Got that Friday Feline Feeling

Friday 30th September 2022
Take a deep breathe & reset.

I've had some me time the last few days, read a book and on my second, well listened to it on my Audible whilst chilling out and relaxing with a mug of tea and yesterday a vanilla brioche swirl (145 calories).  I also enjoyed a bit of cheese on toast with tomatoes and leaves, lush. 

I enjoyed all my food yesterday, had an omelette with an orange for breakfast, 

and chicken wings, mash and peas for tea.  Cooked the wings in the Ninja omg dangerously tasty.

I'm not gonna lie, I didn't work out the calories, just focussed on upping my fruit and veggies.

No lie in this morning, struggled to stay in bed till 4ish!  I think I've finally caught up on my sleep and I'm a little excited about the cat's arrival too if I'm honest.  

Aryn's still got a poorly belly so I'm going to have to call the paediatrician today as the medication he's been given isn't doing what we hoped and it's a week today since he started taking it.

I love Fridays, himself comes back and it's the start of the weekend, I've got Indian for tea, there's a meal deal offer in Sainsbury's 2 mains, 2 sides and naan for £8.  I'll serve it as a buffet style thing so they can try a bit of everything.

But let's be honest today is really all about the cats, getting used to having them in the house, making sure the menfolk remember to keep the doors closed and giving them space to get used to us.  Oh and feeding them, something else for me to remember to do lol, my memory ain't great if I'm honest.

I am gonna get some work done today too though, working on a new journal, so I'll do a bit of that, my bedroom floor looks like a teenager's room, clothes everywhere, it really needs sorting, but today I know I'm just gonna stuff it back in the wardrobe and shut the door!

Here's to a fab Friday, Tracktober starts tomorrow - EEK, I'll be tracking it all again, we know it really helps!

Mwah, luv ya

Love me xx

Gotta love sleep!

Thursday 29th September 2022

Sleep is sometimes the best medicine.

I've had a lie in, well I got up at 6.10am which is a lie in for me, I'm not going swimming this morning, one because I wanted to try and sleep in and catch up on my sleep and also my shoulder joints are sore so I'm gonna give them a few days to calm down.  I may have been swimming, but I've not been taking care of myself in other ways the last few weeks so that changes today!  

I've already enjoyed my breakfast, bacon and mushroom omelette and the nicest orange, if all oranges tasted like that, I'd happily eat them daily, thanks Kim for my orange, you've encouraged me to go and buy some today.  I am glad I'm still in my PJs though because it went everywhere, so I'll need a bib to eat them going forward!  On a real positive, I'm 2 portions up for my fruit and veggies intake today.

Let's talk Christmas, shall we? NO!  Well, I'm going to because it's only 12 weigh-ins away and that's crazy talk.  I know I'm an overgrown child, but I've started loving Christmas, last year was amazing and even though I'm not sure what our plans are this year, and my tree is in the Ireland house, I still plan to make sure it's a truly special one!  86 SLEEPS - eek!

.

Today's the last day of a pet free house, I've just stood making a cuppa and realised if they live as long as Elle's cat did, I'll be in my late 60s, that's a scary thought that makes me realise my age!

I had a boy with a poorly belly yesterday so we didn't have the toad in the hole, hopefully we'll get it today, I plan to add brocolli and some peas to the plate, if I've got some frozen onions left in the freezer, I'll make me a bit of onion gravy too, so there's 3 more portions of veggies.  Not easy this 8 a day they recommend now!  Yep 3 fruit and 5 veggies, at the hospital there were posters of the Food Tree of Nutrition.  

We all just need to work on our portion size because we eat too much!  

Anyway, I need to get dressed for work, this lying in is fun but I've gotta leave in 45 minutes!

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

It's comfort food season ain't it!

Wednesday 28th September 

Halfway to the weekend!

Well go me, I lost 1.5lb thankfully, proving I did make a few wise choices last week YAY.    Did my 30 lengths at the baths yesterday, at least that's getting me fitter.  My body still aches though, even my thumbs, this getting old lark ain't no fun lol.

Foodwise, I indulged in bacon and brie croissants for breakfast, used the ninja to cook that, I'm starting to love it. I also had a Lidl jam doughnut for lunch then stew for dinner.  At least I had some veg in that stew.  I've got a big orange to enjoy this morning thanks to a very lovely lady giving me some fruit.

Here's a smile moment, meet Coco, he's 3 and Millie who's 2, I had the call last night, both passed their healthchecks and will be arriving Friday morning - eek!    

 

 

Coco                                              Millie

I think they'll bring a whole lot of energy and love to the house; I know Aryn will love having them and the house has felt empty without an animal in it, this house has always had a creature or two until we lost Alfie last November.

The huddles were lots of fun yesterday, I probably giggled more than I should at work ;) but honestly the conversations and subjects we end up covering can be hilarious!  Who knew having a piddle at the swimming baths could split a room - and no we aren't doing it in the pool!

This is today's dinner with lots of green veggies, 472 calories in half of it, £2.60 from Sainsbury's, feeds 2.

I've got Sky news on here and they're saying food bills have risen over 10% in the last year, I disagree, lots of things have risen 25% or more, my milk gone from 55p to 69p, that's not 10%, my bacon 83p to £1.25 that's not 10% either.  It's a bloomin joke!   

Anyway, let's focus on what we can control ay, do our bit to help if we can afford to, thanks to those who have bought some cat food or give us a bit of cash, anything will help the cat rescue people, I do really appreciate we're all busy trying to pay our own bills right now so we are grateful for donations

The temperatures dropping too isn't it, I've resisted putting the heating on, I'm sat with a blanket over me instead and I've found out my fluffy indoor jackets.  We have tile floors downstairs but I might cave this year and let him buy a rug for the living room, but my arguement there is wear slippers - oh I need a new pair of slippers the ones I have which I love are a bit to big and slip off, mmm wonder if a pair of insoles would make them fit.  

