Dinkie Dawnies Dubious Diary of Downsizing, Deflation, and Debauchery

Great that you all had a lovely day together!

Thanks for the advice on running shoes, I bought some today but the chap in the store didn't do/say anything about arches, or standing on anything first. I hope they'll be ok. Tried on lots of pairs and these felt the comfiest. Cheepy leggings from Tesco complete the emsemble, but I do plan on wearing a sports bra and T shirt as well!

I do the same cleaning thing whenever we leave anywhere. Good to have our own caravan now, although I'd always hated them prior to getting this one. We went away for a few days with a very house/caravan proud friend recently. Because I knew this I asked that we eat meals in ours as I wouldn't have relaxed in theirs. Within minutes of sitting down she'd knocked a bottle of red wine over and it went everywhere! Friend was mortified, I couldn't have cared less and was so relieved that it hadn't been me, in theirs!

So, first run in the morning, through the woods, where no one will see me!
 
Bess, good luck for your run tomorrow. Don't worry if you feel like you can only run for a minute or two, even when you can run for far more than that, when you start off, it still feels like you can only run for a minute or two !

Dawn - thanks for your lovely comments. I had a fabulous afternoon. Thanks for bringing your starting trousers - that was great to see :). Sorry I didn't respond to your text earlier - had to go out pretty soon after you left so I didn't have chance.

Dawn and Jules have been very kind seeing as I managed to set the smoke alarm off TWICE :eek: and had Dawn feeling my bra strap - sorry Dawn !!!! I also set off the indoor firework in the tiramisu directly under the paper lampshade so it could have been more than just the smoke alarm going off - oooooops :eek:

Recipes for anyone interested:

Baked bean lasagne - courtesy of Shrimpy.

2 tins baked beans
1 tin tomatoes
2 peppers (any colour - I use orange and yellow)
2 onions
1 pack large mushrooms
8 laughing cow light
Selection of green herbs (I used oregano, basil, rosemary and thyme)
Generous dash of worcester sauce
Tabasco to taste (or chilli flakes)
200g or however much you want of reduced fat cheddar
Lasagne sheets.

Cook onions, peppers and mushrooms in fry light. Then add everything else (except the cheese and lasagne sheets !). Layer into a large dish - sauce, pasta, etc. I used 3 layers of pasta. Then add cheese to the top. Bake in oven about 200 degrees for 35-40 mins. Grill cheese on top if necessary. Yum. Serves about 8 - approx 0.75 HexA per serving, syn free depending on how much cheese you use.

Fish Pie:

Chopped fish (I either use 2 fillets salmon and 2 fillets smoked haddock or a pack of fish pie mix) - around 300-400g of fish I think (?) plus frozen uncooked prawns
2 onions
1 small tin sweetcorn
Green herbs of your choice
750g ready peeled Maris Piper potatoes (!)
1-2 tsp mustard
1 egg
1 250g tub quark
Few spoons of v low fat fromage frais (? about 75-100g approximately)
150g (could use 168g for the full 0.5 HexA allowance per person but 150g suits because it's half a packet) reduced fat cheddar

Cook onion in fry light. Then add fish and prawns (I cooked them separately then added them to onions but you could probably cook together). Mix egg, quark and fromage frais together. Cook potatoes and mash with a bit of fromage frais and mustard. Put fish mixture in a dish. Add the quark/fromage frais/egg mixture and stir in. Top with mash then cheese. Bake in oven for 25-30 mins, grill cheese if necessary. Serves 6 generous portions - 0.5 Hex A per portion.

Tiramisu was delicious - thanks Jules. I will have a look at the recipe to see whether it's within my limited pudding capabilities !!

Thanks again for a fantastic afternoon. It was really lovely to meet you.

Gail xxxx
 
Nattymo said:
Sounds like you had a fabbo day girls! The food sounds amazing...I have envy!!

Recipes please!!

Xx

Hi Nattymo,

Have envy hunni! Lol!

Other ladies have the recipes but I do have a piccy of the tiramasu, and the lovely Jules...
 
Oops...let's try that again...
 

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So glad you all had a fabulous time :D And Jules is beautiful - an amazing inspiration - as are all you successful 'losers'
Definitely something to aspire towards - well done one & all :D:D
 
Lovely picture. Shame it doesn't show the paper lampshade about 10cm above. Jules looks confidently relaxed though and the house didn't go up in flames so the safety margin was obviously ok :D !!!

Gail x
 
gl12282 said:
Lovely picture. Shame it doesn't show the paper lampshade about 10cm above. Jules looks confidently relaxed though and the house didn't go up in flames so the safety margin was obviously ok :D !!!

Gail x

Hmmn...judging by the way those flames were gently licking that poor lampshade I'm not sure there was that much of a safety margin lol!

I'd forgotten about the smoke alarm...both times lol!

And me trying to use the salt shaker with the cap on...

But the funniest thing was Gwyns face as we discussed in some depth the demise of my boobs and the NON-demise of yours!!! ;)
 
Lol I missed that convo it would seem. I would have been telling you about the tennis ball in sock-like appearance of mine, dont think Gwyn would have been too impressed by that! xxxxx

And yes I don't look as concerned as I actually was in that photo for our safety as the flames rose towards that lampshade...
 
Emmaline said:
Sounds like ou all had a spectacularly wizz time - making me really jealous!! .. :sigh:

Hope I will be able to meet up with some minis one day -

Anyone up for a snails pace walk? .. lol!

