How is it Monday already?!

Monday 23rd September 2024

Well that went way to quickly, no sooner does he arrive than he has to leave again, thankfully we enjoy the time he is here and this weekend we enjoyed a night out to celebrate Louise's 50th, a surprise party and it was great to see that they had managed to keep it secret.  

As always it involved food and alcohol, I'll be on the midweek diet this week again then!  We had a Chinese takeaway Friday which as as always delicious from Stubby lane Golden Wok, I opted for something different for a change and had the fixed meal for 1 which was too much for one so I didn't eat it all, but it got eaten by the two gannets in the house, 

The beef just melted in your mouth, I'd definitely have that dish again, I can't remember what it was but it had beef, mushrooms and onions in it, lush.  Then Saturday we went for lunch before the party at the Spread Eagle, very good pub grub, I had a burger, he had mixed grill.  Excellent pub grub I have to say.

 

Yesterday I made pie, that went down very well, I cooked it all separately, did the filling on the hob and cooked pastry in oven so the pastry was perfectly crisp, no soggy bottom! 

I've planned a few healthy meals for this week, no alcohol, woke up with a head cold courtesy of himself, he started with his yesterday, apparently two of the chaps he's working with have it too, ones not made it to work (wuss!), I'll take today steady so hopefully it'll go quickly.  

The only thing I have to do today is plan the chat for the week and I'm off to the cinema later to watch Prima Facie, I'm not missing that, I've waited too long to see it, it's a theatre show that's been recorded for cinema.  Other than that, the rest can wait, I shall chill before and have an early night.  Aryn's just said he has a bit of a sore throat too - great joy!

Thankfully there's some tortellini in the fridge which takes no cooking at all, we can have that for dinner. I'm also thinking a chicken fried rice one of the nights and salmon another all food I already have in freezer and cupboards, no shopping being done here.

Right here's to having a good day, paracetamol taken, 2 mugs of tea drank, I'm ready to take it on, thankfully I love all of my life and I don't just live for the weekends because they go way to quickly, but so do the weeks so it'll soon be Friday again.

Enjoy your day, 

Mwah, luv u

Love me x

 

Every day matters

 Thursday 19th September 2024

Well I'm on day 4 of tracking and I do feel better in myself already, I slept better last night, according to Fitbit I had 7hrs 25m of which 2hrs 1m was deep sleep, I don't very often get much more than 1 hour of deep sleep. 

I've enjoyed my meals too, just hope I can survive the weekend, yesterday looked like this; 

 

This was lush, a little high on saturated fat but I wouldn't have it every day!  I do like toast with butter though, its scrumptious.  Mushrooms are so good for you too, they can boost your immune system, lower blood pressure and supply vitamin D among other things.

 
I spotted these in Sainsbury's, love lemon tarts I do and these small little treats hit the spot, only 63 calories. 

Dinner was gammon, mash and courgettes topped with parmesan cheese.  I had a whole pack of beetroot too, it was lush, 200g fig & balsamic beetroot in Sainsbury's, it was reduced to 69p and I really enjoyed it.  It balanced out the salty gammon.

So I've managed 3 days on track, the day before was egg, mushrooms and tomato on a slice of toast, beans and sausage on a jacket for lunch and a ham and mayo sandwich for dinner - need to up my 5 a day intake but I'm getting there. 

I'm not expecting a loss at the scales because I've only done half a week and the weekend was indulgent, but I'm back on track .

Did half hour at the gym too yesterday, although my knee isn't enjoying it at all!  

And no I still haven't used that damn butternut squash, today I will roast some as I have a M&S ready meal that it will go with, that was a yellow sticker one, I found in the freezer yesterday so have defrosted.  

Busy day ahead so I better get ready for it, hopefully Aryn won't break anything today, he pulled the shower rail out of the ceiling yesterday, I don't know how!  

Let's remember why we're doing this, here's a thought for the day; 

 "Every time you eat or drink, you are either feeding disease or fighting it."

I read this yesterday and it did give me something to think about, so today I will think about that before eating. 

Mwah, luv ya

Love me xx

My spine needs me to do this!

 Wednesday 18th September 2024

It may only be two days on track, but I feel so much better!  I also had a moment last night when I realised how much weight I really need to lose and the difference it would make to my joints!  Anita bought 30lb in weight of canned food to the huddle to show us how much weight she'd lost, she was also donating it to the food bank which was of course awesome.  Anyway, I picked up these bags and OUCH, I wasn't impressed at all, so heavy and I felt the effect on my spine instantly, which means if I lost that 30lb, my spine would thank me enormously - NOW I JUST NEED TO KEEP REMEMBERING THAT! 