Anyway, I'm waffling, need to go get ready for swimming and work, here's to a good day.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Focusing on the positives, but accepting the oppsies

Tuesday 27th September 

The scales don't define you.

Positive yesterday - I resisted Mcdonalds, I did however buy a piece of cheese in Tesco - oops, at least I had it as my tea on crackers and the other half, I think I'm going to have with a croissant and a little bacon either for breakfast or lunch today depending on how much time I have this morning once I've swam.

Positive yesterday - I did 30 lengths at the pool, I've cut down a little because my shoulders are aching from swimming, so I'll give my body more time to get used to doing it daily.  I did however have a slice of Walnut bread with butter on for breakfast, where's the veg Bev!

Positive yesterday - I sorted and cleaned the spare bedroom ready for the cat's arrival which I think will be Sunday, still not sure, they have to have a final health check at vets.  I did however then enjoy a big bowl of stew with more walnut bread and butter!

Once Aryn got back from school, he was on form yesterday with his humour, we laughed so much in the car driving round fetching cat stuff and food, he has such a fabulous laugh and it was great to see him carefree, the car is a place where we all connect, it's like a safe place.

We're getting ready for the cat's arrivals, we have litter trays, one up, on down, apparently not all cats like to share their loos!  We may need 3 I've been told, we shall see, this house ain't that big!  We bought metal dishes because as Aryn pointed out I'm a clumsy one and I'd probably smash pot ones.  They eat Tesco pouches so we went and got a big box of them and a couple of toys, but I now need to get a scratch post thing, there's so many different ones, I don't know whether to get one that's got the activity bits on it, none of em cheap but they'll need to have access to play stuff as they're indoors I've read.  I already have a round cat box/seat that Alfie used to play in when he was a puppy, that'll live in the living room but I know animals, they don't use the beds that are meant for them, they sleep where they want!

I still have some stew left and I haven't frozen it so I think I'll have it for my dinner today, Aryn ate so well yesterday, got himself 34g of fibre - boom.  Walnuts, raspberries, pear, avocado smash on toast, high fibre crackers with hummus, smoothie, yeah, he was on a roll yesterday.  Isn't it sad that I'm buying it for him and not myself, partly because of the cost, fresh raspberries ain't cheap but having said that, there was 3 portions in the packet, s if I eat them in the correct portion size, that's not so bad.  

We've got a toad in the hole in the fridge, looking forward to eating that, it'll be tomorrow's dinner.  I need to add some fruit and veg this week, so my stew has it already, I don't mind a pear so will have one of them today, there's a bit of salad leaves in the fridge which I can have with my croissant today and I'll get some more raspberries because I forgot to get them yesterday doh.

Let's get on with the day, my room still needs sorting, I need to go through my clothes but I've got to be in a good head space to do that, maybe tomorrow or friday, now I've tidied the spare room, I might get the ironing board out and find the iron and do a proper sort and iron some stuff, not done that in a while lol.

Here's to a better day health wise, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me 

A long weekend that flew by!

Monday 26th September 2022

If you stay positive in a negative situation YOU WIN!

Friday and Saturday dragged by but himself changed his ferry so that he arrived home at 3am Sunday morning, we had a lovely day yesterday all round.  We managed a lie in, bliss, it's rare I'm able to sleep in but I didn't wake till 7, that's good for me, we had a mug of tea watching tele in bed - double bliss.  Then at 10.45, the boys decided they wanted to go get themselves a Maccys breakfast, I resisted, they only just made it on time!

We then drove to the Tesco on the other side of Wolves to get Aryn passport photos, that booth does Eire compatible passport photos, I then spent an hour filling in the forms online, hopefully his mom will sign the copy we've sent via the solicitor.  I'd love to be able to take him on a wonderful holiday, plus he'd be able to fly back to Ireland rather than doing the ferry.

I was starving by 2ish and we'd agreed Friday to have a KFC bucket because we thought it would be just me and Aryn, but we still went for the bucket, I had a £5 coupon on the app too so happy days.  I had a couple of pieces and fries and I was done.  Just realised that was all I ate yesterday!  No wonder I've woke up hungry.

I've finally caved with some encouragement from himself, Aryn's wanted a cat since he came to live here, he loves them and has always had a cat in Ireland.  At first I said no because I'd not long lost Alfie, I felt like Aryn was enough responsibility for me lol, but watching him play with the cats in the street, realising it would help him emotionally, I decided why not.  We're going to have indoor cats - yeah we've decided to have two so they can keep each other company!  We had our home check yesterday and all being well, we'll have a couple of gorgeous grey/white cats by this time next week!  Before Alfie, we've always had cats, then there were the cats that weren't my cats that lived in my shed most of the time and I fed daily so I may as well have ones I own :)

It was lovely sitting with Aryn yesterday looking at cats in the rescue pages, he even sat next to me, which is all progress, he's so much more relaxed these days, making progress every day and I know the cats will make a massive difference.  OH and if you can afford, we're collecting cat food and cash this week that I can give to the rescue people to help them, as you can imagine they're all struggling right now, more so because of the economy, people are struggling to feed themselves, let alone their pets!

He left at 4am this morning, I couldn't fall back to sleep so I got up to work on an email for the solicitor, we're staying positive about this situation, Aryn is the priority here and hopefully all concerned will realise that in time.  

I'm gonna go swimming, sort our meeting for the week but then I do actually need to sort the spare room, especially now we have cats coming to live here.  Where to put the litter tray is the biggest decision, I'll have to make today ;) oh and of course I need to buy one too.

What felt like it was going to be the longest weekend, actually flew by in the end, it really does help to focus on the positives, the good and what you can control.  Watching crap tv helps pass the time too.  If I can have the odd day like yesterday, I can cope with anything!

