I'm full of a cold... and sleeping in. Come back later.
Short and to the point eh? lol Well it's 10.30 am and I simply cannot stay in bed any longer. I'm bored. I've got shit to do. And thanks to Paracetemol, I feel a bit better. Actually, I feel much better than I did last night. Maybe I'm going to come right real quick? ABOVE: Being bored in bed. So now I'm up and have put a load of washing on. And am about to get myself something to eat...BRUNCH. Not sure what to have yet, but it will be WARM, cos it's quite cold outta bed.
ABOVE: Marley is mad at me, because I won't throw her toy for her to fetch. I don't want to be doing that a THOUSAND times today. She just doesn't give up wanting it to be thrown for her, UNLESS I refuse to do it in the first place. Then I get the stink eye. Or two. 2.15 pm: I've had lunch, done the washing, played with the dogs, and that's about all! Got dinner sorted for the family as I hope to go to Card night tonight. I'm feeling much better. My knee is groaning a bit though... so probably no walk tomorrow. Maybe on Thursday or Friday. I don't have any energy right now, so am just going to blob out for another hour or so. So, nothing happening around here! Feeling pretty proud of myself! On this computer, the PC all-in-one, in my pictures there's a gaping big hole. NO photos from 2016! I'm thinking, where the hell are they all? Then I remembered. I'd been using my laptop during that year. So I go down, open it up and boom! There they all are! So I get my OLD external hard drive, and have a go at downloading all the photos, so I can transfer them to my PC. And it worked! Well... it's still downloading, but it's working! I did ring and talk to Steve, once it was downloading, cos I wasn't sure I had done it right... what if it was just copying all 44,000 photos back onto the computer? AS in, doubling up all of them? But nope, I had done it right! So. Feeling very happy with myself. The next step will be to get them to download from the external hard drive to my PC. Hopefully that will go without a hitch either. Yaaaa.... lots happened in 2016 and it will be good to have those photos saved (backed up) as well. Stew had a quiet evening. Brylee was at work. Griffin was watching his girlfriend dance in a school production, and I was out at Card night with a few girlfriends! I had a lovely evening, I always do at card night! I just love playing cards, and the company is always enjoyable. My friend Sue T had been on a winning streak, but tonight....she was the loser.
ABOVE: Trying to get a decent photo of her tonight was a mission! lol It was just a bit of fun! And on that note... I'm off to watch Coronation Street. Catch ya tomorrow.
I know I've done this a few times already... but oh well... I'm doing it again. MARBLES. Visual motivation. A reminder of how far I've come... COS I CAN'T see it in the body much yet.
ABOVE: When I started trying again... I was XXX. I had approx 30-40 kilos to lose, depending on how I feel as I get lower in weight. So far I've lost 17 kilos... from when we first moved here to NOW. Not in the last 3 months! But, a good amount of that was lost in the past 3.5 months I must admit. So... I'm almost half way there! And only a handful of marbles left to get to my first BIG goal. I can almost taste it! Today the kids go back to school. So it's back to 'normal' around here. I get the house to myself from 8 am - 3.30 pm. I like that. I like that very much! Not that the kids have been a bother at all, but it's still nice to know I can do whatever I want and not have to worry about what they are doing, where they want to go and so on. Give us 5 years and Stew and I will probably be finally free of kids! I wonder what that will feel like? I simply can't imagine it to be honest. Our eldest 'kid' is now 39 and a half. I've been full time 'mothering' for all that time, and Stew has been 'Fathering' for 33. It's a lifetime! For today though, I think I will just enjoy the fact that our last two are at school all day. *smiles* There is an FBG walk on this afternoon and I'm seriously thinking of going on it. It's just under 5 kms, so maybe my knee will be OK? It's not too sore now, I just have to be careful how I bend it. So... I'll probably go on the walk. IF it starts to hurt too much I can always sit down and get one of the girls to pick me up after they finish the walk! I'm sure I will be fine though. I am so relieved I got all the washing done this weekend! You have no idea how much we got done! And I'm damned if I know where it all came from! Seriously, I reckon half the linen cupboard contents were in the laundry. *sigh* But it's done now, so not much to do today. I might end up doing some sewing for market. I've got heaps on the go. ONWARD... Minor correction on me numbers. I've now lost 18.5 kilos. And I'm getting ready to go for that walk, after slaving away doing some serious shower box cleaning! OMG the kids shower was DISGUSTING! You say ... please clean the shower... and expect them to do it properly. HA HA HA! What a joke. I dread to think what sort of filth they will end up living in on their own. Well no, I will make damn sure they don't live in a bloody pig sty. No more 'turning a blind eye' going on with me, and I've told them so too. 2.30 pm: Just back from my walk with the FBG's... and so happy to report it went well. My knee held up fine. Hope it's still feeling ok in a couple of hours! Took this photo, I am a bit hot and sweaty:
ABOVE: So here's a question for you all. 'WHAT'S MISSING?'.... ... ...... ........ DUMM dee doooo.... - it's not me smile - it's not me eyebrow (though they are rather sparse) - it's not me purple shirt YES! DEE, it is my double chin! Well done on guessing. As I've said, the only place I can see a difference is in my face. And I'm fine with that. *smiles* Looks (sniffs) ... like I'm getting an head cold. Getting snotty. Nice eh? Stew got home early from work today, so cos I'm feeling shitty bone lazy, he's getting dinner. Just chicken rissoles baked in the oven with coleslaw, (already made), and some potato and kumera. The knee feels fine btw, which is excellent. End of the day and I'm feeling like shit. Over the course of the afternoon/evening I've come down with a head cold. Ugh. Probably get to bed early and sleep in tomorrow, try to throw it off.
I don't think we have any specific plans for today. Griffin has to be at school for drama practice for a few hours, and Brylee is going to work. Did I mention she's started a part time job? Well, she started yesterday. It's only a weekend job for now. Now both kids have part time jobs, which is great for them. So, at some point today, we might be like 'Darby and Joan' and be all alone!
ABOVE: Finally got them done. I'm really happy with them, except the left hand side ... that needs to be sanded back and done again... but it can wait.
I'm sick of looking at it in the family room!
ABOVE: They look lovely there. The small set is now beside me in the family room, I can put all my bits 'n' bobs in it. Handy dandy. As you read this, I will still be in bed. I have no intention of getting up till it's warmer, I'm perfectly happy just lying here doing stuff on me phone for now.
Catch ya later. ONWARD... I've been playing with marbles. And folding washing. And having to endure DAMN RUGBY ON THE TV. Cos Stew is home, and that's what he does to relax. He will watch rugby ALL. DAY. LONG. Sometimes, I just want to throttle him. I hate rugby, I really do.
ABOVE: The loaf must have been nice! I will be making another one later on today. More lemon this time. 2nd Loaf made.... much more lemon in it. Yummo. It's sure quiet here today... and out in blog world obviously. Seriously, NO COMMENTS TODAY? I'm a bit sad. I thrive on comments! When I don't get any I think no one likes me anymore. OK...mini moan over. I'm sure you are all just too busy having a nice weekend eh? I hope so anyway. Stew's just gone out to pick up Griffin from school. When he gets back, he will be sitting down for an hour, then taking Brylee to her job too. We are turning into a taxi service! ♥LOVE YOU GIRLS♥... thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment. It makes my day. Glad so many of you are having a great day, commiserations to those hung over/super tired. I'm sure it was worth it! lol 7.30 pm: Been a take it easy sorta day. Nursing my knee so that it's (HOPEFULLY) recovered enough for me to get back into some FBG walks this week. There's stuff all on TV on a Sunday night... so I'm watching some You Tube Videos... crime stories which I really enjoy. I'm signing off now.... catch ya tomorrow.
