Day 220, 221 & 222

Friday, not much sleep as it was a late night last night, however, felling surprisingly refreshed.  Another regular day at the office, left a little bit earlier as the plan was to go to my mates gig, however, she messaged me to say she'd had an alteration to her schedule was en route to Rotherham, so an evening in for me.  Dachs didn't come out for dinner, found he had died in his sleep in the cupboard under the stairs, so my evening was burying him :-(

Saturday, no real plans as such, so following a SW 'fry up' for breakfast I headed into Wolves to get some work trousers from Primark, alas, only big sizes in stock!!  Got myself a couple of vests for running in though, home to walk the hounds and deliver some SW leaflets for the new group.  Off to my mates house to cadge a lift to her gig in Bridgnorth, home at 1.30 am.

Sunday, a trip to Walsall after breakfast to try to get some work trousers, success at last, hello size 10, also managed to get some size 10 running shorts.  Back home for a very quick bite to eat and a shower as my mate and her hubby were picking me up en route to Ripley for her Pink gig.  What a fantastic afternoon, the bar was very busy and the crowd were really into it, early doors, home at 8.30 pm to the hounds, bins sorted for collection.

Night, night

Day 217, 218 & 219

Tuesday morning, no real aches from kettlercise, so all good.  Hounds sorted before heading off to work.  A regular day in the office except for a supervision with one of my team and a bit of coaching with regard to a job application.

No clubbercise as I'd done kettlercise which is more beneficial, so an evening with the hounds.

Wednesday morning, feeling a bit bloated, sign it is weigh in day.  Think the fibre I've been eating has helped with my stomach.  A great day of food optimising, home for a quick mealbefore heading off to be weighed,  To my surprise I'd lost 3.5 lb giving me slimmer of the week again, the fourth time, happy bunny.

Thursday, my abs were starting to ache a little, but not as much as last week.  Another regular day in the office, spent the day looking forward to the Cher & Meatloaf show in Wednesbury, a very quick pit stop at home to get changed & grab my SW oat muffins and some fruit to take with me.  The show was absolutely amazing, these guys are just awesome.

Day 216

Monday morning, my alarm didn't go off as I forgot to set it, oops.  It was a good job the bin men were especially noisy and woke me up at 6.50 am, half an hour after I should have got up!  Somehow I managed to catch up with myself, did all my little tasks and left on time.   Early finish today for a hospital appointment, so left at 1.30 pm.  Home to let the hounds out, then get changed before setting off to the hospital, as usual parking spaces around the hospital were none existent, so parked at Bentley Bridge and walked it.  Surprisingly I was seen on time, examined and then sent to radiology for x rays, then back to see the consultant, that was my afternoon gone.  So next on the agenda is a trip to orthotics, physio, then a follow up with the consultant.

Home for a flying visit to let the hounds out before my drive to Brierley Hill for Kettlercise with my mate.  Found the sit ups a bit harder tonight, think it was because I was tired, we'll see how much I ache over the next couple of days, lol.  A pit stop at Aldi for some veg, got winked at by the young man on the till, lol, then home to lasagne in the slow cooker and some speedy veg, yum, yum.

Day 214 & 215

Saturday, no plans at all for the day, other than getting my hair cut.  A quick trip to the shops then back home to walk the hounds before preparing my dinner & some snacks to take with me as my mate & hubby are taking me to her gig in Sheffield.  Sadly no chance of a quick nap as I was too busy cooking & sorting out the hounds before they collected me.  The gig was fab although the crowd seemed a little shy, they were clapping but didn't join in at all.  Falling asleep on the way home as we got stuck in traffic on the motorway, home at 3.30 am.

Sunday, managed a little bit of a lie in.  Popped into the City Centre, treated myself to some size 10 jeans & a couple of size 10 tops, check me out!!  A bit of a lazy day other than walking the hounds.  A trip to Stoke tonight with my mate & her hubby at one of the WMC's she does fairly regularly up there, at least they seem to appreciate her, although the crowd did start to dwindle away during the final set, home at 1 am.

Day 211, 212 & 213

Wednesday, weigh in day!!  Up & at em to sort out the hounds before heading into the shower & sorting myself out.  Suffering terribly with the SW constipation, grr, so feeling really bloated, hopefully I won't gain.

A regular day in the office, then finally home to an instant dinner before my Slimming World group.  Considering I've been feeling crap I was pleased to have shed another 1.5 lbs taking me to my 2.5 stone award, woo hoo!!

Thursday, really looking forward to today, my mate's gig tonight at Benjamins in Halesowen.  Couldn't wait for the day to be over as I was so much looking forward to my evening out.  So, I got told I looked fit following my weight loss, so that made me feel pretty good.  The show was absolutely amazing, what a fab night, shame there weren't a few more people there to support.

Friday, feeling a bit tired after my late night, but hey ho.  Made it through the day, although I did finish half an hour early to sort the hounds out before heading over to my mate's house as they were giving me a lift to Coventry for her gig.  Another fab night.

Day 210

Back to work, groan.  Early alarm, hounds breakfasts sorted,then time to sort myself out.  Haven't looked through the wardrobe for any smaller trousers, so will have to make do.  Feeling a bit tired today, so not feeling it.

Surprisingly the morning went fast, but so did my lunch break!!  Today is scan bran day, hopefully it will have the desired effect, lol.  The afternoon went a bit slower than the morning, but it wasn't too bad.  Back home to the hounds & a roast dinner to eat.  A quick sit down then time to walk the hounds.  My muscles seem to be repairing as they don't ache so much, so that's good news.  Looking forward to the next Kettlercise session on Monday.

Day 208 & 209

Easter Sunday has arrived!! Early night last night as sadly unable to go to the gig in Leicester.  Earlyish start to my day, getting out of bed was a challenge as my butt cheeks & abs were aching from Kettlercise yesterday.  Did a bit of faffing before deciding to walk the hounds.

An unexpected text from my mate to ask if I wanted a ride out to Brean as she was gigging at a holiday park, threw some food together as I'd not eaten since breakfast & headed over to Dudley.  The M5 was fairly quiet for a change, so we arrived early.  The show was  amazing, but surprises me that people don't even clap, then they say at the end how much they have enjoyed it.  Bizarre!!  Back home at 3 am, bins filled up ready for collection tomorrow, bed at 4 am.

Up again at 9.15 am although I had already disturbed twice.  Still a little achy, but easier to get out of bed today. Hounds breakfast sorted, then a quick trip to Cannock for Poundland & Holland & Barrett.  Back home to deliver more leaflets for the Slimming World group, then the hounds walked before a quick sit down to eat dinner, then shower time & then off out to Brierley Hill to my mate's Cher gig.

Wow, that weekend went by quickly!!

Day 206 & 207

Friday, a bit of a lie in for Good Friday before sorting the hounds & heading out in search of some meat for Easter.  Not a turkey crown in sight anywhere, so opted for a beef joint & small turkey joint instead.  Stopped off on the way home to collect some more Slimming World leaflets to deliver.

Home to walk the hounds, a quick sit down & a brew before setting off delivering the leaflets.  Dinner & a sit down before a trip to Blackheath to my mate's gig.  Home at 1 am, knackered.

Easter Saturday, an early start as I'd arranged to try out a kettlercise class in Coseley, it was fun, muscles burnt a little, but I'll definately do it again.  A stop of at Bentley Bridge on my way home.  Hounds walked, then a chillaxing afternoon.

So my mate's gigging in Leicester, been trying to find out if it's tickets & whether I can go or not.

Day 205

Thursday, a little easier getting up knowing the 4 day weekend was almost upon us. Hounds sorted, shower & ready to leave a little earlier than normal.  A quick divert to Morrisons as I'd forgotten the melon I'd bought as my work snack.

A boring day all in all with some sad news along the way that one of my friends had lost their hound.  Can't believe how much the day seemed to drag along, actually managed to finish on time though, so that was a bonus.

Back home to the hounds, no idea what to have for dinner, so a quick nosey in the freezer to find a portion of grey peas, so that was dinner sorted along with loads of speedy veg.  A trip out to Halesowen to collect a couple of kettle bells I've bought for a tenner, a stop off at Iceland on the way home to pick up some Slimming World meat products for standby dinners.  Then back home to the hounds and a brew.

Might do a spot of knitting before I retire for an early night & look forward to my 4 day weekend.

Day 204

Wednesday, weigh day.  A real struggle to get out of bed today.  Eventually made it & set about sorting the hounds out before getting ready.

A pretty crap day in the office, bored stiff.  Such a long day, couldn't wait to get home to the hounds and my lasagne.

Off to my Slimming World group, feeling like I've lost a couple of pound, but the reality was I have only lost 1/2lb, so disappointed to say the least.  A quick visit to Aldi at Bentley Bridge to get cat food.

