Cheekychinchilla's food and stuff

Pinta did do well on Tuesday and it's good that Rachelle thought so too, despite the snappy episode with the stupid girl.

I didn't know that you're supposed to get around 10 hours sleep with ME! I think the image most people have of ME sufferers is of them spending a lot of time in bed and so it's a bit of a shock to come across a sufferer who not only doesn't but who also struggles to sleep when she is in bed! I've said it before, but I'll say it again - you do so much more than many 'healthy' people (myself included) and your Fitbit stats are impressive by anyone's standards.
 
What Patty said :D I'm also glad that Rachelle invited the dogs in the first place.

Sounds like you had a lovely afternoon. It's hard not to graze at these sort of events. Sometimes I think we're harder on ourselves when we graze but may actually eat less over all. The halloumi burger doesn't sound to bad to me (HE and all!) and I bet you enjoyed it.

ONE DAY UNTIL OSLO - AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! xxx
 
Hey guys!
Lovely to see you before I go :D

Patty yeah at my ME groups and stuff they recommend around 10hrs sleep. Obv some people sleep more and some people sleep less. The kick in the teeth with ME is that it causes exhaustion, but the most common symptom is insomnia. It's because the stress hormones are so overproduced that the body and brain has no chance of sleeping. How could it sleep when it's in "fight or flight" mode?? In my group it was sort of split down the middle between people who would fall alseep mid conversation, all day, couldn't stay awake, to the people like me who just can't sleep, no matter what. Obv doesn't help that I have chronic sleep issues anyways. But yeah, it's erm, tough lol.
Like I've said in the past, I could easily be in bed for 12hours but get less than 6hrs sleep. I managed 6.5hours sleep last night and I was in bed for over 12hours. Awesome....

Anyway yes, I packed most of my stuff yesterday and rejigged now that it isn't going to be cold. God damn you Norway and your reasonable climate ;)
Today has been about getting the house and animals ready for me going away. I had one thing I wanted to do, which was to not leave the house, under any circumstances!! But I ended up having to go and pick up Mum. Just ONE thing!! *sigh*
I've had a really nice, long, indulgent shower. I now have the smoothest skin ever lol.

God knows how much sleep I will get tonight. Getting picked up at 5:15am tomorrow, Martin's coming to get me :) So will have to set my alarm for around 4:15. Eeeeep!! I think tomorrow might be a picnic in my hotel room for tea lol.

So yesterdays food. Erm, we ended up getting "going away burrito's" but I did make the effort to get low fat oven chips instead of either nachos or chippy chips. And then I ate a whole Aldi chocolate bunny.... Which was beautiful btw! Such smooth, gorgeous chocolate :D
Food today is sort of on plan, but relaxed. I had weetabix, banana, dried fruit, and Almond milk, with a little bowl of strawberries & a Shape 0% for lunch.
Tea is going to be Quorn Turk'y burgers, low fat noodles, and salad. But we do have some stuff like coleslaw and buns that need using. Might have my last Swedish cider as well, try and relax me a bit - plus it's one I didn't have at the bbq, so like I should drink it anyway ;)

All sorted now for tomorrow I think. Getting very very nervous! But definitely excited :D Kinda glad Martin is coming to get me to have someone with me when I get to the airport.

I'll pop by later, but if I don't see anyone I will be on FB/Twitter while I'm away and I'll post some piccies :) xx
 
Eeeeep I'm so excited for you! That is an early start but it will be worth it, and very nice of Martin to offer to drive you so early!

Mmmmm I love burritos and actually have 3 free burrito cards for Chipotle as they double charged me once...I will have to save them for a treat for when I'm back at work.