I'd say roll on Friday when he's back but I really enjoy the week inbetween too, I have a job I love and I don't want to wish my life away for weekends do I.  

I do however need to get my eating back on track but I really want a Big Mac lol, I might have one today, although I do have stew in the fridge, I'm gonna freeze some I think.  Having said that, I ate well Saturday, Aryn and I had avocado smash on toast wtih cherry toms, bacon and mixed leaves, that's really healthy, then I had a bowl of stew later, so it's not as bad as I think, I've just not been tracking my meals, I've been tracking Aryns though!  

Life is good, I'm blessed and thankful for all I have, sounds twee I know but I really am.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me 

Awake since 3!

Saturday 24th September 2022

It's okay to stop and rest.

I wasn't going to blog this morning, so much happening but I can't put it here, but then I thought nah we can still talk about some stuff.

SO yesterday started with me being absolutely frazzled, rough nights sleep as so much going on in my brain, I was tired before I even started my day, oh yeah and in pain YAY.  

Anyway, I still went swimming, managed 32 lengths, I lost count so went to the last I could remember lol, aimed for 30, thankfully I got an extra couple, burned 406 calories,

Then after talking to himself on the phone and feeling frustrated about the mess that is going on, I drove home.  I wasn't feeling the housework vibe but I did manage to do a load of washing and give the kitchen a good clean, plus hoovered downstairs and the stairs, so I managed to do something at least,

When Aryn got up we made a smoothie together which got him 10.3g of fibre - boom!  We're going to have avocado smash today, I think he'll opt for sour dough bread but that's half the fibre of the seeded stuff I have, but as lot as he gets his daily quota it's all good.

I'd defrosted the leftover lamb from the other weeks Sunday dinner, I added it to a jar of Homepride curry sauce which reminds me of my mom, I needed some comfort food and good memories - it worked.  I also made a beef stew for todays dinner, can't wait, if I hadn't got the avocado breakfast planned I know I'd be eating a bowl of stew for breakfast.

Whilst I ate curry and rice, Aryn indulged in a pepperoni plus pizza with stuffed crust - omg it smelt and looked so good, I did pinch a piece of pepperoni off the top ;)  He'd had a good day at school and come home happy - that's more important than all the other stuff, he's our priority, getting him well and watching him grow into a wonderful, happy, young man.

I went to bed early and watched tele upstairs, woke a few times in the night then wide awake at 3, oh ma'an, I don't like not sleeping, it's one of my favourite hobbies.

Looking forward to good company at the huddle this morning, then I think it'll be a long day, I'd love to have the energy and enthusiasm to sort my wardrobe and the spare room, but I'm not gonna force it if I don't.  Yesterday with the housework, I did a bit then sat and rested so my pain eased a bit before I started again.

I need to get back to tracking and eating properly, I'm trying not to eat too badly but there are snacks sneaking in, oh the pizza flavour mini cheddars are vile by the way but I still ate the bloody packet to make sure!

Okay as the image says, 'put your positive pants on', I'm gonna if they still fit after all the food I've ate this week lol, seriously though, I am, if I can't change it, it doesn't require my attention does it.  Here's to a day of focusing on the good stuff, the stuff I do have control of, how lucky am I to live in a house of love and to have a big pot of stew to look forward too!

On that note, have yourself a great day.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Housework can wait!

Thursday 22nd September 2022

There is always something to be thankful for.

As far as housework goes, I managed the washing up yesterday, that was it!  There's too much going on, it'll all wait.

What I did get done was, 50 lengths at the swimming baths in an hour, I enjoyed it yesterday was more in the mood.  Then we had a huddle which I always enjoy, we've talked about Ninja's this week and I have one that my sister gave me and I've never used because I'm no good at reading instructions and it has so many damn buttons!  Anyway, I decided to nip to Lidl's on the way home and buy a chicken to give it a go because they told me I could cook a chicken in about half hour and I wanted to try.  

Well HELL YEAH you can! Not only did it cook in half hour ish, the skin was crispy too, now I need to play with it and use it more because it'll be cheaper than sticking the oven on to cook a few onion rings and wedges for Aryn.  It's like having a new toy, can't believe I've put off trying it for this long DOH.

Aryn had forgot he'd got an hospital appointment so he got up as if he was going to school bless him, he wasn't impressed lol, but we sat and watched the end of the film we've been watching - he has a short attention span so some films take a few days to watch!  If I'm getting the chance to sit and spend time with him, housework can wait until he doesn't want to sit with me.

Our appointment went really well, the doctor was amazing, she had a really lovely way about her, a great sense of humour and really managed to put him at ease, we have made progress I think which is brilliant, we have a plan and medication so fingers crossed, she was honest though which I really appreciated and told him there isn't a quick fix here, it will take a long time because it's been happening for a long time.  We are so lucky to have the NHS, I'm very thankful for them x

We were rebels and had pie for tea, Aryn had onion rings and alphabites with his, I just had pie because I'd already had a chicken sandwich earlier.  No tracking done again yesterday, my heads frazzled with all that's going on, I shouldn't use it as an excuse but I am.  I will try again today to sort myself out, I've just made a chicken sandwich to eat after my swimming, so I'll track that in a bit.

Himself got home about 7ish, ate some tea, had a shower then suggested we go to bed so he could try and get a couple of hours before driving to the ferry, he looked shattered.  He tapped me and said, 'Bev can you turn on your side, you're snoring, I envy how quick you can fall asleep'  I really wished I could've given him my sleep power last night.  The alarm went off at ten and he was like 'noooo, I've only just fallen asleep'.  Aryn came out his room to say goodbye, they had a hug and off he went to drive to Holyhead, almost a 3 hour drive, then he'll have a similar drive the other side, actually he's probably just got off the ferry now.  I bet he's exhausted, I do hope he got a bit of sleep on the ferry, he has a busy couple of days ahead, not pleasurable, but at least he'll get to see his family hopefully.

