On our holidays!

Monday 29th May 2023

Start your week with positive vibes

Sat drinking my first cuppa tea in Corfu, it’s 6am Monday, we arrived at noon yesterday after a disappointing’ flight, why you ask?  Well, let me tell you, when I was attempting to book flights only 2 weeks ago, the prices were ridiculous, EasyJet wanted £600 each not including any baggage allowance not even hand luggage, then I spotted a news article on my computer as I opened a new tab to search again and it said British Airways were working out cheaper than the budget airlines for family holidays!  I was like “wow, really, let’s go check”. It got better not only were they cheaper but their business class was showing as cheaper than their economy class thanks to a promotion and I’ve never flown business class so now I’m really excited because we have posh seats, lots of baggage allowance and a hire Carole the same price as EasyJet wanted just for the flight. Why was it disappointing then?  Well the baggage drop off for starters, firstly let’s say I’m just relieved we made it as I’m aware that BA cancelled lots of flights Thursday and Friday because of technical difficulties and I’m not surprised. The machines are a joke, the one we used broke 3 times whilst we checked in our bags, in the end himself asked the one man who was doing everything and trying to keep everyone calm if he could do it manually as the machines weren’t working, which he did and he was lovely we agreed there should be a dozen of him and no machines.  I said him as the other two BA assistants I’d attempted to communicate with and ask for help were rude and either completely ignored me or muttered something as they walked away. 

Once through that bit and security we make our way to the “BA Lounge” = fancy!  Nah it isn’t, the lady (being polite there I am) on the entrance was abrupt like we were interrupting her day, but she let us in after checking our boarding passes.  I had a glass of milk and a couple of slices of cold toast as I was feeling a bit dicky stomached but they had some sausage, bacon and eggs which apparently were cold - that’s not good is it. 

Once at the boarding gate, you guessed it another of BAs staff was blunt and rude rather than helpful and again as we got in ‘line’ for our priority boarding - nah there was nothing priority or special about our treatment at all!

The images I’d looked at online for what to expect in business class was nothing like the real thing, we did get an empty seat in-between us so you have that bonus of not having someone’s elbow in your side all the way. 

Himself put the call attendant button on at one point and they responded over an hour later as we were about to disembark!  We did get food and a drink and you’ve guessed it, that was cold too, cold cup of tea is not good, Aryn waited a good half hour for a glass of pop by which time everyone had eaten, the plates had been collected and we still had to ask again for the pop. 

I got a lovely ‘builders bum’ view of the attendant as he bent down to get someone’s breakfast out the trolley - blue pants he had on - very classy contrast against his white shirt that wasn’t tucked in. 

No curtain to separate the business and first from economy, not that I cared but I wanted to pretend to be posh and rich just for one time lol. 

At least they said goodbye, have a nice holiday as we got off the plane I guess. I’ve done a lot of flying in my time and I can recall a great many better experiences. 

Regardless of all that, it was so wonderful to watch Aryn and his dad looking out the window together and discussing the view, Aryn took the flight in his stride, he had been on a plane once before when he was a kid from Ireland to England so you can never be sure, but he just pulled a blanket over his head and fell asleep till the food came. 

We got through the airport here pretty quickly, picked our car up and my brother was there waiting for us to take the two cases we’d got for him as there wouldn’t have been room in our hire care. We paid an extra €35 to have a Mercedes class A (I think) instead of the tiny one we’d booked so he was a bit happier about not having to drive a put put 😝

The drive to the villa is all along the coast road so glorious views of Corfu, plus Greece and Albania in the distance. We stopped at a shop for a few supplies to get us through the rest of the day, bread, butter, crisps, beer and arrived 5 minutes before the rents bloke - perfect. He was a lovely chap who showed us round what is a stunning villa in a glorious setting. Even better the hotel next door is empty as they’re having work done or it went out of business, either way the only noise around here is coming from us!  Oops!

