YUK.... AWFUL PHOTO

 Yesterday's walk photo.  

I took one look and was like "Shit that looks YUK".

I thought about it and decided to show you where I went 'wrong':

ABOVE:  The two images are like chalk and cheese.

Clearly I am NEVER wearing a t-shirt bra again.  They offer NO support and made me look like my boobs just carry on down to my 'waist'.  If I had one that is.

Next, I have two of those striped shirts.  They are sublimely comfortable, but nope.  I'm gunna use them for nighties from now on.

And of course, chin up and smiling is always better!

I still have a long way to go until I'm really happy with my body, but hey, I have done it before and I'm gunna do it again.

I am so close to my first 'goal'... I am almost certain I will get there by Friday weigh in.

Today I have Card Night in Cambridge... the first one of the year.

So I am going to make a fruit platter so I can actually eat something.  Usually the girls bring sweets, chips, crackers 'n' cheese, dips etc.  I want something healthy.

I'm not sure what I'll get up to today.  Probably fold up all the washing I got done yesterday.  Man I got HEAPS done!  It's a good feeling.

ABOVE:  Yeah.

Some days it's just like that.

But... I'm nearly done.

Then I'm going grocery shopping with Bex and the boys.  I kinda snaffled a ride, as she was going anyway.  Why take two cars to the same place eh?

I'm making those Chicken wraps for my lunch and Stew's dinner.  The chicken is already in the fridge marinating.

Gosh I'm on to it today.

11.30 am:  Well I've been out and about with Bex and the boys.  We did our shopping and then Bex dropped me home again.

I've got the chicken pieces cooking in the oven, and all the meal prep is done.

I am looking forward to my wraps for lunch, and Stew's dinner is all sorted as well.  All he has to do it throw all the bits 'n' bobs on a wrap and he's good to go.

I made a Sweet Tahini dipping sauce.  I'd had some in a wrap from a shop and loved it.

No recipe though. So I just got some Tahini spread (Ground Sesame Seeds and Oil), added some Mayo and some Lemon Juice.  Mixed it all together and YUMMO!  

Now I'm hungry and can't wait for the chicken to be done.  

5.28 pm:  lunch was just so yum.  I'm certainly going to be having more wraps for my main lunch meal from now on.  They cover all the main food groups, are not too heavy on carbs, and are  HEALTHY.  And filling.

Filling is a biggie.  Cos if you are full you are less likely to snack.

And snacking is BAD for  ME.

I've made my little fruit plate to go to Card Night.  Looks nice.  I'll take a photo soon and show ya later.

I'm picking Bex up on my way, as she now attends Card Night as well.

  

Stew should be home soon, so I can show him where all the stuff is for his dinner before I leave.

ABOVE:  My fruit 'plate'.  And before anyone asks, cos someone will ... 😖😉 

Grapes, fresh Pineapple, dehydrated Mango, Strawberries, White Chocolate Dipping Sauce and dehydrated Banana chips.

9.46 pm:  Home from Cambridge.  Bex and I had a really entertaining evening.  It was neat to catch up with the Card girls.

Bex lost tonight, but no one minds losing.  It's all about having fun, and boy we sure do that.  😂😊

Time to sign off for the day, Coronation Street will be on in a minute and I wanna watch it.

Catch ya tomorrow.

THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING

 I am sure Stew thought he was finished with the jobs around the house and yard eh?

Nope.

There is always something I can find for him to do.

Yesterday afternoon I reminded him that I really wanted a gate between the house and the pool fence, to stop the dogs going on the lawn and fouling it up.  AND Coco digs holes and eats the dirt now, so an added reason to block it off.

He wasn't too keen, but as we already had a big gate, he decided it was best to just get it done.

ABOVE: And just like that, in about half an hour, he had it done.

BOOM!  Thank You Darling.  💙💚💜

This morning I am heading over to Cambridge for an FBG Social Walk. 🏃

Normally I'd never go walking in the heat, and even at 9 am over summer, it's too bloody hot for me.

But this walk is around Lake Te Ko Utu, which is quite shaded in places, so I should be alright.

