So, Slimming World.....

I've just been to my week 2 weigh in and recorded a second 2.5lb drop.  So a total of 5 lbs in all. Unspectacular given how heavy I am and how, if had followed the regime properly, I could have dropped that and more in the first week but, hey, 5lbs is 5lbs.

And I'm almost back down to my last starting weight - oh for God's sake, I'm getting heavier.  But you can only start where you are now, not where you were several months or even years ago (how good would that be??) so that is my reality.

I have been battling a cough/cold too and still managing to do some exercise so all is not lost..   Today has been a nice day though.  I took a day off and headed over to my parents' place near Lincoln for the day.  I took the dogs and we drove with the car roof down and made a stop in Newark to buy a Two Together railcard for me and Rich for our upcoming trips to Manchester and London.

Then to Mum and Dad's which was bathed in glorious sunshine.  Dad was all excited when I arrived as he'd just seen the 2 Lancasters and 4 Spitfires and Hurricanes flying over his house!  He was sad that I had missed it but Rich and I had already seen them over Ladybower Reservoir on Sunday so it was no problem.

I had big plans for the day - was going to start clearing Mum's bedroom and getting surplus clothes together for charity (again) but it was just too nice. The dogs spent the whole day pootling round the garden and Mum, Dad and I just chatted and watched the gardener scything down weeds.  How lazy but how wonderful.

The gardener has been a real find for Dad - he's been coming for 6 or so weeks now and nearly all the beds are cleared and tidy.  Now there are huge gaps so we're getting excited about a re-planting programme.  I think I've persuaded Dad to hire a designer to draw up a proper planting plan.  Seeing as we're virtually starting from scratch in some places a really good design for the beds would be fabbie. (Then I can steal it for mine!!)

I did eventually get off my backside to cook a scrummy lunch for the 3 of us.  Dad likes to be cooked for as he gets bored of his own cooking so I always make an effort even if I don't really fancy pork chops and roasties on a Tuesday lunchtime(just before SW weigh in!).

To counteract the pork chops and roasties, I took the dogs for a short run and then off we went - to SW for a rapid weigh in and then home, not stopping for class - yay!  I normally do but it's nice to have a good excuse to weigh and run (dogs in car)

Tomorrow is going to be another nice day (I hope).  I'm working from home in the morning and then we're off to Manchester for the Capital One cup tie against Manchester City.  Boozing with the lads - double yay!!

Going well (touch wood)

I thought that my blog was lacking a bit of colour so here are a few pics from our long weekend in Brighton at the beginning of August.  We went for the first match of the season against Brighton but made a weekend of it staying with some old pals of my family from our time in Nigeria.

The Sunday morning we were there was when the tail end of that hurricane, Bertha I think, hit the UK.  We were staying in a flat on the seafront and thought it was going to take off it was so windy!  So, we decided that some indoor culture would be in order once we managed to drag ourselves out of bed and where better than the Royal Pavilion?

It was fascinating.  A bit mad and slightly seedy from the outside and even more insane inside but the tour was informative and interesting and suddenly it all made sense.  The banqueting room was dazzling and apparently it is a lot quieter and calmer than in was in its heyday.  But the kitchen was the room which impressed me the most - so tall and airy, almost modern.  Surrounded by shelf after shelf of numbered, perfectly polished original copper pans, bowls, molds, ladles, measures and implements of every shape and size, all stamped with the royal seal and custom made for that very kitchen.

We enjoyed a glorious cream tea in the Pavilion itself, next to an open window through which we could hear a brass band playing.  Perfect.

Then, by the time we came outside, the sun had emerged so we headed for the Pier of course!  The sea was still wild and clouds scudded across the sky but what a gorgeous day.  Talk about fresh air!  We had intended to go for nice meal out that evening but we were so knackered after hours of sea air and a long walk home that we ended up staggering over the road to the Marina for a pub supper instead.  

It's nice to go somewhere new once in a while.  Lovely in fact.  I wonder where we'll be playing at the beginning of next season?!

PS. Sorry about the weird layout of the photos.  They are uploaded from my mobile and look fine if you're reading this on a phone but are wrongly formatted for a laptop.  Does anyone know how to sort this out??

A(nother) start

I have finally got my laptop out as I keep losing posts I tap out on my phone which makes me an extremely grumpy blogger!

So, week one of SW has passed without me doing a great deal of actual SW observance!  I went back to class last Tuesday night on a total and desperate whim so my fridge and freezer were not well stocked and my routine was not planned or even thought about.  That said, I did rein in my excessive eating and drinking and did a fair bit of exercise and my reward was a drop of 2.5lbs which is quite pleasing.  I'm getting my head back into the programme now so I hope I can do better next week.

