Dinkie Dawnies Dubious Diary of Downsizing, Deflation, and Debauchery

[gl12282]

I can't sleep :-(


It is soooooo lovely to have the amazing Dawn here. I have been as excited as she was and just as excited by the fact that we are staying on plan. Poor Dawn may have a weekend of effectively running round after me (we are planning to cook some stuff for freezing as I'm never in to do that normally) to add to the fact that she brought her own (and mine !) dinner (and tomorrows lunch !!!!) and low syn cake !! Thanks Dawn ?

So yesterday we both stuck to plan which just proves to me that we can and will manage it for the weekend. Dawn is I think a bit more focused than I am (at least more consistent) but she has been fab in helping me get restarted. It's early days (my stats are out of date - sorry) but I'm feeling positive and patient and have the potential for 4 fairly good weeks ahead.

So thanks for coming Dawn . Fantastic to have you here (even if you had come totally empty handed - which of course you didn't).

Gail xxx

 

[skinnydawn]

I can't sleep :-( It is soooooo lovely to have the amazing Dawn here. I have been as excited as she was and just as excited by the fact that we are staying on plan. Poor Dawn may have a weekend of effectively running round after me (we are planning to cook some stuff for freezing as I'm never in to do that normally) to add to the fact that she brought her own (and mine !) dinner (and tomorrows lunch !!!!) and low syn cake !! Thanks Dawn ? So yesterday we both stuck to plan which just proves to me that we can and will manage it for the weekend. Dawn is I think a bit more focused than I am (at least more consistent) but she has been fab in helping me get restarted. It's early days (my stats are out of date - sorry) but I'm feeling positive and patient and have the potential for 4 fairly good weeks ahead. So thanks for coming Dawn . Fantastic to have you here (even if you had come totally empty handed - which of course you didn't). Gail xxx

Aww thanks Gail xxx

Thank you for having me! How many other friends would open up their house and make me welcome in the way that you do? I LOVE being here...feels like my second home ...and you are such fab company xxx

And how good are we staying on plan so far?!!! I suppose the fact that 50% of our chat has been about SW has helped lol! ( we won't talk publicly about the other 50% lol ) I'm not sure I'm more focused...I think it's more that I have more opportunities to plan ahead as I'm not as busy as you. You also have a lot of times where you have to eat out and that's always challenging. But we now have a plan for that so we can cross that 'problem' off

I'm really looking forward to some cooking over the weekend! We should try that BNS lasagne from the mag as it looks amazing and freezes too. And of course we'll knock out a few of your tried and tested favourites too. Reminds me of the first time I stayed here and we cooked all those cakes for charity! That was fun lol!

And as for coming empty handed...well I couldn't ever do that. Even if I don't bring food, I always bring a tonne of excitement at meeting up with you again, and a shed load of real affection for a very very special friend x I shall always be grateful to minis for the wonderful friends I have made here, and in particular you, Sarah ( I know she's gonna kill me for being so nice ) and Steve.

Hope you've nodded off again. I'm very comfy still in bed here but it's time for me to jump in that lovely new shower now! I do feel posh! See you when you get up! I have a feeling it's going to be a busy day! xx

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[Maverick]

Aww, glad you 2 are having such a lovely time. Sounds great to be doing some Sw cooking and having a giggle at the same time. Impressed the wine hasn't come out to spoil ur angelic Sw friendly weekend! xxx

 

[skinnydawn]

Laura it's so much fun! Gail is amazing and we've had lots of giggles...and still no wine!

We had a very lazy morning with a late breakfast of fresh fruit and yoghurt, and then we sat and planned a food shopping list.

It's quite windy here so we decided to sweep up all the fallen leaves in the back garden and then who should call but Bev! (Pommette) We'd texted her earlier about possibly meeting up but Bev was really busy so didn't think she'd manage it. BUT then she phoned and it may be possible to meet tomorrow so FINGERS CROSSED!!!

We had a very nice walk down to the local butchers for a few bits, and then a bit later we went to Tesco for the rest of the shopping. On the way back we called into the Trafford Centre. Omg I love that place! I went there a few weeks ago and couldn't believe how lovely it is! We haven't got anything like that in Northampton.

When we got back we put the shopping away and then started on dinner...spaghetti carbonara. Wow! It was amazing!!! We both said we'd definitely cook it again.

Anyway, off to get some coffee and cake now so catch you later

 

[gl12282]

Dawn is amazing. She is helping me sort out 'stuff' and has been v patient when I have to do 'stuff' and leave her alone ! Thank you angel Dawn

She is right, the carbonara was amazing. We prob made a bit too much but next time I would have to work out how to make if for one. I don't think it would reheat v well as quark tends to curdle when heated to a high temperature.