Feeling really tired, so off to bed

Day 201, 202, 203

Sunday morning, not much sleep & a fairly early start to the day, not a great combination.  Hounds breakfast sorted & a SW friendly 'fry up' for me.  Time to get Lady ready for the Tweet Up at Cannock Chase.  First stop, St Gregory's Church to collect leaflets to deliver for Slimming World.  Lady had wind & nearly gassed me on the way to Cannock.  A lovely walk in the sunshine with friends.  Back home to deliver my batch of leaflets.  A text from my mate asking if I wanted a lift to her gig in Stoke, so that was my Sunday sorted.  Arrived back home at 1 am, totally knackered.

Another dreadful nights sleep in time for my first day back at work.  Today was a real struggle, not helped by a mouse fecking rustling paper keeping me awake from 4 am, bloody thing.  Spent most of the day replying to emails & catching up with stuff.  Finally home to walk the hounds.  Tempted to join my mate at her kettlebell class, but too knackered.  My new phone has been unlocked so spent the evening sorting it out.  Yay!!

Another crap sleep saw me into Tuesday, another difficult half hour spent trying to get up, finally made it, a stop off at Aldi for veg on the way to work before the rugrats surface.  A boring day at the office, can't wait to start my new job.  The day dragged so slowly until home time.  Hounds fed, they're loving the Arkwright's food (hope they don't start to stutter) then a sit down to update my contacts in my phone.  Ready for bed, feeling exhausted!!

Day 200

Saturday morning, a fairly early start due to an awareness event at Waitrose.  Hounds sorted, breakfast in pocket & I headed out with my boy to meet the public on behalf of RGT Wolves.  What a beautiful morning, it's normally quite cold at Waitrose, but it was actually quite pleasant, dare I say warm.  We had some regulars visit the hounds who were very grateful of the ear scratches & a bit of money founds it's way into the bucket too.  Bonus!!

Back home to find my SW chilli cooking nicely in the slow cooker, just the rice to get ready.  A quick sit down with lunch before walking the hounds in the sunshine & then doing some washing.

Still in pain with my achilles tendon, so nothing else planned for the day, made some Scan Bran cookies for me & a toona cayke for the hounds.  Hoping to hobble my way round Cannock Chase tomorrow.

Day 199

An early start with Lady barking to wake me up, early breakfast for us all.  Decided to have a bash at cutting the hedge, my lightweight hedge cutter packed up last summer, so I had to use the heavy one, no mean feat, after half an hour my arms were killing & I had to give up.  Not sure if these things go blunt, but it didn't seem to be making much of an impression.  So I decided to have a go at cutting the front lawn instead, that was a much easier task, but my arms were still killing me at the end of it.

Next on the agenda, a sit down followed by a nice warm shower.  Then off to Lidl for a couple of bits & pieces.  Home to walk the hounds in the sunshine.  My mate had messaged me to ask if I could pop over to their dog as they were in the Isle of Wight.

Couldn't decide what to have for dinner today, so for speed decided to have some gammon & veg, yummy it was too.  Also prepared a chilli in the slow cooker for tomorrow.

Off to Dudley for cuddles & a walk with Kota.  I think she was desperate for a weegoing on how she threw herself at me when I opened the door.

Back home for a chill out & then to bed.

Day 196, 197 & 198

Tuesday morning, a fairly early start as I had plans to go to Birmingham.  So, hounds fed & sorted, then off to Tipton to get the train to Brum.  A good day of shopping, a new short biker jacket from the rag market & some LED trainers for Clubbercise.

Feeling tired after a few hours on my feet, but home to walk the hounds & to sort dinner out a bit earlier as it's Clubbercise night.  Walked to  the community centre again this week & an hour of exercise follwed by the walk back home, well & truly shattered.  Must have burned loads of energy.

Wednesday, hounds sorted before popping into the city centre to try to get my photocard licence sorted, ended up having to get a form and do it the old fashioned way, so that's gonna be out of timescale.  A quick mooch around the shops & then met a friend/colleague for lunch at the art gallery, a delicious jacket potato & beans.

Home to hounds, no walk today as I seem to have strained a muscle in my leg :-(  A delicious dinner with butternut squash chips before Slimming World.  Amazed to lose another 3.5 lb this week, amazed as I've been feeling really uncomfortable due to being bloated & struggling to drink water.  Reset my target, decided on another stone from where I currently am.

Thursday, hounds sorted and another quick visit to Brum as I wanted a long leather coat from the rag market, should have got it on Tuesday really.  Also picked up a military jacket for photo shoots, just need some spare cash to allow me to do some.

A lovely walk with the hounds in the sunshine then a chill out for the rest of the day.

Day 195

An early start on Monday due to physio at 8.40 am.  Decided to walk there and back as the traffic is always a nightmare near the hospital in a morning.  A very quick appointment (5 mins) got discharged as there is no more they can do for me other than the exercises I'm already doing.

Home for a quick shower & a brew before heading to Bilston to pay the guy to get my new phone unlocked while I wait for a text from my mate to say they are ready for me to pick up to take to get their new vehicles.  Back home in time for my new phone to be delivered.

A little sit down before walking the hounds.  Grey peas cooking & smelling lovely in the slow cooker.  A chilled evening of knitting & playing with technology.

Day 192, 193 & 194

Friday, my first day of annual leave for a while.  Still woke up fairly early, sorted out the hounds with their breakfast & then cooked a SW 'fry up' for myself, shared with the hounds of course.  Feeling a bit crap today.  A trip to Bilston to get my rattling exhaust looked at, the good news the exhaust was ok, it was a rattling heat shield, the bad news, I need new brakes!!  A quick shufty round the shops to get a quote to unlock the phone I'm planning to buy.

Back home to give the hounds an extended walk and then to chill out with a bit of knitting now I've got my preemie patterns sorted.  A quiet evening in to relax in front of the TV.

Another early start on Saturday after a pretty crap night's sleep.  Hounds sorted then off to Cannock with Badger for an RGT awareness roadshow, a few rain showers during the morning meant the decision was made to pack up at lunchtime as the afternoon forecast was no better, back to walk the two girls before a heavy rain shower.  Got a text from my mate to ask if I could check in on their dog as they were in Doncaster, so off to Dudley to spend a bit of time with her and to go for a short walk.  Another evening of knitting.  Rock & Roll!!

Decided to get up after tossing & turning since 6 am.  Hounds sorted and another SW 'fry up', yes the hounds had some too.  This morning a drive to the RGT Dudley kennels to drop off some pillows for the hounds.  Next stop my mate's house in Dudley as they were returning a rental vehicle & needed a lift back home, a quick coffee then back home to walk the hounds (naked).  A beautiful day, ended up stripping down to my t-shirt.

A sit down with a brew before a quick vacuum of the car as it's looking like a shit tip, tomorrow following my hospital appointment I'm picking up my mate & her hubby to take them to get their new vehicles.

More knitting this afternoon, a lovely piece of steak for dinner & a sit down before storing out the bins.  Knackered now, hope I can sleep tonight.

Day 190 & 191

Wednesday, weigh in day.  Another struggle to remove myself from the mattress, hounds fed & watered before getting ready myself.  A supervision meeting with a pain in the arse that I manage before lunch, roll on lunch time.  Lots of comments again today about how much weight I have lost, hope that doesn't jinx me again!

Hope to a dinner of steak, egg, mushrooms & SW chips (after I'd returned to the office to get my meat out of the fridge) before setting out to the weigh in.  Good news, another 2lb loss taking me to my initial target, woohoo.  Also got slimmer of the month which was a surprise too.

Thursday, my final day in the office for 10 whole days, fantastic, really need a break after all the bloody finance for the last 3 months.  A bit easier to get up today, extra hound fusses, so left a little late, but still arrived on time.

Chasing my reference, which has eventually been completed this afternoon, getting closer to handing in my notice.  Tied up some loose ends before heading home.  Dinner for all of us then walks with the hounds, feeling knackered.

Day 187, 188 & 189

Sunday morning and another fairly early start, breakfast for the hounds and quick snuggles before a 'fry up' for myself (which I couldn't finish) & then off up town to buy a sports bra & some otherbits & bobs for my exercise class.  Back home to walk the hounds & a text from my mate's hubby to let me know their car had broken down last night & to check if I could take them to Ripley.

A quick dash to prepare a salad & some strawberries for me & some sarnies for them before heading to the shower to get ready to pick them up.  A fab afternoon at the Annie Lennox gig, quite busy too in the bar, home for 9.30 pm.

Monday again already, the waiting game for my employment checks!!  At least my DBS is on it's way back.  Struggled to get out of bed today, especially as it's darker again after the clocks went forward.  A normal shitty day at the office trying to tie up some loose ends regarding the finances following last week's race to get everything ready.  An afternoon city centre meeting meant I could nip into Primark when I finished to get some more of the new design boy shorts as they're so comfy, shame there's only 3 colours.  Couldn't wait for home time to arrive to see my lovely houndies.

Tuesday, another regular day on hound duties before heading into the office, except that's it's also pay day.  Collected my prescriptions on my way home, fed the hounds & fed myself with an omelette.  A walk to the Community Centre to sample Clubbercise with five others from the Slimming World group.  Had a great laugh raving to 90's tunes then a walk home, exhausted.

