Busy day ahead...

Thursday 23rd March 2024 

I had a usual Wednesday yesterday, morning huddle rest of the day doing just enough housework not to make me feel like a slob but not enough to make me feel like a domestic goddess!

Aryn helped me fetch tuna for the food bank, we managed to empty the shelf of what they had with the donations we've had this last couple of weeks, this is on top of the food our wonderful members bring every week. 

We also helped deliver some stuff for them, so Aryn did his weight lifting workout yesterday carrying trays of cans down very steep stairs!  Because of that, we skipped the gym :) 

I enjoyed a few hours on my jigsaw, I was in bed for half seven and I slept too.  The rain woke me in the night though and it took me a while to get back to sleep. I'm fully rested this morning thankfully. 

Food for me was simple yesterday, I enjoyed beans on toast for breakfast, so much so I've had the other half of the can this morning for the same breakfast, been a rebel and had an egg with it too today.  

Dinner was Coquilles St Jacques with roast peppers, I'd bought them frozen from Aldi at Christmas when they were on offer for £4, they're £7 in M&S, you could tell the difference between them, I wouldn't buy them again but they fed us which when you think about the people who can't afford food at the minute, I'm grateful. 

I had a slice of victoria sponge yesterday too!  I don't know where this sweet tooth thing has come from but it needs to do one!  I only ate it because it was there, but I usually resist and what makes me laugh is the servings they say is in the cake!   A sixth of the cake was 247 calories, it was the size of a side plate!

I had a quarter and could've easily eaten half of it, if I'd had cream, I'd have poured that on it too!  The truth is though, if you only do that occasionally, it's absolutely fine, it's when you get into the habit of doing it every other day that it becomes a problem!

Anyway, I have a really busy day ahead, I've not decided what we're eating for dinner tonight!  The freezer has stuff that could be cooked from frozen, there is leftover cottage pie, that I'm considering, himself is due back later so maybe that's a simple meal, take out now and microwave.  Sorted that's food decided.  This meal plannings not that hard is it :)

Have a great Thursday, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Cats woke me up this morning - Aren't they lovely!

 Wednesday 27th March 2024

Finally a day honestly tracked, so one day done, now for day two, I also need to work on lowering the intake!  At least I ate good food!  Scrambled eggs on toast which are always lush then for dinner we had pasta bake.  I'd frozen some salami/pepperoni/ham slices because we weren't going to eat them so I took them out the freezer and chopped them up,  

I made a pasta sauce using a can of tomato paste that was Best Before December 2023, it was fine and will be for a few years, I made it using the paste, added some water, frozen garlic and dried herbs, I've frozen the other tubs for the next time we have pasta bake.  Added pasta, tin sweetcorn and topped with 100g cheddar.  Delicious and easy! 

The rest of my day was huddles, a trip to the food bank to drop stuff off, thanks to everyone who brings something as a donation, just one can of food, pack of spaghetti or loo roll helps.  

I started watching AJ and the queen last night, really liking it, could've stayed up longer but I went to bed at 9 knowing I needed to get that sleep as I wake up at the same time regardless of what time I go to bed!  

I was pleased with my Fitbit progress yesterday, 8,643 steps, 9 zone minutes and 2,330 calories burned only a couple hundred more than I consumed though!  So many of us believe we burn more than we do, we may have burned more when we were younger but as we age we burn less.  The weekend when I didn't do much I was only burning up 1800 calories and I know I consumed more without having tracked it!  

It's all good though, I'm going to the gym today with Aryn, we'll burn a few there, hopefully as my joint pain improves I'll be able to do more and burn more.  Wished I'd got a passion for having a tidy house, then I'd burn some doing the cleaning but I hate doing it, it's never-ending isn't it!

Let's not think about such things.  I need to think about todays food, I want to continue to use the freezer stuff, I'm thinking a bit of fish, although I fancy beans of toast too, I might have that for breakfast actually. 

I'm gonna get my day started, I've done my physio, got me an exercise ball to do the new exercises on it to save my knees, great physio lady listened to me and adjusted what I was doing accordingly.  It's worth getting out of bed earlier, even on the mornings I really don't want to!

Here's to a wonderful Wednesday, the sun's shining at the minute, maybe it'll last, it's still cold isn't it, I need some warmth in my bones, Easter at home for sure this year! 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x 

Ready for the day! Are you?

