I'm late, I'm late for a very important date.....

Ever since being a little girl and my sister took me on the Alice in wonderland ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and reading the book I have been madly in love with everything Alice (by the way that's the name of a craft book I really desire!) I used the graphics fairy site to get some pictures and printed them off, I used paint and glitter glue plus some decoupage I already had to make these canvases, I adore them, I had so much fun making them, I want to do more themes like Red riding hood and maybe Hansel and Gretal.

Another blast from my childhood, a school friend posted this on Facebook, our class in the first year of primary school, I loved it! I'm the one second from the end on the right, second row down. I always wore pinafores and roll neck jumpers and red tights, the school uniform was brown and yellow and not compulsory (thank goodness), it's so funny how I can remember the other children's names from 30 years ago!

It reminded me of such innocence and carefree childhood, I enjoyed primary and junior school until I was about 10, after that bullies took over and I didn't like it one bit. It makes me think how different children are now, not all children obviously, but some are so far advanced in the way they behave and what they know, it is a real shame that they seem to have grown up so quickly and can never get that innocence back. Children in our area dress like little tarts and the parents are the ones to blame, sexulising 5 year olds by buying them clothes and shoes which are far too old for them in the design and look. I may sound like an old granny whinging on about it but it saddens me.

On a lighter note I'm really looking forward to the Christmas fair I'm organising, I'm hoping it will be as great as the last one, if not better, I can almost smell the gingerbread and cinnamon now Mmmm. I found a lovely recipe at this ladies blog for cinnamon muffins which I can't wait to make tomorrow, the look so yummy, I would make them now but my chickens got a fright the other day when next door's dog broke through the fence and scared them which has stopped them laying so I'm out of eggs, have a lovely week whatever your doing x

Road trip

My lovely friend and I have been on a couple of road trips lately and it's been fun, just me and her, no boys around, we chat endlessly, laugh heartily and make each other smile. She drives, I don't so it's a real treat going out to the countryside for me. We found this great garden centre with prices so low we couldn't believe it. We got loads of plants and strawberries for our gardens,

 It was huge inside, these pics show just a tiny part of it, what a lovely place to see all variety's of plants. We each spent around £20 and my friend had to put her back seats down, the boot was full we got that much. The car looked and smelled lovely, all flowery.

I saw these and had to take a photo, they remind of old time America, not that Ive ever been!!

 We went to a craft barn and I managed to sneak a piccy of this little fellow, how cute is he, they had some lovely things but not in my budget. It was nice to look around though and get some inspiration.

A few Saturdays ago whilst the boys and men watched football, I went to the kitchen and started baking ( after staying up till 3am watching " the next great baker" ) I love that show, I started off by making some lemon cup cakes and some welsh cakes, they are yummy. I then thought what the heck and carried on making popcorn, little wraps and lots of store cupboard things like crisps, party rings etc. I got out all my teapots and cups and saucers and set the table, we each had our own teapot as we each drink different things. There was loads more on the table by the time I had finished, these are early photo's.

The game was over and I called them in, they had no clue to what I had been doing and was very surprised and really pleased especially Chris who recently said how he misses parties. We find it difficult eating at parties etc because we are dairy free, don't have any chemicals, pesticides, preservatives, additives etc. So it get a bit blah always taking a packed lunch to parties!. We had a great time and the boys kept asking why are we celebrating!! I said lets just celebrate having each other, guess what?, they answered with a loud groan :)

Friends are like flowers....

I have been thinking a lot lately about how friendships are a lot like flowers, some bloom and grow over time, years even, like reliable perennials and others are like garage bought carnations, lovely at the time but don't last very long. I have always thought I am a good friend, I'm always available in a crisis, I think I'm a good listener, I'm funny so Ive been told and do make others laugh, I'm reliable and trustworthy. On the down side I'm late for almost everything and I am opinionated, perhaps I like giving advice about things a little too much, maybe this bugs people but I can't help being passionate about issues that are dear to me. At least I can take a step back and realise where my friendship skills are shaky. What I don't understand is why friends can't be honest with each other, if I talk too much about things instead of laughing at me behind my back, point this out to me, instead of having a good old gossip about the way I live with others, say it to my face, if you can't do that then I think the friendship has wilted and died off just like my snowdrops are doing in the garden right now. I won't feel bitter or bad, I will feel saddened because the friend I thought I had found didn't turn out to be a perennial after all.

