Get a grip !

Skint_yet_Again

Thank you MF for your kind thoughts. 

Had my blood test yesterday afternoon, now I must wait for a week for the results. Last hba1c was 56 so anything below that is great. The good news is that with my weight loss my BMI is now “normal” 🥳 I was obese a couple of years ago so I am glad to be out of that category 🤗 I promptly celebrated with a bar of chocolate, a bag of crisps, a pizza from aldi (instead of a takeaway) and ice cream 😳🤦‍♀️  Back on the healthy eating wagon today! 

I’ve been looking at my list of moving / decluttering/ decorating jobs and I am hoping to get a few done this weekend. I have all the diy stuff in, so shouldn’t need to go out & should be a couple of NSD’s. Food will be from stores. 

I am going to make a stew in my slow cooker today. The leftover swede & carrots I will cook in my steamer and then mash them together and freeze in portions. I bought the biggest swede there was as they were a set price rather than per kg 😆 I love swede & carrot mash. 

I also have a large broccoli so I will cut that into florets & bung that in the steamer too. Once cooked I lay the broccoli florets out separately on a plastic tray & put the whole tray in the freezer. Then once the broccoli is frozen I take the tray out & bag them up, that way I find they don’t stick together in the bag. I pop the bag back in the freezer. Then I can just get as many or as few bits out as I need & warm up from frozen in the microwave for dinners or chuck while still frozen into curries, stir fry etc to warm through. I think most people throw the stalk away but I use that too. It’s full of flavour. I slice off the tough outer skin then chop up what’s left & put it in the steamer with the rest. These bits are frozen too & nice chucked in soup or stir frys. I do the same with cauliflower. Saves cauli / broccoli going soft or yellow in the veg drawer if I don’t use them in time & I don’t waste electric/ gas cooking just enough for one meal / portion at a time. A couple of times I used part of a broccoli & by the time I came to use the rest it had gone yellow & smelt terrible 🥴

I will freeze the leftover veg water for a stock for veg soup or gravy 😋

MovingForwards

Have to let your hair down with a positive BMI change!

We use the stalk and pretend the leaves are cabbage when having broccoli and cauliflower. It's always a bonus when something is a fixed price, regardless of size.

Keep ticking off your to do list, it will be shrinking with each week.

atrixa

Well done Skinty, you definitely deserved a treat!

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks MF & atrixa. 

It was a very wet day yesterday and DS’s gf was wfh in the kitchen diner so I couldn’t do most of the jobs I had planned.

I walked the dog in the park and she ran around after her ball and rolled in all the mud! Had to hose her down in the garden when we got back! I did some more sorting and decluttering. DS’s bike is finally gone from the hall into the utility room. The plan is to have a tidy house and 1 room (utility) with “organised” junk 😆

The storage boxes I ordered arrived & are very pretty soft green with pink peonies. I organised all my shoes & sandals into them in my bedroom. 

I have definitely needed this long weekend and feel quite relaxed today. DS has just gone to work & his gf is going in later. The dog has been fed & I am back in bed with a cup of tea. Will try & chill for a couple of hours before walking the dog. Maybe I will get more jobs done today if it’s just me & the dog today. 

Yesterday I moved £300 to savings for January. I need to do my soa later & make sure I’m on track for February. Savings will be a bit less in feb to cover items bought for the house. 

Irenadler

Sending you a belated hug Skinty. You are doing really well on the DIY, budget and tidying. Lovely to read your progress.

MovingForwards

Dogs are definitely attracted to mud!
Storage boxes sound beautiful. It's nice to have pretty visual items to hide things away in and adds a nice touch to rooms.

Savings are very impressive. The .75% account is reducing to .25% on the 16th, but it's still much better than their ISA.

Do rest up, you can't keep going at it all without breaks.

riotlady

I agree, always good to take time to relax!

Congrats on the weight loss!

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks Ren, Babs & riotlady. 

Have not been able to motivate myself to do much today, just pottering around. 

- Long walk with the dog this morning and shorter walk at tea time
- tidied the kitchen, dishwasher on, pans washed up. 
- Used pill boxes to recycling 
- pile of socks sorted & several (with holes / elastic gone) to the bin 
- hall mirror cleaned, removed the glass & gave the frame a coat of paint. It’s an old gold frame came from ex-mil house years ago. Was thinking of buying a new one. Found a tin of “muted mocha” but not sure I like it. May end up painting it white. 

Slow cooker stew for dinner. Had a cake craving and ordered in. 😋 Got 25% off & free delivery but still £6.71 on a dessert and a couple of pounds on the hips. 🙄 Binge weekend over now! 

Skint_yet_Again

1st of Feb already. Where did January go! 

Back to work today (wfh from 9am) so I will walk the dog soon as it gets light. It’s a friends birthday in a couple of days. I found a suitable card in my stash. I need to go to the post office after work & send it first class. Hopefully it will arrive on time. Pre covid it would be next day, not sure if they have caught up after Christmas backlogs. 

All food will be from stores today & no junk. 

B - tinned sardines in tomato sauce mashed & grilled on toast. 

Mid morning- banana

L - homemade veg soup. Apple
Afternoon Snack - Cottage Cheese & cracker with celery, carrot, cucumber. 

D - chicken & veg fajita with natural yoghurt & grated cheddar. 

doingitanyway

Your food sounds healthy.

I love sardines. I'm trying to have them once a week. I don't eat bread so no toast, but I do them with lentil pasta, chilli and garlic and a big salad