Tuesday 26th March 2024

I'm feeling loads better today than I have since Saturday when the cold hit me, yesterday was as if it was bringing it out the other side and I've woken up without any of the body tiredness, so I'm ready to get back to taking care of myself properly.

I've just had scrambled egg on toast with a cheese triangle, that'll keep me going for hours, I'm enjoying a mug of tea too, I did go a month without any but I have missed it so I'm just gonna have a cup here and there and still have the hot water, which I'll be swapping for more cold water now it's warming up outside, a bit anyway.

I had physio yesterday and I've come so far since I started them in February, it was worth paying for, I did have the free NHS one but didn't get anywhere with that.  This one has given me exercises, adjusted them accordingly and massaged my piriformis muscle which I could tell helped the first time she did it, so she did it again yesterday and has given me more exercises so I shouldn't have to go again.  3 sessions was worth every penny!  An hour of exercises every morning for 2 calendar months, my first appointment was actually on February 26th.  My pain out of 10 then was easily an 8, yesterday it was a 2 or a 6 if I've been doing things.  I need to continue with the exercises but hopefully the more I build up the core muscles, the better I'll be and I'll be able to be more active.  I can now wash up without having to sit down to do it - that's massive progress!

We went to the gym yesterday and I was able to walk for 10 minutes with no pain in my back or leg, just my knee which is a different thing all together.  That's massive progress, normally by minute 3, I'm in pain and by 10 mins I'd want to cry!  WOO HOOOOOOO.  I'm going to take it stead and just build up 5 minutes each week, not go at it too fast, like I'm known to do!

I'm able to sleep on my left side now too, I couldn't do that for months, not even for a few minutes, it wasn't until I sat taking to her, how much progress I'd made.  It's so good, the weight loss will have helped too, so I need to remember that because I have let that slide and it's been a month of not doing it properly, I haven't tracked since the 10th and the scales have shown it!  

I've just stopped and tracked my breakfast, the bread wasn't weighed and the slices were all different sizes so I've had to guess the weight but I've done that, it's better than not tracking at all! 

Breakfast 323 calories including the tea.  I've got food in freezer for later, skint here but we can use what we have!  There's lots of food in the freezer and it can all be tracked!  Frozen and canned veggies are just as good as fresh!  

I managed 30 zone minutes thanks to the gym visit, 2093 calories throughout the day, I would've consumed more but that was yesterday - I'm focusing on today and the last few days of March.  I can cope with Easter, I have got us all an egg but I will resist I think and give Aryn two!   I've developed a sweet tooth, I need to get rid of, or if I want something sweet I need to track it!  

Right that's me having a word with myself, water is my focus for today and tracking everything regardless! 

What are you going to focus on?

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx 

Very lazy weekend

Monday 25th March 2024

Well I've done nothing all weekend!  After the huddle on Saturday, I came home, put my pjs on and lay on the sofa watching tele because I was full of cold.  I decided resting would help me shift it quicker, plus I had nothing that had to be done and nowhere I needed to be.

I've watched lots of tele, we enjoyed the remake of Roadhouse on Prime, and I've loved Girls 5 Eva on Netflix, really naff but properly made me laugh.  I've done a jigsaw and not ate great, to be fair all I had Saturday was jam on toast, a ready sandwich and a pot noodle because I didn't have the energy to do anything else.  Yesterday, I had 4 sausages out of the freezer with 2 eggs and a slice of bread then 1 piece of chicken with some couscous and 1/4 of a tube of Pringles which Aryn went to get me because I really fancied them.  

I'm on the mend thankfully so my plan worked, it probably didn't help my weight loss journey much but hey, there's always tomorrow.  I didn't do my physio either, I just didn't have the energy or strength.  I have got away without catching anything for the last 6 months though, so I'll take this bit of lurgy, hopefully I'll be fully recovered for Easter weekend. 

I've got a physio appointment this morning at 8am so I need to wash - yeah I've not washed all weekend and I won't lie - I smell!  I have a blocked nose so I didn't care and the only thing that came close to me was the cats and they don't seem to care.  I'm actually looking forward to being clean - life goals, you can't beat them :) 

All my bread pudding went to the huddle Saturday and was eaten thankfully or I'd have probably lived on that! 

