dietdevil: The feisty one can vote!

dietdevil: The feisty one can vote!: So today M turned 18!  I am not sure how that happened..........it seems like only yesterday that she was a noisy little person giving me s...

The feisty one can vote!

So today M turned 18!  I am not sure how that happened..........it seems like only yesterday that she was a noisy little person giving me sleepless nights..............oh wait, she still is!

 

I am handling it a lot better than I thought I would. I do not feel in any way redundant as a mother as I actually think that my kids are more demanding as they get older. If all goes according to their life plans, they will both be flying the nest this September so I am grinning and bearing the unpaid job of being their PA for the time being.

 

So what can I say about Martha?

 

She doesn't look like me but we definitely have similar personality traits - she is feisty, quite opinionated, a bit of a softy underneath it all and a bit of a madam. She also likes food.....the big difference being that she can eat what she wants and is tiny.

 

 

 

I am told by many that she has an excellent sense of humour and is 'really funny' , To be honest, this revelation may escape me a bit but I am not doubting it in any way.

 

She can now drive, she can now vote ( not UKIP ) and she is hoping to go to Bristol University to study law later this year. She can cook, she bakes beautiful cakes, she is well spoken , she is beautiful and I am very proud of her.

 

She will always be my baby and if she reads this she wont be happy.....but simply, that's how it is.

 

Every time she goes off out in the car I think to myself 'she's too small and young to be driving' but she is living her life and she has her whole life in front of her and this makes me happy. I am aware she likes to party  too and the odd thing is that I don't really worry about her on that score as she is more than capable of looking after herself.

 

So that's today's very mushy blog.

 

And one final word for all you younger Mums out there.................time really does fly, and they will be grown ups before you know it.

 

Baked potatoes and Buddies.

So it would appear that I haven't blogged for a while. I am going to rectify this right now as I have missed spouting out my musings and I am sure some of you have missed me too.......haven't you?

 

In keeping with the original subject of this blog, I am still going to fat club and after having been at target for almost a year, I went  a bit mad last  week and decided to lower it by another half a stone.

 

TODAY I DID IT..... STICK A FORK IN ME, I AM DONE!

 

I am now around the weight that I was prior to getting pregnant for the first time in my spring chicken days. This was 23 years ago.  I can't go any lower because I like food and I would be miserable..... and I have loads of nice new clothes that I want to keep wearing. Thank you Ebay.

 

I have a few words of wisdom for anyone wanting to embark on a weight loss journey. I have written them in list style so it makes it easier to read whilst eating doughnuts etc.

 

1. All 'diets' work if you stick to them.

It doesn't matter if you do Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Atkins, 5:2, or cabbage soup. Everyone has their preferences and as long as you follow the guidelines you will shed your weight. You will not lose weight by eating the same sort of foods that made you overweight in the first place.

 

2. Some clothes are never going to fit you.

I bought a lovely silk tunic style top in September 2013 - a Joe Brown's one. It was a little 'snug' back then and 16 months later and 3 stone less of me, it still doesn't fit. It is still hanging in my wardrobe waiting to be rehomed.

 

3. Your diet is your business.

There are always going to be 'experts'  out there ( ie, friends that have never had a weight problem ) that will think they know better. Ignore them - they don't .

 

4. It's ok to buckle and have a pie.

You can never be 100% good all of the time. If you want a pie, have a pie. You'll probably wish you hadn't had a pie,  but sometimes you just have to. You're only human.

 

5. Don't think once you are at target you can eat lots of pies.

Obviously you can have the odd one ( see above ) .....but in my case it's best to avoid the tasty little buggers and just keep my eye on the ball.

 

And that's it really. No biggy, just common sense.

 

Today, after the euphoria of another target certificate a group of us went for lunch.

 

 

The common bond  about these people is  that we are all book group buddies and buddies in real life too. Leanne was also there but she chose to abstain from the photo and took it instead. We laughed, shrewed, chatted and ate baked potatoes and generally spent a lovely couple of hours in each other's company. It is now a bit of a habit to do this on a Wednesday after our weigh in and we all actually manage to stick to being fairly well behaved too. They ALWAYS give us several slabs of butter with our baked potatoes and we always hand it back ( some of us more willingly than others) and I don't know if everyone in the whole world knows this yet  but I am having a dry January again so I washed my lunch down with a delicious lime and soda. It was very 'refreshing'.