Day 185 & 186

Up & at them early again, woke before the hounds today & ready by 7.50 am. wow!!  Even managed a quick shopping trip to Aldi before work & also arrived on time too.  Getting totally pissed off now with tossers in the office talking about my new job behind my back, dunno why they don't just fucking ask me instead of asking god & his dog.  So pissed off I decided to leave at 4 pm to take a bit of my time back, especially as my mate is gigging in the Sky Bar at Resort World Birmingham & offered me a lift.  What  a swish venue, the show went down well too, home at 1 am.

Saturday & an early start thanks to Lady waking me up!!  Still wanting to try out some duck eggs, decided to try my luck with Bilston Market, success, yes I got some at £2.25 for 6, lets hope they taste good.  Hounds walked and a trip to Primark for some fitness gear to wear at the exercise class this week, quite looking forward to it, but it'll probably kill me, lol.  Might try out the kettlebell class that my mate goes to also.  Not going out tonight, so a night in front of the box.  A trip to Dudley to walk & feed my mate's dog as they're in Bradford, then home to a shower & PJs to watch The Voice, off to bed shortly.

Day 182, 183 & 184

Just a regular Tuesday, up & out early, on countdown even though I don't have a start date yet.  Hounds sort before setting off.  A day of finance as it's the last week to get things ready,  so it's full on.  Started work on the minutes for my new team  to get them done & dusted.

Finally during the afternoon my conditional offer letter arrived by email, so that's my evening sorted, completing my DBS application.

Wednesday, weigh in day, call me weird but I look forward to seeing how I've done.  The hounds were particularly excited for some reason today.  A regular day of crap at HMP Priory Green, took my ID to the penthouse for my DBS, so hopefully I can start to officially count the days to my escape.  A meeting with the finance officer during the afternoon, this went well, surprisingly well, I even got congratulated on the work I've put in for the end of year.

Home for dinner, then off to get weighed, very happy with a 3lb loss giving me my 2 stone award & slimmer of the week #happybunny

Thursday, the fourth day this week that I've managed to get up on time (that's a first).  Quick ear tickles with the hounds, have to have my fix before work (and kisses too).  Even arrived at the office early (shock, horror).  Yet more finance to deal with as I'm desperately trying to process everything possible, only problem is the invoices don't seem to be appearing on the system.  A pretty regular day all in all, except for trying to get some cats boarded as their owner has gone into hospital & my colleagues were out of the office for the day.

Home to dinner & hound walks & chill.

Day 181

Monday already, not feeling it today.  It was a struggle to lift my head off the pillow, quick ear scratches with the hounds with their breakfast before jumping in the shower a bit later than usual.

So much planned for the day, let's see what happens!  Cracked on straight away after a few hiccups trying to boot my laptop up & straight in with the finance, spent the morning on it,except for half an hour with a colleague who hadn't got the job she'd been interviewed for last week.

Lunch came along quite quickly, decided against a walk to Morrison's as it was p*ssing down.  More of the same for the afternoon with some other stuff thrown in too.  Only had two drinks all day as I've been so busy.  Home time arrived quite quickly too (thank goodness), home to the hounds and a home made chilli with rice & veg, leftovers for later in the week with a jacket potato.  Nom nom.

Dinner eaten, a visit to Asda to get some fuel as it's always too busy at the garage in a morning.  Back home to chill before bed.

Day 179 & 180

Saturday, no plans for a change, so no lie in either as Lady decided to start barking early.  Decided to have a bit of a mooch around town as I'd seen a top I like on Thursday, decided I didn't like it as it was more of a dress than a t-shirt.  Picked up a couple of bits from Primark then headed back to the car for a stop of at Bentley Bridge to collect something for work and pop into Aldi for the weeks' fruit & veg supplies.  Home to walk the hounds & a text from my mate offering to pick me up on the way to her gig in Polesworth.  This time a Cher gig in what must be the world's tinyest pub full of tossers & inbreds.  Spent the evening with some bloke's arse about a foot away from my head farting all night.  The show sounded amazing, no idea what it looked like as I couldn't see a bloody thing it was so crowded.

Sunday, no plans.  A cooked breakfast to start the day followed by a couple of loads of washing.  My mate texted to ask if I could check in on the dog as they were gigging in Liverpool.  Walked the hounds before heading to Dudley to walk their dog around the park.  Home to cook dinner & chill out.  A quick visit to Poundworld, found some nice kitchen utensils

Day 177 & 178

Thursday, Board day, up a bit earlier than normal to allow for traffic into the city centre & my 15 minute walk in.  A quick catch up on emails before preparing for the meeting & filling up the coffee flasks.  This time I'd decided to take an additional body with me to free me up to do dome finance work during the first part of the day.  Part two saw me taking the minutes of the Board meeting.  No lunch break, so an early finish, home to walk the hounds.

A quick bite to eat before heading out for a quick drink with my new work colleagues and then on for an evening out with my besties.

Friday, thank goodness, although it's been a short week it's seemed long at the same time.  Another morning in the city centre as I have been asked to take minutes at a meeting for my new team, so I've cancelled half a day's leave to fit it in.  Just my look to bump into our Head of Service as I came out of the meeting, that's a bollocking for me on Monday no doubt.

Off out to Nuneaton for a meal & the Mizz Pink show with Deb, first stop Tipton to collect her.  Fab show and food, only shadowed by a mammoth diversion home as the bloody M6 was closed in two places, FFS.

Day 175 & 176

Tuesday, back to my early alarm call, quick ear scratches with the hounds before getting ready for work.  So, it's like I've never been away, soooo many interruptions I can't get shit done, I hate this so much, looking forward so much to my new start, it can't come quick enough.  A little reprive at lunchtime and then back to it, more of the same.  Rushing round to get Board papers sorted on top of everything else.

Couldn't wait to get back home to the hounds.

Wednesday, last day before the Board, shopping for fruit & juice for the Development Event. Sort of looking forward to a day out of the office, even though it's working.  Looking forward to weigh in to see how I've done this week, feeling a bit bloated today though.  Felt a bit disappointed as I'd only lost one pound this week, bloody hormones.  On a positive note my work colleagues had told me how different I looked as they'd not seen me for a few days.

Day 174

Last day of my annual leave (for a couple of days).  Up fairly early as Lady started barking just after 7 pm, breakfast for all of us before a bit of a sit down before deciding what to do with myself.

Decided to sort out one of the kitchen units which contained a lot of cake making stuff which I'm not going to use, so in the bin with that!!!  Pasta & baked oats ingredients neatly stored in place of all the stuff I've thrown out.  A sit down with a brew and lunch (fruit & yoghurt) then off to walk the hounds.  Surprisingly chill despite the sunshine.  Hounds walked separately to build up my body magic.

Back home to organise tomorrow's food, bran flakes with fruit & yoghurt, ham & cous cous salad & chicken casserole in the slow cooker, check me out.  Lots of speedy veg prepared for tonight's dinner. Nothing planned for the rest of the day, so I'll sit in front of the TV and maybe do a spot of knitting.  Hoping to clear out more cupboards during the week, a tall order as I am out every evening this week.  Not looking forward to being back in the office tomorrow :-(

Day 172 & 173

Saturday saw another early start (but not as early as yesterday) as it was Crufts shopping day.  Got the right turning from the motorway this time so I ended up in the right car park today.  Crufts was oh so busy, especially when your trying to get through crowds with loads of shopping, lots of treas for the hounds and some vetbed for Lady to sleep on, she seems to like it.  A quick mooch around Discover Dogs, a difficult experience with lots of bags.

Off home with aching legs & feet again.  Quite a lot of traffic on the way home.  A quick bite to eat followed by a shower before my mate & her hubby picked me up for her show in Blackpool at the Grosvenor Casino.  Quite a busy night in the casino this time.  Home at 3 am.

Up later than normal (10.20 am) after a much needed lie in.  A leisurely cooked breakfast with the hounds before a drive to Bescot market, sadly no bones again on the butchers stall again, so looks like a trip to Penkridge to see if they've got some.  A stop of at Aldi on the way home then a couple of hours sit down before walking the hounds.  A chilled evening planned with a shower & PJ's, no work tomorrow, so hopefully a bit of a lie in.

Day 171

An early start for Crufts day, so up at 5.45 am, breakfast for the hounds & mine went in my bag as it was too early for me to eat.  Set off at 7 am, quick stop for fuel & then off to the motorway, quite busy as it was early.  Arrived at the NEC at 8 am via a strange route & ended up on the west car park & a long walk through the back of the building.

A fab day meeting and greeting the public from as far and wide as Ireland and Australia, such a diverse crowd of people.  Badger enjoyed lots of ear scratches, he also had the poops, must be the excitement!!

A short shopping spree before heading home & a long journey in quite heavy traffic.

Off out shortly as my mate is singing in Brum!!

Day 169 & 170

Wednesday, a big day for me this week!!

A different Wednesday to the norm as today is my interview for the MASH post which I was blocked doing a secondment for.  Hence the morning off to prepare myself, so my day began with an extra hour in bed, a leisurely breakfast & ear scratches with the hounds followed by a walk with them all.