It really hit home, I have to admit, so if you're in pain and you need to lose weight go and put 7 cans in each carrier bag for every 7lb you want to lose! 

I've eaten basic food the last couple of days but I've enjoyed it, this was my day yesterday, have to say I prefer Aldi beans and sausages to the Sainsbury's one, but there's not a lot in it.  I had full fat mayo on my ham sandwich and it was lush.

    

Today we're gonna have gammon, mash and veg for dinner later, I've still not used that butternut squash so I need to get that into my meal plan, I fancy it roasted with spaghetti, Aryn doesn't like it though so I need to make it a meal for me only, I could have that instead of the mash I guess, mmm thinking out loud, but I'll get something made, maybe I do it with pork mince and then he just doesn't have the butternut squash. 

I'm gonna go to the gym again today, do me half hour on the recumbent bike and try and get my leg muscles building up a little.  

I've slept better the last few nights too, is that a coincidence?  

I resisted temptation yesterday too, Aryn went over the shops and came back with this lot, then offered me some Maltesers!

I said no, despite having fancied them for a few days, I'm just getting rid of that sugar craving, I didn't want to set it off again.  Oh and I didn't pay for them, he did, I don't have crap in the house so he's not tempted, I buy him one treat when I go shopping as he doesn't need the junk there tempting him either.  If he wants it, he can pay for it, trust me, it makes him think twice before he spends his own money :) 

Mushrooms on toast for breakfast today I think, gonna go make it now, so let's have a great day, we can do this, I'm on Christmas countdown and it's only 97 days - ouch!  WE GOT THIS!

Mwah, luv ya

Love me 

Summer's over in this house!

Monday 16th September 2024

Our Welsh summer is over, we had our last night on Saturday staying at Nant-y-moor Park, but it won't be our last as we loved it and we've made friends with the owners so look forward to going back to see them in the future.  We've also had some wonderful nights with Andrew and Amanda, yeah I shall miss driving down on a Saturday. 

Time to get my head into gear and lose a few pounds with Christmas in sight though - 99 days - ouch!  Back to starting my day with eggs or something healthy that'll fill me up, thinking about what I can eat and the actual calories in those meals, not just eating stuff without thought!

I resisted temptation yesterday so that's a start, I didn't stop at the services for a Maccy's and I didn't buy Maltesers when I took Aryn to the shops for his treats.  

I feel like I've caught up on my sleep finally so I'll be going to the gym today to get back into that, need some routine back in my world, I might even go swimming, not done that in ages need to find my goggles, try to get used to putting my head under water, that's my next challenge!  

Now for the really, difficult bit! To remember all this after I've blogged and not be swayed by temptation!  Because temptation is EVERYWHERE, I just looked up and there's a delicious looking pasta dish on the tele, now I fancy that ;-)

I need to think 'weight loss' when I shop, look for foods that will help, I have a butternut squash in the kitchen so I'm going to do something with that today, even if it's only airfryer roasted cubes. 

But first to plan the chat for this weeks huddles, something that'll motivate me as well as our members.

Here's to a great day, here's hoping it's a dry day, I'm not loving the damp days, they make my body hurt.

Mwah, luv ya

Love me xx

Brrrrr.... I'm cold!

Wednesday 11th September 2024

It's getting real cool in the mornings isn't it!  My heating is not going on yet though, I may be on a great, fixed rate with UW but I'm still not putting it on yet, I'll wear my dressing gown and thankfully Aryn doesn't feel the cold anyway!  

I had a full day yesterday, 3 huddles, a trip to Aldi, spent £70 on filling the fridge and the fresh veg drawer, oh and bottled water which I hate buying but it means they drink plenty of water so I buy it and at least there's is the cheapest.  My living room still looks like a bombs hit it but at least all the washing has been done and put away, plus I ironed Aryn's uniform.

Got home a little later than usual as I helped a couple of my members with their bills, they're both now saving money and have them all in one app so it's easier to keep on top of them without worrying about the price increase on energy next month! 

Food wise, I had, avocado and egg on toast with tomatoes for breakfast, the egg white is bigger because I'd used a yoke the day before and kept the white so added it to breakfast.

For lunch I had this M&S mini meal which was only 288 calories, I cooked some savoy to go with it, I wouldn't buy it again, wasn't keen on the gravy, but the rest was okay and it's only small I know but it was great for a lunch, as filling as a sandwich for sure.  They're 3 for £8, I'd bought it on a whoopsie and put it in freezer.

 

For dinner, I had grey peas and no one needs to see a photo of them, they don't look good on a plate do they!  

