Nite nite orl

Just finished the editing for today and I'm gonna head to bed now.

I'll see you all again in the morning.

Nite nite orl.

Just taken...

...my last two pills of the day and I'm hoping to have finished editing a manuscript by the time I head up to bed tonight.  I wrote it back in 2016 and this seems to be the first edit of it but hasn't needed much doing to it tbh - just the odd comma here and there at the end of speech between characters, but it's pretty much submission ready without any edits at all!

If I can get one manuscript edited a day then I'll hopefully be finished before the end of July but we shall see.

Today's (30th June 2022) lunch photo

Lunch today was 4 slices of Free From dairy flapjack slices and they have really filled me up!  Was gonna have the dairy free ice cream and finish off the maple syrup for pud, but don't think I will after all.  Maybe tomorrow though?

Here's half of today's lunch photo:

Today's (30th June 2022) breakfast photo

After having breakfast yesterday, my stomach decided that it wanted breakfast today too, so I had the remaining two soya mango yoghurts.

Here's today's breakfast photo:

I decided to...

...water the seedlings and plants while I was in the kitchen getting my chia seeds, so that's sorted until lunchtime now.  Time to get cracking with the news now I reckon.

Mornin' all

How are you all doing this morning?

I'm already having techy issues with my FitBit, so am having to re-start my phone and I hope my computer will spring into life then lol

I've already taken my morning pills and finished off a strip of the FA so I need to start my last strip next week and I'll have to remember to order them again in about 10-12 weeks' time.

My daily virus scan was still reassuringly clear and I just needed to go to the FitBit site and log in while I was restarting my phone to get it working on my phone again... it's still throwing a strop on my computer for some reason though.

I'm already 2 hours and 47 minutes into overtime this week, so an 85 hour week should be pretty doable.  My carer has only achieved 1 hour and 14 minutes so far this week, so yet again it's unlikely that he'll even manage 3 hours, let alone 35 again this week!

I remembered to put my Chia seeds in to soak overnight, so I'll go and grab those now while my carer is deeply asleep and snoring his head off.  When he wakes up, I'll go and make his breakfast for him and do the watering while he's eating so that I can keep monitoring his breathing while he's asleep.

 

I wanna have a bath today 'cos I stink and it'll be a waste of hot water if I don't, now that we're not going to see Steve's family after all on Sunday.

TTFN.

Nite nite orl

I'm absolutely shattered this evening for some reason, so I'm gonna do the maffs on the caring spreadsheet and have another early night tonight.

Nite nite orl.

Today's (29th June 2022)anniversary tea photo

My last meal of the day is finishing off the breakfast order from Caffe Nero - a gorgeous "vegan vegetable sausage roll" that was, like the croissant this mornng, incredible and a definite regular purchase for me from now on.

Here's my anniversary tea photo:

Today's (29th June 2022) anniversary lunch photo

I'm being spoilt rotten today 'cos not only did I have breakfast but the chef cooked lunch for us too and I even finished off with a rare treat of pud - 2 mango soya yoghurts.  I'm just nicely full without being bloated and I've still got the vegan vegetable sausage roll to have for tea too, so I'll have eaten 3 times today which is a very rare treat!

Lunch was two Linda Mc Cartney sausages and a load of chips along with a squirt of brown sauce to give the meal a touch of moisture.

Here are my two lunch photos:

I'm eating again today!!

Steve's cooked two meals for both of us so far this week and I had breakfast this morning too, thanks to our anniversary breakfast, so I've only missed 5 meals so far this week, which is a huge relief.  I'm gonna have tea tonight too 'cos that was part of this morning's anniversary treat, so that's 4 meals out of 9 this week which is a huuuuge relief!

Gonna put my laptop on the floor now, ready to bring the plates of food in <drool>

So much for...

..."a quick wee" - Steve's been in the bathroom for 15 minutes so far, so it's a good job that my OAB isn't playing me up too badly today!

Done and dusted for another week

The weekly virus scan finished so I set the backups going and they are finished too now, so I've put the external hard drive away and I'm all ready for my lunch whenever Steve's ready to supervise/make it now.  I'm gonna download my email for the first time today and I reckon I'll give the news a rest again too, but hopefully back to normal again tomorrow.

 

There's been a light sprinkling of rain so the Green Man is obviously giving me the afternoon off today... thank you Green Man!

 

63% done

Only got about 20 minutes to go of the backups apparently, so hopefully I'll be able to put the external hard drive away before 12.30pm then check and download my emails then hopefully be able to make a start on the lunch before 12.45pm.

I think I must have forgotten to say that the weekly virus scan had finished and I'm still clear of nasties, thankfully.

72% done and 22 minutes to go now lol

Today's (29th June 2022) anniversary breakfast photo

It's our 20th anniversary today so Steve splashed out on a Caffe Nero breakfast for us.  I had a Mocha Grande made with soya milk and caramel syrup and decided to try the vegan raspberry croissant for my breakfast too.  It went down a treat and I've got a vegan vegetable sausage roll for my tea after the sausages 'n' chips 'n' veg for lunch so my calories will be through the roof again, but that's OK 'cos I prefer to be at the top of the healthy weight range for my height so that I've got plenty of room for the days when I have soup or very few calories.

That's beside the point though lol

Here's today's first meal photo of the day:

Gardening is now...

...done and dusted until lunchtime, so it's time to order my new favourite hot drink... a Mocha made with soya milk and caramel syrup!  I'm already drooling just typing it out!  lol

Mornin' all

First off - happy anniversary Steve!  T'was 20 years ago today that he wheeled me to the Register Office and we promised to love each other in sickness and in health... unfortunately it's mainly been sickness for both of us ever since, but we're still together and I still love him.

I've made us both a hot drink (peach tea for Steve and lemon tea for me) and taken my morning pills.  We're gonna have an early morning Cafe Nero coffee this morning as a celebration and I'm gonna try not to whine too much about him lol

I finished off my Graze box this morning with a flapjack and it was yummy.  i've got a pack of 4 flapjacks and 8 yoghurts in the kitchen to have as well, so I'm thinking that I'll have 2 of the yoghurts for my breakfast then either another 2 yoghurts or the flapjacks to have as a pud after our lunch today.

I got Steve 2 t-shirts the next size down for our anniversary 'cos the t-shirts he's got atm are very lose on him, so hopefully they will fit, but if they don't, it'll be inspiration to keep losing weight.

The weekly virus scan is zipping through incredibly quickly this morning - it's at 38% already and it's only been running for about an hour and a half!

Just had to wake Steve up because I couldn't see him breathing... don't want him kicking the bucket on the morning of our 20th anniversary  😉

He got me an Amazon voucher for our anniversary which I've just added to my account - there was something I spotted that I wanted the other day but can't for the life of me remember what it was now!

He's just woken up and gone for a wee, so I'm hoping that we'll be able to order our celebratory treat when he comes out - can't wait!

This blog post is already too long, so I'm gonna publish it now and get started on the daily news for my 3 sites after I've watered the plants and seedlings now I reckon.

BBL.

Nite nite orl

I've done my double time of care today so I'm gonna head off to beddy-byes now.

Nite nite orl.

A little bit early, but...

...I've taken my last two pills of the day now and I'm gonna have an early night tonight - hopefully I'll be able to crawl up to bed before 7.30pm 'cos I'm absolutely shattered.

Today's (28th June 2022) lunch photo

Today's lunch was just 4 slices of vegan spreaded bread because I was too wobbly to make anything for myself after I'd made my carer's lunch for him.  That's OK though, 'cos the spread is 530 calories per serving so my lunch today was a total of 2,408 calories which has sent my FitBit graph seriously into the red, so I'll hopefully have put on rather than lost weight this week lol

Here's today's photo:

Steve's had his second meal of the day...

...made by me, which is already double the amount he's made for me all week and if you include yesterday for me too, I've made triple his meals and he's eaten 5 times compared to my twice.  I'm currently 11 minutes away from caring for him for the minimum of 5 hours a day to be recognised as a carer and he's only managed 32 minutes of care for me combined... apparently he "do[es] everything for her" including "I make all her meals and drinks for her" which is total bollox.