Fingers crossed for the balcony! When will you be back? Hope you have an amazing time! And a safe trip xxx
 
Hope you're having a great time, Kelly! Can't wait to hear all!xx
 
Hey guys!
Just a quick hello to say I'm back - well, got back Monday night - and all ok. Suffering a bit now that I've slowed down, very painful. And, oddly, suffering severe sleep issues and horrific nightmares :/

But, anyway, I had an AMAZING time!! I only really had one minor wobble/disappointment/slight disaster, so considering how long I was there and all the things I did, I think that's a miracle lol.
I'll do a proper post tomorrow and add some pictures if you like?

Food wasn't that bad really. I had two meals a day and only had a snack in the day once!! And the walking, holy crap! So hopefully there wont be too much damage, but we all know my body likes to be awkward. Haven't really gone back on plan, but will do tomorrow, but to be honest I haven't been eating a lot and its mostly SW friendly and synnable.
Did have a drink and shared a cinnamon swirl at Starbucks and then a meal out at Giraffe today to finish off my holiday time :)

Back to work tomorrow. Dreading it, but only because I'm so tired and painful. Hopefully the time will pass quickly while I catch up with stuff and hopefully people will ask me questions lol.

Hope everyone is doing ok? Will try and catch up with everyone's diaries over the next few days.xx
 
Welcome back! I am so pleased you enjoyed yourself and I'm looking forward to photos.

Lol - you're not supposed to think about SW (well, not too much!) when you're on holiday! And your trips to Starbucks and Giraffe sound like a lovely end to your break.

Hope work isn't too horrific and you get the chance to ease yourself back in. Your Fitbit stats will be impressive for this week, but wow - you're a glutton for punishment, aren't you!!
 
Welcome back!

So happy to hear (read) you have had a nice holiday and that your first solo adventure has been a success! I can't wait to see photos! What was the weather like in the end? Did you get the balcony??

Hope you don't have any more nightmares though and hope work was OK today xx
 
I will try not to go in to too much detail lol ;)

So on Friday I flew from Liverpool (never flown from L'pool before!) and had Starbucks coffee and porridge :D I flew to Oslo Torp, which is quite a way from Oslo, and got the shuttle bus to the train "station". This was the station....

https://www.dropbox.com/s/utxasunnpte72fn/IMG_20150417_101724.jpg?dl=0

It took just under 2hrs to get to Oslo S and we did go through some really pretty areas. Although I was sat on the wrong side of the train to see properly! But we definitely went past at least one big fjord. No problem finding the hotel and checking in. And I DID get my balcony!!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9lbut9qugmvfnjj/IMG_20150417_130254.jpg?dl=0

I must have sat down for about 5mins and decided to go explore. And get very very lost LOL! I did eventually find the water and the building I was after. The stunning Opera House!! And, of course, I had a climb around it - the only opera house in the world you can climb on :D

Had a wander round and decided to look for a pizza place and only took two goes ;) Amazing pizza!! It was 4:30 and I'd not eaten since Starbucks at 6:30! Starving! It was a big pizza and the lovely girl promised to package up any leftovers. Which I gladly took back to my room to have a pizza and Grey's anatomy night lol. I'm just that cool ;) I bought some chocolate and made good use of the free hot drinks in reception.
Before that I did have a wander down the main street for a look around. And saw a hilarious poster advertising a gym. Didn't get a pic, but it said "Fed up of being fat and ugly? Well, just be ugly!" To the point, Norwegians....

Saturday was an AWESOME day!! I had my big breaky - muesli, yogurt, and berries. A plate of fresh slice pineapple, watermelon, kiwi, and grapes. Beautiful scrambled eggs on fresh wholemeal bread, with rocket and red peppers (this is my new favourite breakfast!) And coffee and orange juice.
I had pretty much the same breakfast each day, just changing the bread option really. Fresh baked bread every day!! Always some sort of wholemeal tho. And this was enough to get me through the day. I didn't snack or want to eat at all in the day time, I just got drinks.

