Today's (6th October 2026) lunch comments

I'm so proud of today's lunch... other than the vegetarian sausage roll getting a bit stuck to the liner (I'll need to remember to oil the liner a touch next time), I got that and the 2 potatoes spot on!  I also had a big-ish squirt of Vegan Mayonnaise and a 330ml can of a Sparkling Mango pop too.

Aaaaand... relax!

Both my deliveries have arrived, been opened and put away and the spaghetti strainer has been picked up so I can now relax until about 5pm when I'll put my OddBox container outside and bag up the rubbish ready to go out first thing tomorrow morning so that it doesn't blow away overnight.  I've got the next two week's of menu's sorted thanks to my stocktake and I can, in theory, put more week's worth up, just based on what's already in the fridge and freezers, but I want to make sure I've got fresh fruit and veggies on the menus and I won't know what's available until the middle of next week.

It feels like I've achieved a decent amount today and I'm really proud of myself.

Mornin' all

Well, the gummy sleeping pill I took last night worked after about an hour and I've woken up feeling a lot more human this morning, so I'm gonna try and take the gummy at the same time as my evening pills tonight at about 6pm to see what happens tonight and tomorrow morning.

My 'Morning Stability' score on my Visible was 3 this morning, so I've just done my last set of laps and exercises of the week after taking my blood pressure which was pretty high-for-me at 120, then I popped my 10 morning pills before doing my laps and exercises.

A Freegler is interested in something that I'm offering and said that they were coming today but didn't give a time, so hopefully they will reply with a sensible time soon 'cos I've already told them that I don't answer the door after 6pm.

I've also got 2 deliveries due to arrive today and I've gotta take my recycling out, and put my OddBox container out at about 5pm too.  I'm gonna put my rubbish out this week, but I don't want it to blow away so I'll put it out tomorrow morning instead of today.

I've got a packet of 'Omega seeds' coming with tonight's OddBox so I'm gonna empty them into today's deliveries and try having a Omega soya smoothie to see what that's like on Tuesday.  I've got a chocolate soya milk on my grocery order too, so I'll give that a try with the seeds too.

I finished off the last two bananas for my solid breakfast this morning, which thankfully gave me enough energy to get through my laps and exercises without falling down.  I desperately want to not snack today 'cos I've put on 2kg in less than a week and I eat because I'm bored not because I'm hungry, so I desperately wanna try and break that habit.

The virus scan was reassuringly clear, so it's time to get my breakfast photo up on Instagram, then my to-do list, then go and make myself my first creamy drinking chocolate of the day methinks.

BBS

I desperately need...

...to do a stock take!  lol

My last one was on 28th August and things have been moved around so much and used up!

I'm not seeing Marie tomorrow, so I'm gonna put the radio on, do a stock take of everything then come up with menu's with more than just a vegetable for lunch.  Tomorrow and Monday will use up the tofu and hash brown bites, then I'll be using up something from the freezer as well as a fresh vegetable from that week's OddBox for each lunch and a fruit sleeve and/or piece of fruit for every tea.  

My belly is used to eating properly instead of just a mug of instant soup being my only meal some days now, so the (hopefully protein) solid is the final thing to add in to make a proper, healthy meal now that my body is used to eating properly instead of living on about 500 calories a day like I did for the first almost 3 years.  

Next task is to add in a protein source to my diet, but that'll be pretty easy with vegetarian pieces and vegetarian sausage rolls and vegetarian nuggets etc that I'll start adding in, but I'm just taking it very slowly and gently instead of rushing things and ending up regretting it.

I've got Omega seeds, persimmons and a dragonfruit due with tomorrow evening's OddBox but I think I've tried pretty much everything else other than eggs now, so that's a good thing too.  I'm gonna use the seeds in a smoothie with plant protein milk (both ordinary and chocolate to see which I prefer) assuming the milk is available with my groceries on Tuesday morning, so I'll snack on that instead of crisps or chocolate or mince pies but I'm just taking it a tiny step at a time.

I'm taking it slowly but I'm so close now.

It's taken...

...the best part of 4 years, but I think I'm bang on with my portion sizes for lunch now and I'm mainly using fresh as opposed to frozen veggies too which is a huge relief.

I've got a small butternut squash due to be delivered by OddBox overnight on Sunday/Monday, which is my favourite vegetable and cutting yesterday's carrot in half has given me a smidgen of confidence that I'll be able to cut the butternut squash in half too.

I've experimented with so many things in the last year (to the day) and it's helped my body to learn that it can process more than just instant soup for lunches now.  I'm also usually having fruit for my teas as well as toast for breakfast when I remember/can be bothered which I haven't done for at least two decades!

I'm giving my body what it needs and it's letting me function throughout most days now, so I'm gonna keep on doing what I'm doing!

I've made...

...really good progress today with the photo deletions!

I've just finished 2024 so I've just got 2023 to do tomorrow et voila!  Finding out how to search for just the posts I wanted significantly helped me out time and stress wise.