On a much lighter note whilst trying to be creative with the small amount of food we had in one morning I made breakfast pizza, the children thought it was a novel idea and my fellow thought I had gone a little crazy, I made a spelt pizza base and added baked beans, a chopped up boiled egg and some very tasty organic bacon from Able and Cole, we have it as a treat about once a fortnight and it is so good, I made another breakfast pizza too, it had mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and beans on it, I and the rest of the family couldn't believe how tasty and filling it was. It's surprising what us mamma's come up with when there is little in the cupboards.

We also went to Showzam, a fab carnival that comes to Blackpool each year, it's so good in the way it takes you back to the circus/travelling shows of years ago when they had things like the flea circus and the amazing half woman. This year the boys loved the fire eaters and a magician who was an amazing juggler. I loved this:

I didn't know what to expect but the compare told us the story of how they had captured the butterfly girl in the Amazon and brought her back, he warned all the males not to catch her eye because she will transfix you with her beauty, when the curtains opened it was a lady who was on a swing with a butterfly pod instead of legs and big wings, they had done the background to look like it carried on forever, it was very clever, the compare was a really good story teller too which made it more real. I just love the artwork on the board.

Frugal 2011, making bread....

Reassessing things after Christmas as we all do and thinking, new year, new start etc as we all do too, I considered my spending, it is at a minimum anyway because I think we all have too much "stuff," but I love collecting old furniture, fabric, vintage/retro home wares, books, vinyl records and clothes, I'm quite terrible actually, but 90% of what I buy is second hand or given to me. The only things I buy new are shoes, knickers and bra's and the boys pants from Boden because they are great quality and last ages, well thinking of it I buy most of their clothes new because it is hard to get second hand older boys clothes that are decent. But this isn't that much over a year.

So I set myself a little challenge, to minimise our spending even further so I can save up for things we actually need/will benefit our lives/make lasting memories.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting about the kinds of things I'm doing to save money, be closer to a natural way of living and hopefully inspiring others to do the same.

I am very particular about what we eat and love to cook so I won't compromise on spending money on food at all, it has to be organic, free range, outdoor bred etc, I have made some menu's up though to try and get more out of my money, we bake our own bread which saves us a fortune and the lovely smell that lingers in the air is unbeatable, this is why supermarkets have a "bakery" (most just reheat frozen loaves!), so the smell makes customers hungry. If you haven't got a bread maker already I really do recommend you save up and get a decent one, taking to friends and my own experience it is worth spending that bit extra on one, ours is this one, which bakes bread, mixes dough, you can even do cake mix in it, although I haven't tried that as I like the process of mixing cakes myself.

It is simple to use, you just weigh out the ingredients from the cookbook that comes with it and pop them into the bread pan that goes inside the bread maker, choose your bread setting and voila in and 2 hours you have a lovely loaf, all hot and delicious! We have made fruit loaf, which is lovely, curry bread made with mango chutney and curry paste, believe me it IS good.

You can of course bake your own loaves in the oven, I have tried and failed many times, they always come out like bricks!!

working it out, a loaf of bread from our local shop costs £1.30 each, (not organic) we as a family of 5 eat on average about 6 loaves a week, sometimes more (if it's fruit loaf!!) so that's £7.80 a week compared to doves organic white flour at £1.87, this would make 3 large loaves, doves organic yeast, 1.29p, one packet lasts us about 3-4 weeks, then in our bread maker you add a tsp salt, 1oz marg, 2 tsp sugar and water, so pennies really, I will allocate 90p for these things, so all together for a weeks worth of organic bread =£4.50, over the course of a year you would save £171.60 on bread alone!

Happy New Year and happy bread making, I will be pleased to answer any bread making questions no matter how silly they seem, before I got a bread maker a lovely friend answered all mine even though I felt daft asking her!

summer days driftin' away....

Yummy recipe I made up as I was running out of flour and had no sugar but they turned out so well I thought I would share, they were meant to be cakes but they are more like scones, still blummin' great with a cuppa though:

200oz self raising flour

100oz butter/marg/spread

3 heaped tablespoons of golden syrup

1 free range egg

whizz them all together in a bowl in any order you like until they are dough like, roll into golf ball sized balls and flatten with the palm of your hand, pop on a tray in the oven for 10 - 15 mins gas mark 4/5 depending on how good your oven is (ours is shit, it burns everything) and voila' yummy scrummyness for you x We had a lovely time today meeting up with friends, playing on the park and going on the beach although it was rather cold and windy, the boys loved it.
throwing sand, building an army fort and digging a great big hole

rather proud of the hole, especially when they discovered water was in it after digging down deep enough

My lovely ladies, Claire and Martina who make me smile, make me feel happy and are two of the most beautiful people I know, thanks ladies for being my friend xxxxx

sunday catch up again!