I'm looking forward to catching up with some of the girls (and bloke), who I've not seen in a few weeks.

It will be a lovely start to the day.

Catch ya later.

11.45 am:  And I'm back from Cambridge.

It was a very nice walk this morning, not too hot to start with, and I only started feeling really hot and uncomfortable after we were on our third time around the lake.

ABOVE:  It is such a pretty walk.  

ABOVE:  I just love little creeks like this, that trickle down a hill side.

ABOVE:  I  had to stop on the side of the road to take this photo.  I thought the sky looked gorgeous!

After our walk  most of us went to a local cafe for morning tea.  I had a donut and chocolate milkshake, so YUM.   

And now, I'm going to just sit and relax and wait for the next load of washing to be ready to hang out.

I don't know how, but I've managed to find 3 full loads for the machine today.

7.15 pm:  Obviously it's been a quiet day, and not much to comment on.

I've had a very quiet afternoon, just making sure all the washing got hung out and brought back in again.

Dinner for Stew was Beef Meatballs in a sweet 'n' sour sauce, over rice.

Steve, Bex and the boys came over after dinner for a swim.

Stew and I are watching a neat TV programme about buying Country Homes in New Zealand.

So, winding down for the day... catch ya tomorrow.

SUNDAY... AND YEP, IT WILL BE A DAY OF REST

 We are sleeping in today. Which is gunna be so nice after having to get up so early yesterday.  I'm going to lie here and just doze.  Well... after I've read the news.

ABOVE: That used to be my String Of Pearls plant.  It just never took off, in fact it kinda died.  So, I gave it some Diet Coke.  Who knows ... it might revive it!  But I doubt it. 

Some plants I've managed to keep alive, and that one .. yeah nah.  

ABOVE: That is our 'patch of grass' at Tamahere!  lol   

Just sharing.  It took forever to get our patch.  

I wonder what else I can share with ya today?

Well... you will just have to wait and see.  😂😅😊  Hopefully more than a dead plant and a patch of grass!

10.55 am:  I stayed in bed until QUARTER TO TEN!!!

That's probably the longest 'sleep in' in a very long time.

It was wonderful.

Then I got up and said to Stew, "Let's go to Spotlight!"

ABOVE: The cotton batting I use for the bowl cosy's is on sale this weekend.  And I ALWAYS wait to buy it when it's on sale.

Who wouldn't when it's 60% OFF?

They do this particular sale only about once a year, and I keep a keen eye out for it.  Obviously.

ABOVE: So off we went and bought two bundles of it.  That lot should see me right for the rest of the year, until their next sale on it.  😀😁😊

Steve 'n' Bex mentioned they were having crumbed chicken for their dinner last night, and I said "Oh YUM"... so they decided NOT to have it last night, but bring it around here for lunch today.  That way we got it too.

How lovely is that?

I'm rather looking forward to me lunch now.

And trying something different, cos I sure in hell don't do to the chicken what they are doing.

Paprika?  Onion Powder.  Cornflakes?  Weird.

I will show you the process once they get here and actually DO IT.  

ABOVE:  Steve made a marinade using Greek Yogurt, Paprika, Garlic Power and Onion Powder.  Then he coated the chicken meat in it, and set it to marinate in the fridge.

ABOVE: Then he made the crumble... using crushed corn flakes, the three spices (same as the marinade) and some salt.

ABOVE:  Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes, depending on how thick your chicken pieces are.

ABOVE: While the chicken is cooking, prepare your other ingredients.  We used lettuce, cucumber, red onion, capsicum, tomato and basil.

Sauces were Sweet Tahini, mayo, and a Greek Yogurt one.

GREEK YOGURT DIPPING SAUCE: (All to taste, so how you like it.)...

  

- Greek Yogurt

- Garlic Powder

- Onion Powder

- Thyme

- Olive Oil

- Lemon juice

ABOVE:  Then you lay out your ingredients on a wrap, fold it up and....

ABOVE:  Then ya eat it.  So bloody yum!!!

And that is my main meal of the day.

I will be having something really light, and a tiny portion for 'dinner'.

Thanks Steve and Bex, that was a really lovely lunch.