An afternoon of testing out the pool, drinking a few cans before Terry and Alexis (bro and wife) left to go watch their football match. Aryn went to have an early night as he hadn’t even bothered going to bed Saturday night knowing we were getting up just after one. We had a couple of glasses of wine each from the bottle the owners had left for us, the only thing we’d forgot when shopping was loo roll and there wasn’t any here either so there had been a quick dash down the hill earlier in the day! 

We had an early night too which was even earlier as Greece is two hours ahead so we went to bed just after 9 which would’ve been 7 at home. I woke a good few times but managed to keep going back to sleep till 6 so I’ve had just shy of 7 hours according to my Fitbit, I also clocked up almost 10k steps, I did take my watch off when we were playing in pool so it could’ve been the 10k, I’m really pleased with that. I’m taking paracetamol and ibruprofen regularly as I want to dull the pain to enjoy this holiday and they are helping thankfully. 

My bro is taking us to Lidl’s this morning to stock up - damn I want some cheese, we got the munchies just before bed last night so with what we had I broke up some bacon slices into pieces and fried them, whisked 3 eggs and poured thst on top and put two slices of bread on top of that so it was like an omelette toastie sandwich thing - bloody delicious and I’d kept the sachet of salt and pepper off the plane which added a bit of flavour. He won’t ever pull his face at me collecting ‘free’ stuff again!  I also kept the 3 jars of jam from the plane we didn’t eat and I helped myself to a blanket (made exclusively for BA by the white company) compensation for the trauma of the builders bum 🤪

I’m really looking forward to this week, my brother will show Aryn a great time doing all the dare devil dick stuff with home we’re too wussy to do and he already knows where to do it so no research necessary by me. Bliss!

Here’s the villa with photos, it really doesn’t do the place justice either the downstairs is all open plan, I’d love a house like that. 

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gr/seaview-villa-leana-nisaki.en-gb.html?aid=304142&label=gen173nr-1FCAEoggI46AdIM1gEaFCIAQGYAQm4ARjIAQzYAQHoAQH4AQyIAgGoAgS4Aq_qg6MGwAIB0gIkZWI2ZTdmYmItZmFiMy00NDJiLWFjYTctOGE3Y2RlM2Y3M2Q42AIG4AIB&sid=08fbe73fd0715b9ebeb2611a2e8fe820&age=14;all_sr_blocks=891738301_359420248_3_0_0;checkin=2023-05-28;checkout=2023-06-04;dest_id=442733;dest_type=hotel;dist=0;group_adults=2;group_children=1;hapos=9;highlighted_blocks=891738301_359420248_3_0_0;hpos=9;matching_block_id=891738301_359420248_3_0_0;no_rooms=2;req_adults=2;req_age=14;req_children=1;room1=A;room2=A%2C14;sb_price_type=total;sr_order=popularity;sr_pri_blocks=891738301_359420248_3_0_0__108745;srepoch=1684075861;srpvid=65e5686ad4aa0299;type=total;ucfs=1&#hotelTmpl 

Have a fab day, I’m going to 

mwah, luv ya

Love me xx

So much success!

Friday 26th May 2023

The sun makes everything easier. 

It's Friday and there's nothing I HAVE to do, there's lots of things that need doing but you know what, they might still need doing tomorrow because I fancy a day of rest!  I'll potter about and do what I fancy, no pressure to get stuff done at all.

Yesterday was a busy day with 3 huddles, I've had a busy couple of weeks so I've earned a no to do list day.  

We had the curry last night for tea, not sure I'd buy that flavour spice tailor again but it was okay. 

 

I'm thinking a picky tea tonight, cook a chicken, have it with some garlic bread, maybe nip and get a bit of salad, well a lettuce as I have some cucumber, pepper, radish and spring onion left, yeah that'll be easy.

I'm going to have scrambled egg for breakfast on the last focaccia, I had the other one yesterday with bacon, they're very nice, but I won't buy again for a bit as it works out as quite a high calorie meal.   I made rock cakes for Aryn, I resisted them again, he really likes them, they don't last long.  Rock cakes recipe - BBC Food they're so easy to make too. 

The huddles were full of success yesterday, from Kevin getting his stone, only took him 6 weeks, he bought a 6 week pass for £24 and said he'd give us go and boy is he glad he did, he's ready for another pass now.  Next was Viv who hit her 2 stone, beyond pleased, she joined us full of doubt, having tried so many times with so many 'diets',  finally finding a way that works for her and allows her to live lift too.  Then Susan receiving her 2 1/2 stone and crying with joy, watching someone embrace their journey as she has is wonderful, she struggles with chronic pain, Rheumatoid Arthritis since she was a teenager, she amazing, walking and swimming despite the pain, puts me to shame!   Our Debbie got her 21lb which she's been fighting with those last few pounds for weeks but stayed strong, threw away her scales at home to stop her getting on and off them daily which has helped to change her mindset and it's obviously worked.  Finally a couple of 14lb certificates going to Jackie and Jan, just brilliant.  If I've missed anyone I'm sorry but so much success is just incredible and it's not just about the members that got certificates, it's about everyone who showed up and made themselves a priority.  

We're talking wins and smile moments this week and it really does make you feel more positive when you focus on them, all of the above go on my list from yesterday, as does Aryn, our chat when he gets back from school is always enjoyable, he tells me about his day, then disappears.  Watching him enjoy my rock cakes was a smile moment too.  Seeing him thrive at school and in life is a huge win.  Then there's the cats, they are a daily smile moment, even if they're noisy in the mornings, although they weren't too bad this morning, I was awake before they started running round.   An empty washing machine for a day was nice.  No snacking for me yesterday, my meals satisfied me so I didn't need anything and I wasn't tempted by anything.  3 or 4 times crunchies were mentioned but I resisted nipping to the shop to buy one! 

I'm sure there are many more things I could add to that list if I stopped and thought for longer but I'm ready for another cuppa because that first one was spot on (smile moment number 1).

Let's have a great day and focus on the good stuff, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me  

Ready for a busy day...

Thursday 25th May 2023

It's okay to do nothing. 

Well I didn't fancy cooking yesterday and I fancied a cooked chicken after seeing a video on Facebook, so after the huddle I nipped and bought one from Asda, then stripped it, there was 650g of pulled chicken (excluding skin) which I didn't think was bad as it seemed a small chicken even though the label said large!  We had some for dinner on these sliced focaccia, they were really tasty and super filling.  They're 245 calories each but they are really big, so you fel like you're having a very large sandwich.

  

I spent some of the afternoon sorting clothes and other stuff before admitting defeat and sitting down and resting because my back had given up, I had a soak in the bath which helped ease it a bit, then relaxed for the rest of the day so the house is still untidy but meh who cares! 

I did clock 8313 steps on my Fitbit so pleased with that, as long as I get over 6500 I'm pleased, that's my realistic target at the moment.

Today's dinner is already made, we're having chicken curry, I knocked that up yesterday, the Spice Tailor are on offer in Tesco so I bought one of them and they really are good, went for a new flavour and it's lovely, quit mild I thought but full of flavour. 

Microwave wholemeal rice and that's dinner sorted for later, 3 huddles makes it a busy day.  I've been awake since 4am thanks to Coco, who is now lying next to me purring as if butter wouldn't melt!  He's now trying to climb all over me which doesn't make typing easy at all but he's still lovely, annoying but lovely!

I've got time to make myself a good breakfast this morning as I've been up since 4am, I might even make Aryn some rock cakes as he dropped a hint yesterday, we'll see - I might also sit here and relax for an hour, that's more likely :) 

Either option is okay, it's okay to be busy and also okay to rest and relax, I'm listening to my body and working with it not against it.

Here's to a great day, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

Halfway to the weekend

Wednesday 24th May 2023

Another day, another way

Well I finally admitted defeat yesterday, after we'd finished our morning and lunchtime huddle, I nipped to the shops to get me a swimming costume as mine fell apart as I was hanging it on the line, got home in pain in my back, neck and legs thinking yay, I can have a rest and it'll ease.  Sat down and starting writing some stuff in a pad and my hand was hurting so much I had to stop writing at which point I realised I have to do something, if only to find out exactly what's causing it, is it Rheumatoid arthritis, the menopause who knows, but unless I go to the doctors I'll never know.  I nipped over the doctors I can see it from my window and asked for an appointment to try and find out what's causing my pain, the appointment is June 12th, it's face to face and hopefully will be worth waiting for!  

I see that as a win because I've took a step in the right direction, other wins / smile moments from yesterday include, resisting buying McDonalds with my reward points when I went to get a swimming costume, it would've been so easy to order on my app and nip in as I could hear my belly rumbling, but I didn't, I waited until I got home and ate the leftover baguette, removing most of the bread from inside.

The cats making a bed out of a suitcase also made me smile, both of them at different times, giving me photo opportunities :) 

Me managing to do 7,997 steps on fitbit, that's good for me these days, gotta keep moving they say, so I'll keep trying. 

Our huddles are always a smile moment, I do enjoy them so much.

Eating a delicious dinner together with Aryn, we both really enjoyed it, forgot the photo, but we had this gammon shank with pineapple, 320 calories,

  

with chunky chips 273 calories, I gave Aryn a few more than I had, we had peas and an egg too.  

It was so good, I'd definitely want that again, part of the meal deal offer, £12 for main, side, dessert and wine.

Another smile moment has just landed on my lap!  I'm trying to type and I have a Coco on my laptop!  Trying to type around him ;)  He is a real character, I have to stand over them when I feed them because as soon as he's licked the good stuff off him, he'll nudge Minnie out the way and have some of hers if I don't stop him.

My house looks like a bombs hit it, so that'll be my focus when I get back from work later, not my favourite way to spend my day but it needs doing, never-ending isn't it!

I need to take meat out the freezer before I forget so we have food later, I'm thinking a curry for dinner later, so I'll say goodbye and have a good day.  Focus on the positives!

Mwah, luv ya

Love me xx

Happy with my lot...

Tuesday 23rd May 2023
All movement is exercise 

Started my day yesterday with an hour in the swimming pool, I really enjoy it but it makes my shoulders and leg ache afterwards, thankfully I had a massage to look forward to later in the day which did take the edge off, thanks Nikki they're much better this morning.  

In-between those two appointments, I did a lot of driving round shops to get things for my brother and his wife, which helped towards the 8500 steps I clocked up which is really good for me, no wander things ached, my body starts to play up once I'm over 5,000 steps and I did swimming on top of that which doesn't show as steps ;)

We sat in the garden and enjoyed fish fingers on baguette, both of us agreed there was too much bread!  I usually take out some of the soft bread when I have this, but I forgot to.  We also didn't stay out much longer than it took to eat as it was really windy.

I've had another good long sleep too, 8 hours 21 mins, and 59 minutes awake, I always have the time awake, I wonder if everyone does?   I've just looked for this answer, apparently most adults spend 10-30 minutes awake each night, women of my age though are more like my average.  I wake to go to the loo or to rearrange my body because it's in pain, as long as I go back to sleep I don't mind.  If I wake after 4 I normally get up but I've refused to this last few days and lay there hoping to fall asleep and it's worked :) 

No housework got done yesterday other than washing up and cooking, I only had a couple of hours in the house on the afternoon which I used to plan our meeting chat and catch up with Aryn about his day at school, then got back from massage at 5.15 to cook dinner and I went to sleep at half eight.  

I know there are moms out there who never get any time to themselves, and I take my hat off to you!  I really do, I was like that when I was taking care of mom and working full time and it wasn't until it ended that I realised how exhausted I'd become, not for the entire time, when I was younger it was just what I did, but I couldn't or wouldn't want to do it now.  I like sitting on my ass and chilling!

As much as I've always enjoyed my work, I've realised I also need time to enjoy me time and do things I enjoy doing and spend time with those I love.  Aryn is an absolute star, they say teenagers are nightmares but he isn't at all.  Don't get me wrong I get the odd shoulder shrug but we have such a good relationship, we laugh - he has a wicked sense of humour, he tells me things some teenagers wouldn't share - I love that he trusts me.  Yeah my work / life balance is just how I want it these days, I look forward to the weekend when himself gets back and we get to spend quality time together.

All this contentment is probably why I'm not the best loser in the weight loss game isn't it but I'll keep trying to eat healthy and do my best.  We've got gammon hocks and chips for dinner today, I said I wouldn't buy anything this week just use the freezer stuff but I couldn't resist, I've been craving gammon for a couple of weeks and they were on the Tesco meal deal £12 for main, side, dessert and wine, Aryn will eat the dessert and I'm sure I can find someone to drink the wine :) 

Tomorrow I'll make a curry with freezer meat, either chicken or lamb mince I'm thinking, so I am thinking healthy, we'll have that with brown rice, it's all I buy now really as Aryn is happy to eat it.  Thursday I might do something with noodles, maybe salmon.  There, that's how easy meal planning is really isn't it.

I better go get ready for the day ahead, I'm in need of another mug of tea.  I'm laughing at Coco right now, he's trying to get round me for some attention.  Other smile/win moments over the last 24 hours include, 

I resisted a meal deal whilst driving about shopping - more than once!  

Eating in the garden chatting - we've had a couple of really good conversations, I wish I had room in the house for a table to sit up to eat.

Using a float and flippers in the pool (on recommendation) so that I'm able to swim for longer once my shoulders start to hurt too much to swim front stroke.

The beautiful sunshine brightening up everyone's day and mood.

Chatting with my brother on video call.

Drinking more water.

There was probably more and I should probably jot them down during the day, but that'll do for starters.

Have a great day, 

Mwah, luv ya

Love me xx

 

Damn those Doritos!

Monday 22nd May 2023

Sunshine makes everything feel better

What lovely weather we've had this weekend for a change, it makes such a difference doesn't it to how we feel.  

We treated ourselves to lunch out on Saturday at Warrens that was delicious!  This was my choice of food, starter was Goats cheese bon bon with tomato chutney and balsamic glaze, followed by Roast loin of pork, with grain mustard mash, broccoli, cider gravy and crackling - this was a huge portion, I even gave himself some of my pork and couldn't finish the mash, delicious though.

 

I don't usually have dessert but I do love a creme brulee and decided why not - we all left absolutely stuffed and satisfied.  I would definitely recommend the place for their food, would love to go back one of the evenings to try out the specials board. 

We spent our evening in the garden with the neighbours and their grandkids, even with that food, I would've been on track but NO he goes over the shop for doritos and salsa which I'm not even that fussed about but because they were there, I found myself picking at them, then when he left yesterday afternoon he didn't take them so you know what happened - I finished the packet!  

Sunday I managed to sleep till 8am which is awesome for me, just shy of 9 hours sleep - WOW, and last night I've had 8 1/2 hours going to bed early and sleeping till 5, waking to a message and call from my brother.

Foodwise yesterday, we started the day with a sausage and egg sandwich, there were two sausages left and I knew if I didn't use them in a meal, I'd eat them anyway, so I had them for my tea with onion gravy, potatoes and peas, I found some chicken in gravy in the freezer which Aryn had with his potatoes and peas.  I've just spotted some large fish fingers in freezer this morning so I'm thinking we can have them later maybe on a large cod with salad or roasted veggies.  

I've got a lot to get done today so don't want to be spending ages in the kitchen, although I did bake some rock cakes yesterday, I'm enjoying the baking and Aryn is enjoying the eating of them.  I managed to resist them completely - didn't even break a bit off lol, although I did lick the bowl :) 

Coco escaped into the garden twice yesterday, he's had a taste for it now!  If I thought he'd stay in the garden it would be okay but he run straight to the summerhouse and I don't want him behind there, it's not safe.  Little devil run me ragged trying to get him back in!

Looking forward to my week ahead, sunshine, great huddles with a topic we'll enjoy and something to look forward to this weekend, life is good, I just need to learn to control my eating and drinking habits lol.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me 

Time to restart the Sunshine list

Saturday 20th May 2023

Exercise is any movement you make.

Well I've woke up feeling good, I ended my day feeling pleased with myself for surviving a Friday, I got creative in the kitchen, with meatballs, brown rice, wraps, tomatoes and cheese - lots of cheese but I only had a 6th of the meal and it was delicious and so filling too.  Aryn loved it and so did himself, always a win/win and I used up meatballs from the freezer, I had all the ingredients in the kitchen other than wraps which were bout 90p in Aldi.  

 

Other reasons to smile yesterday include, my fitbit reading, I'm usually thrilled if I hit 6500 steps these days, but not only did I smash that I also did 101 active minutes, 50 of those in the swimming pool the rest just moving about in the house and around the shops, really pleased with that as my back/leg was hurting and I had a headache on and off most of the day, my neck cracking and hurting might have had something to do with that.   Result though, it's gone this morning and my necks okay again too yay.

  

Aryn had his hair cut, another smile moment, he's really pleased with it, about 3 or 4 inches off, it's still shoulder length which didn't please his dad so much lol but she's thinned it out and it looks really good - handsome boy.

I also ended my day on less calories than the fitbit tells me I earned which is always good, I consumed 1931 calories and I tracked it all, drank lots less than I have been doing on a Friday night, just a couple of glasses of wine.  

Yep, here's to focusing on the positives, the smile moments, the wins, it's far more satisfying than focusing on the bits that aren't so great isn't it.  If you make a note of the things that make your life brighter, I've always called it my Sunshine List, it makes your world a brighter place.   It also makes you realise there's more to live than overeating!  

I'll add the cats to my sunshine list as well, they constantly give me reasons to smile, watching them play is lovely.  I've done the washing up already this morning - there's another win!  OH all the washing has been done yesterday too, so the laundry basket was empty this morning, of course there's bound to be more before midday because Aryn hasn't bought his uniforms down yet but for now, it's empty.

The suns shining too and it's forecast to stay all weekend - yay!  I'm putting positive pants on today, we're gonna have a good day - you with me?

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

I'm getting a grip!

Friday 19th May 2023

Make yourself a priority

Well after my poorly thought out breakfast yesterday which cost me 569 calories, I had a word with myself as I blogged and got a grip!

After a lovely morning huddle, I nipped and fetched some salad for lunch, I really enjoyed my lunch, only 210 calories, full of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, radish, cherry tomatoes, beetroot, baby peppers, carrot and ham, drizzled with balsamic.  Took ages to eat and really hit the spot, I need to do this more often - make the effort! 

For dinner i had a seeded crust fish fillet with linseeds and sunflower seeds which I'd had in the freezer for a good while, it was tasty, had with wedges, peas, salad and tartare sauce, it was 625 calories, so I did go over on my day but it was much improved compared to the days prior to it.  

 

Today, my breakfast will be much more sensible and lower in calories! 

Yeah, I may not be able to lose a stone before I go away but I can make sure I don't gain any before I fly can't I.  I felt so much better eating well yesterday, just knowing I was taking care of myself made me feel good.  

Here's to taking care of ourselves today too.  I'm gonna start my day with a swim, then I shall tackle some housework, might have me a nice long bath too whilst the house is empty.  What will you do today for yourself? 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

Neglect is not good!

Thursday 18th May 2023

Happy Thursday all. 

Reasons to be happy today!

You only have this Thursday ONCE!

You made it through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday!

Tomorrow is Friday!

Good morning, I wasn't going to blog today as I didn't really have anything worth sharing or saying, but then I realised that some of you would wonder why I hadn't blogged and also it's a bit like when you're trying to lose weight, you don't bother one day and before you know it, a month has passed and you haven't 'dieted' at all and you've gained 12lb.   Blogging helps me process my thoughts and my behaviours and my behaviour at the moment isn't too good.  

I'm not taking care of myself!  I've got lazy and lacks, I've stopped thinking about adding a vegetable to every meal, my skincare routine is at best once or twice a week, I used to do it twice a day and when I looked in the mirror yesterday to pluck a hair out of my chin, I could tell I wasn't cleansing, toning and moisturising - I will be doing it this morning as soon as I've finished this blog.  I've not tracked again so far this week, I know subconsciously I'm thinking ah I'm off on my holidays soon and it's too late to lose anything - ERM SERIOUSLY what a crock of crap, I could lose the 3 or 4lb I'm likely to gain whilst away so why not try.  But even more seriously, it's not just about losing weight, it's about eating good food to take care of my body.  

I've just eaten cheesy beans and egg on toast which I had no intention of tracking because I'm not taking care of myself, but I've just stopped typing and gone in the kitchen, opened my Nutracheck app and scanned the bread, eggs, I knew the cheese was 30g as it was an individually wrapped portion from an old Gousto recipe, no spread used (cos I'm on a diet NOT!) and it adds up to a ridiculous 569 calories.  I mean it's gonna keep me going till teatime probably, well it will now I'm giving myself a good talking too, if I wasn't typing this, I'd have eaten more later mindlessly and done myself no favours at all.

Yesterday was a busy day, I left the house at 8.20am and got back at 2.20pm, I started yesterday with beans on toast, then whilst I was out I nipped to McDonalds and used my rewards to have a big mac!  Once home I had a shower, followed by a couple of custard creams (I never do that - what the hell is going on!) for tea we had pie and chips, again WHAT, that's a treat now and then, not something I buy from Sainsbury's because they're on offer.   A few glasses of wine later on followed by a bag of Walkers cheese and onion, oh and it gets worse, I finished with a slice of banana bread spread with Nutella - seriously what is going on.

It needs to stop, I'm having a word with myself as I type, I wouldn't mind if I'd enjoyed any of it, but I didn't if I'm honest, I like fish, veggies and salads, why am I not eating it!  I'm gonna take some fish out the freezer when I've finished so I can have something healthier for dinner later. 

So for someone who hadn't got anything to blog about, I've not done bad have I!  If you're spiralling out of control with your eating, maybe put pen to paper yourself.  Come and get some support, you can't beat face to face support, long distance support doesn't work, I've got this app that I was eligible for via the NHS, she leaves me messages and articles and unless I open the app, I don't even have to read or watch her video.  To be honest I signed up initially out of curiousity and in the hope I'd gather information to share with our members, also thinking you never know, she might motivate me to sort myself out.  She's a lovely lady but it just isn't motivating me at all, Elle manages to do that in a minute with the odd sentence, you need the personal touch, you need to feel the person helping you cares and that they know a little about you and I can tell from some of the messages she hasn't listened or remembered things I've told her, I mean this week she's messaged me about my sleep (she obviously has seen what fitbit has logged, I do have varied sleep but it doesn't bother me at all, I sleep less some days and make up for it other days.    

Anyway, I need to get ready for work now, I'm looking forward to my day, love Thursdays, catching up with the Bloxwich crew.

Make the most of your day, go take care of yourself. 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

BREADY to start again!

Wednesday 17th May 2023

Another day, another chance

A little pound on, I'm not surprised, I got away with it over the bank holiday and it caught me up and bit me on the bum :) bread has taken too much of a part in my eating habits the last few weeks.  It's too easy to have a bit of toast or a sandwich, it's cheap too, I'm paying 75p for Sainsbury's both of them bread which is really nice and keeps for a week, so that with a bit of ham on and you have lunch, but it doesn't fill me up so I'm having another slice or something else, so I need to get my act together.  If I added a load of salad to the plate or the sandwich, it would fill me up, I'm being lazy and using the cost of the salad as an excuse - I need to have a word with myself for sure!

I don't know where my head was at yesterday, I went to work on the afternoon, been sat there for about 15 minutes thinking, where is everyone, only to realise I'd left the house an hour early, DOH!  

Busy day today though, huddle this morning, then I'm going to get a suitcase from a lovely lady, then I need to do a lot of errands for my brother, pick up stuff for him from different shops, stuff he wants me to take with me when we go to visit.

Not sure what's on the menu today, yesterday I used the leftover gravy and fried some beef mince, mixed it together and we had with mash and veggies.  Lunch was leftover baby potatoes which I sliced and actifried and you've guessed it made a sandwich with them! 

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with bread in your diet but variety is the spice of life and we all need those veggies too, I mean beans on toast is a great nutritious meal, 2 slices and half a can for under 250 calories - it's a cheap meal too.  

I fancy that now! 

I've been up since 4am thanks to needing the loo and two psycho cats who decided to turn my bed into a trampoline and my bedroom into a cat version of wacky warehouse!  I'll remember not to leave the door open next time.   Beans on toast might be a good choice to give me plenty of energy to get me through the morning, with a big mug of tea.

Yeah, that's sorted, I'm off to put kettle on and get myself moving, here's to a productive day, not decided on dinner yet, but I know there's plenty of choice in freezer so I'll need to defrost if I'm having anything out of there.

Have a great day, 

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

 

Anyone got a suitcase?

Tuesday 16th May 2023

Sunshine makes the day better.

I did go swimming yesterday, actually I was there an hour, I didn't swim for an hour, I probably nattered for 15 minutes easily, but at least I showed up, the fitbit tells me I burned 214 calories, which is better than sitting on my ass for that hour.  I actually did 84 active minutes over the day which is really good for me, so I'm pleased.  I was a little tight when I got up this morning which I'm gutted about because my pain was a little easier in my back/hip/leg this weekend but hey, it is what it is and I enjoy swimming so I don't want to not do it, plus they tell you to keep active. 

I came home and had me a lovely bath with bubbles and Epsom salts which is thought to help muscle pain and inflammation, I just like a bath and it's all worth a try.  

I cooked noodles for our tea, it was a box kit, the chilli paste gave it a bit of a kick, but I enjoyed it, we've had the kit a good while cos it was use by this month.

I also baked banana bread for Aryn to use up the bananas in the kitchen, he was impressed, it's got 2g of fibre in each slice too, so it is a little healthy.  I creamed the butter and sugar by hand, I'd forgot to take the butter out the fridge in advance too, so it took a good time, I'm surprised my arm don't ache this morning from that and swimming :)

  

Easy banana bread recipe - BBC Food

Yeah yesterday was a good day, I resisted the banana bread by the way, I had 1/2 slice of the crust just to taste, but I'm making these cakes for Aryn not for me, I can resist.  

If anyone has an old suitcase or two, I'm on the cadge, I want to take some stuff to my brother when we visit and my old ones are still there with him to bring back, I didn't need them for a long time did I. 

Yeah, as you may have worked out, we're going on our holidays soon, we booked it Sunday, after long consideration, we were waiting to get Aryn's passport initially, the his passport needed renewing, but when we checked on Sunday, because it's an Irish passport, he doesn't need the 3 months on it we need, he just needs it to be in date when he travels to Europe.  It's our first family holiday abroad, it's Aryn's first time abroad ever, so we're a bit excited here :) 

I can't believe how expensive flights have become since the last time I went, plus we have to go in the school holidays which ups the price considerably doesn't it, but we got a great deal with the villa so it's all good.  We're not far from my brothers house either so it's be great.  He knows the island so well, he'll take us to all the best places and make Aryn's first trip a real special one. 

Oh today's food....  I've got leftover gravy from Sunday so I'm defrosting some beef mince and I'm going to make a cottage pie type meal to use that up, it'll be delicious.  Toast for breakfast, maybe with eggs to keep me going till lunchtime, ooo but it's weigh day so maybe not :) 

My tracking has slipped again, so time to draw yet another line 

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and start again.

Anyone else need to join me and draw a line, here, I'll draw it for you

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Now you can start again too.

Let's enjoy this sunshine and have a great day.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx