Crazy cats won't let me sleep!

 Saturday 9th December 

I love that quote, thankfully I haven't felt the need to cry in that way in a while, I did get watery eyes with pride for Aryn at his parents evening but I haven't had stress tears in a long time thankfully.  My how times have changed.  The rain can still do one though!

I had a truly, lazy day yesterday, after the drama at the start, I just wanted to relax.  I did go to Aldi for bread but that was my lot.  I watched crap Christmas movies and finished my jigsaw and that was my lot.

For brunch I had all the leftover veggies from my cooked dinner fried up, added some onions and topped with an egg, it was immense, I know it doesn't look it but it was, couldn't decide between brown and red sauce so went for both.

 That kept me going till dinner when we had pizza, I wasn't overly hungry because I'd not done anything, I was really impressed with the M&S pizza, it's bigger than a dinner plate and only 483 calories for half, which I think is a bargain for a pizza.  I only ate 4 slices, I'd cut it in 6, Aryn saw the other two slices off easily on top of his pizza.  

I was in bed and asleep by 7, shattered, woke for a quick chat on phone with himself around half eight but he realised I was half asleep so let me go and then the crazy cats woke me at 3.30am dive bombing the door, I ignored them till around half four when I gave in.  I've not fed them this morning like I usually do when I get up, I will feed them in an hour, try and break the walk Bev up - get fed idea!

I'm looking forward to this morning's huddle, then I have a quiet weekend, I'm gonna clear out the shed.  Oh I wasn't completely lazy yesterday, I sorted the alley, why do men keep broken things?  If it's come off a car because it needed replacing why not throw it away, he'd done same with toilet roll holder he'd replaced - weirdo - well it's gone to the scrap man in the sky :) 

I did a couple of loads of washing too, do not completely lazy, managed 5,534 steps which is alright I think for a lazy day!

Here's to a soaking wet Saturday by the looks, although forecast is saying dry by 11 on my app, we shall see...

I'm gonna slow cook that pork joint today, I bought cobs to go with it.  I could use some in a bit of a sweet and sour dish, then the rest on cobs, it'll be something easy for himself to eat when he gets back late tomorrow night.  Easy food for sure.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Flat tyre and potholes!

Friday 8th December 2023

Well that wasn't the start to the day I expected or wanted!  Last minute decision last night was to go back to Ireland on the ferry today till Sunday, left at half four, cos I woke up earlier than the alarm and he got up with me which was an absolute blessing because ten minutes later, we'd hit a pothole at the top of Kitchen Lane and it's burst the tyre!  After a right mini nightmare he's managed to put the space saver wheel on which obviously isn't ideal but he needs to make the ferry, the whole reason for the trip is to take that car to Ireland! 

I'm sat here hoping he gets there and he doesn't come driving back into the street or call me to say he's broken down.  BLOODY POTHOLES are a nightmare.

I'm in for a quiet weekend anyway so I can be good food and booze wise which will help so close to Christmas, I did want to go for tapa at that place in Featherstone but we can go next Saturday, I'm actually gonna book it so we do go!

Now for the major positive from yesterday, it was Aryn's parents evening, it wasn't until lunchtime that I realised it was face to face not via zoom and thankfully Elle could cover me until I got there.  Anyway he's doing brilliantly all things considered, baring in mind how much school he's missed in the last 3 or 4 years, all his teachers were full of praise for him and his work :) I was so very, very, proud of him to the point that I have tears in my eyes again because I know what he's been through in that time and still is.  We'e agreed that they will send him work when he can't get to school and we came home with a stack 3 inches deep - eek!  He wasn't phased at all, he's happy to do it.  Well happy might be a bit of a stretch, but he'll do it.

What was even better was his dad was back in time to come with me, which shows Aryn that he has the support he needs from both of us.  We all got to have dinner together later whilst having a good chat about it all.  