 

So what next for me?

 

I am going to carry on as I am but I shall be sneaking in the odd treat here and there. A couple of people have asked why I am still attending fat club if I am at target , and the reason being is that I am still up for the odd recipe and cooking hint but most of all, I genuinely like going. It is motivating ( amen) and everyone in that room can feel your pain when things haven't gone as well as you'd expected. It sounds horrendously cheesy, but it's true.

 

And of course, there's the baked potatoes to look forward to afterwards.

 

 

What's a number anyway ?

 

So I've been thinking . It's something I do a lot of and possibly too much of but it's something that I'm unlikely to change now at the ripe old age of 46.

I'm thinking about numbers and quite specifically the numbers that flash up on the dreaded scales . Yes , I'm still a serial weigher and have even taken to making a note of my daily weight on my fancy iPhone . I make charts and graphs because I'm far from someone that has OCD but I do like to see statistics - I think  they're vital ( see what I did there ?) when you're attempting to lose weight !

Today I'm up one!

This can't be right but I saw it with my own eyes , just before I growled .

And this is the point of my blog today ......

Will we ever be happy with our lot and really what does a number mean when logically I'm not going to look or feel any differently from yesterday ?

My old fat club consultant said to me that if you pretty much still eat the same as when you were losing weight but nothing else budges  , then you're at the weight you're meant to be . This makes complete sense but I need to use this as my mantra instead of beating myself up about it .

Since doing the weighing at fat club I see dozens of women of varying weights , shapes and sizes hopping on and off those scales and I know more than anyone that 3 people that all weigh the same aren't necessarily going to look the same.

We are all different and as much as I often think it would be nice to have smaller boobs or narrower hips - IT ISN'T EVER GOING TO HAPPEN!

if I paid more attention to that stupid bmi chart then I would never get to target and my new clothes now span over at least 3 different sizes depending on the cut and the shop so these numbers are never going to be simple .

So my point is - and I know I've blogged this countless times ..... I may ditch the scales ( apart from the official ones ) and calm down and practise what I've just preached .

That's all I had to say and I've done this blog on my mobile and if I'm feeling very adventurous I may just delete my weight data ........

What's a number anyway ?

So I've been thinking . It's something I do a lot of and possibly too much of but it's something that I'm unlikely to change now at the ripe old age of 46.

I'm thinking about numbers and quite specifically the numbers that flash up on the dreaded scales . Yes , I'm still a serial weigher and have even taken to making a note of my daily weight on my fancy iPhone . I make charts and graphs because I'm far from someone that has OCD but I do like to see statistics - I think  they're vital ( see what I did there ?) when you're attempting to lose weight !

Today I'm up one!

This can't be right but I saw it with my own eyes , just before I growled .

And this is the point of my blog today ......

Will we ever be happy with our lot and really what does a number mean when logically I'm not going to look or feel any differently from yesterday ?

My old fat club consultant said to me that if you pretty much still eat the same as when you were losing weight but nothing else budges  , then you're at the weight you're meant to be . This makes complete sense but I need to use this as my mantra instead of beating myself up about it .

Since doing the weighing at fat club I see dozens of women of varying weights , shapes and sizes hopping on and off those scales and I know more than anyone that 3 people that all weigh the same aren't necessarily going to look the same.

We are all different and as much as I often think it would be nice to have smaller boobs or narrower hips - IT ISN'T EVER GOING TO HAPPEN!

if I paid more attention to that stupid bmi chart then I would never get to target and my new clothes now span over at least 3 different sizes depending on the cut and the shop so these numbers are never going to be simple .

So my point is - and I know I've blogged this countless times ..... I may ditch the scales ( apart from the official ones ) and calm down and practise what I've just preached .

That's all I had to say and I've done this blog on my mobile and if I'm feeling very adventurous I may just delete my weight data ........

I'm back with my machine of dreams.

So it has been a long long 2 and a half months since I dipped my toe into the pool of blogging. I have missed it. I'm not sure if I have been missed but I am back.

 

 

The summer in St Ives has been and gone and I am now ( sort of ) enjoying a Sunny September. I am back at fat club every week, I have been given the role of the weighing lady and I have kept off the weight I have lost and am still a target member...........which means that after the thousands of pounds I have spent in my life at trying not to be fat, I no longer have to pay.