Next on the agenda, a bit of swatting for my interview before preparing lunch & having a shower. Off I headed to the office where my interview is, felt a bit weird going in through the front door instead of the back door.  The test was first, a scenario with some questions to answer, I was extremely nervous as the job means so much to me, the interview itself went fairly well I thought.  Back to the office to do some work!!  Forty minutes later a phone call to offer me the job, of course I said yes, so I got presented with a vetting form to complete.

Back home after a couple of hours to prepare dinner before my Slimming World group, feeling really happy.  Stepped onto the scales to find I'd lost 3 lb, yay, a bit nearer to my next milestone!!

Thursday, first day of my annual leave, another lie in, although I was awake quite early, a brew & breakfast before heading to the Civic Centre to drop off my vetting form and some ID, straight from there to Lidl for a spot of shopping then to the kennels to collect food.  Home for lunch and to walk the hounds in the sunshine, they were naked, lovely to see the sun on their backs.  A chilled out afternoon finishing off the baby cardy before a scrumptious dinner & more chill out time.  A shower later in preparation for my early start tomorrow.

Day 167 & 168

Monday already, but surprisingly lively.  The usual Monday chores before heading off out.

Arrived at HMP Priory Green nearly ten minutes late, but I hardly ever leave on time anyway.  First job of the day to catch up with the emails that came in while I was on leave, also processed a few invoices that had been loaded on to the system.

Lunch while I worked as I've got a training session for the end of financial year during the afternoon.  Needed to do some stuff in the city centre, so a quick break (half an hour) doing that.  The training was slightly improved on what we had last year, so at least it wasn't a total waste of time.  Decided to stay on at the Civic for a bit of peace and also so that I could take the rest of my lunch entitlement and leave a bit earlier.

Parked further away, so a 15 minute walk back to the car before I could set off home for an evening with the houndies.  I'm bloody freezing!!

Tuesday, just a general crap day in the office of working non stop & being interrupted on numerous occasions, now I know how Sharon felt.  I got home emotionally drained on a daily basis.  FFS.

That's enough about Tuesday except to say home time was most welcome to be greeted by the hounds.

Day 166

A short lie in following a fantastic night at the Hilly House.  Breakfast sorted for the hounds and a SW friendly cooked breakfast for me.  The weather pretty crap today.  Off to a shop window today with my besties, usually a good laugh.

Prepped the hounds dinner before heading in the shower, SW haribo sweeties, a pear & a banana stuffed into my handbag & off to Beech Tree Social Club in Wollescote.  Not too bad as far as these things go, not so many shitty acts today.  Big G joined us, a good laugh had by all.  Next stop the Hawne Tavern, Big G's local for another couple of diet cokes.

The weather still chucking it down, planning dinner on the way home.  Straight in to feed the hounds & prepare my food, a chicken breast, roast carrots, roast parsnips, roast shallots & roast potatoes with cabbage, sprouts & green beans, delicious.

Next job to sort the bins out before I can chill out for the rest of the evening, can't believe the weekend is over :-(

Day 165

Saturday, an early start for today's RGT roadshow in Wolverhampton.  A busy morning with the hounds meeting folks, quite cold as we were in the shade this time.  A bit of drama when a Romanian family lost one of their kids, a bit difficult as they didn't speak English, they were soon reunited though.

A quick stop at Bentley Bridge on the way home, an hour to chill, then walk the hounds before dinner.  Off out later to see Annie Lennox at the Hilly House in Dudley.

Day 163 & 164

Thursday, my last working day, so looking forward to breaking up.  A regular day, except for my new laptop which I got yesterday.  Don't much care for the brand, but it seems good so far.

Hounds walked & fed, me fed, all good for a chilled out evening.  The weather wasn't bad, but no doubt that won't last.

Friday, yep, I was right, peeing down, bang goes my trip to Attingham Park.  Instead a day of grocery shopping and knitting.

No night out, so an early night too.  How boring!!

Day 161 & 162

Tuesday, another crazy day.  First though a trip to the hospital for physio with a new physiotherapist, a bit of eye candy too.  So he reckons I have tennis & golfers elbow as well  as issues with my neck/back.  Off to the office in agony with my next appointment in 4 weeks.  The rest of the day spent with my head in financial spread sheets.  Home to the hounds, no walk as it was peeing down.

Wednesday, feeling a little apprehensive following last week's slight weight gain.  Another busy day at the office trying to keep everything up to date, the end of financial year is taking up soooo much time.

Off to my group, good news this week 2.5 lb off meaning I had reached my next milestone of 1.5 stone, happy bunny!!  Also got my bronze body magic award.

Day 160

Monday has arrived yet again, surprisingly easy to get up for a Monday.  Hounds sorted & bins emptied & brought in before setting off for work.  A quick pit stop on the way, Morrisons for a couple of odds & ends.

A morning of finance (again), not too many interruptions for a change.  Lunchtime was most welcome, although it was pretty cold sitting in the car to eat a cold lunch.  More finance during the afternoon, I won't be sorry to see the end of March pass by.  Interruptions during the afternoon & a quick training session meant I need a further day on finance tomorrow (great).

Feeling cold, so no plans to move much!!  Roll on bed time!

Day 158 & 159

Saturday morning, nothing planned, drizzly rain so don't really wanna do much.  Opted for a trip to Dudley, for a mooch around the market & town & a stop off at Aldi on the Priory on the way back.  Home to walk the hounds, now in pouring rain, we got soaked & then home for a shower & to get ready as my mate & her hubby were picking me up fora trip to Manchester for her gig at the Grosvenor casino.  Another fantastic, but late night with Cher.

Sunday, a very long lie in, a cooked breakfast before walking the hounds.  A day of complete rest other than a bit of washing and knitting.  Need a relaxing day as the next couple of weekends will be busy.

That's all for now, still knackered even after a very lazy day,  food already prepared for tomorrow.

Day 155, 156 & 157

Wednesday morning, weigh in day.  Feeling good, another great food day planned.  Up & at em, sorted the hounds out before heading off to work.  A pretty regular day in the office, not much happened.  Got a message to pop over to my mates house later to feed the dog as they were down in Dorset for the day.  Home to prepared dinner before my weigh in, so, I was hoping to have reached my 1.5 stone target, but disappointingly I'd gained half a pound.  Yeah, not much, but it may as well have been a stone I was so gutted.  Over to Dudley for cuddles with Kota.

Thursday, still feeling really disappointed about my gain.  Felt like eating an entire packet of biscuits, but decided against it.  I'd had one glimmer of hope yesterday, I received news that I had got an interview for the post I had really wanted.  Another regular day in the office rushing around like a blue arsed fly.  Told the managers about my interview, they were so gutted, you'd have thought I'd got the job, lol

Friday, whooppee, no plans for the weekend other than some times with the hounds.  Quite a busy day spent chasing my tail trying to sort out stuff for the Board in a couple of weeks, hopefully my last one!  Glad to get home this week, phew.  Walked in to a text from my mate asking if I could get to theirs for 6 pm so I could go with them to her gig at the Genting Casino in Birmingham.  Threw some food into my lunch box & headed to Dudley.  A great evening, quite a few people in too, rare for a casino.  Home to bed.

Day 154

Another struggle to get up, still feeling crap, but not quite as clogged up as yesterday.  Up eventually to sort out the hounds breakfasts before sorting myself out.  Surprisingly I was ready early, so today, I would get to work on time.  Shock, horror.

A morning filled with finance & interruptions (again), a nice peaceful lunch break doing a bit of knitting & laugh at someone reverse into a parking bay & hit the fence, not once, but twice, lol.

For some reason today has been a real drag, it felt like 12 hours not 7.5.  Finally home time arrived and yes, I'm leaving on time for a change.  Home to my lovely fur kids, food & ear scratches, a bit of a chill out them a walk in the dark, a bit chilly, but very enjoyable.

Enjoyed my slimming world food today, hoping that tomorrow I will have reached my 1.5 stone milestone, really pleased with my progress so far.

Day 153

Another struggle to get out of bed, my body aching soooo much, days like today I'd love towork from home!

Up & sorted the hounds out, left a little late, but still decided to stop off at Aldi on the way to work.  It appears to be another day when no-one can do anything for themselves, it;s beginning to get my back up now.  I've got a shit load of stuff I need to get done too, if I worked 24 hours a day for a week it wouldn't be enough.  Couldn't wait for lunch time just to have a break.

Sadly my lunch break flew past, if only the rest of the day went so quick.  Although the afternoon did go by fairly quick.  Home to my gorgeous hounds for some quality time & a nice walk.

Day 151 & 152

Saturday saw an early start due to the RGT awareness event in Bilston.  Found it hard to drag myself out of bed as my throat & chest was killing.  Sorted out the hounds & prepared Badger for his first event of this year, he loves these days so much.  The weather was colder than expected, but had decided to leave my boys PJ's on under his coat.  He really enjoyed all the fuss and ear scratches he received, a couple of rehomed hounds popped along too to say hi.