Sorry, yes, not food ;) So I walked down to the marina and got on the boat ferry over to the museum island, Bygdoy. That is one posh island!! It was a bit of a hike, but I went to the Folk Museum first. I almost skipped it, coz it was a bit far, but I'm so glad I didn't. It was such a cool museum! Mostly outside and it was just stunning. The main exhibit was the Stave church, built around 1200 I think. And then the farm bit with the pigs :D It was great looking round and seeing house styles through the ages and how people lived.

Then on to the Viking Ship Museum. I almost cried when I saw the first ship. Incredible!! And they're real ships they've found in burial mounds, no replicas. I spent a fair bit of time there, mostly in awe. And otherwise looking in the shop ;)

Then on to the Kon-Tiki museum (about the explorer Thor Heyerdahl) which was very cool. It had the Kon-Tiki raft, the Ra raft, some amazing things from Easter Island, and an underground cave system showing some of the sea life they saw, and a load of artifacts found on each expedition.

And then on to the Fram museum. Which also has the ACTUAL Fram, the first ever Antarctic voyage ship. OMG it was amazing! And you got to go on deck and also climb about below deck and see the cabins and engine room and everything. It was so cool! Loved the whole exhibition. Obv I have a soft spot for polar exploration ;)

From visiting museums in Norway it is safe to say that they REALLY like putting whole ships in to museums LOL!

I'd kinda run out of time by then and missed the Maritime Museum, so took the boat back to the city centre and headed back towards my hotel. I remembered the Oslo Reptile Park was nearby and did a quick Google. Found it on a deserted, dodgy looking street, had to go through a passageway full of graffiti, and then open a HUGE metal door and go down in to a basement.... I didn't get murdered and it was actually a pretty good place. Interesting collection of animals, which all had good enclosures and looked healthy and well looked after. My favourites were a type of frog and a tortoise :D

Then I went back to my hotel and that's when things went wrong.... I at least eventually found the burger place I wanted to try, but it was quite late and a Sat night so the place was heaving. I walked in and almost ran straight out. Walked along for a bit looking for somewhere else I knew was around there, but couldn't find it. Spotted a club called Revolver that had a Mexican place attached to it and I saw there were some empty tables, so I went in. I ordered the only veggie thing and a beer - £15!! When it came it was on small soft taco with like a spoonful of refried beans and some cheese, with a teeny tub of salsa. I was too embarrassed to go up and order more so I read for a bit and finished my beer, thinking I would pick something up to take back to my hotel. I got very lost and ended up in some dodgy looking bits of town (they weren't, everywhere is lovely, but it was going dark and I had NO idea where I was) I eventually found some bits I sort of recognised and eventually made my way back to the main street looking for food. NOWHERE has veggie stuff!! Even McDonalds! Anyway, I ended up with McDonalds fries and a cheese topped roll and some biscuits .... And sulked in my room watching Grey's Anatomy.
To be fair though, that was the only real hiccup and it didn't really stop me. I was really annoyed with myself and disappointed to had "wasted" a night. But, it's hardly the end of the world is it?! Kicking myself for not getting either takeaway from the burger place or going back to the pizza place for some pasta or something. But, never mind. Tis done and it certainly didn't stop me!

Sunday was great too. I got on my first tram :D And went to the Vigeland sculpture park in Frogner Park. Omg it was beautiful there! The park is gorgeous and the sculpture bit was amazing. Absolutely stunning!! Not as big as I'd thought, but I probably spent just over an hour there. Stopped at the cafe to buy a Coke and saw they had Moomin trays :D
I got the tram back to town and had a walk along Aker Brygge (the really posh bit of the marina), all the way to the end where a new modern art gallery is with lovely wooden walkways and bridges and a little beach. Also a small sculpture park!
On the way back I decided to join the locals and got some posh ice cream and sat on the wooden steps at the marina and had a read in the sun. It was HOT! About 20oC! Honestly, so much sun lotion!! Haha.
After that it was off to the castle, Akershus Fortress, which happens to be just on the other side of the marina. And I found out from the boat guide that it was the inspiration for the castle in Frozen! I'm sure every scandi country has a castle they say is the castle from Frozen, but you can kinda see it. Especially the main tower.
Anyway, I got an audio guide and mostly listened to the ghost stories ;) It was also pretty empty, I imagine from the unusual weather! So I was by myself most of the time. Completely by myself when at the top of the castle in a big room that had burned down whenever ago and I was listening to a story about the little monsters that are seen that are tiny, come out of the floorboards, have the faces of old women/witches, and carry little balls of flame.....

After that it was back across the marina and a beer stop. There wasn't very much drinking on this holiday seen as everything costs a million pound!! I got a bottle of beer (hilariously named Aass!) and a bottle of water - £9!! Anyway, it was nice. But I did get a bit tipsy before heading in to the Nobel Peace Centre. It's a serious place, probably not somewhere you should be a bit tipsy lol!
It was an interesting place and the exhibitions were good - the main two were about the last two joint winners. And upstairs was about the last ten years or so winners and then a really snazzy interactive bit with motion sensitive lights and iPads!

I decided to jump the tram up to a hot chocolate cafe (why isn't this a normal thing?!) to get some cake to take back to my room and got a gorgeous caramel mocha frapp thing. It was amazing!!! The nicest Frapp I've had :D And I got a slice of carrot cake and some sort of weird caramel, mirangue, nutty thing (didn't like that one!) to take "home".

Got the tram back and had a shower and a bit of a rest. Seriously, it was HOT! Have I mentioned that yet?! ;)

Found a really nice place called Cafe Sara, which is a bit of an Indie/rock pub/cafe/club thing. The staff were lovely and I had a really nice meal and a glass of wine and read for a bit. I wish I'd have been brave enough to look around a bit more, apparently this place has an indoor garden somewhere. But I was so nervous and literally sat at the first table I liked the look of and hid *blush* But at least I did it!
Strolled back to the hotel and had my cake with hot chocolate and watched Grey's lol!

It was sad getting up knowing it was my last day. Got up earlier because I really wanted to do the Fjord cruise and the only one that fit in with me getting back for the airport bus left at 10:30! So after breakfast I dumped my bag and coat in the luggage room and walked to the marina and got a nice, big coffee for the cruise :D
The Fjord is beautiful, no like the famous ones with the waterfalls and stuff, but it was beautiful. Loads of islands and some birds. And it was a nice relaxing two hours too.
I only had two hours left after the cruise so I jumped the tram to central station and bought a big bag of chocolate (asked Twitter for recommendations from Scandi people lol) and a Starbucks and went back up on to the Opera House for a bit.
Wandered back through town and picked up a few prezzies for people. I did warn people they wouldn't be anything big as everything was so expensive! But I found some stashed money and thought I'd just get some little things.
My last stop was the cathedral and I lit a candle for my Dad and had a few moments of peace :)

Then back to the hotel, a quick change, and then the bus to the airport. Traveled back via the main airport and flew back to Manchester. Rachelle and John came to get me.

And that's probably the main bits LOL!! sorry, not as brief as I'd planned ;) Also the photo uploader wont work, so will try again in a bit.xx
 
What a wonderful holiday! I'd never realised there was so much to do is Oslo (not that I've ever thought about it) but the museums sound quite spectacular and I'd love to see the boats - oh, and the opera house, too.

I'm so pleased you got your balcony and had a view to enjoy. I understand your feeling about not being brave enough to look around and I also tend to hide behind a book, but you went and you walked around by yourself so I should think you feel quite empowered by that. With an added bonus of food being OKish Sw-wise (and the bits which weren't OK are surely cancelled out by all the walking), you've done remarkably well.
 