My lunch today was 4 slices of bread and vegan spread while my carer had soup and now crisps for his lunch and a bowl of Shreddies for his breakfast.  He's already said that he wants ham sandwiches for his tea because he's got some left over from last week as well as today's meat, so it looks like I'll be making all his meals for him again today.

Time to do the watering, then put my lunch photo up, then sort out the FitBit thing ready to go onto my homepage.

Groceries been and gone, monthly...

...virus scan finished (still clear of nasties, thankfully), so now it's time to praise Olly then check my email for the first time today.

This week's grocery totals break down like this:

My stuff:  £5.73
Steve's stuff:  £21.59
Joint stuff:  £21.70

So for a very rare change, the stuff for both of us is just about the most expensive, which is just what it should be and Steve's stuff is the next most expensive at 11p cheaper and my stuff is less than a third of that, but that's OK as long as my carer has got what he wants and it doesn't matter that the majority of his stuff will be wasted yet again 'cos it's not him paying for it.

That's my...

...carer fed and the book finished and reviewed, so I can have my own breakfast now:  a Graze snack pot.  I can't take a photo of it while the virus scan is running, so you'll just have to believe me 😃

Steve's awake and gone for a poo, sooo...

...I've given the seedlings and plants their first watering of the day before the weeds even woke up this morning, so it's earlier than I was thinking!

I'm predicting that Steve's fallen asleep on the toilet 🚽 again, so it's a good job I went for a wee before he went in lol

I'm about to start reading and reviewing the book now - it's a children's picture book so hopefully it'll be done and dusted well before our groceries turn up.

I've just heard Steve filling the kettle in the kitchen, so I was wrong about him falling asleep my the sounds of things, sorry about that.  I just hope he doesn't fall asleep while he's getting washed in the kitchen sink, 'cos the last thing the NHS need is to come out with their inflatable chair again!

I'm gonna get cracking with the reading now... BBL

Mornin' all

How are you all doing this morning?

I woke up late this morning, but that's OK 'cos my body obviously needed the extra rest and I was only 6 minutes away from caring for my carer for 13 hours yesterday, so I think I'm allowed lol

It's the monthly virus scan this morning and I've remembered not to open either of my email programmes, so thing's'll have to be done via my browsers until that's done and dusted.

We've got our groceries due this morning and going by Steve's sleepiness this morning it'll all be down to me yet again.

I've gotta take my pills and water the plants/seedlings this morning, but I'll have to wait until my carer wakes up before I do that in case the phone goes.  I've got a book to read and review today too, so it's all go!

 

We've got instant soup and potentially a couple of slices of bread and spread on the menu today 'cos of my monthly virus scan, so if I'm unsteady on my feet at lunchtime, after putting the groceries away, it'll only be my carer eating again today 'cos I won't be able to stay on my feet for long enough to make my own soup and bread after I've made my carer's lunch again.

OK, pills taken so time to start reading and reviewing the book while Steve's asleep then I go and make his breakfast, do the watering, then the washing up when he eventually wakes up.

Nite nite orl

I've taken my last pills of the day and I've just started yawning, so I'm gonna gradually start closing all my open programmes and head to bed.

I'll be back in the morning and I've gotta remember not to open either of my email programmes 'cos of the monthly virus scan.

Nite nite orl.

OMGosh! OMGosh! OMGosh!

Just been out to do the watering and cleaning out and refilling of the wild birds' water bowl and had a better look at the potential flower bud... I reckon there's a good chance that I'll be getting a white flower, maybe with a purple stem soon... hopefully within the next week or so!!  It may be the only flower that I get this year, but one is better than none and will provide a bit of nectar for a few bees at least!

Another update to today's to-do list

Just had my lunch and taken my afternoon pill so my days to-do... just brought in Steve's delivery, so the list now looks like this:

• rushing backwards and forwards to the bathroom - ongoing
  
• schmooze with the rubbish and recycling collectors - done
  
• bring the rubbish and recycling containers back into the house - done
  
• make my carer's breakfast for him - done
  
• support my carer as he talks about a family health issue that occured overnight - ongoing
  
• support my carer as he catches up on his sleep again - ongoing
  
• take my lunchtime pill - done
  
• potentially make lunch for my carer - my carer made it today
  
• potentially water the seedlings and plants twice
• give the OXO cubes to someone who is coming to pick them up at 9.45am - done
• answer the door to and bring in my carer's delivery from Amazon - done

So all that's left to do is watering the seedlings and plants, which I'll go and do now then I can just lig around online all afternoon.

 

Gonna go and do the watering so that I can cross the final thing off today's to-do list. 

Today's (27th June 2022) lunch photo

Had a home-made vegetarian chilli and rice for lunch today and now I'm just nicely full but on the verge of being bloated.  

 

According to my FitBit app, I'm 296 calories over budget, but hopefully a drinking chocolate this afternoon will send me over 2000 calories which I'm aiming for this week, so that I can put on the best part of a kilo instead of losing weight like I have been for the last couple of weeks.  Hopefully 2-3 drinking chocolates and a home-cooked lunch each day will get me there, then I can do my exercises a couple of times a week on particularly high calorie days to try and maintain my weight.  It's gonna take a bit of experimentation, but I'm determined to get there.

Here's today's photo:

Updated to-do list for today

Update on this morning's to-do list and my carer has added another item to it...

 

So far this morning I've crossed off: 

• rushing backwards and forwards to the bathroom - ongoing
  
• schmooze with the rubbish and recycling collectors - done
  
• bring the rubbish and recycling containers back into the house - done
  
• make my carer's breakfast for him - done
  
• support my carer as he talks about a family health issue that occured overnight - ongoing
  
• support my carer as he catches up on his sleep again - ongoing
  
• take my lunchtime pill
• potentially make lunch for my carer
• potentially water the seedlings and plants twice
• give the OXO cubes to someone who is coming to pick them up at 9.45am - done
• answer the door to and bring in my carer's delivery from Amazon
  

So I've just got one more thing to do this morning which is due to happen any time between now and 1.45pm, then everything else will have to wait until around lunchtime-ish.

 

All sorted now until...

...lunchtime.

The rubbish has just been taken and I'm working on the third set of news for my third site, then the rest of the morning is mine while I care for my carer and potentially make too many hot drinks for him to leave after a sip then he falls asleep until it's stone cold and wants another one with the promise that this mug really will be finished which rarely happens more than a couple of times a week.

Time to keep on doing the news now though.

News on 27th June 2022

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

27th June 2022

How do I make friends so my son has playmates?

Friend Breakups: How To Mindfully Navigate The End Of A Friendship

6 Toxic People You Should End Your Friendship With - Amanda's comment: Yep, one friend in particular is guilty of at least 2, possibly 3 of these things!

Asking For A Friend: How can I tell my high-earning friends I can’t afford to do something?

Aaand...

...relax.

The OXO cubes have just gone so I'm just waiting on the rubbish to be collected so that I can bring the sack in, then that's it until lunchtime.  Means I can get on with finding the news for you all now, alongside caring for my carer of course.

Already crossed a few things off my to-do list

First thing this morning, my to-do list read like this:

• rushing backwards and forwards to the bathroom 
• schmooze with the rubbish and recycling collectors
• bring the rubbish and recycling containers back into the house
• make my carer's breakfast for him
• support my carer as he talks about a family health issue that occured overnight
• support my carer as he catches up on his sleep again
• take my lunchtime pill
• potentially make lunch for my carer
• potentially water the seedlings and plants twice
• give the OXO cubes to someone who is coming to pick them up at 9.45am

 

So far this morning I've crossed off: 

• rushing backwards and forwards to the bathroom - ongoing
  
• schmooze with the rubbish and recycling collectors - just the recycling so far
  
• bring the rubbish and recycling containers back into the house - just the recycling so far
  
• make my carer's breakfast for him - done
  
• support my carer as he talks about a family health issue that occured overnight - ongoing
  
• support my carer as he catches up on his sleep again - ongoing
  
• take my lunchtime pill
• potentially make lunch for my carer
• potentially water the seedlings and plants twice
• give the OXO cubes to someone who is coming to pick them up at 9.45am

So I've just got one more thing to do this morning which is due to happen any time now, then everything else can't happen until lunchtime.