I'm not gonna lie, we're having donor kebab for dinner today, Aryn wanted one last Thursday and they had none so I've promised him one today, chippy was closed or we'd have had it yesterday, so other than that, I'll be healthy today, promise, work at getting my healthy back.  Although the fridge is almost empty, I have a bit of spinach though so I could make an omelette with that.  I've got frozen veggies too. 

It's whether I can be bothered again, I reckon having a wash and getting dressed in clean clothes will perk me up and I'll feel ready to get stuff done.  It's too easy to stay poorly ain't it! 

Right, let's get this day started, I do have a huddle chat to plan so I need to get my thinking cap on.

Have a great day, 

Mwah, luv ya

Love me. 

I'm looking forward to my Friday.

 Friday 22nd March 2024

The bread pudding went down well yesterday and I was asked for the recipe that I use.  There is a good one on the bbc website Bread pudding recipe | Good Food (bbcgoodfood.com), but this is the recipe I used. 

In a large bowl tear up 400g of white bread (I used the crusts as well but you can remove them if you like) and add 600ml milk and allow to soak for 10 mins. Using your hands or a wooden spoon, mash it all up to combine. Stir in 450g dried fruit (I used raisins and sultanas) and 100g sugar. Then add 50g Self Raising flour and one & a half tbsp of mixed spice. Finally add 2 beaten eggs and 100ml of melted butter. Pour into a rectangular or square baking tin approx 20cm x 25 cm and bake for one and a half hours at 150 deg C. Turn up the heat to 180 and cook for another 10 mins or so until pudding browns. Excellent warm with custard or eaten cold. 

If you use skimmed milk and large eggs it 241 calories for a 16th of the recipe, adjust accordingly depending on the milk and size of eggs you use, but it's delicious, one of my favourites and only made better if it has custard on it!  I love a bit of stodgy, comfort food!  

I did however put a pound on at the scales, I don't usually eat breakfast and I'd had at least two pieces - oops, but if I'm honest, I've not been able to fill myself up this week, I've just wanted to eat.  Even Aryn said last night though, that he's fed up of eating rubbish, he can feel the effect it's having on his body.  That is reason enough for us to get our healthy back, starting today!  I have salmon in the fridge which we'll have for dinner, I'm thinking with rice or couscous, something simple.  I might actually make it early and we'll have a cold salmon salad when we get in from the gym, that sounds nice and light yeah.

It's Friday, I don't have to be anywhere but the gym later, I've just started my physio but had to stop as my lower backs hurting this morning so I'll do it tomorrow instead, I'll still have done 5 times this week which is what I'm supposed to do. 

Part of me wants to do nothing all day, part of me wants to do a clean up job on the house, which part will win we shall see!  He's working away this weekend so I could do it over the weekend, I'll play it by ear, see how I feel. 

Its took me ages to type this because Coco keeps insisting on a bit of love, so I can't get to the keyboard for him!  

Let's leave it there then and I'll give him the fuss he wants!

Have a great day, YAY it's Friday!

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

All about the bread!

Thursday 21st March 2024

I spent some time in the kitchen yesterday using up bread by making a bread pudding which I now have to try and resist!  It works out at 217 calories per 100g which is a decent size, but at least it's healthy-ish as far as a sweet treat is concerned!  It could be frozen too.

 

This is what a 100g slice looks like on a side plate.

Next we made french bread pizza and it was proper tasty, I'd made a puree out of the roasted tomatoes I used up and topped it with some pepperoni slices, spinach and a bit of cheese - lush! 

  

They cost me 600 calories but they were worth it and it was my dinner.  

Busy day today, I'm rested today because I went to bed at half seven, must have fell asleep almost instantly, still had the awake time but managed 2 hours deep sleep and I can tell proves it pays off going to bed early - for me anyway.

I've just had a small bit of bread pudding for breakfast, I'll have leftover chicken for my dinner later, we'll see what the scales have to say in a short while, I need to get back to how I was doing a few weeks ago.  I just don't want to gain, 1/2lb a month loss would do me as long as it's not going up!

We had half hour at the gym last night, I burned 2,421 calories and managed 46 zone minutes so that's an improvement! 

Anyway, here's to a great day, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Midweek already!

Wednesday 20th March 2024 

Yesterday went by in a flash, some days do that don't they!  The huddles went quickly then I nipped home to make my chicken with 40 cloves of garlic which has to be in the oven for 90 minutes and that was gone in a minute, then Aryn was walking through the door from school!  