I got recognised by someone who had seen me on Tuesday night.  Back home to thaw out, feed and walk the hounds.  A lazy evening planned with a spot of knitting & an early night.

Sunday, woke just after 8 am to the sound of Lady barking, lazed about with a cuppa for a while as I was feeling lousy & coughing up crap from my chest.  Decided to have brekkie, but struggled to eat it as I was feeling sick & dehydrated.  Same at lunch time, struggled to eat that too, the hounds are always on hand to assist.

Took Lady to Bescot market for some bones, but there was none left, pretty much a waste of time, but she enjoyed having a mooch about, bumped into someone I knew with their hounds, so we stopped for a chat.  Back home to walk Badger & Willow, rest of the day to laze around & probably another early night too.  Lets see if I can bust this darn bug!

Day 149 & 150

Thursday morning and a visit to the hospital for my next round of physio for my elbows.  Apparently my tendons in my forearms aren't working so I need to try to built up their use with hand weights, lets see what happens!!

Loads to do in the office, including a shed load of finance, really couldn't wait for lunch time to arrived just to get a break from it all.  The afternoon followed pretty much the same path, but at least I finished a little earlier to give me time to call at Hobbycraft to collect stuff for the office.

Home to the hounds & to cook spag bol with the Quorn mince that had defrosted when the freezer packed up.  Yummy it was too.  My mate had a local gig as herself, so an evening out, home at 1 am.

Woohoo, Friday is upon us, pretty much the same as yesterday (including breakfast, lol).  Another morning of struggling to get what I needed to do done, hate those kind of days.  A spot of knotting at lunchtime to set me up for the afternoon session,

Home to the hounds and tonight's dinner, a cottage pie with sweet potato mash.  Off out in a bit with my mates to a charity show.  Happy it's the weekend.

Day 147 & 148

Tuesday, a full day in the office, had a terrible struggle to get out of bed today.  Sorted out the hounds and got myself ready, not feeling it today, have a ropey throat, so it seems I've caught the lurgy.

The morning flew by, seem to be getting tied up in everyone else's shit again.  Lunch time saw a quickly swallowed pasta salad and a drive to the crem to put flowers on Ray for Valentine's Day, opted for cream roses edged in bubblegum pink.  They looked quite nice.  Back to the office for the afternoon session, really felt like driving home as they were both equal distances.  More of the same during the afternoon.  Came out of a 1:1 with one of my staff to find a surprise message from my bestie asking if I fancied an evening out, of course my answer was yet.

Got home to find the fridge freezer had decided to pack up and everything had defrosted, bloody great.  Had a good laugh with my mates though, finishing up with us doing the conga on the car park at midnight, lol.

Wednesday, hump day.  Feeling like complete & utter shite, my throat feels like I've swallowed razor blades & got the shits too, fecking marvellous.  Really needed a duvet day, but sadly a Board meeting put paid to that, arranged to work from home during the afternoon to sort out a fridge freezer.  Managed to make it through the meeting without the need to visit the bathroom, bonus!!

A quick dash to price up a new appliance, found a suitable candidate & arranged for same day delivery, at least now I can bring my food back home from work now!!

Weigh in night, again a success, a 3.5 lb loss bringing my total to 1st 5 lb, this got me my club 10 award, get me.  Off to bed now still feeling like shite, but happy.

Day 146

Why oh why do the weekends go so fast?

At least I got a little lie in as I'd got training at the penthouse.  The downside to that, a 40 minute journey to travel about 3 miles.  Realised halfway there that I'd left my breakfast behind, great start to the week!!  The hounds were a little surprised at their lie in too.  The training was better than I expected as it's normally a load of bollocks, lol, so bonus.  Just a banana to keep me going before lunch.  Managed to drop my gloves down the bog, bloody great!! Decided to spend half of my lunch break in the city centre, then head back to HMP Priory Green as I needed a quick trip to Morrisons.

Picked up a bottle of cider vinegar (let's see if it does anything for my plantar fasciitis) & a carton of almond milk to make some rice pudding :-)

The afternoon was fairly uneventful, spent most of the time catching up on e-mails & a spot of finance.  Finally home time & some time with the hounds.  Dinner tonight a portion of seabass which was reduced in Morrisons baked in foil with chilli flakes & lime juice.

A lazy evening the order of the day as I'm frozen.

Day 145

Sunday's alarm went off at 8 am, turned the snooze off planning to get up in 5 minutes & I woke up at 9.12 am, OOPS.  Mad rush to get everything sorted before heading over to Cannock Chase for the tweet up in the snow.  In my rush, I forgot to take the toona cayke, sorry hounds :-(

A lovely catch up during the walk, a few compliments on my weight loss so far, so that felt good.  Got a lovely bunch of flowers from one of the hounds I made a snood for, picked up another order too for another one.

A five minute stop at Poundland Cannock on the way home, still snowing.  Back home for a cuppa before taking the girls for their walks, still snowing.

Not feeling particularly hungry today, so waited til 4 pm for 'lunch'. Slimming World lasagne it is, made with Quorn mince, absolutely delicious too.  Bins sorted, now time to chill for a bit before bed.  Been freezing cold all day long :-(

Day 144

Saturday morning & an early start for a haircut before the first awareness roadshow of 2017.  Ten minutes after I woke I got a text to say the roadshow had been cancelled as it was snowing, so a free day for me now.  Got a nice neat trim before popping into Wednesfield to get some vape juice and pop into the Meat & More store, next onto Poundland at Willenhall, then a trip to the kennels to collect food for the hounds.

Back home to chill for a while, made a start on the baby cardigan finally, not done much though as my arms are aching.  Next into the kitchen to add the sweet potato topping to my cottage pie, chop up some veg and make a toona cayke for the hounds.  A quiet day, lol.

Enjoyed my dinner, now time for a shower before I head out for the evening to see my mate singing at Rowley.  Oh, forgot the 40 minute walk the hounds had!!

Day 142 & 143

Thursday, struggled to get up today, quickly did the hounds breakfast & everything else, managed to leave the house and arrive at work on time!!  Loads to  do, mostly finances, including interruptions which is a proper pain in the arse.  Wish I could get through one single day without being interrupted every 30 seconds.  Had to do a 1:1 with my nightmare employee, Grr!!!  For some reason today seemed to drag, til eventually 5 pm arrived & it was time to head home to the hounds.

A Slimming World friendly dinner of pork steak and veg for dinner which was delicious.  Walked the hounds & then dropped off money I could least afford to my sister (another pain in the arse).

Prepared breakfast and lunch & then to bed, freezing cold with my two hot water bottles.

Friday, weekend I can see you.  Late getting ready as I was fussing the hounds, so five minutes late for work, oops (but I still arrived before most).  So much to do today, starting with the prep for the Exec Committee next week, so many interruptions it took til lunchtime just to get the attendance list sorted.  FFS!!  Prep for the course I'm on on Monday to finish, then a look at the desktop which I haven't touched for three days.  Somehow managed to get it all done by the skin of my teeth, more luck than judgement I reckon.  Home to the hounds for a busy weekend.

Another Slimming World friendly dinner, spag bol made with turkey mince, very yummy too!  Next challenge to have a go at making the Slimming World version of Haribo sweets, can't wait to taste them.  Freezing cold again tonight, so off to bed shortly to warm up.

Day 140 & 141

Tuesday, a bit of a lie in (1/2 an hour) due to a solicitor's appointment, collected a camera for the office & then back to the hell hole for a day of getting fuck all done cause everyone keeps getting me involved in their shit.

Couldn't wait to get home to the hounds, fed us all & walked the hounds, time for a peaceful sit down.  Til I get badmouthed by my arseholes that I call family.  So pissed off, blood pressure up = early night.

Wednesday, hopefully better than Tuesday.  Arrived at work on time (for a change) not long before I got pissed off by someone nit picking & had to walk away & make a brew before I decked them!!

What a bloody long day, still unable to get stuff done due to all the interruptions (again).  Couldn't wait to get home to my SW dinner before heading for my weigh in.  Really pleased to have finally cracked my first stone after losing 3.5lb.  Yay!!

Day 139

Monday again already.  Doh!!

A quick stop off at Aldi  to get some veggies, traffic a nightmare, so arrived at work five minutes late. A pretty good start to the day, no cock ups, so all well.  Got called into a meeting, so a late lunch for me at 2 pm.  A shortened break too due to an appointment tomorrow.  The afternoon was spend planning for the Board meetings with the manager, more of the same again tomorrow.

Arrived home to the smell of a jacket potato cooked in the slow cooker, what a fab smell.  Quickly prepared a gammon steak an vegetables to go with it,delicious.

That's all for today, it's bloody freezing, I'm dithering!!

Day 137 & 138

Saturday morning  was a fairly early start due to Canine First Aid at Birmingham Dogs Home, a really good turn out for the course & very interesting, got some freebies too, so not bad for half a day, avoided the biscuits and full fat milk on the course, so all good. Back home to walk the hounds and prepare lunch for myself, steak with lots of veg.  A little bit of a chill out before feeding the hounds and heading off out.

