My fridge is full

No sooner had I posted Monday’s blog, when the phone went.  It was Harriet to say that she had just read my blog and in doing so, I’d made her Monday morning even more miserable!  She suggested that I may like to take a break from the blog!  And maybe she has a point, but for now, I can promise that today, it’s all good news.  I’m fed up being so whiney and it’s amazing, once you change you’re mindset, how quickly things pick up.  Mind, you the lovely weather we’ve been having lately has certainly helped.

The first good news is that Phil’s dad is feeling much better.  Both his mum and dad went to the doctors for their results last Friday and were seen by a new lady GP who is now their doctor because their usual doctor has just retired.  We’re really glad about this because we thought that he was incompetent.   Their new GP soon sorted them both out with the right pills.  Phil’s dad still has to have some more tests because of his heart attack but Phil’s mum has now got pills for her arthritis which won’t interfere with her anaemia pills.   So, all is good with the parents for the time being and long may it continue.

The other ‘good thing’ to happen this week is that I have lost 3 pounds.  Okay, its early days and we have a bank holiday weekend coming up but at last the scales are going in the right direction.  Mind you, I have been trying very hard and have had to put all of my diet tricks into force and stick to them.  First thing in the morning I have a thimble of ‘Honegar’ which is a mixture of honey and vinegar.  I mix this with the same amount of boiling hot water and down it in one because it tastes vile.  It’s not really a diet trick but I read some years ago that Honegar is good for arthritis, not that I have got this yet, but I’m hoping that swallowing it now will keep help my bones healthy later on down the line.

After the Honegar, I put a few drops of Omega 3 oil in a small glass of pure juice (this week it’s Pomegranate).  Again, this isn’t for the diet but Omega 3 is meant to be good for all kinds of things.   For breakfast, I’ve had low fat yogurt and fruit with a few grains sprinkled on the top.  Also about 20 minutes before I eat lunch I have a port glass of organic cider vinegar, again mixed with hot water.  I read somewhere that it’s meant to help you digest your food more quickly.  I’m not sure about this but it does give me the shits.  If I just manage to cut out the white wine, I’d be really healthy! 

On Monday I managed a 40 minute run on the treadmill.   This is the longest I have run since I’ve been back.  I normally do interval training but I was so going well so I decided to see how far I could last.  It nearly killed me and my face was red as a beetroot when I got off the treadmill.  Actually it was so red for hours afterwards!   I have been doing sit-ups in the evening and using my weights but I did slightly overdue it I think, because everything ached yesterday.  And I mean everything.  Anyway, if I carry on loosing a pound a day I shall reach my target weight by the end of next week!

Phil wasn’t very happy because I booked us both in with the nurse at Superdrug for a blood pressure and a glucose test.   Surprisingly, both my tests came out absolutely normal but Phil’s blood pressure was sky high, as were his sugar levels.  The nurse strongly recommended that he make an appointment with his GP but of course he won’t, well, not until he’s lost some weight.  We’ve been down this same road a few years back, he lost 2 stone and then stopped and didn’t go back to the doctors.  I give up with him at times, you can take a horse to water but you can’t make him drink; still at least I have him insured (that’s Phil I’m talking about, not the horse!) I was really pleased that my blood pressure was normal so I can stop worrying about that now.  Phil says that he is starting his diet today but we shall see.  Since he took control of the shopping, both fridges are full to the gunnels with all sorts of food and drink!  Laugh out loud; some of the food is healthy though, bar all the wine, the beer and the double pack of chocolate biscuits.  I threw a bit of a wobbly yesterday morning when I made my cup of tea and went to get one biscuit to dunk, only to find Phil that had polished off the whole packet off when I’d gone to bed.   It wasn’t a big deal, but you know what it’s like when you really fancy something and can’t have it.

Instead of making a ‘to do’ list each day, on Monday I did a huge list of what I needed to achieve for the whole week and by the end of play yesterday, I’d managed to tick everything off.  Amongst my many jobs was my kitchen floor; I gave the kitchen floor a really good clean (hands and knees jobbie) even managing to get underneath all of the units.  One of the good things about having a free standing kitchen is that it is really easy to clean.  Having a stainless steel oven isn’t so great because it’s a bugger.  Whilst I was in the kitchen, I also cleared everything off my worktops and oiled them.   You need to do with this with wood every few months, because if you don’t, the wood gets dry and can split.

Phil’s car went in for its MOT on Monday and thankfully it passed but he did need two new tyres.  It’s a bit of a trek getting to the Land Rover garage in Whaddon but at least they give him a courtesy car which is very convenient.  I popped over to check everything was okay with the CF flat without mad Betty noticing I was there.  This is the second trip in a row that I’ve managed to avoid her but my good luck won’t last.  We’re thinking of putting the flat up for sale and are probably going to talk to some local later today.  Phil had a call from Derek asking him if he was interested in buying 2 of his flats.  We most definitely are! Especially, as one flat is directly underneath our maisonette flat in Oldbrook.  Derek always said he would give Phil first refusal and he has kept his word.  Actually if we get this flat, it could lead to a really big property development, which could just make us enough money to retire forever.  I can’t say too much at this stage, as the saying goes; I don’t want to count my chickens before they’re hatched.  The only problem is a) we don’t have any money and b) without jobs, getting a mortgage will be tricky.  But if it is meant to be, then I’m sure it will happen.   We can’t slob out forever and a project (or even 2) maybe just what we need.  Watch this space!