Yeah so much going on, my housework can wait, although I do want it done, I want to do one of those good, deep cleans before he gets home, the kind that actually get noticed lol, I also want to sort my wardrobe don't I, that'll be a task and half.

Not today though, today I'm off for a swim, then lots of huddles, I'm thinking a chicken dinner of a sort, I have the chicken cooked, some broccoli in fridge, packet mash will do and some gravy - nice.  

Hope you have a good day ahead, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx 

 

Yesterday I was a Carb Queen!

Wednesday 21st September 2022

Just keep going.....

Well I had a heavy calorie day yesterday, I ate a lot of pasta, potatoes and bread, on a positive, I swam 40 lengths and burned 510 calories doing that apparently! 

Well let's not talk about the scales shall we - bugga, so I gained 4lb, I did however eat my breakfast before I got weighed and I don't usually plus I had my heavier clothes on as it cools down outside, that would've made a little difference but yeah some of that 4lb was down to having a lovely weekend that involved nice high calorie food and no tracking.  It's all good, we'll get back on it, we need this week out the way! 

Himself will be back for a couple of hours tonight as he passes through on his way to Ireland, Aryn's got his hospital appointment this afternoon so it's a busy day.  

I'm going to have an hour at the pool first, I feel like going today, I didn't yesterday I won't lie and even when I got in it felt like hard work, but I managed 40 lengths, took me 52 minutes, I kept stopping for a rest or a natter, according the the Swimtag I rested 15% of the time lol. 

I have a to do list at the moment that's not very nice, things like give the kitchen and bathrooms a good clean, change and wash the bedding, hoover and mop - boo all that housework stuff.  Then I want to sort my wardrobes and all my clothes, I have clothes I'm never gonna get in again and if by some freak chance I do, I'll want new clothes to celebrate to be fair!  I'm going to do it Friday/Saturday I think as he won't be back from Ireland so I may as well use the time wisely.

I nipped to Sainsbury's after dropping Carol off, I went to get a pack of bacon, I've started buying the cheapest one, it's okay, but once again I was shocked back on the 25th July when I mentioned it in my blog it was 83p, it was that much when I bought it a couple of weeks ago too, yesterday it had gone up to  £1.25!  This is getting beyond a joke!  

Oh well, focus on what I can control, here's to a great day, better food choices, well better portions, the food I ate were healthy there was just too much of it.

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

A weekend of not a lot - loved it

Tuesday 20th September 2022

Make today a good day.

We've had a lovely quiet at home family weekend and I've enjoyed every minute.  Lot's of tele, nice food and love and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I live with a couple of strange ones though, Saturday teatime, they both wanted Black Forest Gateau, it's not something I keep to hand you know, I wouldn't thank you for a slice for starters, nasty cake, I looked online to see if we could get any delivered, we couldn't so we went for a drive to the supermarket knowing that they only had frozen but yay we passed a eggless cake shop in Willenhall and they were open till 6, they had exactly what the boys wanted and they enjoyed them thankfully.  I think I'll buy one for the freezer in case they get a fancy another time.

We went out for lunch Sunday, found a place called Canalside over Compton that did Indian, it was very good, and we had enough food to bring home so we were sorted for Monday too.

Tele wise, we watched a good film on Disney called 'NO EXIT', ooo not my usual thing but I enjoyed it a lot.  We'd also watched a thing called Deceit on Netflix, 4 part series, really good, based on the true story of the Rachel Nickell murder case.  Then to cheer things up a bit we watched Do Revenge, teen thing.  

Basically we all just chilled out, Aryn was getting over his stomach bug, catching up on sleep, we all caught up on sleep and I enjoyed every minute of having a lie in, getting himself for an extra day because of the public holiday.

Of course we had the Queens funeral on the television but I'm not going to lie, I wasn't 100% watching it, we have other things going on at the moment which are more important and we were working together and talking about that.  I had to turn it off about half one, my emotions couldn't take anymore, I've been the same with the radio in my car, I switched to my cd's, constant sadness makes you feel sad even when you aren't and that's not healthy.  We are doing our best in this house to be positive and happy, and forward looking, so I will control the audio and visual that I watch.

We went for a walk on the chase yesterday to get a bit of fresh air, that was lovely and I was so pleased my sciatica didn't kick in.  I'm off swimming this morning before work, I will get fit lol, it's good for my head too, zone out for an hour.

We have a strange week ahead, Aryn finally has a hospital appointment, himself is off to Ireland on Thursday, hopefully it'll be a quick week, not gonna lie, I want this one over and done with.

The scales, mmm, I haven't tracked since Saturday morning, I've been okay though, not gone mad, so we shall see, I'll get my app back out today and get my healthy on, I have some feta stuffed peppers in the fridge that need using today, so I'm going to roast them and add to pasta for my main meal I think, see what happens there.

 

There's 320 calories in a tub but that's okay, I'll try and get Aryn to try some too.  I think it sounds lush, cheese and peppers all melted into pasta, nom nom.  I think I have a few cherry tomatoes, I could throw a few of them in too.

Right, let's get on with the day, I've got work to look forward too, I'm lucky to enjoy going to work, it seems like a really long time since I went Saturday morning even though I wouldn't work Monday's anyway - weird.

Here's to a good food, good mood day.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Pajamas all day for sure!

Saturday 17th September 2022

All you need is love.

Well oops!  That's regarding food but actually no it ain't that bad, give me a second to go track last night.  WOO HOO, go me, I didn't eat the best food but it turns out I was within my allowance.  We had Maccy's breakfast, oh for me the best bit was the salted caramel latte if I'm honest at 164 calories, I'm cured now from their breakfasts, if I get Aryn one in future, I'll just have a coffee, they're not work 551 calories for a double sausage and egg mcmuffin nor 127 calories for a hash brown.