The venue tonight was the Spread Eagle in Polesworth, not a million miles away, got lost as I'd got the wrong post code, but not too far out.  The pub was very pokey and very full, but a great night was had by all at the Mizz Pink show.

Sunday morning, another earlyish start as I needed to get some new work shoes as the bottoms are falling off.  I quick visit to the City Centre for Poundland and Shoezone.  Managed to get an additional pair of shoes for three quid, woohoo.  Straight from there to Cradley Heath to the Midland Counties Showcase at The Laurels, the acts were pretty crap, but had a great catch up with my besties & then a couple of hours in the pub with them on the way home.  Back to feed and walk the hounds, tomorrows food prepared.  Two good food days done & dusted.

Day 136

Woohoo, I can see the weekend getting closer.  Struggled to get myself out of bed today, but made it, hounds sorted before work,  Caught up during the morning with some stuff I'd neglected due to lack of time.  Enjoyed a lunch of eating a massive salad & a spot of knitting.  The afternoon dragged a bit compared to the morning, but hey ho, at least no work tomorrow!!

Home to the hounds for a quick fuss & loo break before heading out to the RGT volunteers meeting to discuss fundraising for the year including pounds for hounds.  A good meeting with lots of ideas being batted around.

Still pouring with rain, Grr!!  A bit of a chill out now while I explore a few ideas to make money & help the hounds find homes.

Day 135

Thursday, back in the office.  Doh!!

Didn't wanna wake up this morning after only three hours sleep, struggled to get myself out of my pit, but made it eventually & dragged myself into work, early for a change!!

Not a bad morning, managed to crack on with what I'd got planned & not too many interruptions (for a change).  Feeling good after another 2.5 lb weight loss this week.  The morning dragged, but I enjoyed my almond flavoured baked oats for breakfast, yummy.  Lunchtime arrived finally & a spot of knitting, the JRT jumper almost complete, it WILL be finished tonight.  The afternoon passed by very slowly, then home to the hounds & to see what I could make for dinner.  After some deliberation I decided to do a pork loin with loads of speedy veg, delicious it was too.  A chilled evening planned tootling around on t'internet & doing a bit of knitting.  Need a break from moving my arms around as they're bloody killing me.

Tomorrow's breakfast & lunch sorted too!

Day 134

A flexi day off work, so a lovely lie in (til 8.10 am).  A quick brew & sort out the hounds.  Next job breakfast, today was bacon, mushrooms & tomatoes, yum yum.  Once the washing up from breakfast was done more time in the kitchen to prepare mushy pea curry & brown rice for the taster session at the slimming group later.  Can't make the group myself, so arranged to drop it off early as several people were looking forward to it.  So curry boxed up in tupperware containers, pasta on the go for tomorrow's lunch along with a salad and beef.  Next task to make some baked oats for breakfast, this time in a teddy bear mould.

Loving this diet & planning my meals, today with be an upside down day as m main meal will be for lunch as I'm off out at 5 pm to go with my mate to her manager's showcase in Coventry, should be a great evening.  Dinner will probably be yoghurt & fruit with some nuts as my healthy b.

The hounds have been walked and are now all fast asleep, so a couple of hours to myself before I need to shower and get ready.

Love having a day off midweek, although I'll probably have no idea what day it is tomorrow!!

Day 133

Tuesday, another fab food day lined up with breakfast & lunch already prepared.  Breakfast sorted for the hounds & a shower for me, don't know where the time goes in a morning.  A quick diversion to Aldi for a few essentials before heading into the office.

A pretty ok morning, still keeping on top of what needs doing, booked some leave & filled in my paperwork for the elections, so all good.  A lovely salad for lunch & trip to Morrisons to pick up the ingredients to make the SW haribo sweets at the weekend, can't wait.

The afternoon came & went & was pretty uneventful.  Today seemed to be one of those days when everyone wants you to hold their hand to do something.  I wish folks would take ownership of things.  A lazy evening planned as it's raining, looking forward to walking the hounds in the morning, hopefully in some drier weather.

The pain level today has been tremendous, on a scale of 1-10 it was 18, hoping I can manage a spot of knitting though if it settles.

Day 132

Monday morning already, a pretty good night's sleep, so ready to hit the new week.  Hounds fed & watered before heading upstairs to get myself ready.  Breakfast & lunch already & waiting for me in the fridge.

Time to get dressed & I was soooo chuffed that I fitted back into my smaller trousers for the first time in about a year.  Whoopee doo!!

The day started with a full team meeting, groan.  Luckily it didn't last long, not a bad morning, managed to do most of what I'd got planned so all good.  Lunchtime & time for a spot of knitting in the car, not so cold this week, so I can actually move my hands.

Called into a meeting straight after lunch, so no time for a brew :-(  a good afternoon followed, with more of my planned tasks completed.  Home time soon arrived, so off to see the hounds, bless them, they're always happy.  My dinner was the left over minced beef turned into a sweet potato topped cottage pie with extra veg on the side, delicious.

Better walk the hounds before it gets too cold.

Day 130 & 131

Saturday morning, up at 8 am after a pretty awful sleep, feeling so cold at the moment it's keeping me awake.  As soon as my hot water bottles are cold I wake up.  Grrr!  After feeding myself & the hounds the next job was to collect my meds, a necessary job as my BP meds have run out, next stop Bentley Bridge to pick up some stuff for my mate & a spot of shopping.  Another necessity, worm meds for the hounds.  Off now to The Westacres to catch up with some old colleagues and an unexpected lunch.  After scouring the menu for something reasonably healthy to fit in with SW I chose rump steak, a jacket instead of chips with a grilled mushroom, tomato & peas & NO ONION RINGS!!

A quick dash back home to walk the hounds & have a shower before my mate & her hubby picked me up en route to her gig in Sheffield.  What a fantastic gig it was too, very busy (unusual for a casino) & people actually watching & enjoying the show (again unusual for a casino).  Back home at 2.30 am.

Sunday morning lie in til 10.30 am, nice change, whizzed up breakfast for me & the hounds, a trip to the kennels, Cannock & Lidl on the way back.  By now it is chucking it down, bloody great.  Walked the hounds in the pouring rain (don't think any of us enjoyed it) then home for lunch & not much else. Made some baked oats for breakfast & prepped a spaghetti bolognese for dinner, the first I've made in ages.  Time to sort out the bins, my fullest bin now is the food caddy with all the peelings & skins.  Feeling great, so much more energised.  Loads of speed this week, so hopefully up to 1 stone.

Day 129

So glad Friday is upon us.  A quick Aldi trip on the way to work to pick up supplies for the meals I've planned for the next few days.

A pretty uneventful day again, hounds sorted before I headed out of the door.  A morning spent plodding on with some finance stuff whilst resting my arms on a hot water bottle, not making much difference, in agony.

Lunch was a visit to Morrisons after eating my cous cous and salad, yummy it was too.  No porky lights in Morrisons :-(so opted for some low syn Quorn sausages, hope they taste better than they used to!  The store was full of old biddys dawdling around, so I only just made it back to the office in time.

The afternoon was spent clearing the desktop, job done in time to pull my reports off for the week.  Woohoo, I'm up to date.  Home to feed the hounds before heading off out for the evening to see my mate at her gig in Burntwood.

Booked myself in for a haircut, can't get in til 11th, it'll be down my knees by then!

Day 127 & 128

Wednesday, my second weigh in day.

Woke bright & early (well, early).  Sorted out the hounds first before chopping up the melon to add to this morning's breakfast of overnight oats.  Took longer getting ready today meaning I left home late, oh well, never mind!

A pretty uneventful day all told, a great food day, loads of speed & free foods, then home to the other half of my crustless quiche, this time with SW chips, yummy it was too.  Off to the group to be weighed.  Struggled this week with constipation, how I'll never know as I'm eating my own body weight in veg during the week.  So, my turn to hop on the scales, good news again, 4lb off, woohoo.  Got my half stone award and also slimmer of the week, so I won a massive basket of food.

Thursday, still focussing on being good with my diet.  Another uneventful day at work, except it finished early for a hospital appointment, so my lunch break was driving to the hospital and finding somewhere to park.  So here goes my hospital appointment, lots of squeezing of my arms causing pain and almost made me squeal like a pig.  Apparently it's only a mild case of RSI, thank christ for that, it's painful enough!!  Exercises to carry out daily & heat from a hot water bottle and a further appointment in three weeks.  Got told not to do anything that makes it hurt as I need to rest, so that pretty much rules everything out, including getting dressed.  Guess I'll just have to stay in bed naked!!

Day 125 & 126

Monday again!  Wish the weekend didn't race past so fast, especially as it was wasted due to feeling ill.  So week 2 of the inspection & the inspectors are off site going through evidence collected so far, should be a quieter week for us (can always hope).  Still trying to keep on top of the finance so that I don't have so much to do at the end of March (here's hoping).  Oh well, so far a couple less invoices to chase& some more ticked off the list.

An afternoon out of the office at a commitee meeting, bonus!!  Home to my lovely hounds, absolutely freezing cold, just can't get warm, hope I'm not coming down with something.

Tuesday morning, still bloody freezing, slept a bit better as I'd fallen asleep still wearing my dressing gown, so only disturbed once during the night, all good.  Still didn't want to get out of bed though!  Just don't understand why I'm feeling so cold, really need to find a hot water bottle.  Oh well, another day in the office, a bit of a random day stating with my putting my pants on back to front (an easy mistake with shorts), I think I'd have noticed sooner if it was a thong, lol.  A pretty uneventful day, apart from my first supervision with my new line manager.  Surprisingly the afternoon went pretty quick & it was soon home time.  Back to see my furbabies.  Tonight's challenge was to attempt a crustless quiche, it worked really well & tasted amazing, I've got the other half tomorrow.  Quick walkies with the hounds, too cold to dawdle.

Day 123 & 124

Saturday morning began with a rude awakening by Lady barking for a wee. Sometimes I wonder if they think I've overslept on a weekend, so a 7 am start!

Breakfast organised for the hounds & a walk before sorting out my own breakfast, today this was 2 slices brown toast, bacon, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms & egg, very scrummy.  Not much else for the day as I suddenly started feeling sick, so skipped lunch,  eventually started feeling a little better so managed a roast dinner of the pork loin I'd just cooked, very nice too.

A rare, but boring Saturday night staying in on my own ;-(

Really cold, so an early night to try to get warm, didn't work.

Sunday, a long lie in 10.45 am after an extremely restless night, didn't bother with the planned trip to Bescot market.  Apart from walking the hounds the day was another boring day as I was still feeling off colour.  Another skipped meal and another early night & that was about it for the weekend, what a waste!!

Day 120, 121 & 122

Wednesday, weigh in day has arrived.  Really enjoyed my first week of Slimming World & experimenting with new things.  Mysteriously I spent the day looking forward to my weigh in to see how I've done.  A regular day in the office, phones busy with enquiries from the penthouse regarding Ofsted.  Glad the day was over, four weeks of this madness.  Home to the hounds & prepared dinner before I head off to the group.  So, the moment of truth on the scales, I've lost 5 1/2 lb during my first week, amazing.  There was me thinking a couple of pound, so well chuffed.  Walked back home following the meeting & celebrated with a bounty.  The first chocolate in 10 days.

Headed into the office on Thursday morning & everyone was waiting to see how I'd done, so I go many congratulations which was satisfying.  Another regular day in the office, looking forward to going home to feed & walk the furkids.  Hospital appointment meant an earlier finish, so off to see the physio and an appointment that lasted an hour and a half, then told I need an orthapaedic referral.

Friday, weekend I can see you!  A pretty good day in the office with me managing to get pretty much everything I'd planned done, makes a change, reports done on time too!  A flying visit to Wickes for a door latch & Aldi for the weekend veg at lunchtime.  The afternoon flew by quite quickly then home to the hounds & get some dinner ready before heading to the dog track for the RGT Committee meeting & AGM.

Day 118 & 119

Ugh, Monday again!!

Today the waiting game was finally over after about 4 years, Ofsted finally made the call to say they would start inspecting children's services.  Suddenly everyone goes into panic mode (except me, I couldn't give a fuck tbh).  We can't be any more ready even if we waited another 10 years, so let's get it over with.  For the next 4 weeks it's gonna be all we hear about, great!!

So I plodded along with my tasks & suddenly my to do list is twice as long again, how did that happen?

Home to the hounds & a healthy dinner of mushy pea curry & brown rice with veg before a quick trip to Dudley to see my mate's dog as they were out, so took her for a walk too.  Back home for a quick sit down & my drugs before bed.

Tuesday morning, here goes another day when all we're gonna hear is about Ofsted.  Decided to work on the finances, not too bad (well the adults budget) all present & correct no I haven't done a bad job there, even if I say so myself.  Lunch then a meeting followed for me to 'train' the person doing the job that should have been mine!  Got dragged out of my meeting to take minutes at another to be told they didn't want me, well fuck you then!!  Looking forward to going home to see my furbies, steak & slimming world chips for dinner with vegetables.  Walkies for the hounds then a sit down with a pepsi for me, trying to decide what syns I can have, but I'm not hungry, this is harder than you would think.  I'm so full that I'm not hungry  enough for syns.  Not feeling so tired since I started the diet, so a weight loss would be nice to go with it.  We'll see tomorrow.

Day 117

So, I caught up on most of my sleep, it was still broken by waking 4 times for no reason, but felt better for it & rose just before 10 am.  Fed & watered the hounds & myself, then opted for a walk a bit later thinking the rain might clear up, yeah right!

A trip to the kennels for some food for the hounds & then on to Bentley Bridge to go to Argos and Home Bargains, then Lidl on the way home for frozen fruit and some more veg and salad items.  The trouble with eating healthy, you have to keep shopping!!  Hoping to make a couple of meals that I can freeze this week.

Back home to make a healthy lunch and then walk the hounds in the rain, I think we all hate walking in the rain, but it has to be done.Got myself a cheap pedometer as my phone is shit & I can't get it to operate map my walk, so I tried this out too.

Tonight I'm planning to have a go at making Slimming World chips for dinner, hope they work out!  My evening will be spent in front of the box with my knitting.

The weekend is almost over :-(

Day 116

Saturday morning was an early start after a late night & only two hours sleep as I couldn't stay asleep for some reason.  The reason for the early start was because I'd booked myself onto a hedgelaying session at Wren's Nest nature reserve.  At least the snow had cleared, but it was raining/sleeting, so waterproofs at the ready.  Had a great session, about 12 of us in total.  We started off pledering (cutting the hedge & bending it into position), next step was to add the posts (I didn't try this as the mallet was blooming heavy) and finally heathering with the Alder, apparently I excelled at this, lol.

Straight to the shops to pick up healthy supplies, then home to eat.  Opted to have my hot food for lunch, this was chicken & loads of vegetables.  Also made a chicken pasta salad for tonight and tomorrow's overnight oats.  Next job walk the hounds & then have a well earned sit down,

Tonight's a onesie night, so the stove is roaring away, as soon as I get warm I'll grab a shower, then it's time to chill.

Day 114 & 115

Thursday, the first proper day of my diet.  Had to scratch around a bit for something to make for my meals.  I had prepared overnight oats for breakfast which I was taking to work as I don't do food first thing.  Decided to stop off at Lidl on my way to work to find something for lunch.  The shop is being converted so was a bit 'light' of stock, so I ended up with crispbreads and a tub of cottage cheese (which turned out to be full fat) & some pears & fruit.  The overnight oats tasted great with the chopped pear, not a fan of oats, but I can cope with these.  Not a bad day at work, stayed full all day, that's never happened on a diet before.  Home to the hounds & to prepare my dinner, chicken, veg & potatoes, total of 7.5 syns for the day as my yoghurt was full fat too.

Friday, wey hey!!  Looking forward to today, but only because I'm off out, lol.  Not a bad day, again. Also stayed full again on my overnight oats (with apple), tuna & pasta salad.  Had to dash home at lunchtime as I'd left my phone behind & didn't know where it was.  The hounds were happy to see me & skipped around the gardens for a few minutes.  Don't know where the afternoon went to, but that's always a good thing.  Home to the hounds, another healthy dinner & a night out.  Tonight my mate was at The Range (golf club not store) as Cher & Pink, a fantastic night with a very appreciative crowd.  Stayed on diet coke and glasses of water all night, check me out!

Day 112 & 113

The night flew by again & now it was Tuesday, feeling a bit better about the day and about work, don't know how long this will last!!  Worked well all day and ticked loads of jobs off on my to do list.  Nipped into Morrison's in my lunch break to get cat food, January's a lean month, so didn't wander around there too much.  A little bit of sock knitting too.

Home to the hounds and a naughty dinner as I really want to lose weight now, so I know I'm not going to be able to eat any old crap.  Another lazy evening editing some photos, a late night, so that means even more tired tomorrow, if that's possible.

Wednesday, needed to trim my hair so that it has a nice amount of growth by the weekend,  Into the office for the manager's meeting, groan followed by a couple of hours worked before lunch.  Lunch consisted of an egg and chive sandwich and some sock knitting.  Back to it for another meeting and more work afterwards.  Made sure I finished on time as tonight's the night I join the local fat club, really want to lose three stone before my next birthday.

Since my doctor's appointment last week I have already cut down on crap, but bizarrely my weight was more????  The group seem really friendly and they pretty much had all lost weight, hope I can have the same success.  Just need to get my arse into gear and get things moving, I know two people who go to the group, so that should help me fit in.

Now I need to work out what I can have for breakfast and lunch tomorrow!!

Day 110 & 111

Sunday morning lie in, then woke to the sound of Lady barking for a wee, her snooze function didn't seem to be working, so after ten minutes of barking I had to get up.  A bit of breakfast for the hounds & a brew for me before preparing their dinners & taking them for a walk.

