Keeping up appearances.......

Honey_Bear

How's it going Happy Now?

1. No money wasted, but money was spent again. I had a list and didn't buy anything that wasn't on it, so that was a tiny victory, I suppose.
2. Excel SS up to date. It isn't pretty.
3. Did you try the BB?
4. Porridge, goats cheese sundried tomatoes and pesto on brown bread with apple pie and cream for lunch, h/m cheese and onion flan with mashed sweet potatoes, and spinach for dinner. No hobnobs, but five liquorice allsorts (oops).
5. Managed 5 F&V so very happy with that.
6. Four fruit tea, so pleased with that.
7. My flylady task was clearing some paperwork that needed doing, which should have been done last week. Tidying, as always.
8. I'm off to bed after this entry because I'm really tired not having slept well last night.
9. Hmmm. Spider played a bit too much, but I did clear two long outstanding sewing tasks that needed figuring out before I could embark on them so I have an excuse.:rotfl:

I've decided the only way to tackle the Twink's Hobnob problem and its associated fruit pastille binges is to cut out sweet things altogether for Lent. I know it's self-serving and not in the true spirit of Lent itself, but as I'm not actually religious I hope I'll be forgiven for that. I've found in the past that cutting out sugary stuff for a couple of months means that afterwards I don't eat as much as before so hopefully it'll help in the longer term.

HappyNow

FlacosFloozie wrote: »

Hope you have a nice lunch- you deserve a treat after all your hard work this month

Thank you . We went to a pub in a nearby village - Mr H had fish and chips and I had a pizza. We thought it was expensive, then the waitress told us that we got a free bottle of wine with our order. Sounds great, BUT I'M NOT DRINKING ALCOHOL IN FEBRUARY AND MR H WAS DRIVING!! So, we asked for it to be left unopened and it is now sat in my wine rack, waiting for 1st March. I can't stop staring at it :rotfl:

HappyNow

Honey_Bear wrote: »

I hope lunch was lovely.


1. Coffee out with a friend who I haven't had a proper chat with for months. Spendy, though.
Spendy but not wasty I would say
2. SS up to date.
3. All good on the not boozing front.
4. Rubbish day, food wise. Sort of oaty breakfast, but Twink's as opposed to porridge, cold pizza for lunch, two tubes of fruit pastilles for tea and proper meal in the evening. Weighed myself this morning and although I'm about a kilo lighter than I was this time last week, it's still up from my lowest point recently. The hobnobs, fruit pastilles and chips were to blame and I will have to tackle them.
5. Err, M&S four veggie thing with dinner but tiny portions of each so only two portions really, and apple pie.
6. Two mugs of fruit tea. Fail.
7. Bathroom sink swish and swiped, and vacuumed the top wo layers and stairs. Tidying. I also realised that because I'm using the microwave a lot to cook the dog's food which boils over monotonously regularly, that I clean that every day too at the moment, so doing a bit more than I realised.
8. Really, really didn't want to go to bed last night and slept badly as a result. I must allow myself to stay up and do stuff if that's what I feel like sometimes. I blame the coffees I had out with S in the morning.
9. Success!


Are you going to carry on in March? If you do I'd join you because you're definitely making me mindful about what I'm doing.

Well I definitely need a few days off to tackle that bottle of wine I've just posted about :rotfl: .I think so though, because I am actually feeling better for it. Are you?


I managed most of mine yesterday. The meal was £27 but I don't think it was wasted because we enjoyed it and we were out for hours. I drank Pepsi and didn't have a pudding but I honestly didn't feel deprived.


The hoover was mended and Mr H did all the vac-ing to test it! Meanwhile I dusted everywhere then made a huuuuge vegetable casserole which has now been frozen in individual portions ready for me to take as healthy work lunches

HappyNow

Honey_Bear wrote: »

How's it going Happy Now?

1. No money wasted, but money was spent again. I had a list and didn't buy anything that wasn't on it, so that was a tiny victory, I suppose.
2. Excel SS up to date. It isn't pretty.
3. Did you try the BB?
Yes, I bought the six pack this morning at Asd* and had one after work. It tasted just like proper beer to me, although I don't drink much beer so I'd be easily fooled! I really enjoyed it and I think it will be a regular buy. I felt very 'grown-up'!
4. Porridge, goats cheese sundried tomatoes and pesto on brown bread with apple pie and cream for lunch, h/m cheese and onion flan with mashed sweet potatoes, and spinach for dinner. No hobnobs, but five liquorice allsorts (oops).
Ooh you've had all my favourite things today!
5. Managed 5 F&V so very happy with that.
6. Four fruit tea, so pleased with that.
7. My flylady task was clearing some paperwork that needed doing, which should have been done last week. Tidying, as always.
8. I'm off to bed after this entry because I'm really tired not having slept well last night.
9. Hmmm. Spider played a bit too much, but I did clear two long outstanding sewing tasks that needed figuring out before I could embark on them so I have an excuse.:rotfl:

I've decided the only way to tackle the Twink's Hobnob problem and its associated fruit pastille binges is to cut out sweet things altogether for Lent. I know it's self-serving and not in the true spirit of Lent itself, but as I'm not actually religious I hope I'll be forgiven for that. I've found in the past that cutting out sugary stuff for a couple of months means that afterwards I don't eat as much as before so hopefully it'll help in the longer term.
I intended to cut out all sugary foods this Feb and I've probably reduced it by 80%. I'm a biscuit and chocolate freak and I can eat stupid amounts without ever feeling sick or putting on too much weight. I'm hoping a month of eating it like normal people will have broken the habit. I'm not convinced though, it must be deeply engrained! Is Lent coming up soon? I don't know when it starts or how long it goes on for but I will cheer you along!

DAY 16

• Spent £9.50 in Asd* on coffee, blue Becks, conditioner and deodorant. Bit of a question mark over whether the Becks is technically wasty, but I'm going to give myself the benefit of the doubt
• YNAB up-dated, tragic as usual but at least it balances
• No alcohol
• Breakfast - porridge. Snack - yogurt and tinned peaches. Lunch - salad and a Go Ahead. Snack - yogurt and nuts. Tea - cheese and leek sausages, parsnip mash and roasted vegetables. One biscuit. One apple. Fresh orange juice. At least six F & V there!
• Drank several buckets of water
• Emptied the dishwasher, made the bed, sat on the sofa
• Hmm, I have to get up in six hours so failed on that one!
• Played one session of Candy Crush.

HappyNow

Little Miss Happy is coming home at the weekend. She has two interviews next week for September's teacher training. And tonight her current uni have emailed offering her a place on next year's Masters course, so she has a lot of thinking to do. I'm so looking forward to seeing her but it's going to be an intense few days, with full-day interviews on two consecutive days and a cut-off date for selecting a course of Friday 27th. If ever I was going to crave sugary food and alcohol, it's next week!

Honey_Bear

Posting now because by the time I get to the end of the day my brain doesn't process information as well as yours.


How lovely that Miss Happy has earned such a wealth of choice and that you have time with her to look forward to this week! I'll be thinking of you over the weekend while you concentrate on staying on the straight and narrow and enjoying her company.


The meal out sounds just the ticket. I work at home and talk radio burbles away in the background when I don't need to give what I'm working on my full attention. On a Ted talk recently someone said that if you want to motivate people to complete a task there has to be a point in the middle at which something changes. The example given was taking a course of antibiotics. Rather than 24 white pills, give the patient 18 white pills and 6 blue pills and tell them to change to the six pills after the white pills are finished. Result: compliance. (Apparently.) So the middle bit is really, really important and where the success actually becomes much more likely provided something changes.


Your meal out was not a spendy waste nor is the Becks, in my opinion. If the whole of February is only about denial then not only is the chance of making it through rather diminished, I would have thought, but it would be utterly miserable, only useful in the short-term and wasted. If, however, you discover you can go out for a meal and enjoy the time you spent with your husband even without booze and then find an alternative that you enjoy, then you've learned two useful facts for the future.