 

 

So what's it like to be at 'target'? Shall I say..........and shall I be honest?

 

IT'S ACE!

 

I don't go surfing, I haven't discovered a new inner me and I haven't felt the need to climb any mountains.

 

I have bought nice new clothes, I have continued to make relatively wise choices with my food, I still have my culinary flops and I will speak to anyone that asks about how I did it.

 

And that's about it really.

 

 

Yesterday I bought a Tefal Actifry.

 

 

 

 

Any readers out there may recall that I have said on more than one occasion that chips are indeed my favourite vegetable. I make them in a healthy manner ( squirted with low cal oil spray and chucked in the oven ) and yes, they are ok. BUT they aren't like what you would buy at the chippy.

 

Let's be honest here though folks - the only chips that taste like they have been bought at the chippy ARE chips that were bought from the chippy but I have to say that my actifry ones were pretty darned tasty. They were so tasty and I was so impressed that so far today I have done sausages in it, I have roast potatoes in it as I speak and I have some parsnips and honey just waiting to be fried in an active way. It's all healthy and it's all good.

 

And during my absence I haven't been a total angel with regards to my food consumption. I have had numerous meals out,  I have clinked various glasses of prosecco ( my new merlot )   and I actually put on 4 pounds after a weekend with Rachael ( one of my new years resolutions was to meet her ) BUT I got it all off the next week because as lovely as it all is I simply don't want to go back to being a porker.

 

So, if any of you are after a top tip with this slimming malarkey , that's it really.

 

Yes, have treats and yes, have the odd blow out but don't let that blow out continue.

 

Life is all about living.

 

And crispy chips.

 

 

 

 



Relax I'm still here.............

So I haven't blogged for ages. I have been doing the #100happydays malarkey instead and I am now on day 86. It's been a blast but it's nearly over now and so I thought I would gently ease myself back into blogging in a gentle and ladylike manner in a bid to try and get some of my Ukranians back.

 

Or anyone from Chad - I'm not fussy .

 

And the last time I blogged was 3 and a half months ago. Have you missed me?

 

I am still at my fat club target although I am tending to bob around a bit - up 2,  down 3, stay the same etc etc. I am happy with this. I did ask some die hard Slimming World target members the secret to their still snake like hips and they suggested having extra bread ( shriek! ) or the odd extra lump of cheese ( swoon ) but it was all a bit vague ....so the secret to my success is just to still follow the plan and if I feel the need to have a burger ( like today ) then I am good for the next few days and fingers crossed it seems to be working.

 

I have returned to a weekly class though . I like the banter plus I like the cereal bars. It also keeps me in check if I know that the results of my very busy social life will show at the scales.

 

And speaking of busy - I am a crumpled waif at the moment. I am doing a quiz on a Monday and Tuesday and it may not sound difficult but it definitely is. I have to keep control of lots and lots of drunk people and some of them seriously need a bit of a slap. My friend Debbie used to do the quiz with me years ago, and I always remember her saying when we got to the pub one night -

 

''no matter how easy you think this quiz is, for some people it will never be easy''

 

and that basically sums it up.

 

I have been heckled, shouted at, hassled and there's a couple of you out there that have had a little tantrum because you haven't won. I don't care who wins. I get paid to do it and as long as the majority of people there appear to be having fun then that's good enough for me.

 

I am off to London next week to see Robbie Williams with Nicola. We have had the usual last minute drama with the tickets but after a few strongly worded emails and some twitter cursing, they have now arrived. hallelujah.

 

The week after next I am off to Cardiff to see H graduate. For those of you that don't follow me on facebook , you will have missed the drama of the dresses. I need to have exactly the right thing to wear for this momentous occasion. So far I have bought -

 

1. An emerald green tea dress from Fat Face. This is still my outright favourite however I cant wear it unless my boobs shrink between now and the 15th July. My chest will take over the entire ceremony and possibly most of South Wales so it's unfortunately a no-no.

 

2. A Jane Norman navy effort. It would look nice at a funeral or if I got an OBE.

 

3. A very nice one from Viva, the clothes shop on the corner. I thought that this was the one but I saw someone wearing the same one last night at fat club and I wasn't happy.

