinking.... mmm I reckon that would be about..... at £5 a bottle, as I'm on track and I would be being good.... a big glass a night, so 1 bottle would last me 3 nights, then Saturday and Sunday would see me have a bottle or two, let's say £60 total as I do have the odd dry night ;) HONEST!  Good job it's pay day next week!  I'll need fresh funds for cake on the day of my Tea Party, mom will be coming and I know she'll want pocket money!

So now I'm skint, I better spend the day indoors, I might even bake you know, make mom some rock cakes,  

Rock Cakes 

makes 13 at 6sp each or made with butter 9sp each

225g/8oz self-raising flour (22sp)                               

 75g/2½oz caster sugar (18sp)

1 tsp baking powder                                                     

 125g/4½oz low fat spread (17sp) (butter 46sp)

150g/5½oz sultanas (25sp)                                      

1 free-range egg (2sp)

1 tbsp skimmed milk                                                     

 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.  Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl and rub in the low fat spread until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, then mix in the dried fruit.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg and milk together with the vanilla extract. 

Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until the mixture just comes together as a thick, lumpy dough. Add a teaspoon more milk if you really need it to make the mixture stick together.

Place golfball-sized spoons of the mixture onto the prepared baking tray. Leave space between them as they will flatten and spread out to double their size during baking.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden-brown. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a couple of minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool.

But then again, maybe not, as they're my favourite and I can't have 13 cakes lying about my house, warm out of the oven, I'll never resist and I won't stop at one, I'm on track, don't want to knock myself off.

Here's to a Super Sunday, I'm on it like a car bonnet! Are you BeYOUtiful?