ABOVE:  While the chicken was cooking... and Bex was preparing the other shit, Steve, the boys and I played a game of Unicorns.  It was fun, and even better, I WON!

It's a great game for kids as it helps that they have to read the cards, strategize and plan.

Good skills to hone.

Stew did a little job for me this afternoon, one that has been on my 'to do' list for a very long time.  Amazingly, it only took him about half an hour to do, after all that waiting.  More on that tomorrow.

Well, although Stew did a little job for me today, it has been a relaxing day.  Just hanging out at home, enjoying company, watching telly and so on.

Now, I'm watching a gruesome programme about the Bali Bombing.

After that I'm off to bed.

Catch ya tomorrow.

MARKET DAY

 5.50 am:  Up bright and early, getting ourselves ready to head off soon.

It's a bit chilly out.  But we are expecting a stellar day, unlike the previous two markets at Tamahere.

I'm really looking forward to today's market.  Knowing it is going to be good weather makes such a difference to the mood.

Bex is going to pop over to our house this morning, to get the girls and take them back to her house for a play date.  That way they are not home alone all day.  Our girls just love company. 

Once we are set up at the market, I plan on going around and taking a few photos for you, not just of our stall today. 

...

ABOVE: Ready for the day.

ABOVE: Just a few of the other stalls here.

Lots of different things. 

It's now 8.50 am and still very quiet.  But the weather is just lovely. 

ABOVE: Spending money ... instead of making it! 

WHOOPS.

2.15 pm:   Home. It was a beautiful day, but SLOW as FUCK.  Sales were the worst I've ever encountered.   But everyone said the same thing, January is always a slow month.

I didn't mind too much, but next time we are going to take cushions for our chairs!  Sore butts .... like ouchy.

I'm hoping that our next market, on Monday the 30th of January is better.

Stew has gone down to the supermarket to do his usual Saturday shop, then he's getting out into the garden to weed 'n' mow the lawns.

I'm doing nothing.  I'm knackered.

Steve, Bex 'n' the boys just arrived to return the girls, and have a swim.

So, I will get off here and be sociable.

I'm sitting there with me feet up, and Steve gets up and say's, what is that noise?

Goes into the kitchen and yells "Shit you've got a big leak!"

He yells at me to grab some towels while he runs outside to turn the water off...

So I get up and go into the kitchen, half doubting him, but there is some water on the floor.   

I open the cupboard ...

ABOVE:  And yes, I do have a big leek!  Little shit.

Just had a swim with the kids, so nice.  Great way to cool down after a hot day at market.

The kids have gone home now, so...

Stew has gone outside to get the lawns and weeding done.  Me?  Gunna be totally lazy and just sit here.

Dinner is already sorted, Chicken and rice that we didn't eat last night.

9.10 pm:  Dinner, well I ended up having some as it was a long time since breakfast! And I don't usually have breakfast, but when you have a very early start, ya get hungry!

Now, I'm watching TV till bedtime.  Which won't be much longer cos I'm bloody tired.

WW TODAY

 The first thing on my agenda for today is going to Weight Watchers.

I am not expecting much of a loss, if ANY today.  I've been a bit slack these past two weeks.

You could say it's been on and off with being careful and mindful of what I'm eating just lately.

Perhaps I need to have a gain to piss me off enough to get motivated again.

After WW, I will come home and get on with my jig saw.

And also, make sure we have everything ready for packing in the car, for tomorrow's market at Tamahere.

It will be interesting to see how many people turn up and if they are in a buying mood or not.

Right, that's about all I have for now, so catch ya later.

Woke to a very cool morning  and a fog! So strange for the middle of summer. 

Still in bed... catching up on all the news. Might stay here a bit longer...

9.30 am:  Yeah, didn't last long in bed.  I always lie there and think about what I could be doing.

So I got up and got doing.

Tended the pool.

Tidied my bedroom.

Killed a gazillion bloody ants steaming along an outside wall.

Moved that large plant that I'd put outside, it was getting sunburnt!  

Got a chicken casserole going in the crockpot for dinner tonight.

Then showered, put a bit of face on and so on.  I'm going to be joining Stew for lunch today, his suggestion.