 

4. A White Stuff one with butterflies on. Too smocky and I wore it out for lunch last week and so it's no longer a virgin.

 

THE WINNER IS -

 

A white linen one with a nice lace border.

 

I got it from Tescos up Camborne and it cost £16.

 

 I am going to accessorise.

 

I still have 12 days of course to change my mind but am going to try and be disciplined.

 

 And coincidentally the penultimate #happydays photo will be of H in her cap and gown. This was not intended but I think is a jolly nice way to bring it to an end.

 

An then you blog fans can have me back.

 

You're welcome.

 

 

dietdevil: Sniff Sniff Sniff

dietdevil: Sniff Sniff Sniff: So in case any of you have missed this - I LOVE springer spaniels. I have 3 of them and I adore them and the Mummy of the youngest one has ...

Sniff Sniff Sniff

So in case any of you have missed this - I LOVE springer spaniels. I have 3 of them and I adore them and the Mummy of the youngest one has just had more puppies so I went to visit.

 

They were squishy and they were cute and they made little 'ooh ooh ' noises and I basically wanted to sniff them for hours and nibble their ears. I obviously didn't do this as I do occasionally manage to control myself in puppy type situations but they were adorable!

 

 

And as cute as they all are - they will grow into these .........

 

 

So there will be no new additions to the Noall Spaniel gang - definitely not!

 

But isn't there something totally delicious about the smell of anything baby? Whether it is a dog or a cat, or even an actual human, it makes my ovaries throb and my head go a little fuzzy. I love them and that is that.

 

And moving on from our canine chums, my life has been a little up and down recently.

I am very proud of myself for handling it quite well though and despite being stressed and upset over things I cant really do anything about, I haven't sunk into the awful depression that I had last year. My pecker has been well and truly up and as awful as my annus horribilus 2013 was, in a way it did me a favour as the events of this year are nowhere near as bad as the things that caused me to crumble last year.

 

And I appear to be still at target weight wise!

 

I have thrown in a few treats on a Thursday and Friday ( not sausage rolls or doughnuts I hasten to add ) and I eat my normal healthy stuff for the remainder of the week. I am never going to be 100% happy with myself but then again who is? and I am enjoying the moment and may try and tackle another half stone at some point in the future but not just yet.

 

And spring has sprung!

 

St Ives was shrouded in a weird fog last week and I am ecstatic to announce there has been no rain for what seems like ages now. The farm where the beautiful puppies live was bathed in golden sunshine and driving back through the winding lanes there was birds chirping and it was all very lovely.

 

I also have been overtaken by quiz type things. I am resuming doing the weekly quiz for the local pub on a Monday and am doing a couple of charity ones soon and then before I know it I am back up the campsite every Tuesday. I enjoy them and love having a microphone

''look at me and listen to me''

 so it's all good.

 

And of course - 3 huge events to look forward to

 

1. Dolly in Cardiff

 

2. Robbie at the O2

 

3. Hattie graduating.

 

Diamante and tassels for the first, Gig chic for the second and posh frock for the third so I best start saving and then get myself off doing the sort of shopping that I actually like now - clothes!

 

dietdevil: My heart strings were tugged today and I wore shor...

dietdevil: My heart strings were tugged today and I wore shor...: So I went shopping and I saw something in Tescos that made me feel very sad. It's too personal to put on here in case the 2 people in q...

My heart strings were tugged today and I wore shorts.

So I went shopping and I saw something in Tescos that made me feel very sad. It's too personal to put on here in case the 2 people in question should read it but it made me fill up a bit. I am saying no more. Life can be a total bitch and it definitely has been for these people.

 

I am moving swiftly on.

 I did an austerity shop. I hate shopping at the best of times and I have now been lured by the cheap meats of Camborne so anything that was thrown into my trolley was thrown in with a roll of my eyes and a loud 'TUT'! I excelled myself with some of the bargains I found though and not  a single one had a value sticker on so I was doubly pleased.  I think the depressing thing about food shopping though is the fact that no matter what you buy, you will have to go and do the same thing again the following week. Shopping day is groundhog day as far as I'm concerned.

 

And the weather is gorgeous! The predicted heatwave did arrive.