Hi Emmaline!
Ooh haven't seen you for ages! Will pop along and say a proper hello in a sec xx

It's just wonderful that 3 women (and one very patient and long suffering man) who really don't know eachother properly, can chat away non stop for nearly 3 hours! And I'm sure we'd still be at it now given half a chance! I thoroughly recommend it! Xx
 
julesm said:
Lol I missed that convo it would seem. I would have been telling you about the tennis ball in sock-like appearance of mine, dont think Gwyn would have been too impressed by that! xxxxx

And yes I don't look as concerned as I actually was in that photo for our safety as the flames rose towards that lampshade...

Oh I don't know...I think ALL boob talk is probably ok with him really! ;)

And is there a slight hint of hysteria about your smile in that pic...?? I don't know if you noticed that you, Gwyn and I were seated at the table in quite close proximity to said firework...while Gail was on the other side of the room lol!!! :)
 
Good morning xxx

Well...I've done the deed...twice actually! That's weighed myself BTW JoT...

And last night the piggin things said I'd put 5lbs on!

But this morning they say 2lbs on...so I'm kinda leaning towards this mornings reading lol! But my scales are so temperamental I'm really not sure, so I suppose its a question of "suck it and see" until wi on Thursday. Mind you, if I'm perfectly honest, I was expecting a much bigger gain, and I still have nearly 5 days to get some of it off so things are pretty good.

That's as long as I can 'get back into it' again today, cos I still feel in holiday mode tbh!

Anyway, gotta get up and go to church in a minute, so will be nice and busy this mornin. And we had my lovely niece and nephew overnight so they're going to be a hood distraction too hopefully.

Have a lovely Sunday all xxx
 
Thanks Gail, in going to give them a go for sure! Dawn- the pic looks yum too-even if it was slightly hazardous!!!

5 or 2 isn't bad for a weeks holiday and knowing you it'll be straight off! Fingers crossed for you for Thursday.

Good luck for your run bess, you defo did the right thing getting some special running trainers. It made a huge difference for me.

Another sunny Sunday ladies, how lovely :0)
 
Great picture of the lovely Jules, but that firework!! Not surprised the smoke alarms went off! Does Jules still have eyebrows? :D
 
2 or 5lbs after a weeks holiday, is really good, I normally put on at least half a stone, and I am sure you will have it all back to normal by Thursday x
 
Ditto to what everyone else said. I did half a stone over xmas holiday too (reason I'm back here!!!) so your gain is pretty good considering the circs.

Re our apartment, we do have it cleaned professional after each client's stay (which they pay for) but we do not expect the cleaners to have to clear up before they start. It is the exception rather than the rule for it to be left in such a state but it does happen.

Glad you had a good time with Gail & Jules - although I agree, the firework looks a bit precarious!
 
Evening all,

Quick post as I seem to have been on the go all day and yet still haven't done everything I wanted to :sigh:

Went to church with Gwyn this morning which was nice, and then came back to chaos as Vicki was preparing the cricket tea, along with little Maddies help :eek: Hmmn...4yr olds and food = mess!! But they did get it all done, and cleaned up the kitchen, and got off to the match ok.

So I thought that chicken, new pots and salad would be nice for dinner, specially as son no 2 Dan had popped by to see how the holiday had gone, and was joining us for dinner. Which was all fine until I got the salad out of the fridge and found it was frozen solid! :mad: I mean it wasn't just a bit crispy...The sodding cucumber was like a baseball bat, and I found a tomato which was just like a snooker ball :rolleyes: I couldn't believe it! So it all got chucked on the compost and Gwyn was dispatched to the shops for replacements! :shifter: It was all very nice when we finally sat down to eat!

Today has consisted of washing, hanging out, washing, more hanging out...don't you just love coming back from your hols :sigh: Oh, and LOADS of housework too cos I just can't settle or relax if things aren't right. I'm not a cleaning freak, but I do have to have certain things done every day, or a certain way, or I get really aggitated :badmood: By the time I'd finished, it was gone 6 and I really wanted to go and see if I could run off some off the holiday weight so I got changed and popped up to the usual place to have a go at c25k, wk 4 run 3. It wasn't too bad, but I did struggle with the 2nd 5 min run and had to have a 1 min walk in the middle of it :mad: so I'll have to repeat it next time. I have completed this run before, so I'm thinking I'm possibly paying for the indulgences of the hol!! But it was ok apart from that so I'm fairly pleased.

Now I'm back home, just had a cheeky G&T, and thinking about making a chickpea cake...never made one before. And I need to sort my lunch out for work tomorrow. Pooh...not in the mood for work lol!!!

Todays Food

2 x wm toast (B)
butter (2)
marmalade (2)
milk in tea (1)

chicken
salad
new pots
salad cream (2)
banana

g&T (3)

Syns:- 10
Exercise:- c25k wk 4 run 3... 3k walk/run

I'll be back on my moby later, take care xxx
 
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Sounds just like my "return fom holiday" routine too. I used to hate all the washing and ironing that needed to be done. I used to get into a real state as 75% of the time I worked away from home so also had to repack a suitcase full of business gear to go off with on Monday morning.

Re cleaning - don't ever come and live in Spain. There is no way you can have a house "just so". There is dust in the air all the time so everything always looks a mess. For the first 12 months I was a dusting maniac. Now I just ignore it and hope that anyone who comes round will too. I have a friend who has lived here the same amount of time as we have and she still dusts every day. Mad fool.
But her taps are a mess and mine are sparkly as I have a real fettish about this. We have really hard water which leaves limescale marks - so I clean them every time I use them. My husband thinks I'm mad !!! Now't so queer as folk!
 
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