Recipe (suggest for 2 people)

4oz spaghetti (we made 6oz and it was a bit too much - because it's do yummy we ate most of it but didn't need to as we were already full)
1/2 tub quark (250 g tub)
2 egg yolks
4 rashers smoky bacon (with fat trimmed off)
Approx 8 button mushrooms
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
Salt and pepper
15g each (1/2 HexA) Parmesan cheese
Fry light or we used 7 squirts of berio olive oil spray (1 Syn)

Fry the onion, then garlic, then bacon then mushrooms. Mix the quark and egg yolks together and cook the spaghetti while doing all that. Drain pasta and mix together with mushrooms/onions etc then add the quark/egg yolks while off the heat and serve straight away. Worth warming the plates (I didn't !) as it cools v quickly because of adding cold quark to the pasta mix. We served with broccoli and spinach to make 1/3 superfree.

Yuuuuuuuuuum.

So, it is fantastic having Dawn here. She is very inspirational and has helped me sort some goals to get back to where I was. I am still nearly 3.5 stone lighter than when I started but not 5.5 stone lighter as I have been.

Love ya Dawn

Gail xx

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[Pommette]

. . . and then who should call but Bev! (Pommette) We'd texted her earlier about possibly meeting up but Bev was really busy so didn't think she'd manage it. BUT then she phoned and it may be possible to meet tomorrow so FINGERS CROSSED!!!

I'm now at the lovely Christine's for a couple of nights. I've sent mum's cat on a 3-day holiday to the cattery so I can have a break.
Due to some intrepid jugggling of visitors to go and see mum I have over 24 gours off!
Her cleaner/carer went to see her last night and my step-bro is going at lunchtime today so I don't have to go again until 6pm tonight.

So the plan is that I'm going to drive over to see Dawn and Gail this afternoon which will be brilliant.
It seems a long time since Feb 2012 and the Minis meet at Rufford Oark. Excited of Spain here!

 

[Spanx]

Sorry to hijack your thread Dawn, but need to say 'OMG - Gail! Lovely to see you back! How the devil are you?'

 

[skinnydawn]

Dawn is amazing. She is helping me sort out 'stuff' and has been v patient when I have to do 'stuff' and leave her alone ! Thank you angel Dawn She is right, the carbonara was amazing. We prob made a bit too much but next time I would have to work out how to make if for one. I don't think it would reheat v well as quark tends to curdle when heated to a high temperature.

Recipe (suggest for 2 people)

4oz spaghetti (we made 6oz and it was a bit too much - because it's do yummy we ate most of it but didn't need to as we were already full) 1/2 tub quark (250 g tub) 2 egg yolks 4 rashers smoky bacon (with fat trimmed off) Approx 8 button mushrooms 1 small onion 1 clove garlic Salt and pepper 15g each (1/2 HexA) Parmesan cheese Fry light or we used 7 squirts of berio olive oil spray (1 Syn)

Fry the onion, then garlic, then bacon then mushrooms. Mix the quark and egg yolks together and cook the spaghetti while doing all that. Drain pasta and mix together with mushrooms/onions etc then add the quark/egg yolks while off the heat and serve straight away. Worth warming the plates (I didn't !) as it cools v quickly because of adding cold quark to the pasta mix. We served with broccoli and spinach to make 1/3 superfree. Yuuuuuuuuuum.

So, it is fantastic having Dawn here. She is very inspirational and has helped me sort some goals to get back to where I was. I am still nearly 3.5 stone lighter than when I started but not 5.5 stone lighter as I have been. Love ya Dawn Gail xx Sent from my iPhone

Aww now I'm blushing lol! Gail you are always reminding me to think about how far I've come, and all I'm trying to do is to make you see how brilliantly YOU have done! Because you HAVE! But I know you want to go further and I also know that you WILL, and I promise I'll be with you every step of the way x You have SO much going on in your life and I'm totally in awe of the way you cope with it all!!! I swear you need a 48hr day!! And more than anything, I'm SOOOO proud of you, and so proud to be your friend.

Luv ya loads sis xxx

I'm now at the lovely Christine's for a couple of nights. I've sent mum's cat on a 3-day holiday to the cattery so I can have a break. Due to some intrepid jugggling of visitors to go and see mum I have over 24 gours off! Her cleaner/carer went to see her last night and my step-bro is going at lunchtime today so I don't have to go again until 6pm tonight. So the plan is that I'm going to drive over to see Dawn and Gail this afternoon which will be brilliant. It seems a long time since Feb 2012 and the Minis meet at Rufford Oark. Excited of Spain here!

YAAAAAY!!! Auntie Bev's coming!!! That's great news Bev! Can't wait to see you!

Sorry to hijack your thread Dawn, but need to say 'OMG - Gail! Lovely to see you back! How the devil are you?'