 

Too good to be shopping for long and so I took advantage and I did some weeding. I am not one of life's natural gardeners by any stretch of the imagination. Armed with my new hoe and wearing a pair of shorts that kept falling down I tackled it. I then realised that I had no idea where my gloves were so I went in bareback. There was a couple of whopping worms and I touched one and managed not to vomit and carried on until the front garden was weed free and the bulbs that Leanne gave me were planted. She even walked past my house and I am sure she was doing it to check that I was doing it right too. I could tell she was impressed.

 

And the good news is that I appear to be back at my target weight after the pastry shenanigans. I was good yesterday and have been good today and thankfully feel a lot better. Roast turkey for dinner with some of my beloved sprouts and a large glass of merlot should finish off the day nicely. I have nearly finished the quiz for the quiz final on Thursday with just a bit of nipping and tweaking required. Some of the questions are easy and some are real stinkers but it should sort the wheat from the proverbial chaff. I like both the teams that are partaking in the final and I really wouldn't like to say who I think would win but it will be a good night.

 

As long as I avoid the buffet obviously.

 

I also was going to attempt one of my infamous recipes using things that you can eat on Slimming World. It was pancakes and there was smash potato in them. I didn't have any smash in my cupboard and I fancied bacon and eggs instead so I didn't bother. I am thinking that tomorrow I will instead. My friend Jenna assured me that they were quite nice but I think they may be a no no from the word go as I don't really like pancakes that much anyway. These things need to be tried though - if only for the comedy factor.

 

And finally, this month I am determined to finish reading the book group book as I have been quite naughty recently. This month's choice is 'The Book Thief' and by all accounts it is a cracker. The trouble is that I am reading yet another Jenny Éclair and she is very funny whereas the book group choice is set in Nazi Germany so I am guessing the laughs will be few and far between.

 

We all need a bit of humour in our lives but we all need to read allocated books too so I am going to finish this blog right now and crack on.

 

 

dietdevil: I am Gillian McKeith.............but I don't look ...

dietdevil: I am Gillian McKeith.............but I don't look ...: So here was my idea for Thursday.....have no dinner and enjoy the buffet at the quiz. Great in principle but not so great when you are on y...

I am Gillian McKeith.............but I don't look at people's poo.

So here was my idea for Thursday.....have no dinner and enjoy the buffet at the quiz. Great in principle but not so great when you are on your third drink by the time the buffet arrives.

 

When it got there it was fine and I may have even salivated a little. There were big fat sandwiches, onion rings , chips and rather a lot of scampi. I was on my fifth piece when I said 'I don't know what the hell is inside these breadcrumbs but I like it' and Geordie Andy reliably informed me it was scampi, the great culinary masterpiece of the 1980's. Anyway, I had 4 doubles and was fine and came home full of scampi, bread and booze - three of my now  favourite things.

 

Yesterday I was hanging. Not since Polish Christmas have I been so hungover and that rendered me incapable of speaking for at least 2 days. I started off okay in the morning but as soon as 3pm hit I went down quicker than a whore's drawers. It was not good and in a moment of stupidity I convinced myself that I needed some stodge so I trotted off to Warrens and bought -

 

2 x sausage rolls ( jumbo ones )

 

2 x doughnuts ( one jam and one had something sweet and sticky inside  it )

 

I ate them and at the risk of sounding like Gillian Mckeith or Gwyneth Paltrow they made me feel even worse. I had palpitations and I was giddy and not with pleasure and this leads me to the belief that it wasn't what I drank but what I ate!

 

To some of you this may sound lame, but I think it's true. For the past 6 months I have been virtually virtuous and I think the overload of fried stuff and bread stuff pushed my now healthy insides over the edge. The sausage rolls ( jumbo ) and the doughnuts added to this. It taught me a couple of lessons.

 

1. I should have had my dinner before the quiz and then just had a couple of bits as a treat.

 

2. Pastry and cakes are no longer my friends.

 

3. In future when people tell me to have a cake I can say 'oh no I have an allergy' and look like a bit of a knobhead.

 

And so today I got back on it. This was after weighing on my newly reclaimed scales and seeing that I am a pound up.

 

Was it worth it?  - not really.

 

Will I do it again? - probably but perhaps not as much.

 

And it is true what dear old Gillian says - you are what you eat and generally if you eat crap you feel crap. I realise I am possibly being a bit of a smug dieter here, but at the moment this is how I feel.