This was eaten after I'd been to the dentist and also for my swim which I was very, very pleased about, when I got to gym to check in I was having a chat with the cleaner who's a lovely lady, anyway the lady behind counter joined in and then suggested I try the SwimTag which would tell me how much swimming I'd done, I thought I had to pay for it but I didn't so I had a go, easy to set up and you wear it like a watch.

This week I'm focusing on what I can control! Yesterday was 6 weeks since I joined Wolverhampton Swimming and Fitness Centre, I wouldn’t even go to the deep end, when the water goes up my nose, I'd panic, the thought of putting my head under the water make me shudder but I was determined to get some confidence in the water.  Well check me out, yesterday I swam a mile! WooHoo Go Me!  I am so proud of myself, I really am.  Even now when I swim the length I have to touch the side when I get to the deep end because I'm scared I'll sink, but I did manage once where I got there and turned round and came straight back without touching, another little victory.  I don't know if I'll ever be okay with putting my head under the water but I don't panic now when the water goes up my nose and down my throat, I talk myself calm in my head.  I have to say that the staff are all amazing there, all have been friendly and helpful as are my fellow swimmers who have all encouraged me over the last 6 weeks, motivating me to keep going and having a natter with me.  I absolutely love going there now, it sets me up for the day, calms my mood, gives me time to zone out and I feel energised when I come out.  It's great!

Aryn had a bad stomach so I called his school to say I didn't think he was well enough to go and turned out a couple of others in his class had the same, so a bug going around by the sounds of it.

Himself got home in good time for a change, and we had a Chinese takeaway for tea, I have to say I've fancied one for well over a week, it didn't let me down but I didn't have a lot, I shared a chow mein and fried rice - go me and there's some left.  We had chicken balls with sweet and sour sauce, I don't like them apparently, so that saved me calories but I did enjoy a pancake roll.

We had an early night, it was good to have him back, we can snore together lol, joking aside talking on the phone every day is great but you can't beat sitting and having a proper chat face to face especially when there are things that need talking about.  

Despite everything that's going on, things we can't control, it was a really good day yesterday, here's to a weekend of the same.  oh and in answer to the question at the top of my blog, for me it would be A) Pajamas all day.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

Alphabites - my new favourite food!

Friday 16th September 2022

Take a deep breathe.

A good day at work yesterday, love our huddles, we've noticed a few people are a little low this week, could the end of summer have something to do with that, the change in temperature, the mornings starting to be a little darker - maybe, who knows but we all go through days, where we don't feel ourselves and we can't put our finger on it.   

At the moment I'm taking a lot of deep breathes and focusing on what I can control and also on all the things that are going well.  Aryn is doing great in school, he's coming home with a huge smile on his face and yesterday I had his dinner ready, we both had this, he had onion rings on his too, a simple but damn delicious meal, I really, really enjoyed it and could eat it again today but I won't, not sure what we will have but I'll have a think later.

We had news yesterday we could've done without but like I said we're focusing on the good stuff and we're a good, strong, loving, solid family so we will get through it all together.  As long as that boy comes home smiling after school and he's happy, the rest doesn't matter.

Yeah I went a couple hundred over my calories again yesterday, but I also swam 50 lengths in under an hour, did 52 total, so if I do 54 today, that'll be 4 mile over the week.  I won't put any pressure on myself to do those 54 lengths, heck I've already done 202 lengths this week, that's 5km, WOW, I remember when I used to run that, it's a long bloomin way!

I'm sleeping really well, thanks to the exercise, I didn't go to bed quite so early last night, but I still woke up bang on 5am ready for the day ahead.

Right here's to a good day, I'm looking forward to himself coming home, not sure what our plans are for the weekend, if any but it'll just be good to all be together. 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

Real life has ups and downs!

Thursday 15th September 2022

Be you, do you, for you!

Yesterday didn't help my weight loss journey but it was a breakthrough day in other ways and that's more important for me right now.  Being healthy is so much more than a number on a set of scales isn't it!  Having a happy family is so much more than going on nice days out or weekends away, yesterday took us one step closer to that I believe.

If I was asked what I wanted Aryn to be when he grows up, my only answer would be happy, I want him to have the emotional strength to communicate and cope with life because this world can be a real tough place to live in.  Without going into details because this is his world, I felt like we had a bit of a breakthrough yesterday so we went for pizza as a treat, tbf I was taking him to get pizza anyway because I knew he wasn't looking forward to his appointment and I thought it would be something for him to look forward to later.   Anyway we waited 30 mins for our pizzas to be told that the ovens weren't working and they gave us our money back lol, we drove to another one and ended up at Papa Johns where I ordered an Hawaiian medium pizza which turned out to be almost 1500 calories - ouch!  

At least I'd done my 50 lengths on the morning before our brilliant huddle, loving my swimming, it's helping me in more ways than one, obviously physically but emotionally too, it's very calming.

It's been a funny old week but needed I think, I went into myself over the weekend and did a lot of thinking, bit of soul searching and checking of myself.  We've talked a lot as a family, that as you can imagine isn't easy with a young man but we've come a long way and we'll keep working at that because if you can communicate how you're feeling, it's massively good for your mental health.

It's no good being slim if you're miserable as sin is it - not that I am unhappy, I'm just making a point.  I'm actually very happy, not to the point where I'm 100% happy every minute of the day, but I'm 100% happy with my life and everyone in it, of course there's things I'd change if possible but sadly they're not easily changed, I'm not a magician unfortunately lol.  A win on the lottery would be nice, have you seen the price of takeaway pizza - OUCH, I'd have been happy with a shop bought one, I can't tell the difference you know, I might just keep the pizza box and reuse it and shove a shop on in it, see if he notices ;) 

I'm off for a swim again this morning, not as long in the pool as it's my early work start day, but something is better than nothing.  I took a couple of small croissants with me yesterday 322 calories but they weren't all that and they gave me a bit of indigestion, I might take a ham sandwich with me this morning, that'll do the job if I'm hungry.

