Keeping up appearances.......

HappyNow

Dolphin1 wrote: »

. I am a bit of a minimalist so as soon as the house starts to feel cluttered, we have a sort out. It's at least once a year but sometimes more often. I am pretty ruthless when sorting through stuff but always looking for space saving ideas for the stuff we really must keep.

As far as YouTube is concerned, it's the cooking videos I get hooked on despite the fact that I get no pleasure from cooking, just eating.
That is exactly what happened so yesterday I made more of an effort earlier in the day.

I'm determined to stop the crap building up again here, and so far it's going well. We have one room that's so full we can't open the door, but most of that is Master H and his GF's stuff, so when they disappear I'll tackle what's left. I read an article once about 'dying tidy' and how once you reach a certain age it's wise to get all your affairs in order - including your home - to spare your loved ones if you should unexpectedly pop off. I'm feeling pretty immortal right now, but apparently it might happen one day. I don't want to be laying there in my coffin, crimson with embarrassment, cringing about what people are finding! Same with the debts - I want them gone and all but one credit card cancelled, leaving no trace of my former craziness

Anyway, on a more chipper note, it hadn't occurred to me to check out Youtube cooking videos and I have no idea why not. I will have a look. Is there anyone particular you recommend?

All looking good on your targets other than the walking, but I'm sure you've made up for that today. Haven't You? Hmm? Hmm?

HappyNow

Honey_Bear wrote: »

• Lose more weight, ideally down to 65kgs by 1 September. Just to check I weighed myself this morning - 64.9 kgs, the lightest I've been for 18 months or so. (The figs weren't eaten in an effort to lose weight; they were a necessity hence the significant reduction.) Yes, Happy, figs do grow and fruit in the UK really, really easily. All you need is about 2' of a fig tree branch, just stuck in soil. They like having their roots constricted so a pot would be ideal, but they need watering and I forget. However, these two fig trees were planted my first year in this house by another new house owner at the same time. They've been fruiting fairly copiously for about 10 years and we don't do anything at all to them other than hack off some over-exhuberant limbs occasionally - if anyone wants one to stick in their garden just let me know. Mind you, they're behind a high wall so very sheltered from the wind, in a warm high rainfall area of the UK. (My mother had a fig tree in a 1' terracotta pot tucked away in a sheltered corner of their cold Kent garden and it burst out of the pot eventually - she'd forgotten it wasn't in the soil! It fruited like crazy.)

Wow, well done with the weight Honey, that's brilliant. (I realise that sounds like praising you for doing really good toileting, but you know what I mean). Keep eating the figs, I say.

My first thought was that we'd be too far North and too high up for figs, but I've just checked on the Suttons site and it says they're hardy up to -15 degrees and withstand hard wind, although their second crop probably won't ripen if they're hit by frost. Worth a try I think.

• 15 minutes Flying a day, Monday to Friday; I'm not entirely sure I did enough yesterday, so today I will dust and vacuum as long as the Dyson's got a charge, and strip and wash bedding from the vacated room. Sounds like more than 15 minutes, but yeah.
  
  Leg stretches immediately after all dog walks. Done. So much simpler and far more likely to be done, tbh.
  
  
• Lights out by 11.30 pm Success, but I'm clearly still not getting enough sleep because the alarm woke me up at 7.40 this morning, which is quite late for me - not that I get up at that unearthly hour, other than on Thursdays.

I think this is one of my problems. I don't have regular bedtimes because I don't have regular getting up times. Wednesday and Friday I have to be up at 6, Thursday I have to be up by 7, and the rest of the week I can do as I please. I suppose a routine might help.
About the slightly bizarre You Tube link, I was thinking about it and wondering if I was watching poverty !!!!!! which would be reprehensible but realised that I'm not, although it can seem like it to begin with. I admire the couple - they've clearly been to financial hell and back really through no fault of their own other than believing in the Amercian Dream, but watching the Shed series (all seven videos) made me realise that he's an incredibly hard worker, a fantastic builder and neither of them has an ounce of bitterness in them. His attention to detail and wish to educate and teach shines through. I think I originally found him because someone elsewhere mentioned Rocket Stoves and I wanted to know what one was. I was hooked from that video onwards.

I've not been home all today so haven't had chance to watch the Youtubers yet, but it's top of my list now because I think it will appeal.