He always buys his lunch on a Friday, and I was going to do the same on my way home from Weigh in at WW.  So he suggested we have lunch together on a Friday sometimes.

I think I want to try a Kebab from 'his' Kebab shop in town.  They are a nice, healthy lunch.

I got on our home scales  ...  and was pleasantly surprised!  I might not have much of a gain after all.  Our scales do not 'read' the same as the WW ones, so I suppose I shall have to wait and see what theirs say. 😏😜

Right... I'm off to check on all the market stuff... 

12.14 pm.  Weighed in and.... down .400 grams! edit : ALMOST half a kilo DOGSTARS.

Not much but SO MUCH BETTER than a gain.

I feel like a fraud.  I keep thinking and saying I'm gunna have a gain, then don't.  But, most days I don't step on the scales at all... I don't want them to dominate my life ever again.

I know I wasn't stellar in my eating over the past two weeks, so really didn't expect a loss.

Just sayin'.

ABOVE: This is the Kebab shop that Stew gets his 'Friday lunch' from.  It's a very uninspiring little shop, very basic and a bit rundown looking.  But the bloke in there makes a fantastic kebab!

I loved it.  VERY filling, so I shall probably NOT be having any dinner.

ABOVE:  On my way home I stopped in at Parana Park on River Road.  I love this darling little bridge.

I had a wander for about half an hour.

ABOVE:  It's such a shame the little creek looks so ikkk. The water was clear, but the creek bed ?  Not so nice. 

I dream of beautiful crystal clear waterways like they have down in the South Island.  Ya just don't see many like that in the North Island.

But back to now.  I'm home.  I'm stuffed.  I've got me feet up cos the heat tends to make them swell.  Not fun.

They will be swollen by the end of tomorrow, that's for sure.

Happy to say we are set for tomorrow.   The car is packed and ready to go.  We will go to bed a bit earlier than usual, as it will be an early start in the morning.

Neither of us had dinner tonight, just some snack type things.

The chicken and rice has been put in the fridge and freezer, I actually got three meals out of that crockpot full of chicken casserole.  SCORE.

Right, catch ya tomorrow.

OVEN CLEAN

I'm being a totally lazy tart, and am having my oven professionally cleaned today.

I could do it myself but just don't want to.

Cleaning the oven is an utter shit job, and for once I decided to get someone in to do it for me.

So, she is coming at around 9 am this morning to spray the cleaner on, then will come back in a couple of hours to do the actual clean.

Yaaaaa.... can't wait.  

I saw a cute toy on Facebook a while ago, and asked Bex if she could make it for me.  So she did.

ABOVE:  Meet KERMIT.  He's adorable.  Not quite completed yet, he's got shorts and a rubber ducky to come.  Oh and a fish hanging from the end of his 'rod'.  The fishing rod was Bex's idea, on top of the original pattern.

You are never too old for a new soft toy!

Today I don't really have any plans.  I don't need to sew anything right now, the house is tickety boo, household jobs are up to date and so on.

So... let's just wait and see.  Might just be a jig saw day!  

Oh I have thought of something... it's a question for you.

Q.:  Have any of you had a dog that suddenly starts eating dirt?  Moss, little stones, fluff off the carpet and so on???

In the past month Coco has been eating all of the above every day and then vomiting it back ... all over the place. 

It's gross.

I was worried she was sick, but seriously, she seems just fine.  

She has never done this before.

Has anyone had a dog do this???

9.44 am:  And the day is going very well.

All me jobs are done, the oven lady has been and sprayed the oven and will be back in a couple of hours.

My jig saw is coming along nicely.

I've blocked Coco from accessing dirt (for now).  My plan to allow her out the front is on hold, as that's where she is getting most of the dirt from.

My quandary with taking her to a Vet is that I know 100% what he/she will say.

- Either mineral/nutrient deficient - let's do lots of expensive blood tests to see shall we?  Ca ching, ca ching $$$.

-Or... anxiety.

And as she is showing signs of anxiety (whining and whimpering) for no apparent reason, so I'm thinking that is the more likely reason.