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic (behappyowls.com) 

Yeah the entire day was over before it started and I was in bed before half eight.  We did watch a bit of tele together Aryn and I, I listened to my audio book the rest of the time whilst doing my jigsaw, I'm thinking I may be able to do my jigsaw under the lean to as it warms up.  

I didn't track though which I really need to start doing because it is what makes the difference.  How easy is it to go into self destruct without even realising!  My lazy food choices are causing me gastric problems but it doesn't stop me doing it because the food is easy and enjoyable - oh and cheap! 

There's too much bread to use up and I don't like waste!  I just need to put something on it that's going to add the fibre so I'm thinking tomatoes on toast for breakfast this morning, or beans on toast for lunch, we shall see.

Right I need to get a grip, I've done my physio which feels like it's getting more difficult, I woke with a crick in my neck this morning and walking like the evolution of man to the bathroom - I've straightened up now though an the cricks gone. 

I'm watching Celeb Big Brother whilst typing, I do love rubbish tv and I make no apologies for it.  

I do need to go get ready for work though, so I'm say have a great day, I'm gonna go make that tomatoes on toast I think, it sounds good.

Mwah, luv ya

love me xx

Thankful Tuesday

Tuesday 19th March 2024

Yesterday I started my day with a treat, I went and had my nails done, decided on yellow, a bright colour to hopefully give me an energy boost :) 

 

What am I thankful for this Tuesday?  Well for starters, that I had the money to have my nails done!  Although it could've probably been spent better elsewhere, I don't care, it's my treat and I enjoy it.  Took me 50+ years to quit biting them and this stops me biting them!  

I'm also thankful for a washing machine to deal with all the piles of washing I did yesterday, and the weather being dry so I was able to hang it all out for the first time this year.  That saved me at least £3 according to google :)

My dinner was leftovers, I'd stripped the bits from the chicken we'd had last week and frozen it in the bit of gravy, the mash, stuffing and gravy was leftovers from our Sunday dinner - I just added peas and yorkshires and it was delicious.  Those yorkies are the cheap ones from Aldi, they are sound with gravy!  

  

After spending all morning writing the huddle notes, doing the washing, having a tidy downstairs, I had a dilemma, whether to do more cleaning or sit on my ass listening to my book whilst doing a new jigsaw - guess which won?

Hell yeah, I'm loving my book, it was great to turn the damn tele off and have a couple of hours doing my jigsaw.  We did go to the gym when Aryn got home, he'd made chocolate cookies at school so I had to try one, I now want to make soft cookies so if anyone has a good recipe let me have a copy please, I'd rather they weren't chocolate ones though I think. 

Normally I can't stay away in the evening but the last two nights I'm not tired - what the hell is that all about, almost 10pm by the time I fell asleep last night, woke up loads and even Fitbit says you had a crap night Bev! 

I'm thinking I'm gonna cook 40 cloves of garlic chicken today, I should be able to fit it in this afternoon, Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic (behappyowls.com) I haven't had it for ages and it's quite a cheap mean as uses thighs, think we'll have it with rice for a change rather than mash. 

I need to get back in the game, tracking etc, my pain has been a bit crap the last few days, that doesn't help my sleeping patterns.  

LINE DRAWN TODAY ___________________________________________________________

Bad habits have snuck back in and I've had heartburn and indigestion again, time to get a grip and realise my sleep pattern is probably being affected by these things too.

I have a batch of tomatoes to use up so I might make pasta sauce later whilst waiting for the chicken, unless anyone has any other ideas for the tomatoes?

Here's to a productive day, be thankful for as many things as you can!

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Windows and lamb dinner - what a life I have :)

Monday 18th March 2024

Well we survived the weekend and this lamb dinner was the food highlight!  It was a £10 leg of lamb from Iceland (thanks to Elle for getting it for me) and it made a dinner for the three of us plus enough left over (525g) to make a lamb madras which has gone in the freezer.