Wevverspoons sells B3cks (hereinafter referred to as BB) and so do a lot of pubs and restaurants and like you, I wasn't a beer or lager drinking in my drinking days. I don't feel deprived at all drinking it instead of wine or G&T which were my tipples of choice and after six months of going alcohol-free, I'm honestly reborn. I knew I probably had a problem with alcohol and I'd been putting off dealing with it for years - up-coming birthday, weddings, Christmas, new year, I've just bought a bottle of gin, we've just been to France and stocked up ... you name it, I had the excuse. The day I stopped once and for all was just another day but it was the one when I knew I had to stop and that was that. Along with stopping smoking about nine years ago it's got to be one of the best things I've ever done and BB is a huge part of that. If they stop making it I'll find another AF beer or lager. I'd no more go back to drinking than I would smoking. (This house was bursting at the seams with booze when I stopped and still is. OH has cut his consumption by about two thirds now he doesn't have me egging him on, and that's great, but whatever his does is his choice and is fine with me.)


Today is Shrove Tuesday (pancake day), tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, technically the first day of Lent. Lent ends on Easter Sunday, not Good Friday as the media and supermarkets would have us believe, which means Easter eggs shouldn't be eaten until Sunday 5 April. (Probably more information than you wanted.)

Aaleigha

Mrs Happy - have a lovely time with Miss Happy
I spent the day with my daughter and part of it with my son - shame dh had to work - we are all rarely together these days

you seem to be having a good week and a night out every now and then is a must - we dont do it often as we are saving for a holiday BUT I am willing to give it up as is DH just for the time away

so it is lent very soon) tomorrow and I have decided to give up biscuits - I have a couple of digestives (Mc vities) daily and I think that is something that will feel difficult to give up but will save money OH and ice cream) so what will you be giving up

please with Miss Happy all the best for the interviews - having two will be quite stressful may I ask where she has applied - just a bit nosey

H x

Honey_Bear

How did your day go Happy Now?

1. Pffffffft. Spent money again, none wasted but no chance I can reach 15 NSDs this month. Cross with myself.
2. SS up to date.
3. Still AF. Tried the other AF alternative in Wevverspoon's tonight, and it turned out to me a 500ml bottle of pear cider, served over ice. It will be lovely in the summer on the hottest of hot days but like most soft drinks, tastes too sweet for me.
4. Porridge, tuna sandwhich, W'spoon's steak deal. From tomorrow I'll have to have sultanas with my porridge, as opposed to a heaped teaspoon of soft brown sugar, and then not repeat today's tea time blitz of Twink'ses and fruit pastilles. I should lock the rest bought on special offer away somewhere, really.
5. Prunes, beetroot, mushroooms, peas. tomatoes.
6. 3 mugs of fruit tea, but 500ml AF pear cider probably makes up for the rest of the missing liquids.
7. Started dusting a disgusting curtain rail and taking down the curtains and left the job half finsihed because I was bored with it. Ooops. Tidying, changed the bed and did three loads of washing because it's cold, sunny, windy and dry for 48 hours.
8. Am just about to hit the sack.
9. Waaaaaayyyyy too much spider. I got very little done today and am cross with myself about that.

Still, as Scarlet says, 'Tomorrow is another day.'

HappyNow

Honey_Bear wrote: »

How lovely that Miss Happy has earned such a wealth of choice and that you have time with her to look forward to this week! I'll be thinking of you over the weekend while you concentrate on staying on the straight and narrow and enjoying her company.
Thanks. Luckily she is doing Fab Feb too, so hopefully we will be encouraging each other rather than tempting each other

The meal out sounds just the ticket. I work at home and talk radio burbles away in the background when I don't need to give what I'm working on my full attention. On a Ted talk recently someone said that if you want to motivate people to complete a task there has to be a point in the middle at which something changes. The example given was taking a course of antibiotics. Rather than 24 white pills, give the patient 18 white pills and 6 blue pills and tell them to change to the six pills after the white pills are finished. Result: compliance. (Apparently.) So the middle bit is really, really important and where the success actually becomes much more likely provided something changes.
Well something changed here yesterday, in that I went to the Post Office to collect a parcel (Mr H's birthday pressie, car parts, very boring) and they sell my favourite sweets - black and white mints in the jars to weigh out. So I bought 100gms thinking that they would be a lovely treat if I allowed myself two per day. Can you guess the end of this story??:(:D


I love working from home - I do two days a week at home and three in the office. I have to have total silence though as otherwise I get distracted and my mind wanders.