I have checked her all over and there is nothing of any concern about her body or ears/mouth etc.  

It's not nice when you don't want to go to the vet because you have been ripped off before.

The last vet I took Coco to was awful, saying she needed to do this/that and the other thing, and gimme $1,800 for doing that OK?

Like clean her teeth?  Do plaque removal.  Pull some teeth. Keep her in overnight,  bla bla bla.   NONE of that was necessary I might add.  I'd taken Coco in for ear ache!

And the bitch charged me $140 for a bottle of ear drops and sterile water.  WATER!  Yep.

So maybe just restricting her access to dirt (for now) will have to do.  IF she develops any other worrying issues, I will of course take her to a vet.  But maybe NOT the one we went to last time.

That woman was only out to rip me off.

Well that turned into a bit of a rant ... 😂😆😉

I might head into me sewing room... and sit still.

ABOVE:  That was, hands down, the best money spent in a while!

My oven is gorgeous again... Alicia did an amazing job.

Now I'm gunna have to go buy a new oven liner... so it doesn't get quite so bad again.

ABOVE:  Very, VERY, LOUD RAMBUNCTIOUS boys today!!!

They just had a swim.  LOUDLY.

And not much else has happened today.

Very quiet once the kids left.

Stew got home and went to the local pub for an hour to catch up with his mate Richard.  I picked him up when he was ready to come home.

Dinner was just crackers 'n' cheese.

Catch ya tomorrow.

I REALLY SHOULD STOP

 I move stuff too often.

Two days ago I wanted to put a certain cast iron ornament on top of the big rock in the rockery.

Do you think I could find it?

It had always been beside a door, cos I used it as a door stop more often than not.

So... There we were, Stew, Steve, Bex and I hunting all around the house and yard, looking for this:

ABOVE:  It's not exactly small... but do you think we could find it?  Nope.

I was kinda sure I'd put it outside the front door, last time I moved it.

So, we were thinking some nasty arse person had nicked it, and I was about to move all my pretties around to the back yard, so they wouldn't be stolen too.

Yesterday.  I'm outside.  By the rockery and dang! There it is in plain sight, on top of another rock!!!

HOW did 4 adults not see it when searching for it just the day before?  Derrr.

I'm NOT putting it on top of the big rock in the rockery now.  It's come back inside, so I don't lose it again.

Moral of the story, STOP moving shit.  

And let's just consider that option for a moment.

What's the chances of that???  0% right. 😖😒

ABOVE: There is nothing wrong with a nice salad.  I just loved the picture.  lol  Sharing and all that shit.

ABOVE:  Our rockery is starting to look awesome!  All the teeny tiny baby begonia plants have grown HEAPS.  And there's more coming up all the time.

ABOVE:  Our brazier is not used to burn anything, so I put lots of succulents in pots in it.

I think it looks neat.

ABOVE:  The only thing I want to do in this area now is put more succulents among the rocks.  I put some in a couple of months ago and they are doing really well.  So I know that works, and will put more in soon.

This area looks so much better as a rockery compared to the pond that was there.  

I might even plant more succulents there today.  There's nothing else on my agenda for the day.

11.20 am:  and I'm having an excellent morning.

I've actually made me bed today, on top of doing the washing, tending the pool - which looks amazing.

Done some of my jig saw and yakked to some family.  All is GREAT.

Later on I plan on planting a few more succulents, but right now it's too hot to be outside for me.

I read on Stuff about a TV programme that I'd never heard of before.  New Amsterdam.  Apparently it has just finished it's latest and last? series.

It got rave reviews, so I decided to start watching it on Netflix.

So far I've watched 3 episodes.  

And cried several times.  It's that good.

I hope all of the Series are on Netflix, I want to watch them ALL.

Bex and the boys just arrived for a swim.  It's a gorgeous day out there, but clouds are forming, so expect rain at some point.

Best keep an eye out, cos I've got washing out on the line.

Left overs for dinner tonight, so I don't have to cook a thing.  Gotta love that.

8.30 pm:  Talk about a quiet day... sorry !

But I'm LOVING the drama free, stress free days.  I want them to continue.

Catch ya tomorrow.