BACK TO SCHOOL

Excellent day.  The teenagers go back to school.
They have been really good all through the holidays of course, but it's still nice to get them out of the house and doing something constructive again.

It means I can get back to my 'routine' too.  Mondays are my big 'clean the house' day.
Washing up to date.  Floors washed, and so on.

After all that is done, I'm going into the sewing room to make a few small projects.  I'm all excited about making some little things like this:

ABOVE:  More small items for my market stall.   Variety!  If they are not interested in one thing, maybe something else will catch shoppers eyes?  And they will be fun to make I reckon.

I might even have something done by the end of the day to show you!  Ya just never know.

OH... I need to go downtown to post a couple of parcels off to people too... Mother's Day is coming up soon, and it's my Mum's Birthday in May too.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  Cute eh?
Just remembered I took it the other day.

Now... on with the floors.  

What's for dinner?

ABOVE:  You guess!

Ha ha!  Of course it's PORK BELLY!  Was the nipple a 'giveaway'?  *smiles*

Well I've not made much headway in the sewing room, just got two little hearts done so far:

ABOVE:  Cute.

ABOVE:  I'm lucky to have already got a good supply of lace and so on!
But, I don't have much ribbon, so I might need to get some.  

Signing off for the day.  Got bugger else on tonight except maybe some more sewing.
Dinner was fab, ya can't go wrong with Pork Belly!

WHO KNOWS

Today?
Well Griffin is off to the movies with a friend, and Brylee has Drama practice at school so it will be just Stew and I for most of the day.

He's suggested we go out to lunch.

And I'm like... "And eat what?"

Cos what can you eat (except carb-less kebabs) in a coffee shop or food court?

Can't have anything with carbs or sugar.  Bye bye just about everything fast food-ish.

Frustrating.  Haven't got my head around it all yet.  There has been SO MUCH information thrown my way!

Feeling a bit bogged down by it all.

I've listened to a couple of videos by Dr Fung.  Read a few articles and so on. Gone and checked out a few links to this, that and the other thing.  And I'm like... fuck.

Too much info.  Some good.  Some so-so.
I'm still trying to absorb some of it, ignore some of it and make it work for me and Stew.

We are both seeing really good results with our daily testing!  Stew's numbers are really coming down LOW!  Mine are certainly getting there too.

I'm certainly getting over the damn pricking of the finger shit.  I hardly flinch now, and certainly don't break out in a sweat and shake at the sight of the pricky thing coming at me!

Pricky thing!  OMG... that's kinda funny... depending on how ya read it.

Right.  

Change of topic.  Touch wood... we have had NO puppy accidents in a couple of weeks!  FINALLY house trained.  About bloody time.  Those two girls sure took longer than normal to get to this point.  I was starting to despair they would ever stop piddling inside!

But, seems to be sorted now.  And soon, they should both be coming into season.  NOT breeding on this season, and not even sure if we will at any point yet.

We will see how I feel in another 6 months!

So... I'm going to bugger off and find something to do.  Give me some lunch out ideas, or we will be staying home!

ONWARD...

10.30 am and I'm shaking like a leaf!  Seriously.
I wanted to get my fasting reading before I had some breakfast, but Stew is in the shower, so I decided to do it myself!

I got his kit and I DID IT!   I was shaking so much it's a wonder I could even get that pricky thing near my finger, but I did.  So proud of myself.

And my reading was 10.2, which is excellent!  (for me) ... so happy.

Now I can have my breakfast.  And stop shaking.

Well both kids are out, so we DID go out for lunch.
As Stew had never been to The Good George before, we went there.  It's not far from home at all either, so while we could have walked, as it's wet, we drove.

The menu:

 ABOVE:  After much consideration, we both decided to have the Warm Pork Scotch Salad.  And a side of onion rings.
I also had a hot chocolate... which was amazing!  First 'sweet' thing in well over a week!