Your meal out was not a spendy waste nor is the Becks, in my opinion. If the whole of February is only about denial then not only is the chance of making it through rather diminished, I would have thought, but it would be utterly miserable, only useful in the short-term and wasted. If, however, you discover you can go out for a meal and enjoy the time you spent with your husband even without booze and then find an alternative that you enjoy, then you've learned two useful facts for the future.
You're right. I'm not feeling deprived (well nor should I - see above about the sweeties!!) and I'm hoping that, apart from yesterday's blip, Fab Feb will instill some good long-term habits in me that may be modified in the future but will be long-term and sustainable. I'm applying that to my debt-reduction as well nowadays. I prioritise the £1100 monthly right at the top of my 'must pays' along with the mortgage etc, and that means we have to live frugally. But now if we get any extra money (birthdays, Christmas etc) I am NOT being fanatical about chucking it at debt. If we want to use it for more pleasurable things, we will do.

Wevverspoons sells B3cks (hereinafter referred to as BB) and so do a lot of pubs and restaurants and like you, I wasn't a beer or lager drinking in my drinking days. I don't feel deprived at all drinking it instead of wine or G&T which were my tipples of choice and after six months of going alcohol-free, I'm honestly reborn. I knew I probably had a problem with alcohol and I'd been putting off dealing with it for years - up-coming birthday, weddings, Christmas, new year, I've just bought a bottle of gin, we've just been to France and stocked up ... you name it, I had the excuse. The day I stopped once and for all was just another day but it was the one when I knew I had to stop and that was that. Along with stopping smoking about nine years ago it's got to be one of the best things I've ever done and BB is a huge part of that. If they stop making it I'll find another AF beer or lager. I'd no more go back to drinking than I would smoking. (This house was bursting at the seams with booze when I stopped and still is. OH has cut his consumption by about two thirds now he doesn't have me egging him on, and that's great, but whatever his does is his choice and is fine with me.)


I was starting to feel that I 'needed' a glass of wine after work, rather than just wanting one. And it crept up so that I was drinking almost every night - the only exception being if I had to drive anywhere. It was never more than two bottles a week, but I'm glad I have tackled it now and I think the BB will be a very acceptable mid-week alternative, so if I still want an odd glass at the weekend I will be within the recommended limits. If I find that too hard to keep to, I will give up altogether. I won't go back to a glass each night.


Today is Shrove Tuesday (pancake day), tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, technically the first day of Lent. Lent ends on Easter Sunday, not Good Friday as the media and supermarkets would have us believe, which means Easter eggs shouldn't be eaten until Sunday 5 April. (Probably more information than you wanted.)
We didn't have pancakes . Probably the first year we've ever missed. Might do it belatedly when Little Miss is home

Can't remember the details of Day 16, but I know I did everything, so I shall move on to Day 17 below!

HappyNow

Aaleigha wrote: »

so it is lent very soon) tomorrow and I have decided to give up biscuits - I have a couple of digestives (Mc vities) daily and I think that is something that will feel difficult to give up but will save money OH and ice cream) so what will you be giving up

please with Miss Happy all the best for the interviews - having two will be quite stressful may I ask where she has applied - just a bit nosey

H x

Hi Aaleigha and thanks for the good wishes . Good luck with giving up the biscuits. I might (no guarantee though!!) keep off the Candy Crush until the end of Lent. I would say alcohol, but I do have a bottle on stand-by for the end of Fab Feb. And I proved yesterday that trying to give up sweet things completely is very, very difficult!!

Yes, two interviews back-to-back will be stressful but the good thing is that they have both asked for virtually identical presentations, so that cuts down on the preparation time. Then she just has to wait for the results :eek:. One of them is her first choice for next year, so it will be a tense wait. They are both in Yorkshire which is where we live - she currently studies in the Midlands so it will be lovely if she gets to move nearer home .