I think I've also decided that I'm not gonna pressure myself to eat proper meals while I'm in the throes of SAD this year - if I can only cope with making a mug of creamy drinking chocolate for each meal then that's totally OK!

For the first time in my life I'm gonna treat myself gently until I crawl out of the other side of this.

Money, money, money!

I've just done some maffs (with a calculator) on my bank account and I can just about cover all of my bills for the next 4 weeks with what is already in there, so my credit payments can go straight into my savings, ready for the total central heating and ASHP replacement in a couple of years!

I'm so so proud of myself!!

Nite nite orl

I'm finishing off the week feeling really proud of myself.

Why?

Because I've finally finished clearing out all the cupboards, washing up and offering (and mostly being wanted) everything in the very last cupboard now.  There's still a couple of boxes to wash up and either give away or store somewhere, but that'll take seconds to do so I'm considering it totally finished now.

I've also come up with my first fully cool weather menu with more than just soup or veg on it.  As long as I stick to it, I'll be having toast for each breakfast, a protein and veg for each lunch and fruit for tea for the first time in a very very long time.  It's taken me forever, but I'm 99% of the way there now and my belly has mostly behaved because I've taken it so slowly.  I've got some frozen veg in the freezer but that's easy enough to introduce 'cos I've already had it at the start of the year, so it's just a tiny readjustment for my belly after getting everything else accepted.

I've popped my last two pills of the week and I'm heading on up to beddy-byes now.

I'll see you all in the morning.

Nite nite orl

I'm also proud that...

...I've managed to resist the urge to snack all morning.  That's been worse than being caffeine-free for a week, but I've managed it and don't usually snack after I've had my lunch so I think this morning has been pretty successful for me and I'm proud of myself.  I just hope that I don't seriously over-do the snacking as a reward tomorrow lol

I've officially gone...

...for a week without caffeine (technically 8 days 'cos I didn't have any caffeine last Sunday, so my last taste of caffeine was last Saturday morning) and this week has been a struggle, not because of the lack of caffeine, but because I've had an exhausting couple of weeks and the caffeine would have given me a boost to get through each day while still being able to function.

How am I feeling?

Exhausted.  I've got no energy and I could easily sleep right now, but I'm also proud of myself for getting through this week/8 days without even the merest hint of caffeine.  I've had a bad couple of weeks and my body has been struggling throughout, but I know now that I can get through bad times without the (almost) daily hit of (medically approved, watered down) caffeine, so that's a relief.

How will I cope when I have my first hit of caffeine?

I really don't know.  I haven't missed the taste, so I reckon I'll still be mainly caffeine-free and only have it when I need to wake up after a bad night or exhausting previous day or whatever, instead of having it every day just because it's been medically approved for me.  I'm just going to take the re-introduction very slowly and carefully.  I'll have a mug tomorrow morning to wake me up and then listen to my body after that and try and only have caffeine when I really need it rather than out of habit.

I'm relieved and proud that I've got through this week, but I'm thinking that maybe I should have delayed it until I'd properly recovered from the last two weeks lol

Today (4th September 2026) I'm grateful for...

...my unwanted food being picked up three times today (two Olio-er's and a Freegler), the Freegle stuff going, the middle cupboard finally being emptied, washing the mugs up and putting them onto Freegle.  I'm also grateful that I'll be getting rid of everything except the mugs on Monday.

I'm grateful that my diet is still improving and that my body is coping so well with having to rapidly re-learn how to process solids.

I'm grateful that I found OddBox and that it's opened up a whole new healthy world of variety to me.  I've been able to discover new-to-me fruits and veg that there is no way I would have done otherwise.

I'm grateful that Morrisons have officially started stocking mince pies so that I can snack on a box of those every day to keep my calorie count up.

I'm grateful that I've been able to have protein today and that I had a solid breakfast this morning.

I'm grateful that I'm still able to move today and that I can hopefully have a long soak in a hot bubble bath tomorrow morning... I think I deserve it.

Today's (21st August 2026) lunch photo

I'm immensely proud of today's lunch of 8 vegan "chicken pieces" and 10 "air fryer hash brown bites" with approx 10g of Vegan Mayonnaise and a 330ml can of a Sparkling Mango pop.  

The "chicken pieces" were really dry and it was definitely missing the veg, but this is the closest I've had to a proper me-made meal in a very very long time.  I know how to improve it starting on Tuesday because I haven't got any frozen veg until my groceries get delivered on Tuesday morning but I'm gonna try spraying some oil on the pieces tomorrow.  If I feel adventurous on Monday then I might try the chicken pieces with a sweet potato that'll hopefully be delivered in my OddBox overnight on Monday.

Here's today's lunch photo:

Today's (10th August 2026) tea photo

I'm soooooooo proud of myself right now!!  I've had 3 solid meals and haven't snacked at all!

I've just eaten and washed up the plate from today's tea of 2 slices of medium-sliced wholemeal toast and 'Buttery' spread.

Here's today's tea photo:

I'm so proud of myself right now!!

