General Chit Chat!

have a great holiday angels!
how's everyone else here today? out enjoying the sunshine i expect! hope you've all had a good day; i've been for an hour's swim which was lovely and got my best time ever, 60 laps in an hour, breaststroke, so i'm quite chuffed! i did four more to make up the mile but it was lovely in there today, really quiet, had the lane to myself bliss! here's to a long hot summer so i can have more swim sessions like that!!


this morning i went into town and bought a juicer!! has anyone else got one? I've been wanting to get one for ages; i paid a bit more than i was going to initially as i wanted a really good one and spent ages researching them on the net to be sure of what i was looking for; it's a philips professional juicer, and it came with a free book! guess what i'll be doing tomorrow morning!! it seems quite straightforward and i can put whole fruit in or pieces of fruit; can't wait to try it out!!

no i don't have a juicer Kate - I have had them in the past and like the breadmaker and the blender etc they get used loads when i first get them then they are stuck at the back of the cupboard then bits go missing and they end up getting chucked out l- \i really am careless at times- are you having fun with yours?

what another cracking day its been - such a shame to have to work - but nought else for it don't have to go back for a week now which is a nice thought

60 laps in an hour is great - is it a full length pool? I am looking forward to increasing my swimming

Wasn't it a lovely day yesterday! I went out with the family on the train to the Bristol Vegan Fayre. It was like a mini festival with bands and things, really nice day out.

I've got a juicer Kate, it's a Vitamix. Once you get into the habit of using them everyday it's great.

Had a bit of food trouble when I got home though. Although there was lots of nice food at the fayre I don't do well in the heat and didn't feel like eating really, just had a small pizza (very small).

So when I got home we stopped off at m&s in the station and I bought some sub rolls, cooked chicken and salad (thought I was being healthy). ate my food without checking calories (big mistake) Didn't realise the sub rolls were 350 cals each before I even added anything. oh well.

Carol - If I was closer I'd come and give you a slap (in a good way yopu understandx)Ive said it before so many times - you are unbelieveable in what you do. Your commitment to the gym is amazing and I wish I'd got the drive to go back to uni. There is nothing wrong with a B - you passed !!!! thats the main thing.

I know you are right logically Stella - and I am trying to rationalise it - but maybe I do need a metaphorical slap lol - its just made me want to get college done and dusted and onto the actual psychology degree I am telling myself it just shows that I should have stuck to the subjects i usually use and it shows I am on the right track - if i had been going to uni to do politics - I would/should maybe be more worried - but *shrugs shoulders* hindsights a wonderful thing -thanks for the offer of the friendly slap though

Well i have just done the house from top to bottom so having a quick surf on the net and then will dive off to the gym. what's everyone else up to today?

Im just trying to get through the last hour and a half of work - feel like poo today!!!

Oh no thats not so great - not nice when you feel crap and have to push on at work - at least you don't have long to go now.

Well I made it to the end of the day - just got to get through today. Its so bloomin hot here I feel like a wilted lettuce!! Can you believe they've got the heating on!!!

thats great - that's mental having the heating on hopefully they will switch it off for today - looks like its gonna be another fantastic day today woo hoo

The control on the radiator is broken so although we've got the office heating turned off the radiator in the corridor is blasting out heat!!

It's bloomin lovely here and I'm stuck in work

Starbuck wrote:

Wasn't it a lovely day yesterday! I went out with the family on the train to the Bristol Vegan Fayre. It was like a mini festival with bands and things, really nice day out.

Jealous! Totally wanted to go. Was there lots of stalls there?

There was more than I thought i'd probably say about 50, although it was sooo hot and we had an hour and a half journey home on the train so couldn't take advantage of buying loads of the lovely food they had on offer (enjoyed sampling it though).

It was just nice to go somewhere where we didn't have to worry about finding something for hubby to eat, he just enjoyed eating everything he could find.

How's everyone doing today?

Here in Cardiff it's still very hot, although not so much as yesterday.

Have spent the morning in the park with the boys and am now sitting down and having my first cup of tea for the day, watching Mickey Mouse clubhouse with the little one whilst 3yr old is in nursery.

Getting back to eating right after a bit of a hap hazard week, had a nice ham salad wrap for dinner and am having homemade chicken chow mein for tea.

Getting quite excited about Big Brother tonight too

Hope everyone else is having a good day

Hi everyone

Glad the weathers still good for you Starbuck - here yesterday it was cloudy and quite cold. Today its warmed up and is sunny but not as hot as it has been.

Not having a good day myself today. Ok foodwise just bad news.

Sorry to hear that Stella

Life's just so unfair sometimes

its a bit cooler here today

first cup of tea of the day at 2pm - have the kids kept you on your feet all day then - sometimes when you don't get a cuppa for ages it tastes all the better. chicken chow mein sounds nice - do you do a veggie version for your hubby or does he get his own thing when you have meat? I think I am going to make mexican chicken with rice.

Stella - sorry you are having a bad day - your work day is getting close to finishing time so maybe it will just get better from now on

I am just plodding through my last college essay. really want to get it handed in tomorrow and that will be me almost done woohoo.

I do make some meals the same but with meat or veggie, like our friday night curry. Somedays we just have different stuff though, tonight he wanted sweet and sour noodles with tofu and I really can't stand sweet and sour, so that's why im having chow mein.

Sorry if I brought the mood down today. You may see on the news - especially you Irnbru as you're in Scotland - there was an accident on the M74 in the early hours of this morning one man dies the other is critical. They are members of our installations team.

I couldnt type it earlier.

Ive got cheer up before I see my mum.

Thanks by the way for hoping my day gets better - so do I xx

Back to food - what do you think I should have at the meal - traditional pub grub.

So sorry Stella that's awful.

Hopefully seeing your mum will help you take your mind off it a bit.

Not sure about food, i'm hopeless with things like that, always spend forever purusing the menu and then decide at the very last minute (and regret it).

Stella please don't apologise, no wonder you are feeling upset - it is going to be hard to put a brave face on for your mum. You didn't bring things down at all. It must have been a shock for the whole work place - no wonder it's been difficult getting through the day.

Hope tonight will be an ok evening for you. The pub meal should be no problem - there are often healthier options like soup or baked potato, do you like salmon - is that something you could have? It's just the extras you have to avoid like the combo platters, garlic bread and sauces.

Well - it's a new day !

Am feeling better today - sorry if I put a downer on everyone yesterday - it says something for this forum though when you feel like you can come on here and share news like that. Thank you.

As for the meal - I ordered piri piri chicken but the small version ( half a chicken breast) which came with salsa, peppers, onions and sour cream plus my mum ordered cheesey garlic bread without me knowing. I ate the chicken, about 3 of the chips (seriously) and had one mouthful of the garlic bread which I thought was quite good. At one time I would have eaten at least half of the garlic bread and polished off all the chips - I felt quite guilty when I looked at what Id left but then also felt quite proud as I ate till I felt full and then stopped.
My mum (tiny wee thing) polished off half a chicken, 5 king prawns, 2 and a half slices of garlic bread and chips !! I dont know how she does it!!!

Glad you are feeling better today, it must have been a terrible shock.

I am impressed at being able to stop at 3 chips and one bite of garlic bread - I am not sure I would have managed to stop at one bite - in fact strike that, I love garlic bread - i would have scoffed it - well done.

what a gorgeous day again - i though it was over as it was raining this morning but that's the sun out again - long may it last - Its so easy to be optimistic when the sun is shining.

Well I am just back from college, and I just need to get an email from my tutor about my last essay when it is marked and thats me finished the whole course. Ooh I don't know where to start I have so many things I want to do with the summer and I feel like I can finally start them properly.

I just have to work out what I am going to wear tomorrow night for the college night out - one of my mates is saying she is getting glamed up and so should I be - will maybe have to drag out the stuff I put away and see if i can find something as everything seems to be badly fitting at the moment, even the top my MIL got me is dropping off my shoulder a bit - but I could maybe wear it with a nice black cami top undereath and see if I can fit into those black trousers yet...

Starbuck - a question for you - is tofu easy to cook with? - does it absorb the flavours of whatever you are mixing it with? how long does it take to cook - do you put it in the same time as the veg or cook the tofu first then add the veg.? - I am a bit clueless, sorry

Tofu is great to cook with, it really absorbs all the flavour whilst cooking. How I cook it depends on who for and what were having.

I always fry it in a tiny bit of fry light for a while and then add veg and everything, it stays spongy and has an eggy texture. However my hubby dosn't like it like that and I fry it in oil for him and it goes all crispy round the edges, he dosn't like the soft texture.

I like it both ways but obviously because i've been healthy eating I do it without the oil.

Although on a Saturday night we usually have my speciality "General Tsao's tofu" which is tofu in batter which is fried, although I don't have as big a portion as I used to have.

The main thing with tofu is to try and drain most of the water out before cooking. I just put the block between two plates and put a pan top for about a few hours before cooking.

Won't be having General Tsao's this Saturday night though, were taking my eldest to see the Monster Trucks in the Millenium Stadium (think me and hubby are more excited than he is)

Sorry for the long post

Hope everyone is ok. Got back off hols a couple of days early - long story!!! Weather had been fab but its a lot cooler and windy at home.

Enjoy Monster Trucks Starbuck - I bet my son would love that!

Not had a totally awful food week but certainly not as good as I would have done at home, I'm just hoping the scales don't shoot up too much!!