I love Salmon but Mr H feels sick when he smells it - or at least he says he does - so I only have it when I'm home alone, which is almost never nowadays. I like to deliberately overcook it so it's quite chewy at the edges!

HappyNow

Update for Day 7 (Weds) and Day 8 (today)

Zero alcohol - Tick for both days. I did buy ten bottles of wine in Tesco today because they're doing their '25% off over six bottles' offer which brings it down to under £5 per bottle. My September target will be go only drink one bottle per week so it will last ages, but really I bought it because our wine rack is empty and it looks weird.
Maximum of 1400 calories per day, to include 5 x fruit and veg and just one sweet treat.
DAY 7 - 1319 calories, plenty of F & V and the sweet treat was two chocolate biscuits.
DAY 8 - today. It was all going well until we went out for lunch. The only veggie option I fancied was lasagne and I didn't notice (honestly, I genuinely didn't!) that it came with both chips and garlic bread. The problem was, that once they were in front of me all my willpower flew out of the window. So the moral of that story is always read the small print! I only ate half of each but that plate was loaded with calories. So, today is a complete write-off but tomorrow is a new day.
Six glasses of water per day Yep for both days.
Daily dog walk at a fast pace
Day 7 - nice brisk walk enjoyed.
Day 8 - It has poured with rain all day and the dogs talked me out of going. That and I could barely walk after my lunch.
No looking at my phone in bed or after 11 pm.
Day 7 - Technically I wasn't looking at my phone. However, I was updating my diary into the early hours so I think FAIL.
Day 8 - That's tonight and I'm updating here early so I can be all tucked up by 11 without my phone.


No money wasting. Balance YNAB daily.
Day 7 - £45 spent at the garden centre on weed membrane. Not wasted because it's going in a shrub bed where we have a massive weed problem - nettles, docks, brambles, the lot. It should save a lot of time and backache, so money well spent.
Day 8 - The lunch was £21 so not too bad. I think I wasted calories rather than money.

Dolphin1

HappyNow wrote: »

Anyway, on a more chipper note, it hadn't occurred to me to check out Youtube cooking videos and I have no idea why not. I will have a look. Is there anyone particular you recommend?

There is a guy called Barry Lewis who is really entertaining. He'll have a go at pretty much anything and even if he fails the first time he will just buy more ingredients and have another go. He also gets his family involved sometimes and the results can be quite funny.

Dolphin1

HappyNow wrote: »

Update for Day 7 (Weds) and Day 8 (today)

Zero alcohol - Tick for both days. I did buy ten bottles of wine in Tesco today because they're doing their '25% off over six bottles' offer which brings it down to under £5 per bottle. My September target will be go only drink one bottle per week so it will last ages, but really I bought it because our wine rack is empty and it looks weird.

Oh yeah, I'm sure that's really why you bought it.

Maximum of 1400 calories per day, to include 5 x fruit and veg and just one sweet treat.
DAY 7 - 1319 calories, plenty of F & V and the sweet treat was two chocolate biscuits.
DAY 8 - today. It was all going well until we went out for lunch. The only veggie option I fancied was lasagne and I didn't notice (honestly, I genuinely didn't!) that it came with both chips and garlic bread. The problem was, that once they were in front of me all my willpower flew out of the window. So the moral of that story is always read the small print! I only ate half of each but that plate was loaded with calories. So, today is a complete write-off but tomorrow is a new day.

You have been doing so well with the sweet treats, I am in awe of you. I have been managing on one sweet treat too but 3 times a day.

Six glasses of water per day Yep for both days.
Daily dog walk at a fast pace
Day 7 - nice brisk walk enjoyed.
Day 8 - It has poured with rain all day and the dogs talked me out of going. That and I could barely walk after my lunch.
No looking at my phone in bed or after 11 pm.
Day 7 - Technically I wasn't looking at my phone. However, I was updating my diary into the early hours so I think FAIL.

You 'think' FAIL? :rotfl:

Day 8 - That's tonight and I'm updating here early so I can be all tucked up by 11 without my phone.


No money wasting. Balance YNAB daily.
Day 7 - £45 spent at the garden centre on weed membrane. Not wasted because it's going in a shrub bed where we have a massive weed problem - nettles, docks, brambles, the lot. It should save a lot of time and backache, so money well spent.
Day 8 - The lunch was £21 so not too bad. I think I wasted calories rather than money.