Back home to have a mess with my knitting, sorted out my 'proper' sock yarn for a proper attempt at making socks on a circular needle.  Can't be arsed to do anything today, so will just doss around.

My mate had a gig as herself in Cradley Heath, so that was my incentive to get off my arse & get showered.  Her dog was ill, so her hubby stayed home & I went with her to the gig to help her out with her gear.  A good night, the crowd were appreciative (wow, a social club too).  We got kept talking as we were on our way out so I didn't crawl into bed til about 1 am.

Monday arrived way too soon & I really wasn't feeling it, the nights are way too short these days, or I'm getting old and lazy.  Feeling a bit light headed all day, not sure if it's the lack of sleep or because my left ear is playing up.  Hopefully not vertigo again.  Couldn't wait to get home to the hounds, had a lazy evening in infront of a nice log fire, bliss.

Day 109

Saturday, no plans, lie in, all good.  Still buzzing from last night's show.

Sadly after getting up I discovered that my old boy, my 15 year old cat Mischief had died in his sleep, so now the only plans I had were to make arrangements to bury him.  Sorted out some firewood & then didn't fancy doing much of anything else except a bit of mooching on the internet & a bit of knitting.

Finally forced myself to have some food before a shower & onesie time.  A text from my mate to say they were going out if I wanted to join them, so a quick change & then out for some time with my mates, think the world of them as they are always there for me.  Back for some hound hugs and bed.

On the plus side the few photos I posted from Friday's show are receiving some positive comments.

Day 107 & 108

Thursday, second day back, so a little easier to get up!!  Think the hounds are still a bit confused as they have had me home for two 5 day weekends, bless em.

Off I toddled to the office, today seemed to go a bit quicker than yesterday thankfully, maybe because I didn't have as many interruptions so managed to get my own work done instead of assisting everyone else to do theirs.

Not much else to say about Thursday except that I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Friday & I'm really looking forward to finishing work as I'm so exciting for my evening out, think the hounds are getting used to me being back at work now, they're not looking confused when I kiss them goodbye, lol.

Luckily the day passed quite quickly, finished half an hour earlier due to a Dr's appointment, then back home to get ready for the Cher v Pink show at River Rooms.  The show certainly exceeded my expectations, it was bloody amazing to say the least & I enjoyed taking loads of photos.  Back home to the hounds & bed at 3 am.

Day 106

Ugh, first day back at work again.  Hardly any sleep thanks to the bloody mouse in my bedroom that woke me up 4 times faffing about & the pains in my forearms keeping me awake.  My alarm went off at 6.20 am & I finally emerged from my pit after 3 snoozes.  Back into the swing of sorting out the hounds dinners as well as making lunch as I didn't do it last night.  At least the car wasn't frosted over, so that was a bonus.

Back to the office to hopefully catch up on stuff, what a drag the day was, felt like it was two days merged into one.  Finally lunchtime arrived so took the JRT jumper to the post office before doing a couple of rows of the sock I've started knitting, slow going as my hands were freezing cold.

The afternoon was as much of a drag as the morning, managed to catch up with most of my work in time to do a bit of the desk top processing, it's a nightmare having time off when no one does any of your work, only 2 days too ffs.

Finally time to head home to the hounds, they seemed pleased to see me as they came too me stretching after just woken up, they'd been good except for Lady doing a piddle on her blanket.  Nowt planned, so a mooch on Facebook then a doss in front of the TV and bed, sounds like I've got a plan now.  Knackered!!

Day 105

The final day of my annual leave, no lie in today as I'd got a doctor's appointment, the results of my 'MOT'.  So, my blood pressure was within the normal range, my cholesterol had gone up slightly to 5 (I thought so as I'd been getting a sort of heartburn), liver & kidney functions normal & the final test, my weight was the same as it was in October.  I am a bit heavier than I should be, by a couple of stone, but ideally I would like to lose 3.  Just need to work out a plan & then try harder to keep it off.  The medication doesn't help, especially the steroids for my asthma.  All in all not that bad a startto the new year.

Next stop after the doctors was a flying visit to Bentley Bridge, much quieter today as the kids are back at school, also it was 9 am.  Popped into Hobbycraft to get some 4 ply wool to make some socks with a new pattern I have.  Struggled to find 4 ply but found some thin DK, I don't know why 4 play is so hard to find.

Next stop, the City Centre, again!!  This time to meet a friend for a coffee and a catch up in Cafe Nero, had a good old chin wag for about an hour and a half so a stop off on the way back to the car to pop in Poundworld and HMV, managed to get the James Arthur album for £6.99, all because there's one song I like.  Back home to walk the hounds (it's bloody freezing), especially as I bumped into someone who kept me talking for ages!!  Time for a bacon sarnie (lunch at 3pm), a brew & a bit of knitting, yay, I finished the JRT jumper!!  Now time to start the new sock pattern for myself.

Now to chill out for the rest of the evening before an early night as it's my first day back at work tomorrow.  BOOOOO!!!

Day 103

Bank holiday Monday.  Another lie in, could get used to this, sadly this is the last one for a while as I've got an early doctor's appointment tomorrow.  A lazy breakfast of bacon & cheese on toast, of course shared with the hounds before taking them out for a walk.  A very frosty morning, so dug one of my woolly hats out as I'd cut my hair last night, very slippy underfoot, the hounds were like Bambi on the icy pavements, even they didn't want to hang about much in the cold.  Back home for a well earned brew before popping out to Asda.  Visited Asda for the photo counter, unfortunately it was closed as it is due to be taken over, wasted journey, but I did have a bit of a wander around first.  Decided to nip into the city centre for a mooch around Primark, The car park was pretty busy, but the shops didn't seem too bad, managed to treat myself to a new pleather jacket from Primark, some fake suede shoes & some underwear, a quick visit to Poundland and Wilko & that was me done.  I hate shopping, I think I must be a man!!  Decided to have a drive to Bentley Bridge to get some sock wool for my next project.  The place was heaving, tried to park near the Nickelodeon, but no room, took about 15 minutes to get back off the car park, so decided to give it a miss.  Tomorrow's another day.

Back home to chill out a bit,still bloody freezing cold, I've run out of Calor Gas, so had to succomb to lighting the woodburner, so I'll probably cook.  Another roast beef dinner, delicious, seriously considering that I must try to lose weight this year.  Better eat all the crap I've got & then try my hardest.  Hopefully the JRT jumper will be finished tonight.

Must remember to watch the new series of the Undateables later!!

Day 101 & 102

Saturday, New Year's Eve, a quick tootle around Wednesfield for a couple of bits & bobs before popping out with the hounds for a walk.  A lazy afternoon bumming around with the hounds, tried to get a couple of hours sleep in the afternoon. but unfortunately got loads of text messages that kept me awake.  Had a go at setting up houndcam, problems keeping the camera still on Lady's chest, so need a rethink on how to attach it.  A new harness is on order & due to arrive in about two weeks, so hopefully that will help.

My mate & her hubby picked me up on the way to her NYE Cher gig in Leek, an awesome night ahead. I was not disappointed, what a fabulous night it was, she was much appreciated by the crowd & looked fantastic in her new costume.  Home at 1.30 am for a quick JD with the hounds before bed.

Sunday, the first day of the new year, a nice lie in till 9.30 am.  It's raining, so a miserable start to the new year, a nice bacon & egg sarnie for breakfast & watched the Flying Scotsman from the Footplate programme on iplayer, made me feel a bit emotional as I miss volunteering at SVR a lot more than I thought I did.

Made a Yorkshire pudding for dinner, wasn't brilliant, but tasted good, has to be done when your Dad was from Sheffield.  A lazy afternoon doing a spot of knitting, nearly finished the JRT jumper, finished off my day with a Jim Beam black cherry & a honey JD.

Day 99 & 100

Thursday has arrived, my last working day of 2016, can't say I'm not sorry to be saying that.  I've really had enough of 2016.  Another really cold, frosty & misty morning, hate having to scrape the car in a morning, not sure whether I'm getting old or miserable or both, but it's such an effort.

Really pleased to finally catch up with almost everything at work that has been getting me down, don't know how long I'll stay on top of everything.  Got my reports done in plenty of time so decided I'd finish a little earlier as I'd had two short lunch breaks.  Left at 4.30 pm homeward bound to see my houndies and get ready for my night out.

Met my mates at Darlaston Sports & Social Club where Craig was singing as himself,  had a fantastic night in fabulous company, love these guys so much.

Friday lie in, went out fairly early to get some bits & pieces of shopping before the shops were too crowded.  Met a friend and her two hounds for a lovely walk around Northycote Farm.  An afternoon spent chilling with the hounds & a nice brew.  Decided on another 'Christmas dinner' & the hounds had a few veg with their kibble.  A shower & onesie time with a JD.  Hadn't realised my mate had a gig tonight until she texted me, so quickly threw on some clothes & headed out to Penkridge to the White Hart, a real shame the punters there never seem interested in the entertainment, it must be so soul destroying, but she was as fab as ever.