I indulged in a handful of cheddars, they slid in the trolley in Aldi after having a couple when I picked himself up at the weekend, he had some on his table!  Have to say the Aldi version were as tasty as the real deal and I'm guessing a lot cheaper.

I'm going to move on to today, huddle this morning, gonna have me a trip to the gym I think, I was thinking about swimming but my neck and shoulders have been hurting the last few weeks and I don't want to aggravate them, I still can't put my face in the water, so I'll go in the gym do a little cardio and get back on some light strength training.

 Foodwise, I have leftover cottage pie which we can eat or I'll freeze, depends on whether I fancy cooking because I take Aryn to MMA later plus I have a UW appointment whilst he's there, trying to help as many as possible before October, so let me know if you want me to look at yours. 

I really need to tidy this living room, it's annoying me now!

Here's to a positive day, hope you have one too,

Luv ya,

Love me x 

Nip in the air this morning!

Tuesday 10th September 2024

Well I was a busy girl yesterday getting stuff done, I never got to the shops for food but we didn't starve!  My sis came round for a chat first thing so I never got started on stuff till half ten, actually I did get a couple of loads of washing in the machine by then at least. 

Not gonna lie, I was shattered and struggled to get the enthusiasm to do anything.  I did the bare minimum in the end, spent some time planning our huddle chat, did the washing up, ended up with 5 or 6 loads of washing!  The ironing part will have to wait till later, I'd say tomorrow but Aryn will need a uniform for tomorrow and he'll wear his last clean one today.

I then made my own version of Welsh rarebit (450 calories)  and it was delicious, 2 slices of toast, 40g of cheese, 1 egg yolk, a dash or two of Worcestershire sauces and a big dollop of English mustard.  I enjoyed it so much I wanted it later for tea but I didn't have any cheese left! My fridge is seriously empty, I need to go shopping today, I really do.

Dinner was a quick and easy cottage pie, 5% beef mince, diced onion and carrot, frozen peas, canned sweetcorn, a couple of Oxos and a bit of Bisto, topped with Idahoan mash and a sprinkle of cheese, easily served 4 huge portions for 456 calories.  Such a simple meal to make and hit the spot when you're hungry and tired.  The weather is getting cooler and this is the kind of food I like to eat. 

I managed to fit in a couple of UW appointments, lovely to see people I haven't seen for a long time and have a catch up, even better saving them money.   I had a zoom meeting at 8 and I was in bed just after 9, struggled to fall asleep again but I've had 7h 40m so catching up on the missed sleep of the weekend. 

Busy day again today, I have to confess, I didn't plan the weeks meals but I do have a good idea of what's in the freezer, I'm going to defrost a couple of things for Aryn and have it ready for him to eat when he comes in so he doesn't have to defrost it himself!  I'm not buying anything that we won't eat this week, we will use more of the freezer stuff!  I will save a few pounds...

On that note, I'm off for a shower to wake me up and then I'll be ready for the day ahead :) 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Great weekend had

Monday 9th September 2024

Well that weekend flew and it was wonderful, it won't have helped my weight loss though!  Hey ho, here's to a good day today.  

After a great huddle Saturday morning, Aryn and I drove down to his dad up, then we drove to Cardiff to meet up with his mom and sister (Aryn's nan and aunty).  It was all about the food, alcohol and catching up and it was great.  After checking into the hotel, we met them for lunch, I had Welsh rarebit as I didn't want to be too full before dinner later. 

Our meal at Miller & Carter was delicious as always, although the steak we had the other week at that Cefn Mawby Arms is still the winner.  We had the sharer meal which came with a bottle of wine, we shared that, pacing myself as I knew it was going to be a late one :)

  

We ended up back at the hotel where we ordered two doubles and got charged £21.50!  Aryn couldn't have a drink so we all decided to go to Tesco Express and buy a drink and we all went back to their room and had our own little party.  It ended just after 2am, let's just say me and him shared a bottle of Jack Daniels, his mom and sister were on the vodka and his mom was singing us a few tunes ;) A great evening.

Thankfully I managed to sleep until half nine Sunday morning, before enjoying a lovely shower and heading out for breakfast at Bill's, it's a chain I'd never heard of but their breakfast was delicious and I got to have this plate of scrumptiousness!

Aryn and I headed home after a little walk round and got back about half four, finishing the weekend off with a Chinese takeaway, I just had fried rice and a pancake roll and then just chilled for the rest of the day.  

There's a hell of a lot of washing and housework to be done this morning.  I had too much caffeine this weekend so struggled to fall asleep, I forget diet coke isn't decaf, then I did have a few teas and coffees forgetting to ask for decaf but I've managed 7 hours after my 5 hours the night before, hopefully I'll have an early night tonight.