Here's to a good day or a great day - you decide.  I feel like we can handle anything that's thrown at us right now and that for me is more important than losing a pound at the scales, but I'll keep trying for the pound too because I know looking after my health helps me cope with all the stuff that is thrown at us!

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me 

We can do this!

Wednesday 14th September 2022

Let's be a mid week wonder!

I maintained yesterday, I'll take that, but I'll be working harder for a weight loss this week.  I went swimming again, another 50 lengths, so that 100 already this week, not expecting to do so many this morning, I was up earlier yesterday and had more time.  My sciatica is driving me bonkers, I can't stand for long and walking isn't much easier, thankfully sitting and lying, usually I can get comfortable.  It's so frustrating, I'm going to look for some exercises or do a little yoga when I get a minute, I was too busy yesterday, but hopefully this afternoon I'll have time, it's also timing it right because when I did have time yesterday, I'd just eaten so couldn't exercise and I couldn't wait for food cos I was really hungry, I'd had no breakfast and it was 1ish.

Foodwise, I had a tin of Mulligatawny soup with some bread and butter for my lunch, that gave me indigestion, my body just isn't a fan of butter and to be fair the soup usually triggers me too which is why I haven't had any for a very long time, I won't replace it but at least I'm using stuff that's been in the cupboard for ages.l

Tea time I'd already fed Aryn, he'd had a lovely tea of chicken, rice and beans but I wasn't hungry then so when I got home at 7ish, I decided to use up a couple of burgers that have been in the freezer a very, very long time, I'm sure they arrived before the two men in my house lol.  I had a burger sandwich, cheese slices and ketchup , it was delicious and a lot of calories but thankfully I had them to spare and that's something else gone from my freezer, used up.

Midweek already, where has that gone!  Elle was doing the maths of weight loss yesterday for our members, can you believe they lost a staggering 842.5lb in August which is a quiet month because of holidays and the kids being off, that's just amazing!  Year to date the weight loss is 6720lb year to date so that’s 480 stone, incredible.

We mention 'to do' lists in our meeting chat this week, which got me thinking about mine and on it is sorting my spare room and my wardrobe, I keep saying I'll get it done and hopefully I'll get round to it soon, maybe once I've took Aryn for his appointment today and dropped him off at school, I can have an hour and make a start, maybe that's the way, doing a little bit at a time rather than trying to get it all done in a day.  A bit like our weight loss journey ay!

Not thought about food today, I did offer to take Aryn out for his dinner as a treat as we haven't done anything for a while and Wednesday are difficult for him, but he said he might opt for Pizza Supremo takeaway which will save me having to have any, which means I can work my way through the freezer a little more, maybe use some of the veggie stuff, although there are corn on the cobs in the fridge that it might be too late to save but if it isn't I could have them.  

Right let's get ready to go swimming, nice easy swim this morning I think, I might try to improve my breast stroke because I only do front crawl at the minute and my shoulders aren't impressed with me this morning.

Here's to a great day, we got this, we really have.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

Here's to living in the now

Tuesday 13th September 2022

Sometimes we need a reminder.

This image came up on my Pinterest screen this morning and it was an excellent reminder for me!  I've spent the last month or so thinking about the outcome of a situation, to the point where it's built my stress levels up to bursting and that's not like me which is why I've decided to stop thinking about it, what will be will be and we will deal with it.  I've also spent the weekend looking in the mirror and processing  stuff, sometimes it's good to stop and do that.

So here's to living in the present, yesterday I had a very productive day, went to the baths and did 50 lengths, took my time, used that time to empty my mind, it was very therapeutic I have to say.  I completely zoned out and enjoyed my hour in the water.  I'm contemplating getting my yoga mat back out the shed, now Aryn is at school in the afternoons, I could find the time to do a bit of yoga in the living room.  There are some classes at the gym but I'm in bed week days by the time the 8.30pm one starts and the other is at 5pm and that's when Aryn comes and sits with me, he gets back from school around 3.30 and we eat together and watch some tv on the days I don't have to go back to work, we still get an hour on the couple of days I do have to go back and thankfully it's only for a couple of hours.

Yesterday we had fish pie, he'd asked if we could because his grandad used to make one, he rarely talks about his previous life so I was like of course we can.  Fish Pie is not my forte, I won't lie, but I cooked this Sunday, I didn't want to make a white sauce and I had a jar of Dolmio lasagne sauce in the cupboard that had been there for months, so I used that.  Cooked the fish in the oven whilst I was cooking Sunday dinner, added a couple of tablespoons of the sweetcorn and peas from Sunday dinner to the sauce and put it all in a silver try and topped with potato and cheese. I would've heated it all up in the oven but he insisted it had to be microwaved, that the cheese shouldn't be brown it should all be sloppy - who am I to disagree!  He ate the lot, that'll do me. 

 
It was tasty to be fair, the rest has gone in the freezer, another meal, another day.

I spent a lot of time yesterday working on Be Happy Owls stuff, so the day flew by.  I also had my hair cut, OMG, I was very brave, I bet I've had 6 inches off - eek.  It was driving me mad when I get out the pool, all luggy and tangled, my hairdresser agreed it needed a good trim, I hadn't had it cut since last November I think, it now just sits on my shoulders and I can still tie it up, just about.  It took me the rest of the day to come to terms with what I'd agreed to once I'd seen it in the mirror lol  Be interesting to see what it looks like when I leave it to dry naturally this morning after my swim.  

I'm supposed to be making a sweet and sour today, but I'll need to go back to the shop for a pepper and onion because I don't have any, not sure if I have a tin of pineapple but if I don't I need that too.  It's the Mayflower sweet and sour sauce and it says to use battered chicken, I have lots of chicken nuggets in the freezer I'm tempted to use instead!

Oh I've no idea about the scales today, I'll take what it says, I can't believe himself is losing weight, he's not even trying grrr.