This week we went to see the long anticipated (by me) Nanny Mcphee (small c big P) film, I was so excited more than the children I think. I loved the first film so very much, the costumes, the comedy and especially that house -oh my god the hallway with that blue paint, how gorgeous. I was slightly apprehensive as well because I wasn't sure this one would live up to the first but it did, I won't go into any detail in case any of you want to see it and it spoils it but it I will say it is worth watching and the comedy, costumes and set are all great and I want the shop drawers and the china and the tea dresses!! You will know which if you see it! After much fun and being busy every night I found Adam like this on the sofa after tea,
I have been thinking about Easter and all that comes with it, the eggs, the hot cross buns etc and felt a bit put off because of us being dairy free and not knowing what to do really, but alas Salisbury's online have dairy free Easter eggs - a bit expensive though and a friend told me Holland and Barrett health food shops have them too so its not all bad. Then my mother gave me a pile of magazine's and I found a recipe for hot cross buns in, I have always thought they are something that would be fiddly or time consuming to make but with a bit of changing the ingredients to suit us and a brave heart I made some - oh my they are delicious, I took this pic quick before they all disappeared, I will post the recipe in another post.

Two surprises this week came from the garden, the first this massive double yolked egg that one of my lovely chickens laid, it measured 8cm! ooh poor thing pushing that out.

The second I found today was a huge clump of frog spawn in our pond, it made me smile a great big cheesy grin knowing that life and spring and all that, is starting again.

We went back to the zoo again, this time our eldest, James came with us, he's 15 and didn't really want to go out with us but he really enjoyed himself and he was running around with a joyous grin with the other two, quite forgetting that "someone might see him"!.

This is the best pic I could get of the lion, he kept parading up and down but I think there is a delay on the camera and each time I cut a bit of his head off the snap.

These fellows are so funny, Jackass penguins, this enclosure has been modernised and is really great to watch them when they swim, one kept following Chris' black and white stripy glove when he had it on the glass.

Lastly Bruce the very smelly, huge and noisy pig just because he made us all smile with his grumpy face and grunts.

The zoo, mothers day and colds!

we have mostly been going to the zoo last week, we got a yearly pass and enjoyed it so much, the zoo has really changed a lot since I last went years ago and they have changed some of the enclosures and the changes are awesome, I didn't used to agree with zoo's and captivity but the conservation work they do is inspiring and if these animals were left in the wild they would be hunted, our zoo also rescues animals, the elephants were part of a circus troop and now enjoy there days playing outside and just being elephants. It has been a great influence on our school work to as the boys have learnt so much by just reading the placards by the enclosures, we have been drawing these animals and researching more at home, I took loads of pictures and by far this one of the capybara is my favourite, she looks so grumpy but just after this she started making this purring clicking sound like she was so happy! Also this I have been cooking up some lovely and very tasty recipes form the new Rachel Allen cookbook, it was less than half price in WH Smiths so I couldn't resist!

I have finally finished a scarf I have been knitting for Chris and have just finished a hat for Adam, I really want a new project but still when I look at knitting patterns my head says its too hard and does this boggly thing where I just put it back!!

I had a lovely mothers day despite being full of cold and feeling like S!*!, in the morning my Tom and Chris became chefs and cooked up a great breakfast, although I did keep smelling burning and nipping in the kitchen to see if they wanted help, I kept getting ushered out, I'm not a very good bystander when someone else is cooking!, I spent the day under my duvet on the sofa watching films and masterchef! Adam followed a recipe and made spaghetti and meatballs which was very delicious, really garlicky and I was impressed as he is 12! I stayed up with the little ones and we watched castaway under the duvet with the coal fire roaring and plenty of warm drinks.
Also before I go the lovely Gina over at a space of love is having a mother magazine give away which is great for all of us who haven't read it, I like the idea of try before you buy!