Haha! You hijack away Spanx!!! xxx

 

[Maverick]

Your weekend sounds great, and that carbonara sounds yummy too. Might add it to my to do list Hope you have a lovely time with Pommette this afternoon too xxx

 

[skinnydawn]

Thank you Laura, we had a lovely afternoon!

Gail had to pop out this afternoon (after spending the morning cooking a gorgeous lentil shepherds pie while I was still asleep!) so I made some burgers and a BNS lasagne while she was out. Not long after she came back the lovely Bev came to visit! Wow she looks amazing! Bev if you're reading this, both Gail and I really thought you looked fab, and we LOVE the longer hair!

So obviously it wasn't long before talk turned to SW and we chatted away about various recipes, tweaks and ideas we used. It was great to swap stories, and it really bought it home how well Bev has done as she simply can't get a lot of the foods in Spain that we take for granted here such as 0% Greek yoghurt. She has to make quite a few compromises which makes her weight loss even more admirable. Unfortunately the time flew by and sadly Bev had to leave but I feel that the three of us could've chatted all night. Maybe next time Bev? Xx

So Gail and I had our tea which consisted of some lentil pie, some lasagne, spinach and broccoli ... Bit random but we wanted to try both dishes lol! And they were LOVERLY! Mind you we were both starving as neither of us had eaten beforehand due to being busy! Once the leftover food had cooled, we boxed it up into portions along with the burgers and it's now all in the freezer for whenever Gail needs it.

Then Gail and I spent a couple of hours putting the world to rights...men, food, houses, men...before she had to pop out again. Actually I think I hear her car now so will post some pics and then see if she wants a cuppa.

So sad to be going home tomorrow It's been a wonderful weekend spent in the best company I could ever wish for. Thank you Gail for an amazing time, for talking a LOT of sense to me when I need it most, for supporting me , and for being the very best friend a girl could have xxx

























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[gl12282]

Awwwww *blushes* thanks Dawn.

It has been wonderful to see Bev again - unexpected but lovely. She looks fabulous (agree the hair is great and really suits you) and is as down to earth as ever.

I too have had an amazing weekend despite just abandoning Dawn on 3 occasions for various reasons :-o

We have had fantastic food and TOTALLY on plan (who'd have thought - certainly a first for us !!) not even using all of our syns each day. We had fantastic company and I feel so motivated at the moment, it's brilliant (actually please don't leave............?)

So thanks so much for coming to see me, for looking after me (body and mind lol) and for being you.

Gail xxxx

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[Pommette]

It was lovely to see you both again - and yes nowhere near long enough for a good natter.
Next time it will have to be longer . . . .

I had a quick taste of the two dishes and I can vouch for them both.
The butternut squash lasagna is delish - so get making it girlies.
And I liked the lentil pie too - even thought I don't really like lentils.

Dawnie - you deffo look still really slim so listed to your sis. You know she talks a lot of sense!
Sleep tight and speak tomorrow.

PS Did you email me the pics? Nothing in there at the mo.

 

[skinnydawn]

Forgot the pics Bev! Sorry! Have sent them now xxx

 

[pjallen1982]

Sounds an absolutely fabulous weekend. Can't believe you stayed on plan too. Food sounds delicious yum.

You back at work this week? Hope you got home safely and had a good day x

 

[skinnydawn]

I'm home thanks Penny, safe and sound It wasn't a bad journey really, two and a half hours as there were the usual hold ups in Birmingham and the weather was rubbish, but I was home by 1pm. I got a lovely welcome from Gwyn and the doggies and plonked myself on the settee with the coffee that Gwyn made me. Bit of a mistake as I then didn't want to get back up again and unpack lol! But I did it, and I also had to make an appointment at the vet on Vicki's behalf as Teapot ( one of her rescue hamsters) has lost a lot of fur over the weekend.

Then of course it was time to start dinner so I did a quick sausage casserole and some veg (I had salmon) before taking Vicki and Teapot to the vet. The news wasn't too brilliant unfortunately. Because Teapot isn't scratching, it doesn't look like its a skin infection or mites, and is more likely to be some sort of hormone / malignancy which won't be able to be treated. However the vet does want to try some drops on her skin which are normally used to treat mange so we're going to give that a go. They didn't actually have the drops there so we have to pick them up tomorrow when we take Suki for her vaccinations.

Anyway it's been nice to catch up with everything that the children have been up to while I've been away, and Gwyn of course. I wasn't too pleased to hear that we're going to have to get a new tv for the bedroom though as the old one has packed up. Gwyn bought it for my birthday a couple of years ago and it's a 32" LG. It wouldn't turn on last week so Gwyn took it to be repaired and they said it needed a new motherboard. Well today they phoned to say that LG had stopped making them and that they won't make any more until the new year!!! I said to Gwyn that we should just put the telly from the conservatory in our room but he said it wasn't fair on the kids as they use it for the wii so it looks like we're off to Argos tomorrow.

