Day 6 - Survived a Saturday

Sunday 31st July 2022

It's okay to slow down.

Well not only did I survive Saturday but I did it with flying colours!  I hadn't had breakfast before I went to work, so when I got back I ate the bit of melon out the fridge and then ate the salmon fillet that was in there too, random maybe but I wasn't hungry at all but knew we wouldn't be back until at least half 3 and then I'd have to cook our dinner.

We were going swimming and I wasn't looking forward to it on little bit!  I've never really been a fan of water, it scares me if I'm honest, I hate my face being covered in water, I find it all a bit yucky but Aryn wants to do kayaking or canoeing and we needed to know if he could swim because he didn't know - you've gotta love kids!

We went to a place in West Bromwich called Jules pool, she's on Facebook (3) Jules' Pool | Facebook and has a website Jules' Private Swimming/Hydrotherapy Spa Pool Hire West Bromwich. (julespool.net).  It cost us £36 for an hour and we had the pool to ourselves, now for 3 people, I didn't think that was bad as a one off to not put him under any pressure in the pool and to help me get my confidence after not being in a pool in omg how long, 18 years at least I bet.  

It was heated too which was nice and I have to say, I really enjoyed it, spent a good 45 minutes swimming up and down, floating around and watching himself teach Aryn how to swim, after I'd spent 5 minutes trying and realised I probably wasn't the best person for the job.  At first he was a splashy mess but by the end of the time we were there he'd swam the length of that pool at least twice and I was damn proud of him, even if it cost me a fiver in a bid to encourage him he could do the length!  We even ended the session by agreeing to both put out heads under the water, so we held our noses, he went face forward, I went to sit on the bottom of the pool - obviously I didn't make it that far but I did go as far as to put my entire head in the water and that's huge progress.  I'd definitely go back again and maybe build up to normal swimming baths, be good if I could find a quite time to take him somewhere.

Oh and let's not overlook the fact I wasn't feeling amazing in my size 18 swimming cosy but its the size I am and I will embrace it until I'm a size 16 then a size 14.  My jeans are 14's and 16's but the truth is they're not comfortable at the moment!

We got home about half three and I knocked this meal up in 15 minutes because we were all starving, pork loin grilled, I hadn't realised how small they were, the pack was meant for two but we split it three ways, leftover boiled new potatoes, I microwaved them then topped with cheese and grilled, used 130g in total but gave the lads more than I had.  We all had peas, Aryn had a corn on the cob and we had mushrooms and spring onions.  I used up stuff we had in the freezer and fridge so happy days, delicious meal, oh yeah there's a few sundried tomatoes on there too. 423 calories total and it filled me up, I didn't think it would the lads but they were satisfied and had a cheesecake each to finish it off.  I had wine.

There was a suggestion of the pub but I wasn't in the mood for that so he went and got himself a glass of my wine, I'd put the bottle on my tracker but didn't lose my shit lol, I just realised he was helping me save calories and there was always more if we wanted it.  Turned out we didn't need more, we were spark out asleep so early and I got up around 5am. 

So yep, just 1135 calories for a Saturday WOW, even I'm impressed by that, it won't be that low today, I'm defrosting lamb chops and been looking forward to them for days. 

Whatever's on your menu today - enjoy!

Mwah, luv you 

Love me 

Day 5 - first weekend...

Saturday 30th July 2022

Find something positive in each day.

Quite the busy day yesterday, trying to fit everything in, took my sister to pick something up, that was 3 hours, then doing my best to fit in UW appointments to help people sort their energy bills out asap because it's all just getting ridiculous!  Oh and then there's that housework stuff that has to be done, you know washing, cleaning and feeding folk.

Now I'm being reminded that it's easier to be 'on track' when you're busy enough to keep you occupied and take your mind off food, but not so busy you don't have time to cook good tasty food.  I almost had that down perfect yesterday.  For breakfast I was going to make an omelette but once I'd cooked the veggies I decided to do fried eggs instead, I even salvaged a couple more slices of that bread by cutting off the crusts.

It as delicious for 319 calories. 

I was driving around and ended up trying a packet of ringos for 62 calories, not for me, but I did indulge in 50g of my onion rings which was 252 calories and that was my lunch - nice.