Manchester museum and bread

We went to Manchester museum, after missing the first train, forgetting my money, not realising the museum shuts early on a Monday so we had to leave early and miss loads plus standing all the way home on a very packed train, we did have a good day! We saw things like this HUGE crab and Darwin's life story, which helped us get a theme going for home school, ancient weapons and native American clothing, mummy's in the Egypt section, this cool new section with a wood and these huge flowers in jars, I loved the colour scheme and think it would look great in a bedroom or play room,
We looked around the animal part which houses loads of different species and we saw animals that I had never heard of before, we took pictures of the boys in the same spot as last time we came about 6 years years ago, when we came home we compared them to our original photos, you know I think its great having a digital camera but I do miss the excitement of taking a film in to be processed and when you go a few days later to pick them up and having a tangible thing to put in an album.

Tom loved it especially the wolf, I think the wolf is his spirit guide animal, mine I think is the polar bear, I read a book on it from the library and it is an interesting subject, I would love to look at it in more depth.

We didn't get to look at the living animals so we want to go back soon to finish it off. On the way to the museum on Oxford Rd we came across a vegetarian store and cafe - wow, I would love it to be nearer to home, it was so refreshing to not feel like the odd shopper and to see so many familiar items. We did a suma coop shop the other week and its been great, the only trouble is the storage of all the bulk packs, we have the tinest kitchen and so its all on shelves in our bedroom - how romantic!

The other thing I have been doing is using my bread maker - I really don't know why I didn't buy one sooner, its so good having fresh bread every day, the trouble is, it's so good we end up eating the full loaf for lunch!. I'm not very impressed with my slow cooker though, maybe I haven't got the hang of it or haven't used a good recipe yet but I find it a waste of time messing with it.

Still looking every chance I get for a house in the countryside to rent, we can't wait to move from here so the boys can have fresh air and space to run around, we would love to be somewhere green!

fun in the snow and more yumminess

Today was the day we planned on staying home and having a good spring clean - a bit early I know, but with the sun out and snow on the ground we got all wrapped up and took a big plastic storage box to the park for some down hill fun, on the way we passed the graveyard and the snow looked all powdery and inviting so we had a go in the sledge box, it wasn't very good though as the paths are old and uneven,

I had a go but no one took my photo, they were too busy trying to push me!!, the oldest kept telling us about the physics of it all and how he knows how to bob sleigh ( after playing on the Wii), it drove me mad, I just wanted it to be fun, then there was cries of how cold it was - and a snowball fight that ended up with my littlest man sat on a tree stump really upset, I had to take a picture because he looked like a little pixie surrounded by the berries on the trees and the snow. We went home after this with me ranting about "why can't we just have a nice outing without all the fuss".

On returning home I did what I love to do - bake, another recipe out of the hummingbird bakery book, this time a healthy option - yeah right - Carrot cake, it was meant to have a cream cheese frosting but as we are dairy free I made a vanilla and cinnamon frosting, which was yummy. One slice is about the whole days calories but who cares, it is by far the best cake I have ever made, so sweet and moreish, I wish this blog was smell/taste o'vision so I could share it with you - you would probably have to fight me for a piece though hehe.

Now I'm off to play Lego in front of the coal fire with the littlies before bed - I'm very ready for it as it's been one of those days x

Yummy, yummy in my tummy

We had a lovely Christmas, really relaxed and full of good food, snuggling in front of the fire and playing games. Everyone loved there handmade gifts and it was the best Christmas I have had since I was 7 years old!. We went to the in laws and my mums on Christmas eve and swapped gifts, our little nephew who is nearly one had a velvet Santa suit on and he looked so adorable in it.

After boxing day I had a quick tidy up and discovered a book I had borrowed from the library ages ago and not read!, the hummingbird bakery book has some very tasty looking cupcakes and other naughty delights in it, so I couldn't help myself.....

Mmmm lemony snicketts topped with rainbow snowballs and lemony icing - well that's what I called them, I think in the book they are lemon cupcakes!! they are truly scrumptious, so full of calories but v. moreish. I also baked some vanilla cupcakes which went down a treat - so well I haven't got a photo of those. I substituted milk for rice milk and butter for dairy free marg and they worked fine.


Whilst the oven was nice and hot I made two loaves of wholemeal bread and some roasted butternut squash and sweet potato, this has a sprinkle of cumin, some fennel seeds, salt and pepper, olive oil and balsamic and is a delight.

Talking of delights look at these fellows we got from Tom's sister, how very cute, our boiled eggs tasted great in them....

she carried on the chicken theme with these cock a doodle ishious tins, plus other chicken related items which are now at home on the dresser.