ABOVE:  Our salads.  The stuff on the top was crumbed pork crackling... it was so hard it was almost inedible sadly.  On a scale of 1-10 we gave this meal a 3-4 at most.  Disappointed.   But live and learn.  Don't order that again.  The onion rings were a solid 10 for me though!

Now, looking forward to testing my bloods in 2 hours!  Let's see how the hot chocolate and dressings affected me?

I miss sewing!  Two days of none.  Might have to go make something... DANG!  I have to wash the bloody floor first.  *sigh*  Maybe I will do that tomorrow, when there's no one around to mess it up straight away?  YEAH, good idea.

5 pm:  And after lunch my blood sugar level was 8.2 !  Rather happy with that, the hot chocolate did not elevate my levels at all.  Yaaaa!

Again, I will be having a small meal for dinner as lunch was a decent size and I'm not very hungry now.  

Stew and the kids are having pork chops and veges for dinner.  I might have a pork chop with an egg later.

Winding down for the day... been a quiet evening as per usual.

Happy with my day.

LOST TRACK OF THE DAYS

The past few days I've had no idea what day it is!
Probably because Wednesday was a public holiday, then Stew took two days off work.  So, I thought yesterday was Saturday till Stew put me right last night.

So, clearly it's Saturday TODAY.  And we don't really have any plans.

I would have liked to go oUT somewhere, anywhere for a change.  But it's supposed to be a wet day, so not much point.

I don't really feel like sewing today either, so I think I will move stuff around in the spare bedroom.  It really doesn't work as a 'spare bedroom' at all.

I was going to buy a single bed for the room, but have changed my mind.  I will just use the couch that's in there, and add the ottoman that matches it to extend it's length, then it can be used as a bed when necessary.

What else?  No idea really.  So, until I have something more interesting to yak about, I'm going.

Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

Making this quick ... for now.
We went for another walk!
This time we went around the Hamilton Lake, which is 3.8 km long.  It was perfect weather for it, overcast, cool, few spits of rain.  Took us about 45 minutes, cos I'm SLOW as right now.

Cooking our lunch right now, almost 2 pm.  Starving.

A few photos of our walk:

 ABOVE:  In the backyard of a home that backs onto the path around the lake.  Amazing artwork!  Steve would LOVE IT.

 ABOVE:  Gorgeous fluffy baby pukekos!  Seems far too early for chicks!  It's the start of winter!

ABOVE:  I made Stew and I 'carb-less kebabs' for our lunch.  It looks almost exactly like the meal we bought at the mall on Thursday.  I cooked a couple of beef patties and some falafel I had in the freezer for us.  Our meal was delicious.
Again, I probably won't be very hungry at 'dinner time', so will have something very light again then.

10 pm:  it's been a quiet, lazy afternoon.  Stew cooked steak and veg for dinner tonight.  Again, as I wasn't feeling hungry at all, I had some yogurt and berries just now.  And that's a wrap for the day!
Catch ya tomorrow.

GETTING THERE

I am so happy to report I am actually feeling so much better!  I don't feel so dreadfully ill when I wake up in the morning!  I still don't have any energy ... but as the day goes on, I get some.

I'm definitely a 'night owl' as opposed to a 'fowl' type of person, which doesn't help in the mornings!

The all day nausea has gone too... thank god, that was just awful!

Now that I am going to have a few more items on my sales table, I needed to stop using the big triangular display unit:

ABOVE:  It is perfect of course, but just too big.  So the other day I went into Hamilton and found an alternative.

ABOVE:  I got two, they will sit on top of the trestle table, off to one side.  Then there will be heaps more room for other stuff.  
I am going to pin the coasters on the fabric slips that I've made.  

Problem solved I hope.  They were 40% off too, so not very expensive at all!  Bit lucky there.

Today, well I've got heaps of jobs to do.  Basic bloody housework, sewing, gardening and so on.

I want to plant cauliflower, broccoli and cabbages, so need to get plants asap.  The start of the winter growing season is NOW.

Last night, around 11.30 pm, I finished another couple of soup bowl cosy's:

ABOVE:  Happy to say they are BLUE!  Well ... mostly blue.  Rather funky if ya ask me.