 

Today I have cleansed myself and feel a lot better. Lots of fruit and veg and meat. I am hoping that I will get rid of the surplus by fat club on Wednesday and if I don't then I will take it on the chins.

 

And on a jolly note - I saw an old friend today who groped me , presumably to do a flubber check and was amazed at how much  weight I had lost. It's times like this it's worth it and I am thankful that the aroma of sausage roll and doughnut had been replaced by porridge and banana.

dietdevil: Being a huffy madam and the return of my beautifu...

dietdevil: Being a huffy madam and the return of my beautifu...: So it was first weigh in today after being at target and I maintained. I should technically be happy with this but there is a little bit of...

Being a huffy madam and the return of my beautiful scales and where the hell is Larry?

So it was first weigh in today after being at target and I maintained. I should technically be happy with this but there is a little bit of the huffy in me today and it's hard to get used to not  losing. I need to get over myself and chill out.

 

I had a cheeseburger and chips a week ago and 2 extra slices of bread on Saturday and apart from that I have been as angelic as I will ever be.  The whole point of setting a target weight is to be at a weight you want to be at and are able to maintain yet I have still got a face like a bulldog licking piss off a thistle. It is also my time of the month so that is why I want to growl, froth and cry all at the same time. I should maybe make a list of nice things and count my blessings but at this precise moment I want to sit in a dark room and listen to Dido and maybe eat a pie or two. Tomorrow I will be better.

 

I heard from one of my oldest friends last night. She emigrated to Canada 15 years ago and we last saw each other when we were both pregnant - me with my youngest and her with her oldest. Time flies and we yapped and laughed for over an hour and promised that we wouldn't leave it so long until next time. Maybe this is why I am a bit glum today? Everyone is getting older. Even me.

 

On a positive note -  I have now got the nice scales back in their rightful place. These are the ones that show my correct weight and don't tease me. Angela from fat club gave me them back this morning and I nearly kissed them and her. I haven't hopped on yet but I know they are there - almost like a comfort blanket really and to put my fragile ego at rest for the days I get a bit wobbly. Every so often I will do my 'I do not need  scales' rant, but if the truth be known, I totally do.

 

And today is the start of Lent. I was going to give up bread, then it was meat , then it was wine and then it was chocolate and then I thought oh stop already. I gave up booze for all of January, I don't eat bread much, I bloody love meat and I have gone off chocolate so there is nothing really to give up that will have that much of an impact on me or my lifestyle so I am giving up giving up. Obviously giving up meat would have an impact but I am sure you can all remember my one day of vegetarianism last year and how I was practically eyeing up my spaniels by lunchtime.

 

And it is book group tonight and I am hoping for a Viagra of a book to help revive my severely flagging reading mojo. I am a book geek, a reader, a devourer of fiction , and nothing seems to be floating my boat at the moment.............apart from Jenny Éclair and that's probably only because she has the same name as a cake! I want to have a book that I don't want to put down, a book that I think about when I am not reading it and a book that makes me sad to finish. Am I being demanding? Yes.

 

So before you all feel the need to slit your wrists after reading this, I am going to cheer myself up. I am going to eat some curry for lunch and to make some lists and to just basically snap out of the doldrums. I will be back tomorrow, happy as the proverbial Larry, whoever he may be.

 

dietdevil: Scales, Soup and Spring is trying to spring. And s...

dietdevil: Scales, Soup and Spring is trying to spring. And s...: So I got my scales back from Beccy. I am weak. I need them and I had almost forgotten that in a rash moment a couple of years ago I gave th...

Scales, Soup and Spring is trying to spring. And some serious stuff too.

So I got my scales back from Beccy. I am weak. I need them and I had almost forgotten that in a rash moment a couple of years ago I gave them away with strict instructions not to return until I got to target! I obviously bought another set which I then gave away a few weeks back to Angela from Camborne. I got the ones back off Beccy on Saturday. This excited me.

 

My excitement soon wore off though once I got on them and my weight fluctuated by half a stone in the space of me having a bath. This morning I appear to have lost 3 stone but I have gained 2 throughout the day. They are playing games with my fragile ego so I have asked Angela to bring back my other set when she comes to fat club on Wednesday. I need them . I try and kid myself I don't but I do and I wont be happy until they are back in their rightful place.