Every night this week we have put the boys in bed and got cuddled up ready to watch a DVD we got for Christmas and every night we have fallen asleep, woken up around 2 am, not much heat coming off the coals, dribble wet cheeks and shivering, in a daze promising ourselves we will definitely watch it tomorrow - what has happened to the all nighters we used to pull!!!

Have a happy new year folks, this year has been a great one for us and we hope next year will be even better xxx

still sewing

I have been a busy bee, I have started for the first time in my life to look forward to Christmas, I think it is because this year is going to be a handmade one and the pressure to please others comes from the heart not from some idealistic idea we should spend, spend, spend money on crap that nobody actually benefits from.

I have been making things for the Christmas craft fair (6th Dec, Cedar square, Blackpool, 10am - 4pm) I have been invited to join. I am excited and nervous too, I haven't dealt with the public in such a long time but I'm sure all will be okay. I will upload some photos when I have some camera batteries!!

Our Halloween was spent inside being cosy in front of the coal fire and watching a film, ignoring the constant tapping on the door after the popcorn treat bags we made had ran out. For bonfire night we did...nothing, how liberating it was too. We watched neighbours fireworks out of the window but that was all. Not because we are mean or scrooge like, I just don't see the point, when we go to see the annual firework championships on the prom and the boys just play a game, they are not interested at all how great China's entry was or how France's rockets were bigger than last time, so they wouldn't be impressed with a Catherine wheel tied to our fence!!
Plus on the the money I would of spent on fireworks will be going to buy this new Jamie Oliver book the recipes are awesome, I borrowed it from the library and so far I have made the BBQ sauce and its the best one I have ever tasted, so smoky and yummy. The cinnamon swirls went down a treat and tonight we had peach cobbler - sticky, zingy goodness. I found it less arty, farty with the ingredients than his other books and the stories in it are interesting too.

Now the nights are drawing in I love turning on the fairy lights, lighting the fire and sitting in my wonderful art deco armchair that I discovered last week in a second hand furniture shop, its covered in velvet and has big sweeping arms, perfect for relaxing and doing some embroidery in which is what I'm off to do now.

I Love cooking and cooking loves me!

Argh summer's nearly over....did it ever really begin?, I'm not sure about anyone else but I'm sure summers used to be longer and hotter and dryer!, it seems to speed past and before you know it your back to ordering coal and dreading Christmas! I have had some nice warm outings but the weather is pretty rubbish now all thanks to chemtrails, I'm sure you have seen the planes criss crossing the sky with the polluted gases for weather modification....anyway enough of that, I thought I would post a pic of a sunny day for me to look back on next summer when its snowing in June! I went to a fab charity shop in Lytham the other day after our home school meet and was so pleased with these two tops I found......

Excuse the mucky mirror and the flash but I had to capture how bloody cute it is, it's all embroidered and covers my rather ample bosom perfectly, only £1-yep I couldn't believe it either so I quickly grabbed this....



this was also £1! its a Marks and Spencer's lace/embroidered shirt, its sooo lovely, not worn it yet as it's been too cold.

Our lovely girls have all started to lay now and I am a pleased mother hen, the yolks are so golden it's fab, I have been baking, making breakfast muffins, pancakes, omelette's etc everyday....not all of them at once-that's too greedy even for a cake lovin' lady like me!!

Eye-eye said Francesca as I got out the camera, I think she was bothered her wattle and comb had not been set!

Talking of cooking, since going to the local allotments and getting a free recipe sheet I have gone ratatouille mad, it's delicious and so easy to make in bulk. I had, had a bad morning and was making another pan full and Adam was moaning about me making it agaaaaaiiinnnn, when I cut open this pepper......

It made me feel much better and loved! I had to get the camera to capture it, yes I love cooking!!

This week I have mostly been doing lots of things but finishing none, having tons of ideas in the morning and by night time done none of them..... this happens to me a lot! I find myself frustrated with my lack of sticking to just one thing at a time, does anyone else feel this way?, maybe it's a creative thing, ideas going round and round. I would like to hear if you lovely ladies get this way too.

Cabbages, Cakes, Birthdays and no kisses!!

The garden is in bloom and I'm loving it!, walking round each morning to see whats flowered or grown a little bit taller makes my start to the day brilliant, that and talking to the chickens who remain as daft as ever. We have picked so many peas, its really amazed me how there are always more every time I look, these peas are a definite winner for production rates. We have managed to grow 3 yes that's right just 3 strawberries, how that's happened I don't know I expected loads of yummy ones for summer, I also forgot to do the successtional sowing thing so only have one lot of carrots growing- I guess this growing larks all about learning though.