Hey Patty!
Honestly I had to be very picky about what things I wanted to do. I did not have enough time to do everything I really wanted, never mind stuff I was only a bit interested in. There is a LOT to do! And it's a pretty small city, so easy to get around once you get your bearings lol.
I am also really, really good at researching and finding stuff to do and see and explore ;)

For some reason I can't work out, I can't add photo's to this post!! I've tried it in a different browser and tried different ways of doing it, but it's not working :( I'm going to upload everything to Dropbox and post the link. So anyone who wants to can have a look :)

I am really pleased with myself for what I achieved. So much so I'm currently researching the next trip ;) Food really was ok to be honest and I didn't eat very much. Since I've gotten home it's been a bit up and down, but not horrendous. I am, however, fed up of yoyo'ing and I really wasn't impressed with how I looked in some of my pics and how my clothes fit - or don't fit. So I need to get serious and get my ass in gear! I'm just short of 6 months away from Tenerife and I do NOT want to be this weight. If I am none of my summer clothes will fit and I seriously can't afford to replace them all. So, incentive enough ;) Plus, I hate how uncomfortable and rubbish I feel all the town. So I really do need to sort myself out good style.

I'll put my Fitbit stats up (to show off lol) for while I was away ...

Friday -
Steps: 17,668
Cals: 2,870
Miles: 7.48
Active minutes: 139

Sat-
Steps: 22,738
Cals: 3,189
Miles: 9.62
Active minutes: 163

Sun -
Steps: 19,771
Cals: 3,030
Miles: 8.37
Active minutes: 163

Mon -
Steps: 16,206
Cals: 2,870
Miles: 6.86
Active minutes: 94

Of course the calories burned is probably based on someone with a normal metabolism and not my crazy one. But a decent guideline :)
I think my Fitbit probably thinks I'm dead now that I'm home and slowed down LOL!2

Still having issues with my sleep. Another 4hr night last night, waking up every 30mins, and horrible night sweats, nightmares, and hallucinations :( I have an ME appointment on Tues and a GP app on Fri. I'm so exhausted I want to eat all the time, feel sick, and getting to the point where I just want to curl up and cry. Feeling rather sorry for myself *blush* Plus, prob a touch of post holiday blues!
 
Post-holiday blues plus payback for all that walking, perhaps. I'm not surprised you've posted them - they're seriously impressive!

Boo to the wanting to keep eating - it doesn't exactly help with your aim for Tenerife! It was the same problem I had last week and into the weekend, and I didn't have a good reason for it. Strangely, I found that a moan on someone's thread seem to put my mind right and I've done well since then. It's odd, isn't it - we know we feel better and happier for sticking to plan, but it doesn't stop us from wanting to fall off it. Comfort eating or eating to cope with stress has a lot to answer for.

You're usually very good at sticking to plan, and you were getting a nice string of results just before you went away, so I'm sure you'll soon get into gear and start heading towards your targets again.

Lol at researching your next break! I like to do the same - it's part of the holiday.
 
I don't think it's just from the walking. I think the emotional side of things and going back to work was incredibly difficult :( I almost asked to go home early today, I've got lots of lieu time, but stuck it out in the end. Hid in dispensary and helped ;)
But, yeah, I think it's a joint effort from many different things. Have been quite down since I've been back too, for various reasons. Feeling a bit left out of everything and like no one really cares too much.
It's a bit of a long story, but the basics are, the only time the rabbits were fed/watered or cleaned while I was away was when Michelle came around on the Sat to do a big clean for me. Mum really wasn't well while I was away, although she did go and visit her own Mum. And Rachelle was around at least one day because she came to borrow my car. So really, no one could have just put a handful of food and hay and some fresh water in with them?!!!
The garden also wasn't de-poo'd. Although I didn't expect this, but it just adds to it.
I had to throw away some out of date and mouldy stuff from the fridge :/
Oh and the ONE food thing I asked for, eggs, I didn't get.
Also my friends had at least one big outting while I was away, a group dog walk in Delamere forest. And Michelle has been hanging out a LOT with Martin and doing a lot of stuff with him. She says she's not in to him and she's one of the few people who knows how I feel, but it still hurts. And, tbh, I do feel a bit jealous about all the stuff that's going on. Since I've been home I've been asked to go on the next Delamere walk, but I'm working, and was invited to a pub quiz but it was on my first day back to work and I knew I wouldn't be able to cope with it. I don't want to be the sick friend who can't do stuff and has to just read about stuff on FB. My life seems to be that I go to work, but then aren't well enough to do other things. And when I do some good stuff, like Oslo, I really pay for it. I honestly haven't even got the energy to go and see Avengers :'(
Oh and my work friend left work earlier than she was supposed to, and again I only found out on FB.
I was gone for THREE days! And I feel like really no one cares and I was almost forgotten about in such a short time. I have had a bit of a sulk about it and I'm trying to not get too down and move on and not take things so seriously. Difficult though isn't it?!!

