Cauliflower rice

It's hot. Thankfully there's a lovely coastal breeze here. Sadly this means I get sunburned and don't notice.

Breakfast was scrambled egg on toast and some fruit. After work I stayed to use the computer for some audio typing, which means lunch was an orange :(

After picking up Nate from school I had that leftover salmon, a yogurt and a banana. Haha. A mixed bag! Then I was potting out my plants. I have 2 aubergine plants, two pepper plants, some sort of pea my son came home with, mint and a cape gooseberry. I also potted my succulents and cacti together to make a nice display. I was able to start pinching out my fushia and saw my strawberries are going nuts and my fruit trees are crazy too! It was lovely pottering about.

Dinner was more exciting. Chicken tikka marsala bites, chopped salad and pilau cauliflower rice. It was my first time with cauliflower rice, but any excuse to play with my cute mini chopper thing! Despite it smelling like fart when it was cooking it was really nice, especially with the lemon juice from the salad soaking in.

I've used my healthy extra B and half a syn so far. I have a feeling I'll be eating everything tonight!

What the Crow!

I sometimes think I live in a sitcom. A crow stole the chicken breast I was defrosting for lunch. Stupid crow. I was going to have Thai chicken salad for lunch. Instead I had a yogurt, a banana, an apple, a packet of skips (3.5 syns) and a jelly (0.5 syns). I was a bit annoyed, I didn't have anything as a backup. Dinner was awesome though as the crow didn't take my salmon!

Potatoes, onions, cherry tomatoes, mange tous, salmon, dill and lemon. Really simple and we have salmon leftover, although I'm still hungry so it might not be left over for long! My fillets are a bit irregular because I snapped up a half price salmon and filleted it myself, they weigh roughly the same though.

I might be so hungry, because (other than my disappointing lunch) I've been so busy today. I put away 4 baskets of washing and put another set on and hung it out. I mowed the lawn and strimmed all the edges, I tidied and vacuumed the lounge and finished my audio typing, then I upped my swimming to 1500m. I could see a big difference in my fitness in the water and my push off is stronger. Given I started the month doing 1000m I think I've come really far in a short period of time. I do love swimming though. 

I've just ordered a set of light dumbbells to increase my upper body strength, which is pretty weak. I'm planning on using the guide in the July slimming world magazine. My activity should read:

Monday - weights

Tuesday -rest

Wednesday - swimming

Thursday - rest

Friday - cricket

Saturday - swimming with my son

Sunday - rest

It's been a build up, and the cricket is only on for 8 weeks. When it ends I might replace it with weights, I don't know yet. 

Anyway, that's about it. My son likes to drive me mad, I'm staying on plan, even when a bird steals my lunch, and my activity is increasing. 

I'll be going to London in a few weeks. I know a lot of people will be cancelling plans after what happened in Manchester, but I can only say terrorism is exactly that. Terror. The desire is to stop people living their lives. And as one person what I can do is keep living my life and keep being kind to others.

Catching up

Well! That was a bit of a break from me. I have to be careful of doing too much and when I started feeling really tired and cold and weak I scaled back things that I didn't need to do until I felt better, which thankfully was just a few days.

Anyway, I have still been on plan during this time. I ended up having to play cricket on Friday with my son's club: first session and he was nervous. And I took him swimming on Saturday still. I bumped into the swimming teacher and got to thank her, which was nice. Today I was walking back and forth from work and my bosses house for a meeting, then she was having trouble with her computer. Funnily on my way a slow worm wrapped himself round my foot. Barmy thing, they're usually scared of people.

In to food I've had some lovely meals!

Harissa chicken!

(Tinned) salmon salad

Mac n cheese using my healthy extra A

Pulled pork and smokey sauce, sumac sweet potato fries and salad using my healthy extra B

Chicken, mango and chilli salad. This was lunch today and was lush. Thankfully I remembered to hold the chilli in place with a fork so no chilli fingers! 

Lastly, it was my weigh in today. 2.5lbs down from last week, 7.5lbs in total. Not bad for 3 weeks! 

Thank You

Wednesday is my day off. Today I enjoyed a glamorous stay at the tip.... Sorry, the recycling centre. And the high class girl that I am I treated myself to some tip plates and bowls. They're really pretty, £1 for the lot, I got a free copper mug tree and the man carried them to my car. I love the tip.

Then much food shopping.