I have various objects filled with growing things, tyres have come in handy, I unearthed the first spuds for tea the other day - that was fun like digging for treasure, so when the tyres were empty I did a re-shuffle and planted the courgettes and runner beans, I use empty milk cartons loads too.

Arghh I hate the caterpillars that have invaded and eaten my lovely cabbages, the broccoli's that holey they could be net curtains! Damn you cabbage whites with your pretty fluttering and wriggly caterpillars because as much as I am disappointed my brassicas are not picture perfect, I still am weak and feeble at shooing you away!!

Mmmm cakes....I borrowed this book from the library and every page had my mouth watering and me eager to get my pinny on. So I baked a Swiss roll out of it - not made one since school many years ago but thought it would be a challenge......

Sponge came out light and fluffy and smelled deliciously eggy, I made jam from berries out our garden - and it worked!! I was amazed how easy it was.....

I covered it in jam and then whipped cream - great for flabby bat wings all that mixing to get it whipped - then came the rolling up......unfortunately it kinda went wrong and split so I pretended it was a Victoria sponge slab instead, it was delicious, every forkful was dreamy and well worth making.

When do boys get to old for kisses?......

My eldest was 15 last week, I can't believe 15 years ago he was a little cute bambino and now hes nearly grown up especially for kisses off mum!!

diets...pah!!!

Oh so adorable and just what I would love, these cute note books, this one has got fairy tale pictures on it, now if only I had something to write other than shopping lists....

Little red riding hood on a cute bento box, just perfect for a picnic lunch under a cherry blossom tree.....

Cup of tea guvner?, Yes please out of this red riding hood teapot, perfect with home made scones and jam made with berries from the garden!

all from From Japan With Love, they have loads more too cute for words stuff, take a look!

now onto something less dreamy...

I did a bad thing... I fell in love, this in itself isn't bad, in fact its one of the best things that has ever happened to me, like EVER! but what came with it was that lovely feeling of feeling wanted warts and all and over the past 3 years without really realising it with that contentment came me eating, I love food, I love to cook and bake and especially love cake but before as a single woman I watched each mouthful in case dread of all dreads I had to get naked in front of a man!!!. As time goes by and your naked in front of the same man there isn't that same worry that he will not like your body, well in theory anyway.

I have always said to myself I would never let myself go or put on too much weight because I thought this is why lots of couples split up, you know after so long men generally don't fancy your wobbly bits and bobbly pajamas and would much rather live in cyber land with all the air brushed beauties and then probably move on to the first sexy woman that pays them any attention. I had confidence and a strong sense of reality when I was single and I never thought I would fall for a man in the way I have so maybe I was so sure I wouldn't let myself go because I never thought that love would happen to me.

Then standing in front of the mirror, feeling pissed off because none of last years summer clothes fit me, the fact of it all hit me, oh god when did the extra rolls appear - I kinda knew they were coming but kept telling myself it wasn't a big deal as I could just eat less and would lose them but now I realise I'm in denial.

When I stopped smoking last October I substituted the fags with sweets, I have no cravings for fags and found it really easy to stop, in fact I can't believe I smoked for 9 years, even watched my Dad die of cancer from smoking and still carried on. I read Allen Carr's book and feel in awe of this guy, he was a fantastic man, and stopped easily. But then if I didn't have sweets it would be biscuits or anything really to put in my mouth, I think I'm orally fixated (see I did learn something in psychology!).

I have tried to start calorie counting - how boring and being more aware of whats going in compared to how little I'm doing that day, its all a bit of a bore but I thought in spite of all this I will confess in the hope of making someone smile......

Picture the scene after what you have just read, I'm in the kitchen making dinner and writing down the calories of the labels, dividing the 100 % on the packets up etc, running back from the kitchen to the computer to see how many calories are in home made chips - I know not a diet food - and baking the left over cookie dough from the fridge for the boys to have with their milk before bed - I was prepared this day, dancing around to whatever was on the radio, and generally trying not to think about chocolate when I couldn't hold on any longer, I took one of the hot cookies out of the oven and took a big bite, this is where diet karma came in, I had baked the kids salt dough by mistake eurgh!!! it tasted gross, Mouthful of salt put me off raiding anything else before dinner!