This was my tea, nothing pretty but himself wasn't gonna get back till gone 7 and I was cooking them bellydraft and kebab sticks so I did salmon for me, everything else on the plate was the same.  I cooked both pieces so there's a cold piece in fridge to use.

I've just took pork medallions out of the freezer so hoping it'll stop us eating out later if I say I've already got something planned.  We're off swimming - mmm, not my favourite activity but I want to see if Aryn can swim.... wish me luck.

I've been tired all week to the point yesterday where I thought I might be coming down with something, but I'm okay this morning, just overweight and unhealthy then I guess - another reason to keep going with this weight loss desire.  

Day 5 today, I will continue to honestly track it all, so that means yesterday I had to add a small slice of Aldi salt & chilli belly pork which I tasted, Aryn wasn't take by them but he enjoyed the kebabs, think they were sweet chilli, but they never used the sauce.

Looking forward to our Saturday morning huddle, then I plan to enjoy the weekend with these two.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me - let's survive the weekend.

A very good morning to you.

Friday 29th July 2022

You never know until you try.

Another day done, actually I'm going to start counting how many days I've been 100% tracking, so today is day 4, not that impressive for some I guess but for me it's progress and I want to keep doing my best and reminding myself of the reasons why I want to be healthy and lose weight.
 

This is what my day looked like, I ended up running late on the morning because I helped my sister with some forms and stuff.  I suddenly remembered I hadn't eaten, so I threw some mushrooms into a pan with a teaspoon of oil (I use a spray light bottle filled with normal oil as it spreads across the pan better), I then cut the crusts off the bread because it was starting to go a bit mouldy on the outside :) still fine in the middle and took the calories down, I added a slice of cheese, then enjoyed this; 

I also chopped a tub of melon to take to work with me, that was delicious too.  Mushrooms are one of my favourites and at 7 calories per 100g, they're a calorie bargain.

When I got back from work, I was hungry so I heated up the leftover tandoori chicken, cooked some potatoes and white cabbage and I have to admit, it beat me, I couldn't eat it all but I did enjoy it for sure.  Those potatoes are 66 calories for 100g and they're filling, there's about 200g on this plate.

 

I wasn't hungry when I got back from work so I enjoyed some wine and 20g of onion rings weighed into a bowl, I also ate a couple of cold potatoes.  Oh and the one thing I tracked that I could've pretended I didn't do was the butter on the potatoes!  30g is 223 calories - ouch.

Day done, 1727, I've just remembered to track my cups of tea and coffee, it quickly adds up.

I've just took some kebabs and belly draft out of the freezer for the boys to have for their tea, I've taken salmon out for myself, we can have potatoes and either salad or veg with that, that's the hard meal sorted and if it's all ready, then they'll be no temptation for takeaways.

I'll have melon again to use it up, maybe more mushrooms because I like them, not sure I'll be able to salvage any more of that bread, but I'll have a look lol, I don't want to waste food if I can help it.

I had a busy day yesterday what with the huddles and UW, I spent some time sorting out my own gas/electric contract, changing my fixed rate a little early to get it locked in before all the madness gets even worse which it will!  They were saying yesterday on the news that our fuel bill for January alone is looking to be £500 WTH!  There's talk of it going up 78-82% in October and fixed rates will keep going up if they exist at all, so I'll edge my bet and take what's on offer now, it's a scary world right now.

Another busy morning ahead, I'm taking my sister to pick up a precious package, then I need to give this house a clean, to be fair it's not too bad but if I hoover and mop etc, it'll stay looking not so bad for another week and it'll burn calories too :) 

Here's to day 4, whatever day you're on, enjoy it xx

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Feeling easier than it was Monday!

Thursday 28th July 2022

You'll never know until you try!

YAY, another day in the bag and it does get easier every day for sure, oh don't get me wrong I've got a weekend to get through yet, plus I was still surrounded by temptation and just good old plain WANTING yesterday.

I took the car in to my mechanic and he changed the fuel filter for me, so now it's running as it should, he's a good bloke, I'm learning about cars because himself loves em so I have to listen to it all and some of it's sinking in.  I got the part and mechanic just fit it, that saved time and money.  If you're local to me and need a mechanic his numbers 07878 186262, I'v just realised I don't know his name, must ask next time, it's active auto service.