I'm not even really comfort eating. I just can't be bothered :( But I need to remember all the time how unhappy I am at this weight. I know I can lose at least some weight, because I have done post-ME. It is difficult, but I know it can be done. Going to try and think up a bit of an action plan over the weekend. Nothing drastic, but I do have some ideas for small changes that may help.
If by some miracle I could get anywhere near 11st/my weight before Sweden, I would be so thrilled I'd be dancing round in my swimming costume for all to see ;) So y'all will have that to look forward to LOL!

Researching is so much fun isn't it Patty?!! I stumbled across something AMAZING that goes on in Helsinki each year, so I think I have a month to aim for. It wont be till next year as the flights are MUCH more expensive than Norway and I think I'd like to add on a night too. But looking at June next year now, so plenty of time.
But I do still have to pay for Tenerife and save money for that. Christmas is also before then, obv haha. And we're saving up for my Mum's 60th and going somewhere, just me, Mum, and Rachelle. Looks like probably somewhere European as New York seems to be out now. So far we have Berlin, Prague, and Amsterdam as maybe's :) But that is also 3 years off and now I know I don't need a zillion pounds for going to the US :p

Anyway, will stop rambling. I'm sure you all missed that while I was away ;)

Sorry to go on, but it really does help.
Goodnight and much love.xx
 
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It appears the photo upload works! So will add a few of my favourites :)

Of course they've not uploaded in order.

But we have a troll, the Stave church at the Folk Museum, my balcony :D, the Torp airport train "station" (just a track in front of a red building), a Viking Ship, my favourite critter from the Reptile Park, the diver sculpture at the marina, the bridge at the very start of the Vigeland Sculpture Park, and the clock tower at Aker Brygge.
 

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Me at Aker Brygge, my Aass Beer :D, frapp at cafe Cocoa, me on the cruise boat, a couple of the fjord, me on top of the opera house, the opera lady sculpture in front of the opera house, chicken sculpture, chocolate stash (not all for me ;) ), and the main shopping street, Karl Johanson, with the palace at the very end.
 

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What an amazing place and that Viking ship - wow! Thank you for posting.

i think I'd also feel pretty miffed in your shoes. As you say, you didn't ask for much. Perhaps next time you could ask Rachelle to check on the rabbits in return for the use of your car? You'd expect someone to just do it but sometimes we just have to spell these things out. Yes, it's hard sometimes not to feel as though you're on the outside looking in. I'm sure your friends don't mean to exclude you but it can still hurt.

Helsinki? My word - that is an unusual venture! I'd say if the flights are expensive you should definitely have an extra one or two nights if you possibly can.

i've never been to Prague (regrettably) but I've been to both Amsterdam and Berlin several times. Berlin is by far my favourite of the two - so much to see and do (not all Nazi/WWII related) and it's relatively compact. The pace of life is relaxed too - very different from London's.

Hair's looking good and I don't think anyone would spot the blonde highlight!
 
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