Yesterday an ANON commentor told me to check out the 'Fat Whoosh'. So I did. And it made perfect sense to me. I looked at several You Tube videos on it and have one short one to share: She explains it well I feel. And the 'WHOOSH EFFECT' is no doubt what has been happening to me these past few weeks. In fact, I think it's happened a few times... cos I will lose a bit, then plateau for a while ... then lose more again. I don't mind now that I understand what is happening... as long as the weight comes off eventually! Even though the new 'diet' wasn't about weight loss, it certainly is a part of it now! I am really enjoying seeing my face (if nothing else) slim down a bit! I'm sure the rest will follow. Plans for today? OMG I've got so much washing to get out! I am praying for a fine day. It's been wet for so long, we've been drying everything on racks in the garage and our bedroom of late. I'm sick of wet washing! I took the cone off Denim last night, I am kinda dreading checking on her this morning. What if she's chewed her poor tail? Better go look at her... ONWARD... Well I think it's been a blessing Denim has come into season right now... cos she's more interested in investigating her nether regions than bothering her tail! She must still think she's got the cone on when it come to going potty though, cos she's still going bathroom inside. Brylee and I spent a good hour and a half cleaning the garage and dog pen yesterday afternoon. Now it's stinky again. Grrrr. It's a glorious day out there, sunshine, but brisk. Perfect for hanging out all the washing ready to go out. OMG where does it all come from? I swear I've got over a dozen towels, flannels, bath mats, tea towels and dishcloths to hang out. My knee is quite sore today, and in fact is now sore around behind my knee too. Frustrating. But maybe, just maybe I overdid it yesterday! Yeah, probably. I just got the last side done on the drawers. Once it's dry it's going in the bedroom, I don't care right now that one side is stuffed up. It can wait. I might talk Stew into taking us into The Base for a nice lunch, I feel like a dish they do at The Foundation... little meat bites in an amazing sauce. And Griffin want's a haircut, so we have to go in sometime today anyway. I was just talking to Stew about my weight 'goal'... and being REALISTIC this time around, I think getting into the 80's, even 89.9 would be AWESOME for me. So that will probably take me till the end of the year at least. But it's doable, and I am finally in the right head space to do it. So Bex mentioned she was going to be making Lemon Honey and Lemon loaf yesterday, cos she's got heaps of lemons. So have I ... and I dreamed of making lemon loaf all night. So, rather than search for a sugar and carb free recipe, I just made it up... and now it's in the oven. It might work, or it might be a disaster! Time will tell! OH THE SMELL!!! The loaf is out of the oven and it smells so good!
ABOVE: Drumming my fingers, waiting for it to cool down so we can taste it. Even Stew wants to try it. This might just be LUNCH! lol Nah, but certainly a nice snack. And the verdict is: YUM! It has the consistency of everything you make with Almond Meal... which is 'different', but OK. I drizzled some pure lemon juice over it before eating it, sliced up with some butter/margarine on it. LYNDA: I could have added some stevia to the lemon juice to drizzle over it, but didn't think of it.
ABOVE: Clearly not a disaster, Stew going back for seconds, and even Griffin ate some and went back for more! I'm rather happy with it. And before you ask: CARB/SUGAR FREE LEMON LOAF:
Ingredients:
3 cups Almond Flour/Meal
2 tsp baking powder
3 Tbsp granulated Stevia (or similar)
2 Eggs, separated into yolk and white
Juice of three lemons, grated rind of 3 lemons
1/2 cup of milk
2 Tbsp melted butter
Instructions:
Into bowl: Flour, Baking Powder, Stevia, lemon rind.
Mix together egg yolks, milk and melted butter.
Add to dry ingredients, and add the lemon juice.
Beat egg whites till stiff, then fold into mixture.
Put in greased loaf pan.. bake for approx 55 minutes at 180 degrees C.