The rest of the weekend was busy up to that dinner!  A busy, enjoyable morning at the huddle, then I helped himself with the windows on the motorhome, he's had them tinted.  Why?  Well it's not a pose thing, by tinting the windows of our motorhome we will enjoy benefits such as increased privacy, temperature comfort, UV protection, and decreased glare.  Because our motorhome is aging it will also give it a fresh look.  Replacing windows costs and fortune, I'm talking thousands of pounds and up to now because the windows are made from polycarbonate it's not been possible, I won't go into the science of it - BUT YES I UNDERSTAND IT BECAUSE I'VE HAD TO WATCH LOTS OF UNINTERESTING YOUTUBE VIDEOS WITH HIM :).  Anyway we found a company that finally does it, but it was in Torquay, so I had the job of finding out where the cover stuff was sourced from.  America, but they also had a distributor in the Netherlands.  I contacted them for more information and it turned out a chap in Aldridge could help us.  Tony has been doing similar for years Shades Solar Films Walsall: House Window Tints Films Walsall and he's now doing this too.  He was so helpful in understanding our needs and urgency and got it done in time for him to go to work yesterday afternoon.  He's done a great job too. 

 

Before on the left, after on the right, you can't even see the curtains anymore and you can still see out from inside the van perfectly.  

Yeah, that was how exciting my weekend was. 

He went at 2 and I'd planned a relaxation afternoon, manicure watching crap on tele and Aryn comes and plonks himself down on the sofa saying do you want to watch DUNE, erm not really no but because he rarely does it, I said "of course" :) 

Anyway, it's Monday and I've got lots to get done but I'm not putting any pressure on myself as to what I manage to complete, I've got all week whilst he's away.

Have a great day, let's stay on track.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me 

Weekend ahead - I will survive!

Saturday 16th March 2024

I'm back on track after my half a pound gain on Thursday, managed a day within my calories Friday enjoying my meals.  Scrambled egg on toast, absolutely delicious and spinach and ricotta tortelloni for dinner after a busy day, something that only take 5 minutes to cook from frozen is always welcome.  The fact they were reduced to 80p when I bought them was an added bonus!

I made a batch of pickled eggs yesterday morning as we love a pickled egg, we also had scrambled egg on toast and to use the other eggs and a tub of cottage cheese that needed using up, I made a crustless quiche which the boys inhaled between them!  

Crustless quiche

6 eggs

1 pot of fat free cottage cheese (I used cheese and chive)

half an onion

1 pepper 

3 slices smoked bacon 

1/2 tsp garlic granules

salt and pepper 

tomatoes to top

Chop and fry bacon and veg (use any veggies you have, use ham instead of bacon) 

whisk together eggs, cottage cheese and seasoning.  Mix everything together and put in an ovenproof dish - I lined mine with baking paper.  top with tomatoes and cook for 40-45 minutes in fan oven at 160.

I also topped it with a bit of grated cheese.

We had a busy day doing stuff to the motorhome but by the time we'd finished, I cooked us a delicious bit of rump (1/2 price offer in M&S) and had it with Cheesy green vegetable bake the boys had curly fries with theirs.  It was a fab bit of beef, I know not everyone likes rare beef but it's the best way to eat it. 

We'd done a lot in the day and it showed by us being in bed by 9!  I was wide awake at 1am though, hot flushes turned into full on sweats and I gave up on trying to get back to sleep, so came down for an hour, went back up around 2.15 and managed to get a few more hours. 

I've done my physio this morning, had the morning off yesterday, it is paying off.  I was able to help him with the motorhome yesterday which involved a lot of standing about that I wouldn't have been able to do a couple of months ago.

My knees playing up now though, you can't win can ya, gotta love an aging body :) 

On that note, I'm off to get ready for work, looking forward to the huddle and the rest of my day.

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

Ready to take the hit on the scales

Thursday 14th March 2024

I never stopped yesterday until we sat down for our dinner about 7!  After a lovely huddle, I got home and made us breakfast, well it was 11 does that still count as breakfast, I guess not, so we had brunch and we had mushrooms because I needed to use them up, then I remembered there was 2 burgers in the freezer so we ended up with a burger and mushrooms sandwich and a slice of plastic cheese, it was must tastier than it sounds :)

Then we spend ages driving around trying to find barge flashing, yes I know what they are NOW!  I also don't care if I ever hear those words again in my life because they're not easy to just find on the internet but now I know where to get them coated in grey if you ever need them lol!  We get them YAY, then as we're driving back, he realises he'll also need screws (eyes to the sky and deep sigh!)  We get them, that takes 2 stops, then we're driving back and he sees a graphics shop that he's passed many times but its usually shut, today it's open so we have to stop there, but they can't help, they do however give him a place to try so we drive there.  This means we are out of the house for almost 3 hours in total I reckon.  