In the last 4 days, in no particular order, I've:

• had my phone line switched over
• given away things to a Freegler
• emptied the first 2 of the 5 cupboards
• started to offer the things that I no longer need
• had a bath
• refilled my dosette box
• requested quotes for the removal of the Norway Maple
• packed away my new appliances
• managed to squeeze the packaging into another box
• crammed both under the surface in the kitchen
• taken my recycling out
• my rubbish is ready to go as soon as I wake up tomorrow
• my OddBox is waiting to be emptied and filled 

and I'm soooo proud of myself for everything I've achieved!

I've got a delivery due tomorrow, but I'm gonna treat myself soo gently for the next little while so that I can recover.

Today (30th July 2026) I'm grateful for...

...finally being digitally connected on my home phone and getting an emergency phone put in for free.

As if that wasn't enough, I've also successfully cooked my first ever fresh sweet potato for my lunch and it went down like a dream.

I'm also grateful that I've just created a (yet another) new blog to keep all of my recipes together and got my first recipe up already.  They will all be tried and tested by me personally, as opposed to pinched from somewhere online - if I haven't personally made it, then it won't be on there.

I'm also grateful that I did my exercises at sparrow's fart this morning 'cos there's no way I can do them this afternoon.

*ahem*

YYYYEEEESSSS!!!!

I realise that this may be nothing to many/most of you but it's a huuuuuuuuge deal for me!

I've just cooked and eaten my very first ever sweet potato totally alone that wasn't pre-prepared or frozen or pre-cooked or made in a restaurant... this literally came out of the ground, into my OddBox, into my air-fryer and into my mouth!

There were a couple of very small areas, no bigger than a 2p coin that could maybe have done with a few seconds more, but any more than that and it would have been overdone, so I'm counting it as a very successful meal!

I rubbed the oil all over it after scrubbing it with my new vegetable scrubbers that came yesterday and that worked perfectly too.

Today has been the best day that I've had for a very long time so I'm not gonna feel guilty for grinning like a loon for the rest of the day now!

Today (25th July 2026) I'm grateful for...

...getting my deliveries at a reasonable time and just about finding room for them all.  I'm rapidly running out of space so I'm thinking that I'll need to sort out the other cupboard by the chest freezer and all of the cupboards by the main counter, sooner rather than later.

I'm grateful that I've had two solid meals today and I'm proud of myself for not snacking anywhere near as much as I thought I would this morning.

I'm grateful that I tested my reaching ability into the freezer and finding that I can just about reach the bottom of it right at the front.  I've put loads of proteins onto my grocery order for Tuesday, so I'll be able to have all sorts of good things going into my body for the first time in years on end.

I'm grateful that I've had a pretty decent day today and I'm proud of everything I've managed to accomplish.

Today (13th July 2026) I'm grateful for...

...not snacking all morning after I'd had my breakfast and before I had my lunch.  I haven't got anything snackable, but if I had then I wouldn't have been able to finish my lunch and would then be hungry and snack again before my tea, which I wouldn't have and I'd be hungry at bedtime then!  Thankfully it was a cycle that I managed to avoid starting on, even though it was very tempting and it won't be so easy starting tomorrow 'cos I've got lots of snacks coming with my groceries.

I'm grateful that I've kept myself hydrated so far today and that I've put my personal phone and Visible on to charge up, so they will hopefully both be good to go before bedtime.

I'm grateful that my rubbish and recycling were both emptied this morning and I was able to bring the containers in and put them back into their homes reasonably early this week.

I'm grateful that today has been a good day so far and I'm gonna spend the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening hopefully finishing off going through Steve's current account statement so that I can start on his savings account that I didn't even know that he had until the bank told me so it'll be both interesting and heartbreaking to see what he was using that account for.

Nite nite orl

I'm just about up to the psychosis diagnosis in hopefully the last edit of my second memoir and it seems like a wise place to stop so that I don't get crushed by a psychotic episode tonight.  It feels like I've achieved a pretty decent amount today and I'm only 124 pages away from going through my memoir almost twice today and it feels like I'm on the home stretch with it now.

It's too late after waiting up for my delivery to take my evening pills, so I'm just gonna head on up to bed to see how long it takes me to fall asleep tonight.

My HLTH band is doing really well 'cos it's been around my ankle for 31 days so far and the battery is still at 44% and is still working which is awesome!  I'm gonna keep a closer eye on the battery and when/if it starts to struggle, it'll be straight on to charge up again, but a month per charge is awesome!

I'll see you all in the morning (or later tonight if my insomnia strikes again).

Nite nite orl

 

Nite nite orl

I'm proud of myself for discovering that I can have hot drinks to cool my body down enough to stop sweating, so it'll be drinking chocolates all day tomorrow.

I've popped my last two pills of the day so I'm gonna shut down now, after reminding myself to charge up my personal phone and Visible tomorrow and I've gotta keep an eye on my delivery too, just in case it's delivered earlier than Monday.

I've had a very good day today and I'm heading off to beddy-byes now.

I'll see you all in the morning.

Nite nite orl