 

Pretty good going so far I reckon!

Mornin' all

How are you all doing this morning?

I took the couple of cardboard trays, from the multi-packs of peach and lemon instant teas, out to be recycled this morning and it was starting to spit with rain, so the Green Man might be saving me the task of watering the plants/seedlings this morning if He decides to let it rain enough, but I will potentially still have to do it at lunchtime.

I've taken my morning pills and weighed myself so sent Steve an email asking that we eat properly every day this week so that he can't deny that I've asked.  I'm right at the bottom of my healthy weight range so wanna try and gain about a kilo this week so that I'm middly to top of the range again.

The daily virus scan was reassuringly still clear and apparently AVG have another fan in my BIL as of last night, when it got rid of some malware on his Mac for him.  Apparently the reason that Steve doesn't use it is 'cos "it messes up my programmes occasionally when I've had it installed" which happened a couple of times right at the start for me, but I just tweaked a couple of settings et voila - it runs as soon as I log into Windows and I couldn't be without it any more!

On the to-do list for today is rushing backwards and forwards to the bathroom after having all three of my allowed weekly servings of caffeine this morning, schmooze with the rubbish and recycling collectors, bring the rubbish and recycling containers back into the house, make my carer's breakfast for him, support my carer as he talks about a family health issue that occured overnight, support my carer as he catches up on his sleep again, take my lunchtime pill, potentially make lunch for my carer (although I'm hoping he'll do it instead, for safety reasons), potentially water the seedlings and plants twice, give the OXO cubes to someone who is coming to pick them up at 9.45am then the rest of the day is mine.  Gotta sort out the news in between all of that too lol

Nite nite orl

I've taken my last two pills of the week and I'm heading straight to bed for an early night.

I'll see you all in the morning.

Nite nite orl.

Thank you to...

I'm not lazy...

This is what I am to everyone else

Today's (26th June 2022) lunch photo

Today's lunch was my third meal of the week and a yummy vegetarian spaghetti bolognaise with extra onions and frozen veg added to the vegemince and vegetable pasta sauce to try and get a few more goodies into our bodies.

We're mainly eating at home now (other than Steve's 3 take-away tea's and a Subway delivery for one lunch this week) which is considerably better than it was a few months ago and the daily "menu" definitely helps with us knowing what needs to be cooked each day, which helps with the weekly groceries and keeping within the budget and not wasting too much food now!

 

I'm thinking I'll have lost too much weight this week though, so if I have, I'll have to have a couple of slices of toast with 300 calorie vegan spread on each one... I'm hoping that's not the case though, 'cos my body is used to only eating once a day now.

 

It's our 20 year wedding anniversary next week and we're going over to see my in-laws on the Sunday, so there probably won't be a photo that day 'cos I won't be eating breakfast, potentially missing lunch ('cos I get travel sick) and won't be eating after 5pm 'cos of the travel sickness and it weighing too heavily on my stomach and making me nauseous when I go to bed.

Here's today's photo:

I'm eating again today!!

It's definitely gonna be vegan spag bol 'cos I've just got everything ready for Steve to cook it!  Can't wait!!

Carer fed, plants/seedlings watered and...

I'm bound to be speaking too soon, but one of the bees plants from 38 Degrees has started to get a very tiny growth in the middle of it, that I don't think will be more leaves, since I watered them for the second time the day before yesterday.  It's standing bolt upright now too, instead of being collapsed onto the soil like it was when I watered it last time, so the sun, heat and natural water (from the rain) is obviously what it needed that I couldn't have given it.  

 

It's only taken since April lol

That was a really useful, rapid...

...search for things to do with out-of-date flour!

This page says that it has multiple uses so I don't need to bin it after all!  I'll take a photo of it when I've made my carer's breakfast for him and put it on Freegle with the link for gardeners and crafters and card players and as an emergency shampoo and all sorts of other things!

I love being able to get rid of things like this that we're never gonna use and is past it's date - one person's trash is another person's treasure!

Another thing off my to-do list and my FitBit has finished charging up, so I'll take Steve's pork pie off the list and then make his breakfast for him then go and water the plants/seedlings for the first time today.

Pills taken, carer woken up...

...and taking his pills too.  I've just done the maffs and he's cared for me for 1 hour and 27 minutes this week, so there's no way he can reach the required 35 hour minimum when there's only 13-ish hours to go before I hit the sack.

 

Next on the to-do list, before I forget, is finding uses for out of date flour, then I'll go and make my carer's breakfast for him and water the plants/seedlings for the first time, then do the washing up.  My hayfever is gonna be awful today 'cos it's started so early in the day.

 

Mornin' all

How are you all doing this morning?

I remembered to charge up my FitBit as soon as I came downstairs and I've already cared for my carer for over an hour this morning.  By the time I finally crawled into bed, it was another 12 hour day again, so I've only got 8 hours and 41 minutes to go to hit an 80 hour week and might even be able to hit 84 hours at a real push, but as long as I hit 80 hours then that's OK 'cos that's a double full time job's worth of hours.

My hayfever is already kicking off and my belly is rumbling so I'll have to hope that my carer cooks again today, for the third time this week.

I'm gonna take my morning pills now, along with a couple of squirts of B12 and maybe a 5-HTP too?

On the to-do list for today is running the daily virus scan, bagging up and taking out the rubbish and recycling, making my carer's breakfast for him, watering the plants/seedlings twice (assuming it doesn't rain again, like it did yesterday), hopefully handing over the Olio things (if anyone wants them)... I've just had a thought about how to get rid of the out of date flour too - I was going to bin it, but it might be able to be used for making home-made playdough and clumping up spills for easier cleaning etc too!

I'm gonna take my morning pills first though lol

Nite nite orl

My carer is snoring his head off after cooking twice this week, so I'm gonna shut down and head to bed in a bit.

I'll see you all again in the morning.

Nite nite orl.

Busy afternoon!

After the delivery came, I did a stock-take, updated the list, rearranged the cupboard using ¼ of the delivery and realised that I need to do a big sort out of the rest of the cupboard after I put the rubbish and recycling out tomorrow.  There are pots and pans spilling over from one side of the cupboard to the food side, so I need to do some tidying up then I can sort out the rest of the food so that the cupboard is a lot tidier.  Small but regular tidying up after my carer is the way to go I reckon... it would, of course, help if he put things back into their homes instead of just leaving it on his stool for me to deal with.  We've added a couple of things to the shop that's due on Tuesday to try out and see if we like it and I've put a couple of loaves of bread on too so that they can stay at the bottom and I can put things on top of them so that I don't risk falling into the freezer then.

 

Thanks to the stock-take I've been able to put 3 things onto Olio and I've just gotta get rid of two half bags of seriously out of date flour tomorrow, then I can recover for a couple of hours before starting to organise the pots and pans side.

 

I'll sleep well tomorrow lol

 

That's the...

...order been delivered, so I'm gonna go and do a stock-take in the kitchen again now.

BBL

Today's (25th June 2022) lunch photo

Steve (my hubby/carer) has just cooked for the second time this week!  Thank you so so much Steve!  We had onion rings, chips and I had veg with mine but Steve didn't fancy having any with his.  T'was a very yummy and filling lunch and Steve managed to cram both baking trays into our new oven at the same time, which is good to know.

Here's today's photo 📸:

I'm actually gonna...

...eat for the second time this week, today!!!

There were only...

...two pieces of news divided across all 3 places that I put it today.  The site that had both pieces of news hadn't had anything since the start of the month, but it's there now.

I'm pondering on studying this afternoon, but there's also a part of me saying that I should get started on the editing again... which do you reckon I should do please?