Right, I'm off to start the day.  

ONWARD...

I've been sewing.   Then Stew said "Let's go for a little walk".  So I said "OK, as long as it's not too long or fast", cos I've still got no energy.
Off we go... down past a rest home, and down a steep track which connects up with the tract that goes out to the Velodrome (right), or into town (left).
We get to the bottom of the bloody big hill, and I'm thinking:  "Thank God I don't have to go back up that hill!"... 

And we go a bit further, to the point where we EXPECT to turn left and take the short way back into town.   WRONG!

ABOVE:  Track closed!  Two choices.  Go right, which is another 3 kms, with a big hill at the end, to the Velodrome, then have to walk on the main road back home, so a round trip of about 6 kms, or go back the way we came.

I chose the shorter way... so we had to climb back up that bloody hill!

ABOVE:  A small section of it, bloody STEEP!
I don't do hills *sniff, sob*  Serve me right for smugly thinking I didn't have to go back up it!

 ABOVE:  Gorgeous pukekos.

 ABOVE:  Quite a few horses on the way... this one was fairly friendly. 

ABOVE:  Hot and bothered face.  
But, I'm feeling quite pleased with myself now... even though I never expected to be doing a big hill walk!

Lunchtime and I'm not exactly hungry.  Stew is cooking meat patties and eggs... smells ikkkk.  Might have a scotch egg with some coleslaw.

ABOVE:   For you Tracy.  I am now making all future soup bowl cosy's in the slightly wider base.

ABOVE:  Three more done and dusted.  I'm now taking a little break from sewing, and tidying the room instead!  It's got cotton thread and bits of fabric and batting all over the floor!

9.09 pm:  Usual evening here... watching TV mostly.  Stew cooked the family Chicken something or other, it was hot apparently.  Because I had a 'main' meal for lunch, I only had yogurt and berries for dinner.  
Feel quite yuk now though.  Not sure why.
Oh well.. another day tomorrow.

PROBABLY ONLY A FEW MORE

It sure hasn't taken me too long to bang out a few of those Soup Bowl Cosy's!

These are the ones I got done yesterday:

ABOVE:  Cats, Chickens and cows.

 ABOVE:  This one I made wider across the base, to see how it would look. Fine for a wider bowl, but I think I'll stick with the other size.
Good for pumpkin soup, ha ha!

 ABOVE:  My 'goal' yesterday was to make some blue ones!  Somehow I forgot that.  I will try and get some blue ones done in the next day or two.

ABOVE:   Yesterday's efforts.  I'm very happy with them.

How about some cuteness?...

ABOVE:  Marley (left) and Denim, my constant companions.  I can't move without them following me... they are so bloody cute.  Coco follows me around the house too... as long as STEW isn't home!  Then she's all his!

Today we are heading to Huntly of all places!  Well there is a good reason.  We are meeting up with Bex and the kids... to pick Brylee up.  We are going to have morning tea with Bex and the kids in Huntly, and then check out the local fabric/wool shop.

Bex is going on to Ngaruawahia to see a friend, then she is going back to Auckland.  We will be going back into Hamilton to The Base to do some shopping.  Griffin needs new jeans... again!  

After that it will be home to relax for a while!

Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

At the Base for lunch. WHAT TO HAVE??? NO damn idea.

OH. MY. GOD....we just bought something we have been waiting FOREVER for!!!

Show  you when we get home 😊😊😊🤔

HOME....

First up, Huntly fabric shop, where I got:

 ABOVE: This cute dog panel.  Might make it into a cushion cover.

 ABOVE: These fabrics.  More of the ice cream fabric, which I love.

 ABOVE: This bag was given to me as a 'carry bag' from the fabric shop, instead of a plastic bag.  How cool!  

I was given a box full of curtain fabric and the like the other day from a FBG girlfriend, I am going to make up a bunch of similar cheapy bags to sell at market. 

After having morning tea with Bex and the kids, we went into the Huntly Salvation Army Thrift shop. 