Anyway back to food, I had some time to waste whilst he did the job so I walked to Sainsbury's because I wanted mushrooms, the also had those small potatoes still on offer for 60p (half price), I then got me some smashing WHOOPSIES, gammon joints reduced from over a tenner to £3, I had the three that were reduced, a smoked joint half price and some bacon medallions reduced from £2.69 to 60p, I got three packets, they've all gone in the freezer.  He can have bacon sarnies the weekend now and the gammon joints will be perfect for Sundays and he can have sarnies for work Mondays.  The fridges in Sainsbury's were low and I honestly think it's because people aren't buying so much so they're not stacking so much.  I know when it was really hot there was talk of the freezers not being able to cope but I do think people are thinking twice about buying stuff.  I'm having too for sure, my food shop bill has easily gone up 20%, my wages haven't and let's not even start on the cost of fuel and energy ay, it's too early in the morning.

What did my meals look like yesterday, well breakfast I had melon and yogurt, which was delicious but...

an hour later I was hungry, my belly rumbling and because I was going to be out till at least half 12 I had a slice of toast with a cheese slice on it before I left the house, that did the job.  Breakfast cost me 282 calories total.  The melon was only 58 calories for 200g, I got 800g out of the entire melon which cost me £1.50 in Aldi.

For lunch we had salmon, another whoopsie I'd bought half price and froze, it was delicious, I had with teriyaki rice (would have that flavour again) and veggies, I forgot how much I like cooked white cabbage and it only cost me 59p, there's enough for loads of meals in that cabbage and I could eat it cold in my salad too.  Aryn tried it but wasn't keen, so I won't force him to eat it, he can stick to peppers and beans.

Now I've fancied tandoori chicken for weeks and I've never been able to cook it as good at home (if you have a recipe to share, please do because I'd like to nail it as it's my favourite) I decided to treat myself from the local takeaway, that was all I ordered which is impressive for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it with the salad that comes with it, I added a few leaves and ate the 2 poppadoms that came with it, deliciousness on a plate for 585 calories total according to the nutracheck app - bargain.

I really do need to make my own or find a frozen version!

Anyway, I finished on track, 1357 calories total with my cuppas and can of sprite, no wine yesterday, being good ain't I.

Shall we do it again today?  

I'm not going to pretend it's easy, as I was driving to work yesterday, I thought about how much I have to lose and how long that will realistically take, but then I realised that time will pass anyway so I can use it to get myself healthier or continue being stupid and gain more weight and not have the energy to enjoy the days out with Aryn, or walk up big hills, I can continue having the worst indigestion and heartburn oh and let's not forget the aches and pains from my joints not being able to carry my body.  So yeah, I'll keep reminding myself of the benefits of what I'm doing and I've also really enjoyed my meals the last few days too.

22 weeks to Christmas, I would be over the bloody moon if I could lose a pound a week, stone and a half for Christmas wow, yes please, but I'll be happy to just lose anything, so here's to keeping it in my head and not being led astray or leading myself astray!

Mwah, luv ya 

have a great day, 

love me 

A huge line drawn!

Wednesday 27th July 2022

Don't stress, do your best.

Well I drew a massive line under all this weight loss lark yesterday and decided a fresh start was in order!  I had a new card, weighed in (OUCH!), wrote down my weight and said okay let's sort this out now....

I'm still a stone lighter than I was when I started but I've put weight on, I've still not lost last Christmas's weight and realising it's now less than 5 months till this Christmas, that really woke me up.  Then a couple of photos taken at Dudley Zoo made me think OUCH!  The fact I didn't feel comfy in anything I put on Monday morning had already made me have a word with myself.  Oh and Aryn wants to do water stuff, like swimming and canoeing so I will have to be wearing a swimming costume.

Yeah time to get a grip for sure and I started yesterday, I know it won't be easy, I've got myself some right nasty bad habits I need to work on and replace them with better ones.  SO here goes...