Then lunch (I'll talk food in a moment)

Then swimming. Swimming had two extremely splashy men. One was doing some sort of backwards butterfly/backstroke/fuck knows thing. Personally I think he was just seeing how much room take up and how big splashes he could make. Anyway, towards the end of my session kiddies arrive for swimming lessons. One of the teachers was their and we were having a giggle about how like my boy one of the boys was - anything to dodge doing what he was supposed to. I then say "hmm, I'm supposed to do 10 more lengths, but I don't think I have the time to do all 10." She said, "sure you do. Who's dodging now?!" I did my last 10. Unfortunately she was teaching at this point, but I know I'll see her next week to say thanks. Thanks for giving me that little prod to not short-change myself. I'd gotten in saying I was going to do 50 lengths and that was what I did, not 45. It felt good doing the 50 I had set myself. It was only 50 because I was 10 minutes late. I'm aiming to do 56 next week. You never know, I'll be back doing a mile soon enough.

And I was on time to pick up the boy from his after school club, which then ran on late 😂. Home for a snack for the boy and off to the Drs. Fun times, after having gone to an out of the way community hospital to wait an hour or so to see a Dr, who said my son had a blocked eustachian tube, but he wasn't going to prescribe antibiotics, we are now (about 6) weeks later and going to the Dr because he's still deaf in one ear and coughing and our Dr, who I know doesn't like to prescribe antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, listens to his chest and says, "yes, he needs antibiotics." Fucksake. My boy is overjoyed. Medicine is never a trouble to get down him!

So that's my day off! Add in cleaning and laundry too of course. Roll on work tomorrow!

Anyway, on to the food. I made a full English slimming world style for my boy and I. Beans, onions, tomato, mushrooms, bacon, egg, sausages (11 syns for 2) and two cups of tea (1 syn for milk) for breakfast. It was lovely, and certainly set me up for the day.

 Lunch was jacket potato and yet more beans and a banana. It was still raining and I couldn't be bothered with salad so went fruity instead.

Dinner was creamy veg pasta. This bad boy was stuffed with superfree: cherry tomatoes, onion, spinach, red pepper, courgette, mushroom, mange tous; and pasta and a healthy extra A of garlic and herb Philly.

I may struggle to take photos before stuffing my face....... 

I have my healthy extra B to use still, which might be going on hifi light bars. I've used 12 syns so far, I might use more on something sweet. We shall see. I have half a tonne of food in either way!

Washi hole

Well! Last night I made a hot water bottle, used my syns on chocolate and had an early night. I used chocolatey syns today too and I'll be having another early night. I'll be dog sitting (walking) and swimming tomorrow as well as a tip run so I want to be well rested and to get up early to have a slimming world "fry up". On to today!

Bacon and egg roll (healthy extra B plus one syn) followed by a banana!

This is a Hodge podge! Haha, loads of superfree, orzo, chicken and mini meatballs made from yesterday's burger mince.

Chicken pilaf and broccoli on the side. Quick, tasty and syn free. First time my son's actually eaten the spinach without moaning about it. He was shouting "I hate slimming world" Down the stairs beforehand though. Ahaha. Daft kid, as dinners are mostly the same as previous slimming world anyway.

Look what came in the post today! Washi tape! I do bullet journalling, but for my home one I do like a bit of decoration! Fell down the washi hole! 

Right. That's it from me tonight. I want to get a bit of sewing done before bed. Hoping to finish my last block this week, sew the 3 blocks together next week and then start quilting and hopefully have it done in time to enter in the summer show.

Horrible Hormones

Boo period! I have cramps still. I'm freezing. It's grey and raining. I want to eat all the chocolate and sleep.

It will be short lived.

I'll hunt out more paracetamol and a hot water bottle. I'll do some more sewing and might have something to show you. And I will use my syns.

Week Two Weigh In

Well, I hopped on the scales to see I was down another lb. So I am 5lbs down so far. My period arrived today too, what joy. I know the menstrual cycle can mess with your weight, add in I'm increasing my exercise and I am not fretting that I should have lost more. I feel fitter already and I'm thinking about introducing a home exercise routine too, but I don't want to do too much too soon.

On to food! I've split my healthy extra A between milk and cheese, mostly because I never use enough of either.

Fruit and yogurt and a cuppa for breakfast. I took grapes to work. 

Beasty salad for lunch! Kippers, egg, rocket, mixed lettuce, roasted red pepper, beetroot, cucumber, spring onion, tomatoes, melon, radishes.

And dinner! More salad! Slimming world chips and a cheeseburger, using that other bit of my healthy extra A, my healthy extra B plus 1 syn on the bread roll and 2 syns on the mayonnaise.

I'm hungry again already! I have another burger patty left to cook and I have lots of fruit and yogurt and a couple of hardboiled eggs in the fridge so there's plenty around. Unfortunately, aforementioned period makes me a food bin.