 ABOVE:  Well worth a visit, it is a big store.  I found these 8 plastic children's size dinner plates, $4 for the lot.  Score.

After that we went into Hamilton and on my way to lunch I wandered into Aquisitions.  The sales girl was out by the door and told me they had a whole new shipment of Britto!

So, as ya do... I had to have a look.

AND DANG!  They had the one figurine we had been waiting AND waiting for.  We didn't even know if it would ever become available.

ABOVE:  ROAD RUNNER!  

As we already have Wylie Coyote, it seemed obvious we needed him!  Yaaaa.  

My early Mother's Day present.

After some serious pondering, Stew and I both had a 'carbless kebab' for our lunch:

ABOVE:  Bloody yum!  Lamb, Chicken and Falafel.  

ABOVE:  The police had a display at the mall.  So the two kids decided to try handcuffs.  I told them it was the only time they were allowed to be in handcuffs!  *smiles*

After that, or before, can't remember, the kids got some new jeans, Griffin got a haircut, then we came home. 

As I type, Stew is asleep in his lounge chair beside me.  And I might just join him.  Only I will camp out on the couch in the lounge, it's way more comfy.

Dinner tonight will be.... Zzzzzzzz...

That was good.  Had a good nap.

Now, dinner:

ABOVE:  Stew and I will be having spaghetti bolognese on boiled cabbage, the kids will have it on pasta.
So... cute cow flavoured with oregano and basil, and a sprinkle of grated cheese on top.  *smiles*

Dinner was delicious!  All is going so well... except I think I still need to work on portion sizes. I served myself up a decent sized dinner tonight, but couldn't eat it all.  Eyes too big for belly syndrome!

Right, time to sign off for the day.  Coronation Street is on soon... must watch!

ANZAC DAY HOLIDAY

Today is Anzac Day.  Here in New Zealand and over the ditch in Australia, we take today to remember our soldiers who served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations around the world.  We also remember those who contributed and suffered as well.

So, it's a public holiday.  Stew has taken Thursday and Friday off, so he has a 5 day break.

He's sleeping in.  Don't blame him.

Last night at Quizz Night ... was hard!  Most of our team had food.
I didn't.

ABOVE:  I had bowls of chips right in front of my face!  It was torture, but I didn't have any.   Every time I thought of how yum they were, a picture of an injection flashed before my eyes... that was enough to put me off!

So... I am proud of myself.  I can resist foods that I should not be eating.  

Today?  Well I am probably going to do some sewing, as I didn't get any done yesterday like I had planned.  I did some gardening instead.
And other stuff.  Like taking a nap.

I'm still extremely tired.  Lacking energy.  But, I'm sure that will come right eventually.

For now... I'm off to cut more fabric out.

ONWARD...

2 pm! 
Been quite busy.  Cutting out and sewing up soup bowl cosy's.
Then Stew and I went downtown (Cambridge) and checked out a local fruit and vege shop.  Not going there again!
It was dirty.  Lots of the produce was NOT fresh at all.  The prices were no cheaper.  Just not nice at all.
So we went to the supermarket.

Found something rather INTERESTING:

ABOVE:  So, how do you grow potatoes with less carbs in em?
I will be having one for dinner tonight with homemade rissoles.
Will give you a critique later.

 ABOVE: Our shopping today.  The lady behind us in the queue had about 8 loaves of bread and buns.  I almost drooled all over the floor.   *sigh*

ABOVE:  One down for the day (so far),  and it's not super bright!

LOTATOES  ... are delicious!  Such a nice flavour, texture and well... just YUM!  
And now... I'm off to do some more sewing before Coronation Street comes on.

I took my blood sugar reading after dinner... up a bit at 9.7, so I wasn't that happy.  Maybe I shouldn't have had the 'potato' after all.
*sigh*
Might be pushing it when I know I have to get my numbers DOWN as much as possible.

Time to sign off for the day, I'm tired and ready for bed.  Bang on midnight too.