10 characters.

Dolphin1

Yesterday...

1) Be in bed by 10.00pm and light out by 10.30pm Sunday to Thursday - Pass. I was really tired so was in bed at 9.20pm and the light went off at 9.50pm.

2) At least 30 minutes walking during the day - Pass. I managed 50 minutes in total yesterday (2 x 20 minute walks & 1 x 10 minute walk). I will have to make a real effort to get out walking over the weekend especially if it is going to be hot like they forecast because I hate the heat.

3) Drink 3 bottles of water a day - Fail. I was out most of the day so no clue really but probably not.

Honey_Bear

HappyNow wrote: »

Update for Day 7 (Weds) and Day 8 (today)

Zero alcohol - Tick for both days. I did buy ten bottles of wine in Tesco today because they're doing their '25% off over six bottles' offer which brings it down to under £5 per bottle. My September target will be go only drink one bottle per week so it will last ages, but really I bought it because our wine rack is empty and it looks weird. 10 bottles; it'll be interesting to see if they last 10 weeks!
Maximum of 1400 calories per day, to include 5 x fruit and veg and just one sweet treat.
DAY 7 - 1319 calories, plenty of F & V and the sweet treat was two chocolate biscuits.
DAY 8 - today. It was all going well until we went out for lunch. The only veggie option I fancied was lasagne and I didn't notice (honestly, I genuinely didn't!) that it came with both chips and garlic bread. The problem was, that once they were in front of me all my willpower flew out of the window. So the moral of that story is always read the small print! I only ate half of each but that plate was loaded with calories. So, today is a complete write-off but tomorrow is a new day. Chips - I'm a bit Homer Simpson about chips - Mmmmmmmmmm, so I'd understand if you had to eat them.
Six glasses of water per day Yep for both days.
Daily dog walk at a fast pace
Day 7 - nice brisk walk enjoyed.
Day 8 - It has poured with rain all day and the dogs talked me out of going. That and I could barely walk after my lunch. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
No looking at my phone in bed or after 11 pm.
Day 7 - Technically I wasn't looking at my phone. However, I was updating my diary into the early hours so I think FAIL. Tsk tsk
Day 8 - That's tonight and I'm updating here early so I can be all tucked up by 11 without my phone. Did you make it?
No money wasting. Balance YNAB daily.
Day 7 - £45 spent at the garden centre on weed membrane. Not wasted because it's going in a shrub bed where we have a massive weed problem - nettles, docks, brambles, the lot. It should save a lot of time and backache, so money well spent.
Day 8 - The lunch was £21 so not too bad. I think I wasted calories rather than money.

We all need treats. As you say, tomorrow is another day - very Scarlett O'Hara.

Honey_Bear

Running very late today, very busy. Suffice to say the whole bar of chocolate yesterday was a mistake, and the light didn't go out until midnight. Boy can I feel both of those today. Back tomorrow.

HappyNow

Dolphin and Honey - I'm detecting a little cynicism here about my wine-resisting capabilities. Deja Vu I suppose

Having said that, I hereby give advance notice that tomorrow I intend failing at one of my targets. Mr H and I are planning date night. There's a warm evening forecast, so we're going to cook a lovely meal then relax in the garden with a bottle of red, rather than digging the bloody thing.

Dolphin - well done on redeeming yourself.
Honey - hope today wasn't too manic and you're back on form tomorrow.

HappyNow

DAY 9

Zero alcohol - Despite it being Friday I didn't even feel particularly tempted. How rare.

Maximum of 1400 calories per day, to include 5 x fruit and veg and just one sweet treat.
1398 calories eaten, five x F & V. The sweet treat was 100g of liquorice comfits. The really cheap 'One Pounder' ones from our local garden centre. They're the best.

Six glasses of water per day Yep, but I just drank the last one five minutes ago so it could be a rough night.

Daily dog walk at a fast pace No, but again I have been digging and hauling stone around the garden which more than makes up for it.

No looking at my phone in bed or after 11 pm. Managed it last night and slept a full 7 hours. Will go to bed as soon as I've posted this, phone out of sight.

No money wasting. Balance YNAB daily. Bought my One Pounder sweets at the garden centre and spent £2.99 on some cactus re-potting compost. A prickly job for this weekend (the prickly part will be persuading Mr H to do it). YNAB balanced.