While it's great to be home, I'm already missing Gail and looking forward to our next meet

Red day

Half a melon

Grapes

Salmon
Mustard and orange sauce 2
4 potato wedges ?6
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Green beans

Hifi bar B
Milky coffee A
8 syns 1A & 1B

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[Pommette]

Thanks for the piccies Dawn - 2nd one arrived again and still not brill. Boo Hoo as it is such a nice photo.

 

[shrinki]

It sounds like you had a fantastic weekend away . Food all looked lovely.
Sorry to hear about the Telly but good excuse to get a nice shiny new one!
jx
ps. What no salad cream yesterday?!

 

[skinnydawn]

Thanks for the piccies Dawn - 2nd one arrived again and still not brill. Boo Hoo as it is such a nice photo.

Sorry Bev I looked on the big PC this afternoon but the pic is very grainy on there despite what I do to it! We'll just have to meet up again very soon and takes lots more lol xx

It sounds like you had a fantastic weekend away . Food all looked lovely. Sorry to hear about the Telly but good excuse to get a nice shiny new one! jx ps. What no salad cream yesterday?!

Lol! New telly is already in the bedroom! Once Gwyn makes his mind up, there's no stopping him! And well spotted on the salad cream! I had several salads without salad cream at Gail's and I didn't really miss it so I thought I'd give it a go at home. Probably won't last long though!

********************************************************************************************

Good evening lovely ladies!

Sitting here watching MasterChef the Professionals and feeling very stuffed after my dinner!

I've had quite a nice day today really. Gwyn was out this morning so I busied myself with lots of washing and housework. After lunch I had a lovely surprise when Gail phoned for a quick catchup. She's doing well with her food despite having a tiny wobble this morning. I'm so proud of her .

We took Suki for her vaccinations later on and we've finally arranged to have her spayed. I'm afraid we're real babies when it comes to our doggies and we're both reluctant for them to have surgery. But after a lot of thought, we feel it's best for both dogs to be spayed due to the risks of mammary cancer, and Suki also needs a hernia repair which they will do at the same time. So Suki is booked in for next Tuesday and Sasha will have her op in January.

It was time to start tea when we got home and I'd already decided I was going to cook the carbonara again as it was sooooo nice last time! I did enough for 5 of us and EVERYONE enjoyed it! I've got some leftover for tomorrow but I'm going out to lunch with two SW friends so I don't expect to be too hungry! We're going to the Harvester so we can stay on plan as it's wi the following day!!!

Green day

Bowl of chopped apple and banana
Yoghurt 1/2

2 x wm toast B1
Marmite
Tinned toms

SW spaghetti carbonara 4
Parmesan 1/2 A1
Salad
Mayo 2 (sorry Jane!)
Yoghurt 1/2

Milky coffee rest of A's
Hifi bar B2

2 A's
2 B's
7 syns

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[skinnydawn]

Hellooooo peeps x

So late tonight! Probably not helped by me falling asleep in the conservatory this afternoon!!!

Spent the morning changing sheets, washing (again), and cleaning bathrooms as Suzanne was coming to pick me up and I wanted the place to look tidy! Anyway we set off for the Harvester just before 1 and I was actually quite hungry and also looking forward to meeting our friend Mark for lunch. Mark was already there when we arrived and it wasn't too busy so we chose a big round table in the window. We all decided to have the chargrilled chicken with a jp and we asked NOT to have the buttered peas, butter and sauces. There are unlimited visits to the salad bar included in the price (£6.99) and all the food has it's calorie content displayed, including all the items on the menu. I took my own jar of Mayo but there was a dressing there which was 20 calories for a ladleful so I had some of that instead and it was very nice. We washed it all down with a diet coke and had a lovely afternoon chatting





After the meal, Suzanne and I did a bit of shopping in Tesco and then she dropped me off at home...which is when I nodded off!

I was too full for tea (honestly!!!) so I just had a hifi bar later in the evening. Had a lovely chat with Gail tonight and I'm so pleased to say she lost 2.5lbs today!!! Well done Gail xHope it's the start of lots more brilliant weeks

I also had a nice text from Suzanne asking if I'd like to go to the Lakeland shop in Milton Keynes tomorrow so of course I jumped at the chance!!!

EE day

Chopped apple and banana
Yoghurt

Chicken
Jp
Salad
Dressing 1

Hifi bar B
Milky coffee A
Rocky rd bar 3

1 A & 1 B
4 syns

 

[Pommette]

Evening chica - tell Gail well done from me. Good luck for your WI tomorrow (well today actually)