I got a busy day today, a couple of UW appointments this evening, want to help as many people as possible before the October price increase comes into play!  Need to plan this weeks huddle chat and work my way through the baskets of washing, hoping it won't rain so I can dry it! 

Then there's food!  What to eat today?  I'm still full from the weekend so I'll be keeping it light, fridge is empty but there's still some stuff in freezer to work through. 

 I will try and get to the gym if I have an hour but I'm not gonna force myself, I could burn a shed load of calories cleaning the house! 

106 days to Christmas - oh my days, that means there's only 113 days left in 2024, where has this year gone, ridiculously fast, time flies when you're having a good time I guess :) 

I've just decided I'm actually going to not rush today, I'm going to take some time to plan my meals for the week, give myself a chance at success at the scales going forward, on a positive, I didn't have any alcohol last night :) 

Let's have a great day, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Oh Greggs can serve a sausage!

Friday 6th September 2024

I managed to maintain on the scales again yesterday which shows I'm doing something right!  Yes I want to lose more weight but at least I'm not gaining. 

I also had that Greggs we'd planned on having Sunday but ended up being disappointed in a cafe, that sausage baguette was incredible, I love their sausages and would buy them if I could.  £3.95 for a baguette and a coffee compared to the £15 I paid for breakfast and a coffee last Sunday and I enjoyed it 10 X's more!

I'd like to say it's out of my system but I could eat the same again today!  I won't though because I'm out Saturday with his mom and sister so we'll be having a very nice meal and a lot of alcohol I'm guessing!  We've not seen them since Christmas so looking forward to the catch up.

Well bulk cooking didn't work as I hoped, the curry that served 4 was eaten by Aryn in 2 meals, one of which he also ate a portion of the sweet and sour chicken, so to sum that up he ate 5 meals in 2 sittings!  Yeah gotta love a teenager!  Can't afford to feed them but you gotta love them :) 

I'm not sure what I'll eat today, there's the leftover sweet and sour, could have a bit of that and give him the rest but I'm not sure I fancy it now I've made it.  I'll see if there's anything I can defrost for me.

I've got a lot of ironing to get done today, I've also got a UW appointment to help save someone cash on their bills (if you're looking to make money or save money, give me a shout, I'm happy to show you how it works).  I'm hoping to sit and chill at some point, but it won't be until later, oh yeah I've gotta take him to his MMA class later, so no relaxing in front of the tele tonight.  Hey ho!

I want to make him some chocolate chip cookies, looking for a foolproof recipe, they're his thing at the moment and cost £1.50 for 5, I'm sure I can make them cheaper.

On that note, I'm gonna go get dressed and ready for my appointment, have a bit of breakfast and take on the day - enjoy yours.

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

Bulk cooking day

 Thursday 5th September 2024

I hurt yesterday, but I didn't let it stop me getting stuff done, I took a kg of chicken breast out of the freezer and a pack of diced lamb, both of which were bought reduced in last month or so to save money.  I asked Alexa if the lamb could be cooked from frozen and she said yes so I threw it in the slow cooker with a couple of diced carrots and a sliced onion, 2 oxo cubes and a bit of water and put it on low, then went to work.  

Turned it up to high when I got home as the carrots were hard but once it was cooked, I added a little bisto gravy granules and oh my, it was delicious, I could eat that every week, lamb's a bit expensive though, even when it's reduced!  I served it with leftover mash and it was lush, nom nom. 

  

  

With the chicken I realised I'd nothing to cook it in so I caved and went to the shop, I had to take something back to exchange anyway so bought a jar of Sainsbury's home brand  Stamford Street curry sauce and the extra large jar of Ben's sweet and sour sauce as that worked out cheaper per 100g.  

 

I had to laugh when Aryn came home and said, you been cooking and I said yeah, there's curry or sweet and sour for your dinner and his reply was, 'I'll have both!', yep you can't fill a teenager up!  He ate it with a while packet of egg fried rice!  Then he would've eaten some of the rock cakes I made afterwards.  I'm only jealous because if I ate that, I'd gain weight.

I don't need to cook today now, which is good as it's a busy day.  Because I was waiting for a parcel yesterday so stuck in, I also cleared out all my cupboards in the kitchen, so now I know exactly what I have, not much to be honest as I've been working on getting it used up.  I have one huge drawer that's now completely empty!  