Here's to a great day, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

A quiet start to my week

Monday 12th September 2022

Don't overthink it.

I've had a quiet weekend, diet not the best, my sister didn't just make us her delicious cheese pie, she also threw in her epic lasagne, so well add that to the cooked breakfast yesterday and the roast pork dinner last night and the only upside is I didn't drink the weekend!  We shall see what the scales say tomorrow.

Glad it's Monday, I just want this month over, too much in the balance which we don't really have any control over.  But I shall put that to the back of my mind and do my best with the day ahead and then week ahead.  

I'm off swimming in a bit, then I've got Happy Owls work to do, then later I'm having my hair cut, first time this year!  It's driving me mad when I try and get a brush through it when I get out the pool, Friday morning I was having a good lot off but I've realised I don't really want loads off so a decent trim it is then.

I made a fish pie yesterday whilst I was cooking dinner, double use of a hot oven, so that's our dinner sorted today.

I need to do a meal plan for the week cos I have a freezer full of food and a bank empty of cash, need to make use of what we have.   There are some frozen croissants in there that I think I'll use up today for mine and Aryn's breakfast.  I'm out of eggs and I really enjoyed the omelette I had on Friday, so I will get some more of them, I'm not quite that skint! 

I'm sitting in a quiet living room, watching the news, still all about the Queen and I'm empty of words this morning, so I'll say have a great day, followed by a great week.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

Here's to another day - we're lucky to get one

Friday 9th September 2022

Our best is different on different days.

I did it, I went swimming yesterday morning before work, managed 30 lengths, so that's a total of 110 lengths so far this week and I'm off again soon.

Food wise, I managed to make a bit of breakfast before going to work, had the same as the day before, then for my dinner I had this, I wanted sausage and mash because we've talked about it all week but I didn't have any sausages and I have a freezer full of food so I had this instead.

I bought the cheap Sainsbury's beans to try out of curiosity and I have to say they were good enough, and only 21p (53p kg) as opposed to Branston £1.53kg or Heinz £1.81kg if you buy a four pack.

It was a wonderful day that turned into a sad evening as we found out about the Queen's death, I was a fan, she was an incredible woman who had an incredibly long life, I'd rather celebrate her life than focus on her death.  I wouldn't have wanted her life, but she did it amazingly well and never put a foot wrong.  I came home poured a glass of whisky and toasted her.    

After watching it on the tv for an hour, I decided to go to bed early as himself is working away and they were going out for a work night out, gaffer buying their dinner - nice.  He called just before ten, his workmate was being taken away in an ambulance, he'd had what they believed was a stroke, such a nice bloke and only about 50!  The only good thing that came from that call was him saying, 'I better stop smoking hadn't I', yep, he started around Christmas time with all the stress over Aryn and he hasn't been able to stop since, we've got a stressful month ahead but hopefully things will get sorted and he will then be able to stop smoking and be less stressed. 

My house looks like a bombs hit it again, so I'll go swimming then come home and tackle it, at least there's no washing to do this morning, there will be when he gets home tonight but that can wait till tomorrow.  

Food wise, not sure what's on the menu today, my sisters making us her lasagne but not sure if she's doing that today or tomorrow, looking forward to that, no clue on calories and not even gonna work it out, it's heavens food and it's made with love so it's to special to calorie count.

Right let's get my day started, my legs ache, my sciatica is still screaming but as I'm in pain anyway, I may as well swim because I'm in pain whether I do or not!

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me 

How'd do you feel?

Thursday 8th September 2022

We're doing alright!

It's Wednesday night and I'm writing my blog now because I'm hoping to be super efficient in the morning and I'm going to try and go swimming before work.  I did 40 lengths again this morning and if I can do half of that on my Tuesday & Thursday work days, happy days.  That'd be 3km over the week in total.  I won't lie, even just going 3 times a week so far, I'm clapping for myself, it's making me feel really good because I'm finding it difficult and we like to give up when things are tough.  

I had a Tim Hortons breakfast again, £3.49 opted for the sausage and egg bagel, it wasn't all that, so next Wednesday, I'm thinking I'll take a croissant with me and I might invest in a coffee cup to keep my drinks hot and make one before I leave to swim.  

I had a good day, took Aryn for his appointment which he wasn't impressed with lol but hey ho, then dropped him at school.  They dropped him home so that's good news, in future they're going to pick him up and drop him off, saves me the hour round trip twice a day.  I came home did some work for our Be Happy Owls.  

When Aryn got home, he had pizza and onion rings, I opted for this; 

Pasta, Philadelphia light, spinach and sundried tomatoes - nice, very, very nice.

Not gonna lie, I enjoyed a bit of wine before bed, heck why swim if you can't enjoy the calories you earn!

There was a lot of talk of emotions in this house after Aryn's appointment, now he'd been given a list of about 5, Happy, Sad, Mad, Tired, Excited, Anxious, Other!  I understand why the list was short but we could all get something from identifying how we are feeling, here's my list of emotions that I have shared with Aryn because he's an intelligent boy but like so many of us, he really does need to learn to express how he feels - I'm okay with him telling me he's irritated or frustrated by me, heck I feel that way about myself at times.  We're not supposed to like each other all the time, like and love are two very different things and you can love someone and still dislike them some days.  

How are you feeling right this moment?  This is the list I had on my laptop that I shared with Aryn, 

So many to choose from and he's intelligent enough to get to grips with all of them!  We could all get something from doing this task, ask yourself how you're feeling every few hours, zone in to your emotions instead of eating to distract you from those feelings!

It's not always easy to accept our emotions but it really does make a difference to our behaviours.