As for dinner, it was awesome, we had the chilli mince I made the day before, it was amazing if I do say so myself, I've frozen 3 pots of it too and bless him, he'd cooked the spaghetti, so it was ready the minute I walked in the house.   Yeah he cooked an entire 500g pack but you know what, they ate nearly all of it but a handful.  Now I need to work out which of the chilli sauces we used from the advent calendar!  I think it was either Jalapeno or Naga Jolokia because when I tried to see the tiny writing I thought it said Japan, so close enough, we also used a Mexican one.  It was lush either way.

I am as I type, stalking my boyfriend online, yep I've got his find a phone thing logged in on my laptop from when he lost his the other week, so I can see he's moving and the cars okay, is that sad?  I just feel better knowing he's okay, I know he's pee'd off but as long as he's safe, he's gonna be even more pee'd off when he realises he left his fags on the back of the loo!

I'm now sat watching last night's I'm a Celeb and I have to say I think everyone needs to be more 'Sam', he's so enthusiasm about life it's wonderful.  I've never really avidly watched the programme but this year I'm really enjoying it and there isn't anyone I don't like in there now to be fair, even Farage isn't annoying me whatever his politics.  I'm a fan of Tony too, I didn't know who he was before now but for a boxer, he has a really lovely disposition and he's been patient with Sam who can be a bit full on, let's be honest. 

Well I've not had much more than 4 hours sleep so I'm not doing a fat lot today, I have a joint of pork, I think it's shoulder, that's use by tomorrow, I might look for a recipe rather than just doing the slow cooker thing, especially as himself ain't here now so we won't need cobs tonight or I could freeze it.  I've got pizzas too, I'd planned for 3 people all weekend not two.

Well here's hoping the rest of the day is calmer than the start, 

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Busy day ahead...

Thursday 7th December 2023

Being a grown up sucks doesn't it sometimes, paying the bills, having to think before you spend do all the other adulting stuff but it's better than the alternative isn't it!  

I had a lovely day yesterday, after our huddle, I took myself off to the McArtherGlen outlet to treat myself and I was so pleased I got me a bargain, I really wanted a big, warm, long padded coat but I didn't want to spend a crazy amount, a) because I don't like to and b) because I can't afford too so I was thrilled when I went in Joules and there was one on the sale rail, exactly like I wanted, slightly bigger than I probably needed but hey it means I can wear big sweatshirts underneath if needed :) reduced from £169 to £49 bargain!  Showerproof too - bonus!  The other thing I wanted was a big baggy cardigan and I found one of them in TK Maxx for £25.  

I've fancied a burger for weeks now, I looked at the Five Guys at the outlet but I wasn't paying over a tenner for a cheeseburger - behave!  Next door to TK Maxx is a Burger King and when I looked on the app it was Whopper Wednesday, £1.99 for a Whopper so I treated myself to one of them, no fries or drink as I was going home straight after so could have a cuppa when I got home and there's water in the car :) It was amazing, hands down the best burger I've had in a long time and I've always been a Maccy's girl but I'd think twice in future and I think BK would win! 601 calories so defo a treat meal!

a thing of beauty!

Yeah getting away from it all for a few hours made a big difference for sure to my mood but I also started a period again which could explain my mood too maybe!  I've gone 11 days in-between this time so it's getting longer, but still rubbish to say I hadn't had one for a few years before starting the HRT patches. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon cooking, made a pot of beef mince 'thing' put in canned tomatoes, diced carrots, onions, chorizo, sun dried tomatoes, 5 fresh tomatoes (they needed using), green beans, stock cubes, Henderson's sauce, basically everything I wanted using up to add some flavour but we still agreed it needed something, it was a bit bland so I suggested a bit of chilli sauce (I'm a wuss with chilli but I was prepared to be brave, that or they can eat it and I'll have something else!)  Aryn has a Chilli Sauce advent calendar so he suggested we use some of that, the first sachet didn't do much but the second one WOW, I made the mistake of tasting a bit from the sachet then he did and then we drank milk, but it made the mince taste good.  There's plenty for tea tonight and I'll freeze the rest in sachets for Aryn to have when I'm not here. 