Weigh day for me, I won't hold my breathe, was away and indulged the weekend, not quite been great since, so I'll take whatever they say and work on getting better.  Bread has been a big part of my diet this week, it's cheap ain't it, I had cheese on toast yesterday morning because I'd fancied it for days, it was so good!  Then I had toast the day before, a slice of bread dunked in my slow cooker lamb, there's butter too because Aryn's having it on his toast, the temptation is strong, I have realised it really does contribute to giving me heartburn/indigestion though, you'd think that would stop me eating it wouldn't you.

I need to get ready for work, traffics bad again now they're back at school, so have to leave a little earlier.  Here's to getting through a busy day, I've had a good nights sleep because I went early and I'm still yawning!

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

When you get what you didn't think you wanted!

 Wednesday 4th September 2024

t is strange how sometimes you don't want something that you get and it turns out to be that you did want it but you didn't know it would bring so much joy to your life!  I didn't want a boyfriend but 3 years ago yesterday he knocked my door and as cringy as it sounds, I couldn't be happier, I honestly smile every time I think about him because I've got so many 'moments' that come to mind from the memories we've made so far and we laugh all the time.   I didn't want a child - EVER, but in the December Aryn arrived in my house and he starts exam year today, I may not have given birth to the 6ft 2in giant of a boy but I'm so proud of him and how far he's come over the last few years.  Oh then let's talk about the cats!  I didn't want any more pets, after Alfie died, I'd decided I didn't need the added responsibility but then Aryn wanted a pet, we made him wait but we caved in the end and apart from when Minnie meows to wake me up at stupid o'clock some mornings, they give me cuddles and make me smile every day, yeah my life is pretty damn good.  

I love my life and I love food and red wine, no wonder I'm so content and struggle to lose weight, but I'll keep trying.  Yesterday in my week of not going shopping, I defrosted some pork shoulder chops the night before and yesterday morning threw them in the slow cooker, with the leftover canned tomatoes (about half a can), 10 cherry tomatoes cut in half, 2 medium carrots grated, a red pepper and a couple of spring onions diced.  When I came back from work, I decided to add a couple of oxo cubes, a can of anchovies and the rest of the black olives in the jar in the fridge.  It turned out incredible, served it on spaghetti and Aryn and I inhaled it, there was nothing left on those plates, 788 calories but worth every mouthful.  

  

I'm defrosting a pack of chicken breast and some diced lamb today, gonna see what I can throw together with those, I've just asked Alexa if I can cook lamb from frozen and she said yes so I may try and put it in the slow cooker with my last two oxo's, carrots and onions, I can serve that with mash, then the chicken I'm gonna think about, there's enough for a couple of meals, so maybe use the wraps I have, we've got noodles too.

I had a ham and mustard sandwich last night but I could've honestly have eaten another one straight after!  That'll be why I don't eat sandwiches very often then!

I've gotta go and get ready for work, plus clear up that smell that Coco has just left in the litter tray - WOW, he smells worse than me, although the men in this house would disagree ;) 

Have a great day, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Theme for yesterday was RAIN!

Tuesday 3rd September 2024

Last day of the summer holidays in this house, he's ready to go back tomorrow and I'm off to work today for a busy one.  Got back from Wales yesterday, horrible drive thanks to the rain although it was the first time I drove off the M5 onto the M6 without queueing, that's not happened in the past few months I've been driving that journey and yet I left at 8.30 and thought it would be a busier drive - go figure.

I was tired when I got back so I didn't do anything yesterday other than write the meeting chat for this week and cook some dinner.  Not been 100% with my diet, but not been crazy, I'm back on it this morning though and my mission this week is not to shop for anything, we are going to use what we have in the freezer, so yesterday was chicken, I had a butter basted frozen joint from Aldi, I had mine with mash, veg and gravy, Aryn had his with the same veggies and rice.  I'm doing pork shoulder chops today gonna put them in slow cooker I think and we'll have them with spaghetti of which I have a lot in the cupboard, another meal done.

If I can make it to the weekend without shopping, I'll be chuffed, Aryn can have some school dinner if he needs lunch, all is good and I am skint :) it's not just that, I want to clear out what we have, instead of keep buyng more that gets put on top of the stuff already in there! 

I had tomatoes and a fried egg on toast yesterday when I got back, well it was a toasted cob and hot dog roll lol, but they've not been wasted, I might have the leftover tomatoes with scrambled eggs this morning, simple food, easy to cook but first I need to shower and dress, see how much time I've got left, at least I've done the washing up! 

We had a lovely chilled weekend, we did go to a kids party at the site Sunday where there was a BBQ, I did my best but those sausages were amazing and after our let down breakfast, I was hungry.  

Here's to having a great day today...  We got this, new term, almost August, let's do this.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x