I'm probably too open some would say, you will never be in any doubt of how I'm feeling, my face says it if my mouth hasn't already!  I've always said, don't ask me how I am if you haven't got time to hear my answer ;) 

Now, will I get to the baths, mmm we shall see, it'll mean being there for 6.15 when it opens, I'm not sure but I'll give it a go I guess.  I need to leave my house at 7.50 ish to get to work, it can be done, we shall see - wish me luck.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Yay, I'm a loser!

Wednesday 7th September 2022

Stop stopping yourself.

Well to say I was happy at the scales yesterday is an understatement!  I'd already decided I was going to focus on how I felt rather than the numbers because the last two weeks had been a maintain and a 1lb gain the week after and I won't lie, I was gutted with the gain.  I then decided to focus on the fact I felt better in myself, I was swimming and doing well with that and realising we have other stuff going on in our world that makes me realise how lucky I am to be me!

Anyway I lost 2lb which totals 21lb, a 7lb loss since I started tracking back at the end of July and swimming the week after.  I need to keep going now, I'd love to see the back of another 12lb before Christmas but anything will make me happy, another 7lb for the 2 stone, I'll take anything, just keep going and swimming, off there in a bit.

After a busy morning, I took Aryn with me to Morrisons so he could pick a couple of things he'd eat before going to school for brunch, he opted for some croissants and I devoured one when we got back, it was delicious and the first thing I'd eaten that day.

I cooked my Spaghetti Squash, cut it into rings and removed seeds, then sprayed with a little oil and a bit of salt & pepper, then roasted for about 35-40 minutes.  I was impressed, it did look like very fine spaghetti and if you added a spoon of pesto it would work.  I sprinkled a little parmesan on it and had it with bbq pork not bad at all.

 

Couldn't decide what I wanted for my dinner when I got home at 7ish, so I dry fried 2 slices of bread, put a dairylea slice in the middle and had it with a fried egg and sundried tomatoes, really tasty, quick and cheap.

It's Aryn's first day back at school today but he has an appointment first, so he'll be late which is a shame, but the appointment is needed.  I think he'll have pizza later as he opted for a meal day, £12 for 2 huge pizzas, 2 sides - he opted for onion rings (he doesn't like onion but he's eating these!) and a 4 pack of pop.  If he has pizza, I think I might have pasta, we shall see.

What I do know is I'm gonna keep going and tracking because I'm feeling better in myself, just wished the sciatica would do one!

Hey ho, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

This is me REALLY trying lol

Tuesday 6th September 2022
You are not alone.

 4.30am and wide awake - grrr, not sure what time the thunderstorm started but I only got up to shut my bedroom window so it wasn't quite so loud.  Thankfully I was probably asleep by 9ish.  It took me 51 years to have a tele in my bedroom but it wasn't a bad idea because if I turn it out, I fall asleep and it stops me staying downstairs.

After my 40 lengths yesterday, I spent an hour on the phone to my brother, we had a good catch up, then himself called me and we had a natter, so now it's almost 11am and I haven't even gotten started on my days plan lol.  I then planned our meeting chat for the week and finally got round to doing the washing up and more washing.  I didn't get round to doing the bedrooms though, the novelty had worn off by the afternoon.  Instead I made Aryn and I another lamb dinner and froze the rest of the lamb, it can be thrown into a curry sauce at some point.  

I had an on track day thankfully, that lamb dinner filled me up to the brim so I didn't eat again yesterday after that, apart from a Seriously tasty cheese square, which i ate straight from the foil.

I've defrosted some pork chops and I'm thinking this will be tasty, found the recipe on my phone notes when I was looking for something else; 

Honey-mustard roasted pork chops

Serves 4, takes half hour

Sweet honey and hot mustard are wonderfully balanced in this Dijon sauce—a perfect topping for roasted pork. You can also try the sauce on sh (especially salmon), as well as grilled or roasted chicken.

Nonstick spray

4 (6-oz, 1-inch-thick) bone-in pork chops

1⁄8  tsp salt (or to taste)

1⁄8  tsp black pepper (or to taste)

1⁄4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar

1⁄4  tsp dry mustard

1⁄4  tsp garlic powder

3 long rosemary sprigs

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a shallow, medium-sized baking dish with nonstick spray. Season both sides of pork with salt and black pepper.

2 In a small bowl, whisk together Dijon mustard, honey, vinegar, dry mustard, garlic powder, and 1 tbsp water. Spray a heavy skillet with nonstick spray and set it over medium-high heat. When hot, add pork chops and rosemary sprigs; sear pork until well browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Reserve rosemary for garnish; transfer pork to prepared baking dish.

3 Over pork, brush 2 tbsp mustard sauce. Place in oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until pork reaches an internal temperature of 145oF.

4 Serve with reserved mustard sauce spooned over top.

Per serving (1 pork chop and 11⁄2 tbsp sauce): 360 Cal, 16 g Total Fat, 5 g Sat Fat, 649 mg Sod, 7 g Total Carb, 5 g Sugar, 0 g Fib, 41 g Prot.

I haven't got any rosemary but meh, I can miss that off.  I want to cook that spaghetti squash too so we can have it together.  We've got noodles as back up in case Aryn really doesn't like the squash or me come to that.

I've got lasagne to look forward to at the weekend, my sis is gonna cook it for us, nom nom, so I need to be healthy until then, as that's not a low calorie option!  I'm thinking a fish pie, Aryn asked if we could make our own, so maybe we can, I have frozen salmon and I think some white fish, so it's just the rest of the ingredients I need to get.  I'm also fancying a tuna pasta bake, I need to write a list because I'll forget this.  

Not feeling hopeful for the scales today, but I do feel healthier in myself so the numbers will catch up at some point, I can live in hope.

I'm watching the news and shaking my head, my weight is the least of my worries really, there's more going on in our little family world than what we all weigh.  There's more going on in the wider world for sure, I mean if the cost of living crisis keeps rising, we won't be able to afford to overeat will we!  

Right I'm gonna go make me a mug of coffee, then get ready for work.  Let's have a great day shall we?

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x