I also treated us to a M&S Rotisserie chicken I adore these chickens, £9, I usually only have them when they're in a meal deal but I really fancied a chicken dinner and they are amazing, it didn't disappoint.  

I went full on greedy at teatime, good job I didn't have any breakfast ay, but the parsnips are great at the moment, lots of veggies (carrots, kale, cauliflower, green beans), potatoes and yorkies, it was so good. 

I was asleep by half past seven which is a good thing because the crazy cats were throwing themselves up my wall at 4am.  I managed 8,975 steps which is good for me, especially as I'm not in loads of pain from doing it, I didn't have to sit down once whilst shopping which is great, I even managed to stand to have a chat with a lovely lady I haven't seen in years, it was so good to see her, proper made my day, some people just shine and bring joy to the world and she is one of those people. 

Yesterday was a good day and today will be another good day because I will make it so, I am doing my best to eat well, I know we've got a healthy dinner planned, will have it with spaghetti, well I think it's a pack of linguine I have in the cupboard that needs using it was use by November but it won't know I'm a week late will it!  

Can you believe we are already 7 days into December, that's gone so fast and we know the next few weeks will go quickly too.  Here's to making the most of them...

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me 

WInner winner, plus a chicken dinner....

Wednesday 6th December 2023 

I was right, the huddles got my mood back on track yesterday, my mood improved massively, I was still grumpy but with a smile on my face if that makes any sense at all.  

Food wise we had the cheesy mash from the day before with Aldi fish burger that had been in the freezer forever, I'm guessing a year easily - they were fine.  I cooked the veggies a little different to try and get Aryn to enjoy them more, dry fried a bit of chorizo and after steaming the kale a little I fried it with the chorizo so it picked up the oil from it then threw in the cooked green beans at the end and fried it all up together.  He did comment asking if I'd cooked them differently because he liked them a lot, so that's a win. 

The day got better when I won a £25 voucher to the tapas restaurant in Featherstone.  

  

I was thrilled as I've wanted to return to UK Pintoresco Facebook since the first time we went, himself wasn't with us that time which is why I want to go back and they made the best meatball sauce I've ever had in my life!  I'd love to get there this weekend, we shall see as we have lots of driving around to do.

I did overreact and throw my toys out of the pram on the afternoon over the toilet and no toilet roll upstairs, I mean apparently they must be really heavy as no one else ever seems to be able to carry a roll upstairs!  Me dramatic - NEVER!

I wasn't hungry when I got back from work so I had a slice of bread and a packet of crisps and I was happy with that.

I'm thinking about hiding out somewhere today....  Aryn's still off school and I'm missing having a bit of quiet time to myself at lunchtime, I don't normally come home and cook that early but I am doing because he's here, so I might go hide out with my book somewhere or go to the McArthurGlen outlet as I've been trying to get there for a browse round for a while, a little bit of escapism.

Yeah, that sounds like a plan, it's as close to running away as I'm going to get!

I forgot to take the beef mince out the freezer last night so I've taken it out this morning, it'll do for tomorrow.  I fancy a chicken dinner with veggies and gravy, mmm yeah, will pick on up when I'm out.

I'm gonna have a look through the recipe cards from gousto and hello fresh meals and see if there's anything I can cook by getting the ingredients for it from the shops.

Right let's have a great day whatever I decide to do, I've had good sleep, almost 8 hours, I've woken up feeling good and I'm ready to get my mojo back, take some control back, let's be honest if we eat better, we feel better straight away don't we!  

Here's to eating and feeling better!

Mwah, luv ya

Love me x

Missing my Umph!

Tuesday 5th December 2023

Missing - energy and enthusiasm?  If anyone finds, please return to me!  I have a slight case of the winter blues, nothing serious, just don't wanna do much, no passion to cook, just doing what I have to and snuggling on the sofa.  