Finally we're home, I make a cuppa when he states, I don't the adapter for the bit that goes in the drill.  Can I point out, whatever it is he usually wants, he either doesn't know what they're called or the have a different name in Ireland, so finding them on google is fun - NOT!  I work out what he wants and go to Screwfix to get it.   I know you want to know, it was a pack of Erbauer Socket Hex Nut Drivers.  

All the time he's doing his work outside, I'm having to remember to tell him what a wonderful job he's done of my lean-to because that's now going to be a daily occurrence so he feels appreciated and I get other jobs done.  🤣

Eventually I'm home, Aryn and I agree we'll do double at the gym Friday because it's too late to go now and I haven't started dinner.  We had chicken and chips for tea, I made coleslaw to use up some red and white cabbage out of the fridge, added some onion, cheese and sultanas and it was lush. 

Hands up, I didn't track at all yesterday, so I will take whatever the scales throws at me and start afresh.   As the quote says, "you are the product of what you do everyday" and I'm happy with me.  Yes I want to lose a few more pounds, I don't want to be skinny, just healthy, I also want to enjoy life, that for me includes delicious food and wine.

I'm not sure what we've got today, there's some veggies to go with something, I just found a pack of tuna steaks in the freezer that have been there a long time so I might use them although they would probably be better hidden in a fish pie or pasta dish.  I'm just fed up of food shopping, it doesn't seem to last and it costs a bloody fortune.  

Anyway, physio done, showered and ready for work, so I better get my ass moving!  Not gonna lie, I didn't want to get up to do my physio cos I'm not sleeping as much as I like too, I'm getting enough but I want more :)

Have a great day, wish me luck on those scales - eek!

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

z

Here's to a back on track day!

Wednesday 13th March 2024

Finally managed a day on track!  I also had 5.8 portions of fruit and veg and did 8527 stepsso I'm pleased with that, persistence pays off hopefully!

This dinner was epic, better than the one we had Sunday to be honest, the beef was leftovers but the spuds were reduced when I nipped to M&S to look for bargains, I was good too, only bought the offers and whoopsies.

I'd 100% buy these again, I didn't use the verde drizzle, but those smashed potatoes were perfection, you get potatoes and you get potatoes and these were really good, usually £3.

Huddles were great as usual, Tuesdays just fly by to be honest so it was bedtime before I knew it.

Only the one huddle this morning, my days started in the usual way, washing up, a load of washing in the machine, feed the cats then physio!  Rock and roll baby. 

Here's to a great day, make it a good one.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

Memories sometimes pour from you eyes

 Tuesday 12th March 2024 

Well I had a busy morning yesterday, put together the huddle chat - WHY IS IT SO HARD TO LOSE WEIGHT! - now there's a topic!  Whilst doing that, I did a few loads of washing, then did the washing up and some tidying up before going to Aldi for a few bits of which they actually didn't have half of what I wanted, but still managed to spend £30!

When I got back, I tidied up the decking and put some cushions out to see how it all looked now he's finished the lean to.  I'm really pleased with it, a little wind proof corner for me and waterproof too of course.  It'll look lovely with some flowers growing up that trellis in the summer.

 

Food wise, I finally had the hot dogs I'd been craving for weeks, had them as my brunch so two meals in one at least!  

791 calories but damn they were good, 2 would've been enough though, or two rolls with 4 hotdogs, let's be honest its the onions that are the best bit.

Dinner time was a weird concoction but it was tasty, I wanted macaroni cheese but knew it wouldn't go down well without meat so I bought pork chops as lamb is way too expensive.  I felt I should put a veg on the plate and found a pepper in the fridge and some plum tomatoes so that'll do, then added garlic bread.  863 calories though, so quite high and I did go over again on my calories by 390, I'll get back on it properly, I'm not off track completely, it's being tracked at least. 

We did go back to the gym, managed 77 zone minutes with that and the work I'd done in the garden, plus almost 8k steps so happy with that.  It's telling me I burned 2416 calories and I consumed a few less than that so here's hoping for a maintain this Thursday because I'm running out of days!