I might add another egg next time, to help 'bind' it a bit more so it's not so crumbly, though it did hold together rather well.
If you like your loaf sweeter, I'd say add more Stevia too... this loaf is not sweet. But then, should a lemon loaf be sweet I ask myself? *smiles* Stew made us Honey Mustard chicken again tonight. It was rather nice. The day is winding down... I've been utterly lazy ... except for doing darn washing on/off all day. Getting it out, getting it in, getting it aired and now... folding and putting away. Such a big job, we had so much linen to get done. Correction... I had so much linen to get done!
Now that I have my blood sugar level under control.... let's talk NUMBERS. Three and a half months ago I was XXX in weight. Yep... well over the 100 kgs. I felt disgusted with myself... yet again. I never ever wanted to be that high again, particularly after working so hard years ago to lose SIXTY ONE KILOS (134.2 pounds), then going through a massive operation to get a full circumferential tummy tuck and so on. But... I did gain a shit load of that weight back. NOW though, I finally feel like I AM going to lose most of it again. But it's hard. So much harder this time. I'm older. I'm wiser, so I know it's NOT going to be easy to lose, and keep it OFF. Lately, my numbers have been 'STICKING'... like for 2-3 weeks I will hardly lose a pound... and it's so hard not to get discouraged. I know I'm still eating too much. OK... it's not carbs and sugar that's the problem now. It's portion size. So, that's my focus for now. Cutting down. The number on the scale for the past 3 weeks has been almost the same, just a tiny loss each week, but basically staying in the same kilo bracket. It's been doing my f*#king head in! Then two days ago... boom! Broke through that number and went down 2 KILOS! OMG. So happy. It's a number I've not seen in over 5 years. So... maybe I will have losses like that for a while? Slow... slow...slow... then a good drop? I have mini goals. Next goal is to weigh LESS than our son Steve. He's XXX and I'm only 5 kilos away from him! Next goal is to be under XXX and into XX only. That goal is hopefully going to be reached in just a couple more months if I can get the portions under control! I don't snack. I only have BRUNCH and DINNER. And diet coke, supplemented with a hot chocolate sometimes, like with the girls after an FBG walk. So, learning what to eat that's healthy, has no carbs or sugar and will satisfy my hunger (and head) is still a massive learning curve. Cheese is my downfall I think. Because it's tasty, and I love it, I'm over eating it. Can anyone think of something else that is really tasty, but not so damn fattening??? My mind is blank... I look in my pantry and freezer and just go BLAH. I'M NOT ENJOYING FOOD AT ALL. IT ISN'T INTERESTING OR TEMPTING OR ANYTHING. JUST BLAH.
ABOVE: I've been blogging for 12 years, and this is the second time I've used this baby photo... I bet that kid is in his/her 20's by now! But, it so sums up how I'm feeling. BLAH. MOVING... ON... Ever since Denim came back from the groomers, she's been acting weird. Crying. Trying to reach her tail. Or so I thought. I thought maybe her tail had been messed with during her groom and it was hurting her? But no. She's FINALLY coming into season, and because she's in a cone, she can't 'INVESTIGATE' what's going on down there. So she's been crying and bitching. I checked her out thoroughly yesterday afternoon after she wouldn't stop crying, and sure enough.... everything is enlarged. So, she is FINALLY having her first real season. Damn late! Marley on the other hand is nowhere near that stage yet! I wonder when that will happen for her? I didn't put the top coat on the drawers last night as my knee was just too sore, so all going well I will get that done today. So exciting... I love this paint effect so much! And the drawers are going to look awesome, I just know it. ONWARD... 1.25 pm: Just got home from doing the grocery shopping. I got half the painting done this morning first thing, will try and get the rest done later on today. I'm now going to take a break and have some lunch... no idea what to have. Probably some chicken ... god I'm sick of chicken! And coleslaw. And chicken. And salads. And chicken. *sigh* Maybe I will have some Burgen toast (1 piece) with vegemite and cheese? I ended up making an 'in a cup' scone/bun/muffin type thingee. Combine in a coffee cup: 4 TBsp Almond Meal 1TBsp Olive Oil Pinch of salt I Egg 1/4 tsp baking powder Stir it all up, zap in microwave for approx 60 seconds. I defrosted 5 mixed berries and added them too. Once cooked, I drizzled Sugar Free Maple Syrup over it. YUM! So that was lunch. Dinner is going to be something done with beef mince and some bacon. For some reason the paint effect isn't working on the drawers like it should. I might be doing some sanding back by the look of it. NOT HAPPY. So limited success with the drawers... so far only one side is a disaster. The top is OK. I shall be doing the 2nd side tomorrow... then decide if I can be bothered sanding back the bad side and doing it again. Maybe I will just wait a while till I can be arsed! Coro is on... time to sign off for the day.