 

I had one of my soup moments this morning. I get them every so often and I am crap at making soup and if I'm honest I don't really like it that much either. I dry fried off loads of left over veg from last night's roast and then brought it to the boil, threw in an Oxo and put it on to simmer. It smelt ansum it really did.

And then I forgot that it was simmering and it had to be chiselled off the bottom of the pan and all I am saying is that it's a good job it was a good quality Jamie Oliver pan and it has lived to tell the tale. I hate him but his cookware is divine.

Leanne has said to leave the soup shenanigans to her and I can deal with the fish. She made a fish pie yesterday which by all accounts made her 'gip'. The whole lot was binned and I know there are lots of starving people in the world but from what she was saying I don't think they would have wanted it either.

 

And it's sunny!

 

And sort of dry!

 

There are baby birdies singing and definite little buds appearing and it is mellow and not so cold. I got my sunglasses out. I went for a walk and didn't wear them but I know where they are for future reference. This is good. I always find spring a promising month and I know that there is that old saying 'cast ne'er a clowt til May is out' but the first sniff of any remotely warm weather will prompt me into getting flip flopped and t shirted. It has to be done .

 

A serious bit now......................I rarely watch the news and I never read a newspaper but this whole Ukraine thing is worrying me now. I don't like the phrase 'world war three' being bandied about. When I was a lassie up in Northumberland in the 80's there was always that dark undercurrent of a threat that Russia was going to nuke America and because we had their missiles deployed at Greenham Common then we would get a slap on the way  past too. There was then Gadaffi and Libya in the mid 80's and then Saddam in the late 80's and into the 90's and then it wasn't nukes they were talking but chemical warfare. It is frightening and I don't really understand any of it.

 

All I know is that despite the monstrous weather the last few weeks I am glad I live where I do. We completely take for granted our health and our lives and my moaning about scales and burnt soup is zilch in comparison to the fear that the people over there must be going through. Life is cheap in some parts of the world, totally meaningless and this makes me sad.

 

And on that thoroughly depressing note, I am about to give Jamie's pan another chance. This time with some chilli.

 

.

 

 

dietdevil: Apparently they taste like hob nobs.

dietdevil: Apparently they taste like hob nobs.: So - day 4 of being at target and I had lunch out. I had soup and my friend had a burger. And chips. There was a drizzle of cream on top of...

Apparently they taste like hob nobs.

So - day 4 of being at target and I had lunch out. I had soup and my friend had a burger. And chips. There was a drizzle of cream on top of my soup and 2 chunks of bread. I ate it all. I am maybe pushing my luck or chancing my arm or both but it was the friendliest thing on the menu for me today.

 

And lunch was at The Hub. Honestly, the more I go there, the more I like it. Their banquettes are comfy and the place is always very lively. Oh and the view is great too. One woman on the way in fell and head butted the door and one woman on the way out nearly lost her fingers in a jamming incident so there was plenty to look at. When I say jamming, I mean she jammed them in the door and she wasn't playing the guitar with Jimmy Hendrix.

 

Tonight I am doing stuff in the kitchen again. I am making my infamous cauliflower bread  and I am also making something, which according to my friend Jenna 'tastes just like hob nobs'. Now in the grand scheme of things I don't really care for Hob Nobs but I am always up for a culinary adventure. Sometimes it's a hit and sometimes it's a miss. For example -

 

Quinoa Carrot Cake - surprisingly edible

Swiss Roll - nomch

Chickpea Hummus - Don't even go there

Magic Pancakes - Hurl - I'm still nervous around lots of eggs

Smash Pizzas - Meh

 

So I am not sure where these Hob Nobs will be on my list. They will be baked tonight and dunked into my black coffee in the morning. I am not going to reveal the ingredients but I may throw in a few sultanas just for the heck of it.

  I have just made them and I even threw in a sliced banana. I need to calm it down a bit. For those of you reading this that are true fans of a chunkier biscuit, you may want to look away..........

 

 

They smell nice, they look rough and in the words of Peter Kay, Hob Nobs are the royal marines of the biscuit world and  they can survive some hard core dunking.

 

Bring on the dunking tomorrow!

 

dietdevil: Sometimes you need a bit of nomch.

dietdevil: Sometimes you need a bit of nomch.: So this week has been quite a week. Freddy is less of a man and I am a target member of fat club and I have to say it is quite liberating. ...