My carer is still in the land of nod and neither of us have had any breakfast today, so hopefully that means he'll be so hungry at lunchtime that he'll cook for the second time this week.  It's a relatively simple meal of onion rings, chips and veg but it'll be the first time we've tried using two trays in the new oven, so I hope they both fit lol

I've written to Steve's GP about how much he's sleeping again and offered to send him the spreadsheets I've been keeping so hopefully Steve will be able to get a replacement device to help him like it used to when he first got it before he lost it.  I've also said about the videos I've got of him asleep during the day as proof of what I'm saying, despite Steve's lies about how much he does for me.

I've also printed off the list of food we've got that I'm hoping is accurate, but my carer tends to have midnight snacks without telling me, so I'm assuming that there are things missing that my carer has eaten and not told me about, so I'll do that while my carer is asleep again this afternoon.

Only 20 minutes until lunchtime and me eating for the second time this week!!

Just had the email come through about the delivery of the wire baskets I bought yesterday to try and keep the cupboard a bit more organised... I'm thinking/hoping for 2 baskets on the top shelf for jars and cans and two on the bottom to have bigger things like Steve's boxes of cereal and my granola, but we shall see for sure when they arrive.  It's due between 1pm and 3pm so I'll use the opportunity to do the updates on our available food at the same time.  Means it'll definitely have to be an early lunch today though, or I'll be answering the door with a gob-full of food!  lol

Mornin' all

That's a new one to add to the lack of love I get from my husband then.

I came downstairs absolutely freezing cold, came into the living room and discovered that the fan was going full blast and Steve was deeply asleep, topless, same as always, so I went for a wee and put my winter coat on to try and stop myself from getting hypothermia.  Steve woke up about half an hour later and goes "I was baking hot last night" then noticed my wearing my coat and goes "I'd better turn the bloody fan off then!  Doesn't matter how hot I am!" so I've had to take my coat and cardigan off and risk getting hypothermia because my carer is hot.  The living room door will be wide open all day for the same reason and he'll prolly open the kitchen and living room windows and the back door too "so that I can cool down a bit" He's around the corner from the door and the living room window, but I'm directly in front of both of them, so I get to be freezing cold when Steve's hot and he gets all the heat from the heater in Winter 'cos he's right next to the heater and decides that he's too hot after turning it on for half an hour even though the heat hasn't reached me yet, then turning it off 'cos he's come up to the right temperature. Basically, the temperature of the living room and house is based on what Steve decides and it doesn't matter how cold I am.

I've taken my morning pills and I'm gonna go and make myself a hot drink while Steve's asleep so that I can try and warm up a bit.

Steve promised, last night, that we'll have porridge for breakfast this morning, but I can't see that happening 'cos he's already so hot, so I'll go and make him his breakfast and go without yet again and he'll be too hot to be in the kitchen, so I'll have to cook his lunch for him too, and potentially go without my 4th (if you include the ice cream as a meal) or 5th (if you don't) lunch of the week.  Steve's eaten at least 3 meals and several snacks every day and, by the looks of things, 3 cakes that were 12 servings each (so 36 servings) in 5 days, which means he's eaten 15 meals, countless snacks, hot drinks on demand and 36 portions of cake in 5 days.  OTOH, I've eaten twice this week.

I've taken my morning pills and run the virus scan so I need to go and do the watering of the plants and seedlings then go and make myself a hot drink.  I've just sneezed so that's either hayfever or a cold starting already 'cos I'm not allowed to get my body temperature up above freezing.

Apparently my sister-in-law could be coming over this morning too, to drop off my magazines... I hope they aren't in stock though, 'cos the last thing my body needs is more cold on top of what I'm already putting up with.

Nite nite orl

I've taken my last two pills of the day and they are kicking in rapidly, so I'm gonna head to bed for an early night so that I can hopefully wake up feeling more refreshed than I have for a few days now.

My carer's got his third take-away tea of the week (a kebab and a burger along with a bottle of pop) so I'm gonna head to bed and hope that he stays awake for long enough to eat it so that he doesn't drop it and leave it for me to clear up in the morning.

Nite nite orl.

Carer fed, lunchtime pill...

...taken and the plants/seedlings watered, so now I've just gotta wait for my carer to finish off his lunch, then I can do the washing up and make him his first drink of the afternoon.

Apparently I made his lunch right this time so he's gonna be spending the afternoon asleep while I do the washing up then I'll be caring for him for the rest of the afternoon.

I've already cared for my carer for 7 hours and 56 minutes today so the 10 hours should be pretty easy to achieve again today, might even hit 13 hours... doubt it'll be more than that though.

On the menu for tomorrow is onion rings, chips and veg which I'm predicting will be down to me too and if I'm as unsteady as I have been for the last 3 days, it'll all be going onto Steve's plate and I'll be going hungry yet again.  If he doesn't cook tomorrow, I'll have to regain my safety after making his breakfast and make 2 slices of toast for myself so that I can make sure I don't go underweight again but I'm predicting that tomorrow will be the 5th day that he hasn't cooked lunch this week.  He hasn't cooked breakfast for me for at least a year yet I've done his breakfast for him every morning as well as the majority of his lunches and teas, despite what he tells anyone who will listen (ie that he makes all my meals and drinks and I do nothing to support him).  He's yet to reach 5 hours of care for me a week but I usually easily more than double the minimum required to be recognised as a carer.

He's finished his lunch now, so time to crack on with the washing up.

BBL

I was wrong, I'm sorry

Steve has decided that he doesn't want the SuperRice after all, so I've had to go and make sandwiches for him instead, so that's 3 days of eating only a tub of ice cream and maple syrup, despite what is on the menu and Steve's claims that he "makes all her meals and drinks for her".  He's only made one meal for me so far this week so I've gone hungry for the last 3 days and only had the ice cream on the fourth day.  Far from healthy, but that doesn't seem to matter and I'm too unstable on my feet to make anything for myself now, so I'll have to go without yet again, despite Steve having eaten 14 times so far this week and I've only eaten twice.

Breakfast today is...

...2 servings of Lipton peach ice tea so that I can have the other 3 servings in the bottle on Monday then I'll just have the smaller bottle left for 2 weeks' time and I can invest in a 12 pack of either the mango or the raspberry from Amazon after that.  

 

 

That's my carer fed now, sooo...

...I can do the watering, then come back in and take his hopefully empty bowl back through to the kitchen.

Mornin' all

How are you all doing this morning?

 

I didn't manage to get my early night after all 'cos my carer needed more support, so I put in a 12 hours and 46 minute day by the time I was able to crawl into bed.  My carer's weekly total of care for me is currently 53 minutes, so I've already cared more for him this morning alone than he's cared for me all week... you all know that rant by now, so I won't repeat it.

 

Almost time to take my pills, then make my carer's breakfast for him when he wakes up, then I'll go and water the plants and seedlings.

 

According to the menu, it's an easy lunch today, so I stand a small chance of eating today, for the second time this week.  Steve's having SuperRice ("just one packet this time 'cos I struggled to eat two last time") and I'm potentially having cous cous.  Quick and simple.  I'll do Steve's first so that he can be eating and I'll put my laptop on the floor so that I can slide my bowl straight onto the table when it's ready to eat.

 

The daily virus scan was still clear, which is reassuring, so I'm all set for the day now.

 

Steve's deeply asleep 'cos he's snoring and isn't moving so he's well into the land of nod, so I'm gonna use the opportunity to take my morning pills.  He's just woken up and needs a wee, so I'll take my pills while he's in the bathroom then make his breakfast for him, then go out and water the plants.

 

BBIAB

 

Nite nite orl

I'm absolutely cream-crackered so I'm gonna head to bed for an early night now.  I'll be back in the morning though, same as usual.

Nite nite orl.

Just done a bit of...