Hopefully when I go and check my computer it will have finished transferring all my photos onto the new hard drive. Then I can relax! And actually use the computer again instead of my phone. Today I will be working on the bedroon drawers. Last night I got this much done:
ABOVE: There's 2 drawers left to put the colours on... but I'm getting there!
This is the point when the drawers look a bit CRAZY ... but we know this is just part of the process eh *smiles*.
I'm really excited to see it finished... probably a couple more days to go... nothing is drying fast in this weather.
There won't be a walk for Brylee and me today... we've done 3 in a row which is pretty good. I will probably go on another one on Friday.
Right... better get up and start my day.
ONWARD...
Well... the day is going fairly slowly.
It's pissing down with rain, has been all night and morning.
First up for the day was getting the coloured paints on the last two drawers. Then I took Griffin to school for his drama practice. I went down town and picked up my prescription and a new modem for the Fiber connection, which won't be happening for a while by the sound of it.
Home. Lunch. Once I've finished watching Home and Away I'll be putting the crackle on the drawers, ready for the LAST coat of paint tomorrow.
So a very normal sorta day around here.
WHOOPS! Just sat down to carry on applying crackle to the drawers and my left knee went 'CRACK-CLUNK'... and OMG it hurt! Took my breath away for a moment.
But I thought, well it's not too bad right?
So, I kinda hobble out to the car after 10 minutes to get Griffin from school, and the pain is kinda radiating outwards and not very nice.
Get out of the car at home and get this sharp stabbing pain... again and again. Grrrrrr. So *sigh*... I've taken a pain pill and hoping like hell it eases cos last thing I want is to be stuck on me 'Fat Bottom', not able to go walkies for a while!
Meanwhile, all the crackle is on and now drying, and all going well I might even get some top coat on late tonight! Provided my knee behaves that is. *frown* PORTION CONTROL: is going so-so. I still know I'm eating too much. Sure, there's NO sugar or processed carbs going down my gob, but there's plenty of protein! It's hard keeping the balance right... particularly when I've been doing quite a bit of exercise and getting hungry. I didn't MIND feeling hungry all the time when I first started this new diet, it meant I was doing 'something' right... RIGHT? But now when I feel hungry I get crabby. And eat something like a piece of cheese, or I will make myself some soup and ADD CHEESE! Derrr... So... what can I eat when I feel 'hangry', that won't pile on the calories? And don't say fruit, cos fruit is full of .... SUGAR. And I'm avoiding sugar like the plague! I'm gunna yak more about that (above) tomorrow. Things are frustrating me. Time to sign off, Coronation Street will be on soon... can't miss that! lol
Last night my keyboard stopped working again. And it took me 3 hours to get it going again. I'm NOT computer savvy at all. So I tend to go around and around in circles, getting madder and madder until I either give up or smash the damn thing to smithereens. I've 'killed' a few mouse's that way! Yep, not a very patient person. Anyway, I DID get the damn thing going again... I really don't know HOW I did it. But one things for sure. It ain't happening again tonight. I'm ringing a computer repair outfit at 8am this morning, and they can come out and sort it out for me once and for all. It's bound to cost me more than the price of a new keyboard, but as I already have TWO keyboards that are playing up, it will be worth it. *sigh* Today... well as long as it doesn't clash with the computer repair person (presuming he/she can come today), I have another FBG walk on at 1 pm. It includes THE MASSIVE HILL on (get this), 'Carter's Flat'... Ha ha ha! FLAT???? Who the hell came up with calling that area FLAT? Oh well... I'm doing it again. This will be about the 5th time I've done the hill from hell. I'm looking forward to it! Crazy. After that I will be home painting those drawers. I finally got all the undercoat on last night. It's gone on rather weirdly... looks like the wood has seeped into the paint? Oh well... let's see how the next layer goes on. When I was in Resene's yesterday, they had a small display of bedroom furniture painted, and this was there:
ABOVE: It's similar to what I did to the little drawers in the spare bedroom, but they hadn't used crackle under the last layer of paint. This was just rough brush strokes of different colours. I don't think it looks as good as mine, but then, I am a bit biased. *smiles* I'm doing the crackle/multi-coloured effect again on the larger set of drawers. It's rather fun.
ABOVE: Marley looking like a sheep in the back of my little car yesterday... poor Denim was stuck down low by her cone. They both look so good now! And any day now Denim can have her cone off.... she's going to go nuts! Right, I better get off here, do some washing then ring that computer company (Geeks On Wheels) ... fingers crossed they can come out today. ONWARD... Well... the 'Geeks' are coming at 3 pm, so I will be back from my walk by then. I did some painting this morning, and for some reason the paint went all funny on two of the drawers and I had to wash it all off again. Grrrrr. I think, even though I sanded the wood back, there is still something leeching out of it and affecting the paint. So frustrating. But, I will persevere and hopefully get them done over the next few days. So typical of the Waikato, we have a fog. So it's damn cold... it seeps into your bones cold. I loathe this sort of weather. Nothing gets dry. The house feels cold even with the heat pump on. Did I mention it's 10.20 am and the fog is still down? Yep... shitty. 11.35 am: STILL GOT FOG! Starting to think I need to get dressed for the walk, but I don't want to take my electric blankie off! I'm cold. I don't like being cold at all. The only time cold is good is when I'm out walking, cos then I get too hot! I. CAN'T. WIN!
ABOVE: Whoop! Whoop! I got up the dreaded hill without stopping! And I wasn't gasping for air at the top either. I must be getting fitter. It was another lovely walk today, though we started out in fog. By the time we finished though, the fog had finally burnt off and we have clear blue skies! Having a late lunch now, before the computer geek arrives. So the computer guy has been here for over two hours already! BIG BILL COMING MY WAY... but more on that later. Hes now backing up and saving all my photos as my computer is not going to last much longer. DAMMIT. Right.... computer geek left after almost 3 hours here. My HP Keyboard is dead, so I have to use my 2nd spare one from now on. My computer has been playing up for a while... the guy sorted out and got rid of all the virus's and Malware... cleaned up everything... then he found all my photos, which were in several different placez and he's sold me an external hard drive to store them all on.
That is happening now and will take about 10 hours to finish! I have over 120,000 photos on my computer!!! He said an 'average' person might have 10,000 photos on their computer....seems I'm NOT your 'average person' then. *laughing* I'm unable to use the computer till the photo download is finished as it would just be too slow... so blogging from my phone till tomorrow. Oh yaaa. So...I'm going to sign off for the day. Catch ya tomorrow.
Parents to several adult kids, and 14 Grandkids (Grandkids aged 1yr old to 24 yrs old).
WHERE I LIVE:
New Zealand, it's in the South Pacific... and it's NOT a part of Australia! We are home of the All Blacks rugby team, the Kiwi (bird, but can't fly) and lots of bloody neat people!