On a positive note, I did force myself to go to the shop and cook a dinner, which was actually lush, you can't beat a pork loin steak, even if they're way thinner than they were once upon a time, still a bargain compared to other meat, £2.69 for 4 from Aldi.  The leftover mash, I've made into a cheese and potato pie for today, so I'm not too bad I guess, I just didn't go to the gym.  I think part of the reason for that was fear of pain if I'm honest, my knees been really bad this last week.

I'm hoping going to work today will bring my spark back, give me a bit of enthusiasm, it always does.  I'm lucky to enjoy my work, have a great work wife and the best members even if some of them have gone awol at the minute!  I know they're probably feeling a little like me or they've got so much going on it's an easy excuse to stay away but trust me, that's not gonna help.  We have to force ourselves to keep going to stop us spiralling out of control.

I actually feel better this morning, I've had my shower, done the washing up, that's more than I wanted to do yesterday when I got up :)

We can't always be motivated and enthusiastic which is why we need to develop habits to help us keep healthy.  If all you have in the kitchen is healthy food, that's all you can eat!  Having said that my fridge is full of cheese and I managed to resist it yesterday, I didn't overeat really, I had an egg sandwich for breakfast, shared a bag of chips at lunchtime (research for the meeting this week - all we become apparent in the huddle) and that dinner for tea, so no snacking and no wine either.  

Speaking of wine, I may be giving up red wine in the new year as this happened when I did a search on Sainsbury's website yesterday for my Beyerskloof Pinotage "0 results"

Now if this means they've stopped selling it, I probably wouldn't look for a replacement.  That doesn't mean I'd give up drinking but it would mean I wouldn't be tempted to have a glass every day because I like that wine, I'm not so fussed about other red wine as I've become so used to that one. 

On that note, I need to get ready for work, I'm sat here catching up on I'm a Celeb as I do my blog so listening more than watching.  If you're watching it, isn't it interesting how peoples real personalities come out over time.  I'd be telling Fred to do one if I was Josie!  I wasn't keen on his attitude over doing the task either.

Here's to adding some umph to Tuesday!

Mwah, luv ya 

love me x

Relaxed weekend

Monday 4th December 2023

We managed to get Aryn out for a couple of hours to celebrate his birthday and he had a burger which looked amazing to be honest!  I've been fancying a burger for a few weeks now so I'll have one this week.  We opted for the 28oz Cote de boeuf sharing experience and we weren't disappointed, absolutely delicious.  None of us had starters or desserts as the meal was more than enough.  

Now those calories are for what comes on the plate I'm assuming because all the additions have different calories.  I opted for sauteed greens and he chose fries, which I had some of.  I adore their beef dripping sauce and it's more than worth 126 calories, I'd buy that by the jar tbh.  We choose the bacon and honey mustard and the garlic may & grana padano wedges but didn't eat them all.  Mine was under 2,000 calories, I drove but had wine when I got home see how easy it is to whack up those calories, starters and dessert would've doubled those calories.  Worth it as a treat though!

 

After waking up to snow yesterday, we closed the door and curtains and snuggled down for the day enjoying some good tv.  This weekend we've enjoyed a few films Poster Man, Above the Clouds and In the Land of Saints and Sinners, then we started a series on Netflix called Obliterated which we are really enjoying, the second half we can watch next weekend.  The thing with tv is you like what you like and I enjoy a variety of stuff from serious to damn right puerile, just because I enjoy it, I don't expect others too, so if you don't like it, that's okay, turn it off, don't be commenting on my Facebook posts saying 'It's shit' like someone did last night, once again if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all, or at best be a little more constructive in your comments! 

Yeah we had a very chilled weekend, leftover stew was our dinner so I didn't even have to cook, I made bacon sarnies for breakfast and that was me done.  I did do the washing up so the kitchen isn't a mess this morning which is great news. 

I'm so glad the snow has gone, long live the rain I say, unless I don't have to go anywhere at all, I'm not a snow fan at all.  

What to eat this week?  I need to really think about fibre content but also cost, there's a lot of leftover potatoes in the fridge so I'm gonna make a dirty cheese and potato pie I think, basically leave the skins on for added fibre, normally I'd have it with baked beans but Aryn had beans yesterday, what else do you serve it with? Fish fingers maybe and a bit of salad, make the potato pie part of the dish rather than the main bit.  Ooo I have a toad in the hole in the freezer that would work with some greens too.

It's too early to be thinking food I guess isn't it, nah it's never too early for thinking about food :) 

I'm gonna catch up on I'm a celeb and enjoy another cuppa, then I'll start my day, it's not even 6am yet and I've been up over an hour already, gotta love Monday mornings!

Here's to a marvelous Monday and a wonderful week, 3 weeks today it'll be Christmas! YAY!

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me xx

Gotta love a stew in this weather.

Friday 2nd December 2023

Yesterday was a good day, my body wasn't hurting so I managed to give the bathrooms a deep clean and a general tidy throughout, then I cooked a stew.  This is how I do it, very simply 5 ingredients, beef, potatoes cut into dice size pieces, carrots, onions and oxos.  I made a very large pan, there's 1.5kg of beef there, and I left if stewing on very, very low on the stove for hours without the lid so it thickens naturally. Delicious!  Bev's stew

  

   

 

Himself got home early so we dropped his car off for a service, then nipped over the road for a few drinks, bed by ten though after a big bowl of stew and a slice of bread and butter, nom nom.

Oh I did watch the new Christmas movie on Amazon Prime, Candy Cane Lane with Eddie Murphy, I enjoyed it and it was good to have a couple of hours peace and quiet after all the cleaning and cooking.

Looking forward to this mornings huddle, let's have a great day.

Mwah, luv ya 

love me x

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 Friday 1st December 2023 

Yay, it's the FINAL COUNTDOWN, are you singing that now :) and if you ain't you should be, so here's the video!

Anyway, I managed to get ten minutes with Aryn yesterday morning before going to work so he could open his presents, he was chuffed with them which made my day as teenage boys are not easy to buy for.  

He loved his cheese cake lolly's from The Cheesecake Cellar although he said he couldn't eat more than one at a time.  I'd like to try her cheesecake without the chocolate, might order one another day as a treat. 

  

It's good to support local businesses isn't it!

Minnie is being a little minx this morning, in a very playful mood, she's rolling about on the table in front of me and swiping and biting me but not with any passion, it's all playful unlike if Coco swipes or bites you know it was meant to hurt ya!

The only other thing he wanted was KFC chicken with gravy and sadly the KFC people messed that up because they didn't put the lid on the gravy properly and then put it underneath or to the side of the chicken in the bag and this happened!

 

When I lifted it out of the car, it just went everywhere, such a shame because the chips we managed to salvage were the best chips we've ever had from KFC.  I tried the tower for you, it was okay, I wouldn't want it again.  I gave Aryn a bit as he doesn't like stuffing but he said it didn't taste like stuffing and he said it as nice. 

I'm a chicken on the bone kind of girl, chicken burgers just don't really do it for me and trust me it didn't look anything like that photo in reality but at least the gravy hadn't got on that!

The rest of my day was filled with happy huddles, our members are hanging in their, they will not cave before Christmas, you can enjoy the run up without going crazy and gaining a stone!

I never got round to making the stew so will do it this morning, it'll start all afternoon so will be okay later.  

I'm so ready for the Christmas break, putting the tree up, cooking the dinner  with a glass of fizz (I don't stress over that, it's just a roast dinner!), all chilling and spending time together - yeah I can't wait. 

But until that arrives, I'll spend today cleaning the kitchen, the hob and work top is a mess, there's a mountain of washing up, then I can cook and make more mess, followed by tidying the rest of the house and doing the washing.  It's like Groundhog day isn't it life - I love it. 

Right legs get this day started, well I'll watch the rest of I'm a celeb first with another cuppa, then I'll start.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Friday 1st December 2023 

Yay, it's the FINAL COUNTDOWN, are you singing that now :) and if you ain't you should be, so here's the video!

Anyway, I managed to get ten minutes with Aryn yesterday morning before going to work so he could open his presents, he was chuffed with them which made my day as teenage boys are not easy to buy for.  

He loved his cheese cake lolly's from The Cheesecake Cellar although he said he couldn't eat more than one at a time.  I'd like to try her cheesecake without the chocolate, might order one another day as a treat. 

  

It's good to support local businesses isn't it!

Minnie is being a little minx this morning, in a very playful mood, she's rolling about on the table in front of me and swiping and biting me but not with any passion, it's all playful unlike if Coco swipes or bites you know it was meant to hurt ya!

The only other thing he wanted was KFC chicken with gravy and sadly the KFC people messed that up because they didn't put the lid on the gravy properly and then put it underneath or to the side of the chicken in the bag and this happened!

 

When I lifted it out of the car, it just went everywhere, such a shame because the chips we managed to salvage were the best chips we've ever had from KFC.  I tried the tower for you, it was okay, I wouldn't want it again.  I gave Aryn a bit as he doesn't like stuffing but he said it didn't taste like stuffing and he said it as nice. 

I'm a chicken on the bone kind of girl, chicken burgers just don't really do it for me and trust me it didn't look anything like that photo in reality but at least the gravy hadn't got on that!

The rest of my day was filled with happy huddles, our members are hanging in their, they will not cave before Christmas, you can enjoy the run up without going crazy and gaining a stone!

I never got round to making the stew so will do it this morning, it'll start all afternoon so will be okay later.  

I'm so ready for the Christmas break, putting the tree up, cooking the dinner  with a glass of fizz (I don't stress over that, it's just a roast dinner!), all chilling and spending time together - yeah I can't wait. 

But until that arrives, I'll spend today cleaning the kitchen, the hob and work top is a mess, there's a mountain of washing up, then I can cook and make more mess, followed by tidying the rest of the house and doing the washing.  It's like Groundhog day isn't it life - I love it. 

Right legs get this day started, well I'll watch the rest of I'm a celeb first with another cuppa, then I'll start.

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me x

Let's make Thursday tremendous...

Thursday 30th November 2023

 up

Well the Christmas cat tree arrived and they love it, both have had a good scratch and hopefully it'll keep em away from the sofa for the foreseeable!

I enjoyed mushrooms on toast for breakfast yesterday, I'm loving toast at the minute especially as it's with real butter, you can't beat a bit of Kerrygold especially as it was on offer.  

After a lovely huddle, I went and did a food shop, ouch is all I can say there, Aldi and Sainsbury's and an empty cashback card an hour later!  I did treat us to a Sainsbury's meal deal though and it was delicious, steak and chips, we had it with seaweed and I had peas too.  There was a sticky toffee pudding and a  bottle of prosecco too but they are still in the fridge, the boys can eat the pudding at the weekend.  

I'd treated myself to some cheese and had a small plate for my tea, the cranberry wensleydale wasn't as good as the small one I'd picked up in M&S last week, I must pick a bit up before Christmas. 

That was my day really, bit of tele, oh I did go and pick Aryn's birthday 'cake' for today I'll share that photo later when I take it, it's hiding in the outside fridge at the moment, I've just put his gifts out, not much as he wanted cash!  15 today, it's madness, two years since I met this wonderful young man and he's grown a foot and now eats us out of house and home as they say!  We went to Ireland for his birthday and he came back with us and we've never regretted it for a moment.  

As you can see from the photo, himself treats the living room like a tool shed with his drill case on the side, I reckon there's enough parts in here to build a car ;) oh and that's a rug standing up the wall for the house in Ireland.  There's lots of things all round the house that are to go to Ireland so it's a bit of a mess, we don't have the space to store it.

I've got the makings of a stew for tomorrow, if I cook it this afternoon it'll be delicious by tomorrow.  Not sure what Aryn will want for his birthday dinner, he's still not well enough for school but we're getting there.  I've got some bellydraft in the fridge but if he wants takeaway pizza I could pick that up on my way home from huddle later.  

Let's have a great day, I'm ready for it are you!

Mwah, luv ya 

Love me c