I'm not giving myself a hard time about it, it's a strange month, 3 years since mom passed this month and it feels different because the pain and stress of the difficult years are starting to fade so I'm remembering the wonderful times we had together which of course is making me miss her in a way I haven't since she passed.  Working in the garden reminds me of the wonderful hours we spent out there, I completely changed the living room after she died so there's no memories in the visual of that room but the garden, well, she's everywhere.  Silly things like looking at the summerhouse and thinking of the time she denied breaking the glass whilst throwing her bricks lol.  Even the flowers I'm planning have memories of where they were in the garden when she was here.  Oh I need to stop because my eyes are starting to water. 

Time to get ready for work, here's to a great day, lots of giggles both at work and at home.  I may not have mom in my life anymore but I still have a house full of love and laughter and for that I'm thankful.  

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Looking forward to the weather getting better!

Monday 11th March 2024 

I've had a great weekend, we've been spending time together working in the garden putting together a lean to so I can sit and eat outside, I'm going to tidy it all up this morning.  We were one piece of feather edge short when he had finished the side and the shop was closed by then.  It'll all get finished by the weekend so it's all good. It looks fab and I love it, I can't wait to sit up a table to eat, the house isn't big enough to have one indoors.  I hope it stops raining today so I can clear up the rest of the garden, it didn't stop yesterday! 

The rest of the weekend went by in a blur if I'm honest and for the first time this year, I didn't track yesterday, time to get back on it this morning but I have enjoyed everything I've eaten this weekend.  I went and got myself a Bounty Easter egg on the way home and I then proceeded to eat it over the weekend, Aryn kept hinting that he couldn't resist the charity ones so in the end I used that as an excuse to give them their Easter eggs that I'd hidden and for me to eat mine.  1008 calories in it and it's out of my system now.

Meal wise, we had chicken and pizza Saturday for tea, I only had 2 quarters of the pizza, which was 422 calories and a couple of chicken drumsticks, managed some salad with that too.  Then yesterday we had a roast beef dinner which was perfect after the day he'd had outside in the rain, thankfully undercover though because he'd do the lean to he was just putting the side up.

I've got the day to myself  YAY, he's gone to work, Aryn will be off to school in a bit, yeah I've got stuff to get done, actually a lot of stuff but I'm still gonna find an hour to do a bit of chilling start a new jigsaw maybe, finally finished the Wasjig one which I didn't enjoy, too many bloody santas and I'm all done with Christmas for the rest of the year now! 

I didn't track yesterday but I didn't go mad either, if I'm good the rest of the week, maybe I can get a maintain.  Either way, I'll take it, I had me a few glasses of fizz yesterday for mothers day, she may not be here but she's remembered and missed, I was okay till I'd seem my siblings had posted photos of her, that tipped me over the edge. 

And how easy is it to overindulge if you take your eye off the ball!  Just the odd bit of cheese when you're making a sandwich or a slice of beef as you're dishing up the dinner!  So easy, not to mention a bigger glass of fizz than you would usually have!

Back on it though as the weight loss is making me feel healthier, although my pain was bad Saturday night Sunday, on a positive though I had managed to stand all the way through our huddle chat, that's the first time in a very long time!  I'd done a lot of steps Saturday over 10k which for me is a lot these days so no wonder I was in pain by the end of it, then standing a lot in the garden being a gofer so pain was to be expected.

Well I better get my 'to do' list started, huddle chat to put together, garden to tidy, bit of shopping to get done, think I need to go to B&Q AGAIN! I want to get some plants too but I think it's still a bit early in the season, I'll put that on my 'to do another day' list.  I love the normality of my life right now, it's not boring, we laugh lots and enjoy our days, can't ask for no more - well other than a lottery win! 

Here's to a good day, getting stuff done quickly so I can enjoy doing nice stuff!  

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

What's made you Sm;)e this week?

 Saturday 9th March 2024

No blog from me yesterday but I did have a lovely day.  We had a lie in till 9, never do that but it was so good, that was the reason I didn't blog or do my physio but I've done it this morning instead.  Once up we had eggs on toast for breakfast before continuing with the 'lean to' in the garden which is now complete and very pleased with it I am.  Can't wait to sit outside and eat my lunch.

Speaking of food, Thursday night we had pie they had curly fries, I had butternut squash cooked in my Ninja, I forgot how much I like it.  We also had posh rice pudding with clotted cream and I did laugh when Aryn asked, 'Why have they put pepper on this", I pointed out it was nutmeg :) 

Last night was fakeaway Friday and that went down well too.   The butter chicken sauce from FarmFoods was good but the Spice Tailor one wasn't that good at all which was a first for their range. 