Yesterday was a good day, I'm going to say Day 1, I am aware I've had a lot of day ones this year, but you know what, I don't care, I'll take as many as I need until it kicks in and I get my healthy back.

This was what it looked like; 

Omelette (leftover from Monday) with 200g chestnut mushrooms cooked in a teaspoon of oil, brown sauce, not forgetting the mug of tea - total = 442 calories.

Leftover ham from Sunday with leftover salad from Sunday (it just about kept), 1/4 tub of sour cream and chives dip (that's an ouch at 129 calories!) total = 330 calories

This was a I'm skint, lazy bitch tea, that Bisto cottage pie had been in the freezer for so long, I can't even remember when I bought it!  The corn on the cob were cooked yesterday and I microwaved them.  Total = 424 calories.

I also had another couple of cuppas, a packet of Tesco onion rings (87 cals) and a huge glass of wine which emptied that bottle, so I won't have any for a couple of days now, give my body a break and see if it makes a difference to my sleep quality.  I woke up just before 4am this morning, but in fairness I went to bed probably about 8 and slept all night apart from a half hour chat with himself around 9. 

I ended the day on 1731 calories, I'd like a couple of days lower than that now.  I want to also use food I already have in the cupboards and freezer though to save some money and not all that is low in calories, so as it says in the image, progress not perfection.  

I'm about to chop up a honeydew melon that's been in the kitchen for a week, I'll have some of that for breakfast with honey and yogurt.  Then I've defrosted some salmon, maybe have that with rice and frozen veggies later.  I have a bit of that high calorie sour cream left and I'm thinking that would be delicious mixed with hard boiled eggs, mmm nom nom.

Here's to every day getting a little easier than the day before.

I'm looking forward to today's huddle, there's a lot of people out there thinking like me as we had quite a few new members yesterday, Summer is a great time to feel the benefits of losing a few pounds. 

Mwah, luv ya

Love me 

Temptation everywhere!

Tuesday 26th July 2022

Be the energy you want to attract.

Oh my word, how damn hard is it, temptation is everywhere!  I love eating, what can I say, I can eat a lot too, there's so much choice and niceness out there in the world and we're supposed to resist all the time - ARGHHHHHH!

So yesterday we went to the zoo and what a wonderful day we had, I would definitely recommend Dudley Zoo for a reasonable day out with the kids, the beauty is once you're inside there's only so much money you can spend which is always a good thing and you can easily spend hours walking around the animals, you get a serious workout too on those hills! 

My favourite was Benji the orangutan, what a character, I could've sat and watched him for a good long while, but there was so much to see and a very excitable young lady who had so much energy, my legs are reminding me of this fact this morning!

 These are the smiles of two very relieved ladies!  We'd been convinced to go up on those chair lifts (which I hated as a child and I still do) and when we got to the top we agreed we didn't want to go back down on them but the kids did.  Thankfully the train was there as we got off so we told them we'd all go down on the train and they could go up and down on the chairs again on their own.  I was up for walking down that damn him rather than get back on those chairs, I tell ya!

The kids had a go on the fair, I did end up in a dodgem right at the end to use up to tokens we'd bought, I have to say, young Georgia is a daredevil, she took that steering wheel from me and did everything she could to take out Aryn ;) 

We both go fleeced in the gift shop, always to be expected!  Then there was food, Elle had made us a packed lunch which I was grateful for, so I had a ham sandwich and some pineapple.  For breakfast I'd made omelette which was delicious and I enjoyed it with bread and real butter.

So what did I have to resist?  Well, firstly there was slushies, they're nice, then ice lollies half way round, candy floss and ice cream on the way out, but the toughest was the McDonalds drive through finishing the day off with a treat for the kids.  Thankfully I resisted temptation, made easier because Elle was in the car as I reminder, I do actually want to lose some weight and I'm not going to do it if I keep thinking 'sod it'.  We've got 6 weeks of temptation ahead of us, so I need to get a grip!

When I got home I enjoyed this, and I did really enjoy it, the only naughty thing I did off camera was ate the rest of the potatoes in the microwave pack that I'd bought reduced when I went over Coop for a packet of parsley sauce.  They cost me 155 calories extra and then there was the slice of bread and butter I had with them another 193 calories.  

This meal was still just shy of 500 calories, don't be fooled by salad and veggies, they add up too. 

NO SUCH THING AS FREE OR ZERO FOOD, it all has calories and they all count.

See temptation everywhere!  Butter is there because we bought it back from Wales, once it's eaten I've got the low fat stuff in the fridge which I can resist a great deal easier.  I won't be buying THICK 50/50 bread again, it's 104 calories a slice, I bought it for Aryn hoping it being thicker would get more fibre in him, the medium one is only 68 calories, quite a difference.

I shall mostly be spending the rest of the week trying to get a grip of my eating, getting my emotional eating under control, resisting temptation, not being led astray, I know when I start losing weight again, it'll get easier and I'll feel loads better for it.  

Wish me luck!

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

OMG 5 Months to Christmas!

Monday 25th July 2022

Never forget why you started.

Well that weekend flew by quickly!  Friday I did a good deep clean of the kitchen and living room, the kitchen is now full of washing up again from yesterday which I'll do in a bit.  

So what did my weekend look like, Friday night we went to the local Corpus Christi, never been in before but it was alright, our neighbours turned up and we had a few hours, I was drinking tia maria for a change, but I didn't realise he was buying me doubles!  We left at ten, then I had a dreadful nights sleep, I've never had so many nightmares, dreams within dreams, they were horrid and it took me a few hours after waking to get them out my head.

After our huddle, we drove to RAF Cosford for the food festival, a 20 minute drive took over an hour because of the traffic trying to get to the same place as us.  I have to say, we all enjoyed walking round the RAF museum, looking at all the planes but none of us were impressed by the food festival, it was far too busy, none of us had eaten before going, hoping to enjoy lots of tasters and treats but I ended up buying an egg mayo sandwich at the visitors centre because I wouldn't queue for an hour for food, the lads had crab tempura which cost £9 each and was tiny so we all ended up going to the Shrewsbury Arms in Albrighton when we left and had a delicious meal and left satisfied.

The rest of the day was relaxing as was the rest of the weekend actually, we had bacon cobs Sunday morning, I only had one, which cost me about 600 calories.  I did buy the cheapest bacon in Sainsbury's J James, 8 slices for 83p and it was as good as any other £4.15 per kg as opposed to the other options which is a least double that cost.

Then for dinner we had salad with some flavoured chicken, I made up a lovely bowl of salad with radish, celery, tomatoes, cucumber, sun dried tomatoes, tomatoes, spring onions, iceberg and some leaves, there's some left for my tea later too, oh and cold potatoes that were delicious.  I only bought one bag, they were half price too, 60p, wished I'd bought more as they were so good.  

We're off to the zoo today, taking a packed lunch to make sure we eat healthy, I really need to lose some weight.  Saturday night I had the worst indigestion/heartburn I've had in a long time and I'm sure my weight isn't helping, not just what I'm eating.  Finding something to wear this morning that isn't too tight is the kick up the bum I need, it's all fun and games until your fat pants don't fit!

On that note, I'm going to go make me some scrambled eggs for breakfast, here's to losing some weight!  Especially realising its 5 months to Christmas, need to lose it before we go to Ireland again to celebrate!  

Deep sigh, lol, shame there's not a magic pill, but what there is, is the realisation delicious food can be good for you, you can lose weight and enjoy what you eat!

I plan too.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

It's FriYAY!

Friday 22nd July 2022

Step by step, day by day.

I love Friday's I do, himself comes home and the weekends ahead.  He called at half five this morning!  Normally I'm awake of course, but he woke me, thankfully I managed to go back to sleep after we had a chat and I spent till 8, I rarely sleep that late, which proves I was shattered from lack of sleep due to the heat.

I enjoy work every day but last night, I laughed so much my belly hurt!  Can work be any more satisfying?  I think not.  I look forward to our last huddle of the week tomorrow morning before we go to the Cosford Food Festival at the RAF museum, mmm that's something to look forward too.

Aryn and I had Ostrich steaks for lunch yesterday, neither of us were impressed and we wouldn't want them again, they're in Aldi at the moment if you did want to try.

This morning I've had cheesy beans on toast for breakfast, well this dish has caused a bit of controversy this week in my house and huddles.  Aryn asked for cheese beans on toast for his lunch so that's what I made him, his response was 'where's the cheese', my reply 'in the beans!'  Apparently that's not how he makes them, I was supposed to warm the beans, put on toast and put the cheese on top!  It turns out everyone makes there's differently, some put the cheese underneath, some of top, some in the beans, some make cheese on toast and top with beans - how do do you make yours?

This is how I make mine. I melt the cheese in the beans.

I need to get moving, I want to give the house a good clean today, it's been to hot most of the week, so I'm starting in the kitchen, the full works, cleaning out the fridge etc.  I did hoover upstairs yesterday so it's alright upstairs, it's just downstairs.  

Whatever you're up to today, remember to take time to smile.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

 

I love sleeping I do!

Thursday 21st July 2022

It's a good day to have a good day.

Oh how lovely was it to be able to sleep last night, that breeze coming through the window, I lay on my bed very grateful for the drop in temperature.  

My eating wasn't great yesterday, I had a picky day, bloomin onion rings are my new thing, thankfully they are under 100 calories a bag, I had two bags.  Aryn wanted Rustlers burger for lunch so we both had those we'd bought which were reduced when we went shopping Monday.

434 calories for the burger, for processed food, I actually really like them.  I'd nipped in Aldi after our huddle to get some couscous as it was mentioned in the meeting, I had a look at a few things, their houmous was the same price as Sainsbury's cheap one which I like.  I did buy this one though, which is delicious for 85p, tastes just like coronation chicken without the chicken, might have it for breakfast with the last of the leftover chicken.

The fruity couscous was good enough, can't find a photo sorry, but I wasn't taken by the orzo, it was too tangy for me, but I will get some orzo and make my own.  

I was surprised at how empty the shelves were, one side of the fridge section was completely empty!

That was the only meal I ate all day, I actually fell asleep for a few hours on the afternoon, that's what happens when you don't sleep the night before!  I've also had a lovely nights sleep, so I'm all ready for the busy day ahead, looking forward to catching up with everyone, especially Thursday lunchtime who I've missed for a few weeks because of Aryns school drive.

I'm thinking a salad today for lunch, easy to throw together in-between huddles, as you can see, there's not a lot of time spare.

Right I'm going to make a chicken houmous pitta so I start the day off with proper food, hope you're going to eat a good breakfast too.

Have a great day, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

I didn't melt!

 Wednesday 20th July 2022
Happiness comes to those that smile!

Well I didn't sleep much!  Went to bed about 9, woke up just after 11 absolutely melting and couldn't go back to sleep because of the heat, I lay there but gave up in the end and came down in the hope the living room was cooler.  It was a little and I think I fell asleep around 2ish, woke a few times but managed a few more hours.  Thankfully it's a lot cooler this morning, maybe I'll have an afternoon nap once I've done this mornings huddles and run a couple of errands.

My car was good yesterday too, it didn't play me up so fingers crossed, she'll be okay until he changes the fuel filter and that'll be all that's wrong with her.  I've named her Betty, don't ask me where that came from because I don't know but we sat in the car park yesterday and Carol called my car a 'her' so straight away I said yeah, I'm gonna call her Betty.  Then started singing Woo Black Betty bam ba lam as you do!  

Moving on... My food intake was much better yesterday, started the day using up the last bit of sour bread and guacamole, fried a couple of eggs and diced tomatoes adding a spoon of sweet chill sauce.   I couldn't eat it all and the pair didn't get eaten either.  £1.76 I paid for two of those pears in Tesco on Monday - I nearly died when I saw the price, they are big but really, that's a crazy price.

lunch I used up some of the chicken from Sunday, had it with a huge salad as you can see and a pitta bread, the photo on the left looks lovely doesn't it, but then I added the gherkins which tasted amazing but didn't look so pretty. 

For tea I'd made a madras with more of the chicken from Sunday, I've frozen the other two portions.  Now the theory is that ‘Thermogenic’ foods like spices and chilli increase body temperature as they kick-start our metabolism. This promotes sweating, which has a cooling effect.  Did it work, mmm, it made me sweat for sure, did it cool me down afterwards, I'm not so sure but it was so hot yesterday - who knows.

I'm not going to lie, I didn't track but at least I ate a hell of a lot healthier.

I forgot to tell you we did a taste test on Sunday, compared the cheapest houmous with Sainsbury's home brand, 69p vs £1.30 and we would be happy to eat either, Aryn did prefer the more expensive one but when he chose it, he guessed it was the cheap one, so I think he was overthinking it all.  It just proves it's worth doing comparisons, especially right now as prices are rising so drastically.

69p

£1.30

I also enjoyed some of this on Sunday, found it in the depths of the freezer, bought it when it was on offer.  It's very, very nice and it says 88 calories per 100ml so 418 calories in the entire tub, I didn't eat the tub, I had about 200ml, nom nom.

Here's to trying to eat well again today, I might do the chicken pitta salad again, that was delicious and I have plenty of pittas to use up.  I'm going to go look for ideas of ways to use pitta breads.

Have a cooler day, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Dear Weather, stop showing off - we get it, you're hot!

Tuesday 19th July 2022

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

Phew, well I slept on the settee downstairs, because when I went upstairs it was like stepping off an aeroplane, I wasn't having any of that!  I'd fell asleep downstairs around 7 anyway and had a couple of hours, then himself called me around 9 and that's when I went up and come back down.  

On a scale of 1 to 10 yesterday, I could be dramatic and score it lower but everything is sortable so I'll give my head a wobble and realise I'm still a very, blessed woman.  

I'm having car trouble, its stalling - wtf, automatics don't stall.  Apparently he thinks the fuel filter needs changing so I have ordered one today and can pick it up from 10am and either try and get someone to fit it or wait till he's home Friday and he can do it which is the cheaper option.  I panicked didn't I as I do, me a drama queen - nah lol.  I'd had a text to say Aryn was finishing school early, up to then the car had only stalled whilst starting the car, but I was at the traffic lights on the Ring Road in town and it stalled, I was going to waste half hour in the Next up town before picking him up but when that happened, I panicked and thought, I just need to get to his school as I don't want to break down before he comes out.

I made it but ended up having to wait an hour for him to finish, by then it was 33 outside, ouch, the car almost burnt my arm, the door was so hot on the outside!  I sat there thinking what am I going to do the next two days, I can't risk breaking down in this heat with a kid in the car!  My problem was sorted when whilst sitting there as I received a text saying because of the weather the school was closing early for the holidays so I don't need to take him again thankfully, he's off now till September 5th.

We stalled twice more on the way home, once on Sainsbury's car park as he convinced me we needed to nip there because it had air con and we could get him a bit of chocolate, which turned into chocolate, Doritos and a box of these beasts, 

they were his 'end of school' treat, they won't become a regular at £13.99 a box - ouch!

I did indulge, I'm not going to lie, I had half of the Lotus and Strawberry one (we shared) and then later I had the caramel filled one, not knowing until I bit into it, that there was a filling in the ringed doughnut, I was truly impressed. 

The positives of the situation, there's an average of 2g of fibre in each doughnut so at least he has some fibre from them and I didn't eat anything else other than the doughnuts, oh and a couple of handfuls of Doritos and a few mini sausages which he'd also thrown in the basket.  Other than 2 chicken wings, a bit of broccoli and leftover mash, I didn't eat anything else yesterday.  I've got salad and everything too, I did strip the leftover chicken and put it in curry sauce ready for today and put the rest in freezer, I kept a bit to put in a pitta bread with salad, so today WILL BE BETTER.

Aryn and I watched another episode of Stranger Things, so we have one left now, it's the last one and over 2 hours long so I'm thinking probably tomorrow after huddles.  Another positive is I'll be able to get to the lunch huddle today now schools out, so that's great news, I've missed them all.

Well I've had my shower which has cooled me down, I'm gonna go grab something for breakfast - not a doughnut, I'm thinking eggs maybe and another cuppa, then I'll go to work, hopefully the car will work! 

Have a great day, stay in the shade, drink plenty, and do as little as possible. 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me 

It's gonna be a hot one!

Monday 18th July 2022

Focus on the positives.

