No resolutions here just a wish that all of my family and friends… really everyone remains healthy, happy and fulfilled.

I’ve had an awesome year. For all of it’s ups and downs there have mostly been ups. Learning experiences. Friends lost and friends gained. New opportunities and chances not taken.  It’s what makes me the me I am and my life the life I love. No regrets.

My aim for this year is as it has been for a many years now,  to be kind to others and not be afraid to take chances. I would like to have the confidence I had when I moved to England. 5 1/2 years of being a stay at home mom has sapped me of it. So again this year I will strive to get it back.

Happy New Year from Lindy, Wal and Squidge!

This weekend I drove down to Bognor Regis is a haaaaaa-yuge Kia Sedona. Why would I drive to Bognor Regis and why… how.… what was I doing with a Kia Sedona that didn’t belong to me? Well it was the Tots100 Xmas party of course! The car was provided by Kia UK and organized by the ever talented and brilliant Sally Whittle. Out of nothing she makes magic! I drove down with Ruth of GeekMummy fame and we had a fantastic drive down. The Sedona was a dream to drive even if I did worry I was going to side swipe people as I drove passed them. We also had a tricky time driving up a multi-story carpark while in search of popcorn but that’s a story for another day.

The Tots100 Xmas party was at Butlin’s. As an American I don’t have as much ‘baggage’ in regards to Butlin’s and found it to be nice. There were lots of Hi-de-Hi! jokes that I just didn’t get and had to turn to the interwebz for help.  There were loads and loads to do with families… it is a family resort after all.  I didn’t take Squidge with me as she had a Rainbows event to attend so I missed out on the full Butlin’s experience.

What I didn’t miss out on was the full Tots100 Xmas party experience! Sally had organised a “get to know you social” on Saturday afternoon.  She got us into four teams and decorated trees. The trees were then judged by some Butlin’s folks.  Our tree won thanks in part to my cranberry stringing!  I should have made an acceptance speech and said that our win wouldn’t have been possible without the sacrifice made by Ruth.  I stuck her a couple of times w/ the needle and she almost lost an eye.  That is dedication people!

In the evening we had dinner at Turners, Butlin’s flagship restaurant. I was a bit confused as to who Brian Turner was but it was all explained to me.  The food was really good. Because I’m doing weight watcher’s I was eeerm watching what I was eating so I filled up on the veg– to die for brussels sprouts and nicely cooked green beans. I could have also eaten the hell out of the stuffing and would have gladly given back my turkey for another portion of stuffing.  Can you say carb-aholic?

All and all a really fun time. I did regret not bringing Squidge (and Dad) as I don’t think I’ll ever make it back down to Bognor Regis.  Once I found out how crazy good the rates Sally got for us I was really really sorry!

As today is Wednesday or “get on the scale fatty“day I’ll fill you in on my stats!

Week 16. Weight lost this week: –1.5 Weight loss in total 16.

Isn’t that awesome?? I mean I won’t lie I wish I was a faster loser– like 2 lbs a week but I’ll take the 1 lb a week. Steady. Steady.  A recap of how I did this past week, here’s  a screen grab.  On Tuesday it was a doozy of a day with 43 pro points used!  I really do struggle with going out to eat. Yes, I do have the eating out guide but it’s only helpful if I go out to the “popular” restaurants.  I met a friend for lunch at the cafe in Booths and had a chicken club sandwich and chips. Now I know I should have stayed clear of the chips. Just because I know this doesn’t mean I do it. I’m weak!!

I don’t think I’ve ever used so many weekly pro points. I tend to ignore them as I don’t want to start to rely on them. I weighed in the following day and had lost 1 1/2 lbs. I’m think that 43 point day is going to come back and bite me on the ass next week. I’ll keep you posted!

I also have a recipe to share! I know me and every other blogger!! On Monday I only used 19 pro points! I didn’t set out to use so little daily points but it just worked out that way.

Breakfast was my usual porridge but after 2 spoonfuls I didn’t want any more. Then it was a mad dash to go to GP’s office, petrol station, back home for plasterer and kitchen designer. By the time I had a moment to eat anything it was almost 2.  A quick sandwich for lunch and I’d only used up 5 pro points. For dinner I made a reduced fat version of  a family favorite. Baked chicken w/ cream of mushroom soup. Next time I make this recipe I’ll probably skip the tin of WW cream of chicken soup.  I had tons of “sauce” and because I didn’t make any rice or potatoes with the meal it went to waste.

The ingredients are

2 skinless chicken breasts (bone in)

1 tin of Morrison’s cream of mushroom soup

1 tin of WW cream of chicken soup

onions

mushrooms

low cal spray

salt/pepper to taste

I think you can see the cooking instruction.

I finely sliced and sauteed some savoy cabbage as a substitution for rice or potatoes. I did miss my rice but for 0 Weight Watchers pro points the cabbage was deeeeeelish! I don’t know about you but 0 pro point foods taste so much better.  I think it’s because it’s missing that side of guilt!

Sally had some very nice surprises for us one of which was a chance to have our hair done by a professional hairdresser. So after meeting some bloggers for an early supper I headed back to the hotel to get my hair did! It was very nice to be pampered like that. I opted to walk to the awards at the TalkTalk’s Customer Experience Centre as it wasn’t very far away and it was a beautiful day. So armed with my trusty iPhone I headed out. Unfortunately my phone is dying a sloooooow and painful death, after a few wrong turns I made it safe and sound to the awards. I got there a bit early but took the opportunity to get familiar with the location.  Sally had organized a professional photographer to take photos of everyone as they entered the TalkTalk Centre– very red carpet!  Soon things started to roll and I spent the evening chatting, drinking, taking photographs of some beautiful women (and a couple of handsome blokes) and just having a fantastic time.  I want to thank Sally for all her hard work it really was a fabulous night. I don’t think there was one problem and if there were any no one was any wiser and that’s what matters.

As you probably guessed by the mere fact of my not mentioning it– I didn’t win! Boo! Hiss! There is always next year! So thank you so very very much to everyone who voted for me. Roll on next year– Imma gonna kick some ass… maybe.

Last month I received an email from Kellogg’s asking me if I wanted to attend a Spa day at the Lowry Hotel. I almost fell over myself saying YES, PLEASE!  You see I’ve never had a spa treatment so was very excited about the prospect of being pampered for the day.  I also really really like Kellogg’s, I mean who doesn’t love Snap, Crackle and Pop? Not to mention Crunchy Nut.  Although they’re a big corporation they’re all about giving back to the community and I was curious about what they had in the pipeline.  I wasn’t disappointed in the presentation or the spa treatment.

First let me get to the treatment. We all met at the Lowry Hotel and promptly got nekkid! Nothing says HELLO like getting naked in front of bloggers you’ve only met a time or two.  Once we were all dressed in our fabulous white robes we went out to meet our lovely… spa ladies? Beauty technicians? Ladies with the magic hands? I enjoyed my very first ever treatment– a facial.  I had to work had to relax and not think about things I needed to do. I didn’t need to do anything expect enjoy the moment. The it was manicure time. Wonderful. Fantastic.  Soon it was lunch time. Yum. Yummo. Yum. I tried to stay heathly which wasn’t too difficult to do as all the options were pretty healthy.

OK now onto why Kellogg’s got us all together. They’re heavily involved in breakfast. I know, you’re all shocked at my breaking news. Honestly they take breakfast seriously and want us all, especially kids, to eat something. I don’t think they’re going to lie and say they wouldn’t prefer we all ate a couple of bowls of Kellogg’s cereal but in reality they just want us all to just eat breakfast. So with this in mind they have something exciting coming up so watch this space.