    

Got lots of pot noodles for the food bank today, they were on offer for 80p in the Nisa on Stroud Avenue, when stuff is on offer like this, it's a great time to get more for your money for the food bank.  Hot Dogs are only 70p in Sainsbury's, that's cheaper than B&M which I have to say isn't that cheap when I walked round on Thursday.

It was nice taking a voluntary break from social media yesterday and I'm glad to say I've finally been allowed to reset my password and back up my photos to make sure I don't lose them.  I'm working on backing up the posts, the funny one liners mom has said over time. 

I'm ready for the morning huddle, we've covered self care this week and I've realised my self care is much improved these days.  I read someone had put on Facebook the other day "saw 2 people laughing there head off, and I asked myself, when was the last time I laughed like that??" As I read it I realised, we laugh all the time, this house is full of laughter and then I get to go to work and Elle and I do the same, we're always laughing too, in addition to doing our singing duet which we appreciate our talent but not sure anyone else does lol.

I'm thinking Pizza tonight, oh in case you didn't know I gained a pound on Thursday and looking back I'm not surprised, I went over my limit 5 out of the 7 days I hadn't been to the gym at all and I'd indulged a little more. Now I'm not gonna lie, I've gone over the last two days as well but it's all tracked and under control. He's back at work on Monday so I can get back into a routine. This isn't a race for me, I want to be able to lose the weight but have a little blowout when I fancy one. I want an Easter egg, I never bother about chocolate but for some reason it's on my mind. I have bought them eggs so I might have to pinch one of them or get my own, maybe I can hold out till Easter Sunday.

Right I'm off, here's to a great weekend.

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

It's no fun being a lackey :)

Thursday 7th March 2024

He's building me a lean too!  That was what yesterday was mostly about (eye roll as I type that sentence).  Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna love it when it's done but once I got home from our morning huddle, I started my second job, workman's lackey, "Bev go to Screwfix for me and get .....", "Bev nip over the Hardware shop and get .....", "Bev, can you hold this up for me", "Bev, can you go over the Hardware shop again...", "Bev, put the kettle on".  You get the gist!

So in-between all this, I sat in the kitchen freezing cold cos it was a cold one yesterday and we had both the french doors open, but I did use that time to slice and dice lots of salad and veggies for our dinner which was delicious when we had it! 

We had taco pittas with salad, veggies and couscous.  I would've mixed the veggies into the couscous but gave Aryn the decision and he wanted it separate, the right choice I think because it was nice to have it plain, well I did add a couple of chicken oxos to the water.  We still ate the veggies on the side.

 

This was what I used for the mince, it says 500g of beef mince but I used 2 packs of 400g and it was still tasty, there's some left too, it'll be used later I'm sure.

The few bits I needed was bought from Lidl, which is a little more expensive than Aldi I noticed but I nipped in on way home from huddle.  

It's weigh day today and I'm not feeling it, I haven't had as good a week as I have been having this year.  There's been too much bread and picky food.  I need to reset this morning, take some fruit with me for breakfast and a bottle of water and get back to being 100% healthy and honest.  

As you can see, more negatives than positives on the Nutracheck, but I have still managed a deficit although, I have guestimated some stuff on Nutracheck if I'm being 100% honest!

    

I'll take whatever it throws at me and move forward.  I would love 1/2lb though to give me that stone in 2024 so far. 

Facebook still won't let me change my password but I did find something that says if you try too many times it won't let you do it for 24 hours, so I'm not going to try until tomorrow morning.  I can access it on my phone so it's all good. 

Food today is pie and veg, either with chips if we have some in freezer or mash if not, you can't really have pie with anything else can you, it wouldn't seem right!  Then I think we'll have butter chicken with rice tomorrow, I can add naan for them so I'll save calories and I can make it early so it can be eaten at any time.

I'm ready for my day, slept better because I took painkillers last night as my pain was bad but other than my night sweats and my typical waking I did feel like I slept longer before the first time I woke.

Here's to a great day in huddles, being grateful that I can't be his lackey as I won't be here and hopefully by the weekend, I'll have a shelter I can sit under to enjoy my lunch with a table, that makes me smile! 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x