My exercise is a mix of running (well, shuffling would be more accurate), swimming, golf and dog walking (as hilly as possible at the moment).  I am not currently doing any weights or resistance work and need to get that back into my routine as it definitely works.  Soon.

But, enough of diet and exercise, it can get a bit dull.

Life is pretty busy as ever.  Work is much better now that the EDL march has passed and they have dismantled their encampment from outside the office and dispersed to spread their hatred and division elsewhere.  But I'm still a bit blah at work.  It is a slog getting through my work, mainly because I just have too much to do, but it is getting better.  Hopefully by Christmas I'll be more under control so THAT'S something to look forward to eh??!

Rich and I are still having fun though.  Trips to the football of course (home and away), golf and a lovely meal out a couple of Saturdays ago to mark the 4th anniversary of us moving in together.  4 Years!!  

My golf has been most pleasing too.  I think I mentioned playing 5 under par last week (I was so thrilled and relived my round in my head for days after).  Well, I almost  played to my new handicap today and, but for a couple of poor holes, could have won.  I came third so it was more than respectable.

What else?  Oh yes - I've been doing a decent impersonation of a WI supremo.  Apples from my trees have been made into pies and chutney, stewed and frozen, distributed to friends and neighbours and stored for the winter.  Frozen gooseberries have been made into jam and offerings of tomatoes, courgettes and leeks from my lovely neighbours have been made into ratatouille, stews and whatever else I can come up with.  Although my tomatoes have been somewhat slow to ripen (we're talking 1 or 2 every few days if I'm lucky here), my chilli plants are going crazy so I'm contemplating making chilli jam and oil as well as the usual stir fries and curries.  The blackberries are glorious this year too so I have freezer of those which should last me through til Christmas - love it!!

Oh yes, it's rock and roll here in the Peak District!!

We're off to Manchester for the Capital One Cup match against Man City next week.  It was a nightmare getting tickets as Sheffield Wednesday fans are all excited about our big day out against Premier League opposition.  I tried on Thursday and was thwarted by a crashed website  Disaster!!  However my middle class tendency to send a polite email of complaint when things go wrong saved the day when I initially failed to get tickets.  The nice chap from Sheffield Wednesday   rang me back on Monday and fixed me up with 6 tickets.  My boys all think I'm a miracle worker now!!

Anyway, enough of this inane blathering.  I am back on track and hope to be back blogging a bit more regularly too.

Feeling fat fat fat

Which is not as much fun as the jaunty music might suggest.

Hey ho.  I have slunk back, tail between legs, to Slimming World and made a start at getting this back on track.  I wouldn't say that I've exactly been following SW since my Tuesday night first weigh in but I have been trying to curb the excess and I've drawn a line in the sand.

It didn't help that, after my Tuesday night WI, I got a call from my big brother saying that the only night he and my sister in law could visit (remember they live in Malaysia so we can't just pop in whenever we feel like it) would be the following evening.  So they came over yesterday evening after work.

We went for a nice evening dog walk, then a couple of drinks in the pub on the way home followed by a curry.  Hadi loves a "proper English" curry and has been in France for a fortnight so really wanted a fix before they head over to Canada so it had to be done.  It was a really nice meal too so I don't regret it one bit.  Main course only of Bhindi Murgh......mmmm okra....

Anyway, it was great to see them and I have made good choices today.  It'll come.  It has to.

Work is extremely busy and also not very pleasant.  You will all have heard about Rotherham's travails.  Suffice to say, working for the Council which is being universally reviled and slagged off daily in the news is pretty dispiriting.  It isn't pleasant having to dodge the news cameras and the permanent EDL encampment shouting abuse at you almost every time you walk into your place of work.  We've been warned to take our laptops home on Friday in case the EDL rally over the weekend turns nasty and we can't come into the office on Monday morning FFS.

But more than that, it is horrible having the faith in an organisation I was actually quite proud of shaken. Thinking that people I may have known have made such bad decisions and allowed such a terrible situation to continue for so long.  It is by no means the only town or city in the country suffering from this scourge but it is the one everyone will remember, probably forever.

So, I'm looking forward to working from home tomorrow and Monday and I intend to go swimming for a good long thrash to make the most of it. The pool will be closing at the end of September and I'm going to miss it so much. And not eating much either.....sigh.......

Will do a proper report soon and in the meantime - stay strong lovelies!!