 

It's 5am and I'm sat in the garden enjoying the cool 17 degrees!  What a hot night, by the time we finally fell asleep comfortable the damn alarm went off and I couldn't get back to sleep once he'd gone so I gave up trying.

We've had a very, quiet weekend, too hot to be bothered to do a lot of anything !  I did get all the washing dried in a crazy quick time which impressed me a little too much...

I got weighed Saturday morning at our huddle, I'd gained 1.5lb from the holiday and our meal out Friday night so I was really pleased with that to be fair.  We've not gone crazy food wise this weekend, too hot, we had chicken wings Saturday night, they're a bargain at £1.75 per kg, then we add our own herbs and spices.  You can mix your own of course but we used this one which was £1, 

and this one, which I can only get on Amazon as part of a set of 6 different flavours for about a fiver.

Yesterday we had Maccy's breakfast (902 calories with the coffee) because I had a 25% off coupon on the app, that kept us all going until teatime when we had chicken and salad, I roasted a couple of chickens (2 for £8 in Coop) last minute decision, chopped up a nice salad and we had french bread and houmous with it, really tasty.  Plus I have lots of chicken left, he took sarnies to work with him and I'm thinking maybe throwing it in a curry later, what meal is better on a day that's likely to hit 36!  We were going to the New Masons, I'd booked a table because it's 50% off main midweek but they called me Saturday teatime to check if I still wanted the booking because of the forecast and they had decided to only serve pizza in the garden because of their chefs having to work in that heat.  I think that's brilliant, we can eat there anytime and we will, now I know they care about their staff!

Today I shall be taking Aryn to school, that'll be fun 30 minutes each way twice, thankfully my air con is now working so at least we won't melt.  I think the rest of the day will be spent in the living room with the curtains closed and trying to keep hydrated and cooler than if we were outside.

Here's to doing my best to have the healthiest week I can, drinking plenty of fluids oh and doing the washing up before it heats up ;) 

Let's have a great day x

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

Sitting here feeling blessed

Saturday 16th July 2022

Do what makes you truly happy in life.

Yesterday was a very, good day, not calorie counting wise but life in general.  Aryn completed his first full week at school and came out sweating and smiling as they'd had him playing badminton :)  Himself got a lift home so he could leave the motorhome at work and they dropped him at the toll road junction by Cannock so he walked to the Wheatsheaf where we went to meet him.   We enjoyed a few games of pool, Aryn hadn't played before but he soon picked it up and beat me 2 - 1 overall.  We then decided to have our dinner there because we were celebrating some good news.

I opted for whitebait because I'd never had it before, it was okay, not sure I'd want it again, it reminded me of sardines or pilchards but I like them in a sauce so it's not obvious what they are! 

Aryn had belly draft which I've had there before and it is good, himself went for a steak and I opted for a Steak and Guinness pie which I didn't eat all of it as it was super salty and if I say that, it has to be because I like salt a lot!  I also like my food really hot and my pie was just warm, shame really but didn't spoil our day.

We sat in the garden for a bit when we got back enjoying a glass of wine, then decided to watch a movie, Love Sarah on Netflix.  Half way through we went to watch the rest in bed, that was when it all got messy and not in a good way!  

That lightbulb has hung above my bed for over 4 years and last night it decided to explode!  Oh my gosh, you've never seen anything like it, it went everywhere, bare in mind we were lying on the bed, I was naked (I don't wear nightclothes!) and he had his socks and pants on (what's that all about!  Why sleep in your socks!) So we had a good hour of hoovering it all up, changing the bedding, getting it off our bodies and out of our hair, thankfully no cuts and hopefully we've got it all up.  I'm not sure what to do about the bedding, do I put it through the washing machine a couple of times and hope its all gone because there were some nasty slivers as you can imagine.

At least that is the 3rd smashing incident in this house this week so hopefully all done now, 1 glass, 1 glass pot and a bulb!

It's weigh day and I'll take whatever the scales say because I had an amazing holiday and it's been a great week as far as life is concerned.  I have a job I love, a great work partner, wonderful members and an awesome home life full of love and laughter.  I feel really blessed and grateful after the last decade or so that everything's all good now.

On that note I better get ready for work, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x