...editing to next week's menu 'cos we were going to have spaghetti bolognaise twice that week, so we're having hot dogs on the Saturday now.  I've got the menu sorted for 3 weeks' time too and we're below the budget each week without me needing to sacrifice anything so far.  We've got burgers as well as the hot dogs next week and it sounds like I'll be doing tomorrow's lunch 'cos Steve cooked 2 days ago and doesn't fancy doing it again tomorrow... it's easy enough thankfully, just vegetable SuperRice for him that's got an allergen in it so I'm having cous cous instead.  

 

Assuming Steve cooks all weekend, I'll only have missed 3 lunches and 7 breakfasts this week, which is good going.  I've made 3 of the four lunches this week, as well as breakfast every day for Steve... it's just Monday, yesterday and today that I haven't eaten at lunchtime other than a pot of ice cream yesterday but that doesn't count 'cos it's not a proper meal lol

Plants and seedlings watered...

...and carer fed, so when he's drained his mug I'll go and do the washing up so that he'll be able to have breakfast tomorrow, plates to eat our lunch off and mugs so that my carer can have drinks tomorrow.  I haven't eaten anything so far all day and I'm not stable enough on my feet to even make myself an instant soup and even less so after I've done the washing up, so my entire calorie intake today will come from the 500ml of Pepsi that I had first thing, which is only 82 calories, but I don't have a choice.

He's finished his mug now, so time to get cracking on the washing up.

Book Review: "Still Born" by Guadalupe Nettel (Author), Rosalind Harvey (Translator)

Kindle:
Paperback:
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

I'll start this book review off by saying that each book I read and review starts off with the full 5 stars and that I'm always hopeful that they will still be firmly in place by the time I finish reading.

I got this book for free from Net Galley with the publishers approval, in exchange for me putting up this honest review.

It's apparently 200 pages long and translated, so I'll try and remember that as I read.

Let's get reading!

Wow!  I've already read 10% of the book and haven't even thought about adding to this review yet... could this be a full 5 star book?  I certainly hope so!

This is a great book and I'm wondering what will happen as the months continue and afterwards too... will it all get too much or will the main characters maternal instincts start to kick in?

Are famous singers names (potentially being used without permission) something that would get you into legal hot water?  I know that song titles and lyrics can, but what about actual people please?  Either way, the author has used several of them and my hubby says that he doesn't think it's copyright/trademark infringement, so the star is staying in place right now, but it's looking wobbly 'cos of my uncertainty.

Ooooh!  Could that be the start of the main character changing her mind?  Considering it's so early in the book, I think it just might be and I'm seriously hoping I'm not wrong!

OMGosh!  What awful news for them both!  No spoilers, but this is gonna be a hearbreaking book by the looks of things!

The author is seriously pulling at my heartstrings now and the main character seems to be starting to change her mind ever so gradually too.  I'm only about a quarter of the way through, but I can feel the tears starting to prickle at the back of my eyes and my heart is being pulled in all directions already.  My initial thoughts on this book is that if you're looking for an emotionally heart-breaking read, you should definitely invest in this book.

Here comes the heartbreaking bit... my eyes are already welling up!

Oooh!  I'm glad I kept reading instead of going to bed lol  It's not such instantly heart-breaking news like I thought!

I'm up to "Part II.I" now, so I'm thinking now would be a good time to shuffle off to beddy-byes.

This is a surprising book that knows exactly how to twang my heart-strings, get me on the verge of tears, then release me with something positive.

I'm starting to see why the author has chosen the title too... I initially thought it was a translation blooper, but it's not.

More positivity where I didn't think there was any... this is an absolutely incredible book!

Nooooo!!!!  The author has used a famous fictional character, and a social media site, undoubtedly without permission, so like with other 5 star books I've read, it's now a 4 star book which is a huuuge disappointment.  Readability-wise it's still very much a 5 star book, but my sense of fair play is over-riding, just like with each of the other books too, so this is, very reluctantly, a 4 star book.

I like Marlene already.  She's got confidence and curiosity and wants only what is best for Ines and she's keeping the parents up to date every evening which is just how it should be in my opinion!

Oh yes, Marlene is definitely Ines' spokesperson and I'm starting to appreciate just how much she means to Alina especially.

OMG!  Poor boy!  I hope that the main character can get the boy the help and treatment he needs!

Wow.

I've just finished reading and while I've been stunned and surprised several times, there haven't been any tears.

I'm breathless and hoping for a sequel.

Plants and seedlings watered...

...and my carer is awake now so time to go and make his breakfast for him and encourage him to eat, then I can get on with the reading and reviewing while he's eating and take his bowl back through to the kitchen when he's finished then keep caring for him until lunchtime.  Doesn't matter that I'm exhausted, wobbly and in pain of course, just as long as my carer doesn't have to get out of his chair.

Mornin' all

How's it going for you this morning?

I've dropped and can't find one of my prescribed pills, so I'm glad that we don't have a pet any more otherwise they would find it, eat it and die and it'd be all my fault.

On less worrying news, the daily virus scan was still clear but Steve's wasted even more of my money by leaving, as predicted yesterday, half a packet of ham that went out of date yesterday "I've still got another 3 packets in the fridge though, so I'll have those instead" according to Steve, which isn't the point and I'm predicting that at least one of those packets will go to waste too, but because it's not Steve paying, it doesn't matter 😡.

 

It's soup on the menu for lunch today, which I'll have to make for Steve and go hungry again myself.  I've only had one proper lunch so far this week (or 2 if you include yesterday's tub of ice cream) but Steve's had 9 proper meals so far this week and I'll have to go and make his tenth when he wakes up.  He's also had (and left to go cold) 7 hot drinks so far this week and hasn't had more than a mouthful of any of them... my last hot drink was last week - apparently "I make all her meals and drinks for her" though <shrug>

I've got that book to finish reading and reviewing this morning, so hopefully that'll quickly improve my mood.  Gotta make Steve's breakfast and water the seedlings/plants first though.

Nite nite orl

My body is crying out for a rest, so I'm heading off for the night now... be on the lookout for my next book review hopefully tomorrow morning.

Nite nite orl.

Pills taken, on the verge of tears...

...but this truly incredible book has pulled me back from the brink of them spilling out of my eyes twice so far and all five stars are still in place.  So far it's a must-read book if you need an excuse to let your tears flow.

Carer fed twice, pills taken...

...plants/seedlings watered and carer is fast asleep again, so I reckon I should go and empty the washing machine of his clothes, put them onto his pile then get cracking on my next book to read and review that was published today, so I'll be able to put the review straight onto Amazon when I've finished reading it.  It's 200 pages long, so hopefully I'll be finished before I head to bed tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest.

Today's (22nd June 2022) lunch photo

Just had my second meal of the week... non-dairy vanilla ice cream and lashings of maple syrup.

 

Book Review: "Don't Turn Away" by Penelope Campling

Kindle:
Hardback:

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

I want to start off this review in the same way as the majority of my other book reviews, by saying that every book I read starts off with the full 5 stars and that I' always hopeful that they will all still be stuck firmly in place by the time I close the back cover.

I'm not sure how many pages this book has got, so I dunno how long it'll take me to read it.  I got this book for free on NetGalley, thanks to the publishers approval on the understanding that I'd write and publish this honest review online, so that's what I'm doing.

Let's get reading.

It says on the first page of my ARC that it's an "uncorrected proof" so I'll let any woopsies slide and hope they are picked up before it's published.

It's great that the author has included the details of the Samaritans in the introduction and advised that her book covers difficult topics - does that mean it's gonna be a tear-jerker, heart-breaker or both?

Ah right.  There's about 300 pages in this book, so that's potentially a day and a half to 2 days' reading, so I'm prepared now.

I'm loving this book so far... it's talking about the author in the early days of her career as a junior doctor and her ideas about one of the patients not drinking led to a test, then a diagnosis and the patient drinking again!

Where on earth has the morning disappeared to?!  It only feels like 10 minutes ago that I was stopping reading so that I could have my lunch but it's almost 3 hours later because I've been so absorbed in it!  Those five stars are all still firmly in place!

Oh dear, unfortunately my sense of fair play has kicked in and a star is being knocked off for using a famous fictional character potentially without permission, so sadly we're now down to 4 stars - I hate it when an otherwise incredible book forces me to do that!

Been reading all morning and I'm now at the epilogue.  I didn't realise just how hard it is for the mental health doctors and nurses and the pandemic has just made it so much worse for them all!  I want to thank each and every MH bod for what they go through on a daily basis with such a small amount of support and funding - it's not an easy career choice and they all work their fingers to the bone and cry real tears for each of their patients.  Thank you so much to each and every one of you.

Just finished reading and it can all be summed up in one single, three letter word:  WOW!

I will obviously never know the details of any of these experiences 'cos I don't know the author personally and don't live in her area, but so much of what she was saying has been my own personal experience and, I'm guessing, so many others too.

Thank you for opening my eyes and for the love, care and support you have shown to your patients over the last 40 years, Penelope Campling.

I was wrong in my last blog post, I'm sorry

Looks like I won't be having a hot drink again after all, 'cos I've just had to make one for my carer instead and it's not safe for me to make one for myself again now.  It'll be the same with lunch... he'll start going on about how hungry he is, so he'll guilt-trip me into making his lunch again and I'll be too unsteady to sort my own out too, so I'll be missing my 7th meal of the week already but Steve will have eaten 8 times, thanks mainly to me (he made yesterday's lunch but that's it so far this week) and I haven't had a single hot drink so far this week either, but Steve has at least 3 or 4 a day and leaves most of them each time.

Apparently he makes all my meals and drinks for me though <shrug>

Blimey!

The backups have finished already!  Means that I can definitely have my ice cream and maple syrup for my lunch now, after I've made Steve his second meal of the day and 8th of the week so far!

Gonna put my external hard drive away then see if Steve wants (to leave another) hot drink in celebration of his good news and me being able to put the review up on Net Galley, my homepage and here on the blog.

BBL

Weekly virus scan has just finished and...

...I'm still free of nasties, so the backups have just been started and it's not even 9am yet!

Steve's just finished his breakfast, so I'd best go and take his bowl through to the kitchen now, I guess.

BBL

I *must* be feeling low this morning because...

...not only have I used the B12 spray, but I've just crunched up and swallowed a 5-HTP too!

Aaand...

...relax.

I've just watered the plants and seedlings and my FitBit is now charging up, so I can breathe and relax for the next half an hour to an hour (if Steve falls asleep on the toilet again).

Next task is to sort out the forum, then hopefully I can read at least a couple of pages of the book before Steve has finished in the bathroom and wants his breakfast.

Mornin' all

How are you all doing this morning?

I'm doing OK, can just feel myself shrinking back into the person I was when I was being bullied and a*used is all.  Everything gets blamed on me and when I try and defend myself I'm called a liar and "you shouldn't say things like that" and "I never said that at all" etc etc.  Every penny I get goes on lending it to other people then never being paid back.  The majority of the things I buy are mainly or entirely for others and the favours I do for them get taken for granted and I'm given deadlines to do the favour in with no recognition for the effort and time I put in to doing it for them.

Today is gonna be a pretty much calorie-free day 'cos of the weekly virus scan and backups but Steve will get 3 full meals again.  I've had potentially my only calories today in the chia seeds and that's it for the rest of the day.  I've got some dairy-free ice cream that I can have along with lashings of maple syrup this afternoon, after I've made Steve's lunch for him and put my external hard drive away.  When he wakes up I'll go and get him his breakfast, then I'll take my pills, then take his bowl out to the kitchen and give the plants and seedlings their first drink of the day.

The virus scan is running and I've got a book to keep reading and reviewing as well as another one lined up for afterwards.

I've just booked our grocery delivery for 3 weeks' time so that's all sorted now.

Aksherly, I might take my morning pills now, so that it's one less thing to do while Steve's eating his breakfast and I can just water the plants and seedlings while he's eating his first meal of the day and I'm going hungry.

Not gonna do the news again today - I've already got too much on my plate and I've gotta be ready to wake Steve up and keep him awake ready for his phone appointment with a medical bod in a few hours' time.

OK, that's my morning pills popped and 3 squirts of the B12 spray, so hopefully they will keep me going throughout the day now, while I'm going hungry.

Steve's just woken up so I'll go and do the watering while he's in the bathroom for at least the next half an hour, then I've gotta remember to charge up my FitBit.

BFN

Nite nite orl

I've started yawning, so I'm gonna close all my computer programmes down and head up to bed.

Nite nite orl.

That's 5 out of 6...

...meals missed so far this week and I doubt I'll be eating anything at all tomorrow 'cos of the backups not finishing until about 2pm and I won't be having any tea, like usual, so my entire calories will come from drinks tomorrow.  I can't even have breakfast 'cos Steve's milk is taking up the entire door of the fridge, so I'll have nowhere to put my open milk, so Steve'll be eating 9 meals (and several snacks) in 3 days and I'll only have eaten once (today's lunch) in the same amount of time.  Apparently he "makes all her meals and drinks for her" though <shrug>  It's been getting on for a year (at least, maybe even over a year by now) since he made me my last hot drink too.

Ho hum.

 

I've cared for my carer for very nearly 10 hours today and he's only cared for me for 41 minutes since the stroke of midnight yesterday.  I've got less than 14 hours of care left to provide by midnight on Sunday and Steve's still got over 30 hours so I'm predicting right now that he won't manage it yet again and also that I doubt I'll get even 5 hours of care out of him.

I've taken my last pills of the day, so I'm just waiting for the side effects to kick in now, then I can head to bed.

Almost forgot!

Just been out to water the seedlings and plants.  The butterfly seedlings seem to have needed sun/heat to start to sprout (or whatever seedlings do) 'cos two of the three seedlings have grown a bit more since this morning!  I've also discovered a way to make one less trip inside to get another jug of water - fill it right up to the bottom of the spout and that does 1½ "sets" (I class the weeds as one set 'cos I can usually water them both in one trip) from one jug of water.  I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but the less time I spend on my feet, the safer I feel and therefore am.

Today's (21st June 2022) lunch photo

Cor lummy am I stuffed now!  We had a vegetarian spaghetti bolognaise with added onions and mixed vegetables... I should have worn my eating trousers cos I'm sat here with my trousers undone, so I hope no-one comes to the door this afternoon lol

That's the groceries...

...brought in and put away, so my carer's running total so far this week is 16 minutes and mine is almost 25 hours, but apparently I'm not the carer and I don't do anything to support him <shrug>

 

Apparently we're still having the spag bol for lunch with some onions and veg added and I've already got the sauce out in preparation, so I'm trying to remain hopeful that I will actually get to eat a proper meal for the first time this week.  I've got some me-friendly vanilla ice cream that I can have with lashings of maple syrup on the days that my carer doesn't cook now - far from healthy, but better than nothing.

 

Time to update the available food list with all our new groceries now, then I can carry on reading and reviewing the book after I've made myself another drink.

 

Got the substitutions email now

Just had the substitutions email about our groceries and the final totals break down like this:

My stuff:  £2.18
Steve's stuff:  £26.28
Joint stuff:  £9.57

So Steve's stuff is well over half of the entire grocery order and I'm predicting that his ham, crisps, pork pie, egg custards, and cocktail sausages will all go to waste, along with at least one box of Actimel, just like happens every week.  It doesn't matter though, 'cos he's not the one paying for it!

The virus scan showed that...

...I'm still free of nasties, which is reassuring.

That's...

...my carer fed for the fourth time in 24 hours and my fourth meal missed in 24 hours.  Time to crack on with the watering now, then hopefully my carer will have finished his breakfast when I've sorted it out, so I can take his bowl through to the kitchen.

BBIAB

Mornin' all

How are you all doing this morning?

I've already been for two wee's this morning, been approved to read an ARC of a book that may, potentially, cause tears if it's written well, taken my morning pills and cared for my carer for almost an hour.

I'm gonna go and do the watering then make my carer's breakfast for him and then settle in to read for the next hour or so, before the shopping comes.  I'm prepared for having to do that entirely alone again 'cos my carer will either be asleep or complaining about his legs.  

Lunch today is supposed to be vegan spag bol which I bet I'll have to at least start, if not cook entirely, alone today, just like I did with Steve's lunch yesterday.  I didn't eat a single proper meal at all yesterday, just had a drinking chocolate and my final Graze box for breakfast and 6 biscuits for lunch, while my carer had 3 proper meals, yet he tells everyone that "I cook all her meals and make all her drinks for her" which is total bollox 'cos he only cooks a maximum of 3 times a week and the only drinks he makes for me is 1, occasionally 2, bottles of squash for me.  He hasn't made me a single hot drink so far this year and expects adoring praise when he makes a bottle of squash for me.

 

I'll have to keep an eye on my email address at around 8.30am to see what substitutions there are on today's groceries, then I'll be able to give you all the final breakdown of the spread of the cost for this week.

I'm gonna go out and do the watering now, then make my carer's breakfast for him.

Nite nite orl

I've just started yawning, so I'm gonna have a well-deserved early night tonight.

Nite nite orl.

I was wrong this morning, I'm sorry

I said in an early blog post this morning (possibly the first one??) that 10 hours would be easy and that 13 hours was pretty likely.

I was wrong, I'm sorry.

I've just about scraped over the 10 hours and I'm gonna be heading to bed soon-ish, so won't even make 11 hours, let alone 13.

I'm sorry for my mistaken assumption this morning - my carer has had a better day than I originally thought.

Today is gonna be...

...an incredibly high caring for my carer total today 'cos I've only got 1 hour 47 minutes to go before I hit 10 hours, so 13 hours is looking very likely to start the week off with and my carer's total of care for me so far today is only 9 minutes, so he's gotta pull a minimum of 4 hours 51 minutes out of the bag before I head to bed tonight, which is looking less and less likely... I doubt he'll even manage that all week let alone in one afternoon and evening!

That's Steve fed for the second time today

Just made Steve's lunch for him of 6 Linda McCartney sausage rolls and a pretty decent amount of veg.  I'm having a 2 litre bottle of Morrisons cream soda for my lunch and I had my last Graze punnet and a drinking choccie for breakfast, so hopefully that'll take me into the green or even red today instead of the blue.  It certainly won't be as significantly blue as last week 'cos I'm not exercising this week.  I've already consumed (as opposed to eaten) over 1,000 calories today and the cream soda will be about 20 more, so barely worth mentioning, but I'm over 1,000, so I'm happy with that.

Steve's feedback on the sausage rolls is that "they're very dry" so I/we will have to use egg wash on them next time because Steve doesn't like soya milk and I can't have his lactose free milk without it affecting me badly for hours if not days afterwards, but it means buying 6 eggs and barely using a single one.

I'll stick a couple of boxes of the Naughty Vegan ones on next weeks shop so that Steve can have 6 and I'll have 2 along with us both having chips and veggies with them next Sunday.

Tomorrow's groceries

Steve's just done some editing on tomorrow's grocery order and it now breaks down like this:

My stuff:  £2.18
Steve's stuff:  £26.38
Joint stuff:  £12.86

So stuff that's just for Steve is almost half of the total and I'm predicting that my stuff (last weeks gorgeous cherry yoghurts) will come off to make room for yet more of Steve's stuff that I'm predicting the majority of will go to waste, just like it does every week, which doesn't seem to matter to Steve 'cos it's not his money being wasted each week.

Schmoozing finished for the week now

The rubbish has just been collected and I said thank you to the man that took ours and got waved at by the man who was driving and collecting on the other side of the road.  Took less than 30 seconds of being polite and I reckon more people should do it - a bit of gratitude might be just what the doctor ordered for some people!

The virus scan showed...

...that my machine is still free of nasties and I've just slightly adjusted this weeks menu so that we've got onions and/or veg going into four meals this week, which is great going, considering that we didn't have *any* veg in our diet unless it was already in pasta sauce etc until a couple of weeks ago, if that!

Schmoozing with the recyclers this morning earnt me a...

..."have a good day" and I got the bag and boxes put together and handed to me!  Steve goes "I heard you schmoozing with them... you wanna be careful or they'll be putting up our Council Tax and inviting us to their Christmas do! lol".  I like to think that it cheers them up ever so slightly while they're doing what might be a disgusting job at times and is certainly dirty too!  It doesn't cost a penny to just say "morning!" to them when they pick it up and take it over to the truck and then saying "thank you" when they bring it back to the pavement... those three words might be their only positive in their job - especially having to start so early in the mornings too!

Just one more set of schmoozing to do then that's it for another week.

Mornin' all

How are you all doing this cool morning?

I'm doing OK... managed to get 9 hours and 6 minutes of sleep and I was only restless 4 times according to my FitBit app.

I've taken my morning pills and Steve's last minute recycling outside then weighed myself.  I'm 100g below where I'd ideally like to be, but still well within the healthy weight range for my height.  Means I'm gonna be eating but not exercising this week, so that I can stay around about where I am now.  The plan to exercise on high calorie days like today is on hold and I'll be aiming to be in the green rather than the blue this week, but if I sneak into red, then that's OK too!

I've made Steve a hot drink and watered the seedlings/plants.  The 38 Degrees bee plants took the best part of a litre of water this morning.  One of the butterfly seedlings has grown a little bit more overnight, so maybe they just need warmer temperatures before they start growing??

My belly is already rumbling, so I'm gonna go and make myself a drinking choccie to try and keep it going until lunchtime.  Gotta remember to put my FitBit spreadsheet for last week up on my homepage too as well as making Steve's breakfast for him.

Better publish this before I forget again.

BFN.

Nite nite orl

Just finished draining me glass of water and doing the maffs on the final spreadsheet of the quarter and I ended up managing a smidgen over 82½ hours of care for my carer this week.  My carer managed 3 hours and 1 minute of care for me.  My carer has managed 33 hours and 39 minutes of care this quarter of the year, so he still hasn't managed the required 35 hours a week in 12 weeks!!

I'm gonna head off to bed for an early night again now.

See you all in the morning.

Nite nite orl.

Pills popped for the last time this week

Just taken my last two pills of the week and the boxes, so I'm gonna finish off my glass of water then shut down and head to bed for an early night I reckon.

Just chomping my way through...

...a serving of peanuts and realised, while I was logging it in my FitBit app, that I've eaten 3 times today and consumed calories 4 times!

I also realised that the peanuts are less than 200 calories per serving rather than the almost 600 that I thought according to what was already in he app!  I know which one it is now though, so I don't have to worry so much about burning them off now and I can easily get through two servings a day if I want to, as well as being able to eat properly on the days I have them.

I'm hoping that I'll be comfortably within my healthy weight range again when I way myself tomorrow morning - closer to the top of it ideally, and I'm thinking that, assuming I am, I'll only exercise on the high calorie days and they will only be for half an hour once a day, instead of an hour twice a day like last week or an hour once a day like this week.  It's gonna take a while to work out what is right for me and my body so that I can stay comfortably within the range, rather than eating and no exercising one week, becoming overweight, then eating significantly fewer calories and exercising for 2 hours a day, every day the next week then no exercising again the third week and the cycle starting again.  I need to work out what is right for me and my body now and that's gonna take a little while, so I'll just have to be patient and try different things until I find something that works for me.

➰➰➰

Just worked out that tomorrow's lunch alone (so no breakfast or drinks or snacks or anything like that) will be a huuuuge 1,468 calories, so we'll see what the scales say in the morning and let that be the decider on if I do any laps or not.  Judging by this weeks graph, I've been significantly under budget for my calories every day except Tuesday when I was slightly over, so a high calorie day tomorrow should be fine... especially if I'm in the lower part of the weight range, but we shall see what happens, how I feel and what my body says tomorrow.

Today's (19th June 2022) lunch photo

Only took Steve 25 minutes to make and he added some Italian seasoning to it as well, which made it even better.

Was just spaghetti 'n' sauce but we've got a Caffe Nero treat for this afternoon - I'm having a Mocha Grande with a shot of caramel sauce and made with soya milk so that it's me-friendly and it's going down a treat.  Whoever thought of mixing coffee and chocolate together is a genius!  It's the only place I've found online that offers decaf coffee with two or three plant-based milks (I think, but could be wrong, it was soya, coconut or oat) to choose from, which is even better.  I thought Chocochinos were good from our Dolce Gusto machine, but these are even better!!

Here's today's lunch photo:

That's me...

...fed and watered (and I'll prolly spend a good chunk of the afternoon burping now lol), menu's (and therefore the grocery order) adjusted ('cos Steve fancies trying his hand at a chilli again, which is fine and dandy by me), plants and seedlings hydrated for the second time today and my pills for next week put into the appropriate sections of my pill box/organiser thing.  Just gotta sort out the lunch photo for you all now then the rest of the day is mine/spent caring for my carer.

We're definitely having the treaty coffee 'cos Steve's ordering it now lol  Assuming one of us cooks at least one meal a day, it'll be a regular reward for us and hopefully encourage us to cook at home even more, like the menu's have been encouraging us too.

Almost lunchtime now and...

...I can't wait lol

Steve has gone for a wee then he's gonna make a start on cooking it, so I'd best put my laptop on the floor and get ready to find everything he needs.  It's just pasta and sauce, so hopefully it'll be a pretty quick and filling meal.

BBIAB

Achieved a pretty decent amount this morning!

I can't remember everything I've done, but the most important ones are that I've:

• had breakfast for the first time in more than 2 weeks
• taken my morning pills
• watered the plants/seedlings
• sorted out the forum
  
• tidied up my bit next to the sofa and rediscovered the gardening gloves, gardening scissors and gardening tags with the pen in the box too
• written to my GP
• rediscovered my previous two water bottles that I use for my pill-taking squash and recycled them
  
• recycled 3 boxes and a paper bag.

I reckon today is a high pollen count day around here 'cos I've been sneezing my head off, my eyes are itchy and watering and my throat is scratchy.  I haven't got a cold or covid and the living room window and back door are open (thanks to my carer), so it's pretty much guaranteed to be hayfever.

I'm gonna go for a wee then get started on my last laps of the week, then try and motivate my carer to make lunch for us.  He's done well to make three meals (I've made 11 for him) so far this week though, so I'm not gonna complain if he wants another day off.

I've gotta remember to put the rubbish and recycling out after lunch which I'm hoping my carer will help with, but won't be surprised if he doesn't 'cos that's pretty normal for him.

BFN

Today's (19th June 2022) breakfast photos

A couple of hours later than when I actually ate them, but here are the two parts of today's breakfast - part one is finishing off the absolutely gorgeous plant-based cherry yoghurts and part two is a Graze Pina Colada punnet.

Here are today's breakfast photos:

That's...

...me an' 'im fed, me watered along with the seedlings/plants and the butterflies' seedlings have had a mini growth spurt in the last 24 hours 'cos there is one seedling in particular that's around ⅓ bigger than it was yesterday!!  There are still only 3 ever so tiny butterfly seedlings, but that's OK with me 'cos the other 4 pots (2x bees and 2x weeds lol) are absoutely thriving now!  The weeds are already flowering each day so that's food for the bees already, even if nothing else flowers!

I've done what needs to be done on the forum and my carer is deeply asleep and snoring his head off, so I'm predicting that he'll wake up and have to rush to the bathroom 'cos he said he needed a wee before falling asleep, so he'll need to go even more when he eventually wakes up!

Yep, he's just woken up and gone steaming straight out of the living room to the bathroom lol

My carer has cared for me for less this entire week so far than I have for him this morning alone and there's no way he can hit the minimum required caring now even if he does nothing but care for me between now and midnight 'cos that's only 15 hours and he owes me 32 hours of care before he even approaches the minimum.  Even if he makes lunch, I very much doubt he'll even reach 10% of the required care for this week to be recognised and paid as a carer, whereas I've already doubled the minimum as of 6.30pm yesterday <shrug>

Mornin' all

It's not even 7am yet and I've already cared for my carer for over an hour and I'm over 70 hours of care for the week so far, so I should pretty easily hit the magic 80 hours, but doubt I'll hit 85 'cos that would mean putting in a <goes to check> 13 hour day which I don't wanna do if possible 'cos my body has gone through a lot this week so it needs to rest as much as possible.

I've already taken my morning pills and I've decided to finish off the yoghurts for my breakfast 'cos I doubt I'll have them for pud at lunchtime.

Steve's got his breakfast so I'd best publish this then put my laptop on the floor so that I can have my first breakfast for 2 weeks.  Gotta remember to write to my GP about my memory (I keep forgetting to take my knickers down before I sit down for a wee and I tried to put Steve's milk away, next to his Shreddies box instead of in the fridge this morning).  There's nothing that they can do 'cos it's all part of my WKE and I've reached a plateau with it according to the Neurologist a few months ago, but I just wanna keep my GP up to date is all.

After I've taken Steve's empty bowl back through to the kitchen and had my yoghurts, I've gotta remember to give the seedlings/plants their first drink of the day too.

He's just finished, so I'd best go and take his bowl and plate out that it looks like he had his tea on last night.

 

The virus scan has just finished and I'm still clear of nasties, so that's good news.

BBL

Nite nite orl

I'm hoping I'll be asleep before 8pm tonight... my body is begging for a rest after re-starting the laps this morning and the bonus ones this evening lol

I'll be back again in the morning.

Nite nite orl.

That was a bonus then!

I was soo close to beating my most steps this week, but there's no way I could have managed it just by going to the bathroom then up to bed, so I figured I'd put in a few extra laps just to take it over then that really would be it for the day.  I've managed to do that and got a bonus 250 steps blob for 7pm and as an added bonus, I'm starting to feel sleepy now, so I'm gonna shut down and head to bed for a rare but well-deserved early night.

Just taken...

...my last two pills of the day, so I've just gotta wait for my body to absorb the things it needs, then I'll start shutting down.  I'm hoping for an early night tonight, but that hasn't happened for a looong time, so I'm trying not to assume that it'll happen just 'cos I've been able to take my evening pills earlier than normal.

It's almost 6pm and...

...I'm still nicely full from lunch, so I'll leave the yoghurts for tonight and have them either for breakfast (if I'm as hungry as I was this morning) or pud after lunch tomorrow.  They are absolutely gorgeous yoghurts that satisfy my sweet tooth without being overly sugary.  I think/hope there are 2 packets on Tuesday's grocery order so that I can have *something* for breakfast a few times next week, instead of going for over 2 weeks between breakfasts (this morning marked 14 days since I last had anything for breakfast).

I'm trying to remain hopeful that my carer will want to cook for the fourth time this week at lunchtime tomorrow.  It's only pasta 'n' sauce, so if he doesn't fancy doing it then I'll attempt to do it myself so that I can get a few hundred calories into me tomorrow so that I can continue to make up for yesterday.

I've got less than 800 steps to go before I hit my target for steps today and therefore being the most active day of the week.  A few more trips to the bathroom and making my carer yet another drink for him to waste again today should pretty much mean that I've scraped through hitting the target.

Today's (18th June 2022) lunch photo

After barely eating yesterday (I had soup for lunch and a bag of chips for tea) and not having had breakfast for the last 2 weeks (for health and safety reasons) I was really looking forward to today's lunch - sweet and sour vegetarian chicken and rice.  It's really filled me up, but because it was under 500 calories, I'm seriously under my calorie budget.  I don't wanna lose too much weight 'cos I only had 250g to lose to be at the top end of my healthy weight range on Monday, so I might have my last couple of soya yoghurts when my belly has emptied a bit - t'would be too much to have them now and I don't wanna get bloated so I'll leave it for a couple of hours then reassess things lol

Here's today's lunch photo: