Saturday 18th - 10 days to go!!!!

Well done on the walking btw

Hello, I'm just back from running club, 7 miles on a fairly hilly route today.

I've got my magazine to read and decide whether I want to do the article. One thing that confuses me though - originally she said "glam photo shoot" and then when we spoke she said it would probably be running related because that's how I lost weight. I'm sorry, but me in lycra doesn't equal glam!!! Not even with my Kirkstall vest...

Helen I'm sure you'll look great!!

Chris-We watched Beatle Juice, it amazes me how a movie calms the kids down, it was sort of fitting for the rainy day.

I was proud of myself today, the bar across the street from my school serves great BBQ food, we go there every Friday for drinks. Anyway they were catering a big party today, but it turns out the party was actually tomorrow. Well they brought all of the food over to us for the staff. I had just finished my lunch which was pretty healthy, and I didn't touch the BBQ, now thats miraculous for me.

One of the girls in my class made a cake though so I had a little piece of it, I told myself it was to make her happy but of course I wanted it.

Oh well, weigh in tomorrow, I'm thinking I'll have maintained from last week which will be fine with me

Good Morning Ladies!

RSG - Cake .......... mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....! I'm sure you were much stricter with yourself after the little great.

Helen - Are they going to put you through a 'makeover'. I expect they will find some sexy running lycra for you - and I'm sure you'll look wonderful. Don't put yourself down!!!!

KJ - 10 days... woo hoooo! I hope your cold/asthma gets better - nothing worse than trying to smile, etc, when you are feeling awful.

Chris - Your weather sounds a lot like mine at the moment. Its a pain in the not knowing what to wear when going out for a long walk - I always managed to get it wrong. My waterproofs are cold weather Helly Hanson sailing stuff - very warm and completely waterproof - what I really need is something which is a waterproof but lightweight.

Well, Ellie seems to be settling in. There was a lot of bickering going on yesterday evening and poor Fred (who always has been a total coward) spent a lot of the evening with his face buried behind me or DH on the assumption that if he couldn't see Ellie then she wouldn't be able to see him (and labradors are supposed to be very bright?) Anyway, after we settled them down for the night with the boys in their room and Ellie in the dining room there was a lot of movement and whining going on and noone was settling so we put her in with the lads and it all went quiet. When I came downstairs this morning she was snuggled up with Fred on his bed and George was just a few inches away on her bed! Ahhhh! Now they seem to be making friends I'm going to try to walk all three of them at the same time. Wish me luck!

Thanks ladies for your ind get well wishes.

I felt total cr*p yesterday and really did not want to be in work but althoughh everyone else can sashay in when they want I cannot. For the past couple of weeks I have been out of puff and had no energy. Althoguh I was hungry last night I could not face eating anything. Funny, if I was at work and missed lunch I would have eaten the furniture!!

Anyway, the doc got me back on my 2 BP tablets and 1 wee tablet and today despite only a few hours sleep (up to early morning tidying up!), I feel ok. But why is it I can usually pee for England (TMI - I know!) but get me to pee in one of those tubes and it is pathetic! Went today for blood tests and to bring my 'liquid gold' with me to the nurse so should hear next week how I am.

Certainly feeling a lot perkier. Nice to see The Departmental 'Greek God' back from Japan. He bought me some lovely chopsticks! Too nice to use so I should practice on wooden ones (I have tried - even when in China - to use them and failed - well I would lose weight for sure!!)

Hope the walk has gone well Sarah - glad to see that the 3 of them are all getting along well

Peacock I hope everything goes okay for you at the doctors. Do they think the frequent wee thing could be diabetes? I think I read somewhere that weeing a lot is one of the symptoms (I've probably got it wrong!)

Your boss can't sack you for being off sick if the doctor has told you to take time off. If your BP is so high that you've been told not to work then you should really be at home taking it easy until the tablets kick in and you get the okay from your doctor.

The walk went fairly okay. I had to keep Ellie on a lead because Great Danes apparently have 'recall issues' - so I'll probably not take her lead off until DH's day off next week (if he gets one). She's a bit of a nutcase around water - and there's a lot of water where we walk. Fred took a run and jump in a peat pool and she took off after him and nearly dragged me in after her. They were good as gold with each other right until we were outside my own front door when she decided she wanted to sniff George's bits and he didn't like it so there was a bit of a scuffle. She has got SUCH a fascination for boy dogs' bits.

@ Ellie's fascination for doogy boy's bits... sounds like you've got mostly everything under control for the time being though Sarah.

KJ, keep yourself healthy for the wedding, we want all details when you have time please.

Peacock, glad to hear you're sounding better, just take it easy.

RSG, well done on the will power of no BBQ. I can pass BBQ up mostly, unless I think I'm famished, but walk me past a bakery and I'm done for.

Well it's finally stopped raining here, was really heavy through the evening and night, Pen and Lew looked at me like I was a mad person, expecting them to go and have a bed time wee. They were very quick to go out and lift legs or squat, of course, that then meant that Lew had to have his snuffle around on my bed before I got in, to dry himself off...we had words about it last night, as he managed to get in the bed, pillow's flying and the sheets and quilt all ruffled before I even got to the bedroom... mind you, I really shouldn't complain, when we moved back to AZ, his favourite trick was to go downstairs in the middle of the night, and have a dip in the pool, come back up a soggy mess, and jump on the bed! That's not fun at all, waking up to a big puddle saturating through your bed clothes.... but we do love him.

I ate so healthily yesterday, lots of greens and my tum still feels full, I think it's full of wind though, it might well be a very smelly day around these parts.

Ok, time to get to curves, see you all later.

Morning .

Sarah Ann it sounds like you have your hands full!

Peacock - glad you are feeling better. Greek God eh? Sounds interesting!

Redsoxgirl - Mmmm bbq! I've discovered since moving over here how much I love southern bbq, course none of it is good for you so I have it every now and again. I looooooove brisket! We're going to Texas in November to spend Thanksgiving with some friends and husband has promised me some Texas bbq which I've heard is excellent.

Britinnj - it stopped raining here too, we had a **** of a time getting up the driveway and onto the road yesterday I almost felt like I was doing motor cross. Today it is expected to reach 74. The chickens are sad though, they love the rain.

I'm looking forward to a fairly quiet weekend after last weekend's madness. A friend of mine is having a yard sale (jumble sale) so I offered to go help her out and am taking a few old things to try sell. One of the items is my old "fat" winter coat that I bought when I was at my biggest. It buries me now. If I get 10 quid for it I'll be happy! Sunday I'm watching movies, I rented Friends with Money, Layer Cake (getting warmed up for Daniel Craig as Bond!) and Whale Rider so I'm going to stay in my jammies all day and lounge around on the sofa!

Whats different about Southern and/or Texan BBQ to what we do over here?? I love normal BBQ but I think thats because when we have a BBQ its always a social occasion - and theres nothing nicer than chillin' out in the garden with some good friends, some nice food and a few glasses of wine!

To anyone here who's got a girl dog - are they ALWAYS very particular about their personal hygiene *polite cough* down below - or does this constant cleaning mean that Ellie is likely to be coming in to season soon? Not that I'm panicking .... well, not much anyway! And... if she is coming in to season is there anything I'm supposed to do????? Everyone round here has either got boy dogs or spayed females.

Two boy dogs here Sarah Ann so no help on Ellie!

As for the food, what we call bbq back home, the Americans would call grilling. As in, cooking burgers, sausages, steak etc. over a grill. I learned that difference quick. Barbecue food over here (well, in Tennessee/Alabama anyway) is typically meat cooked low and slow, served with rich sauces. My favourite is brisket which my husband cooks on a smoker outside for 8 hours or so, then finishes off in the oven on very low heat for a couple of hours covered in spicy/sweet sauce. Another popular dish down here is pulled pork, which is pork again cooked slow then shredded. I like that served over a baked potato. I haven't had Texas bbq yet so I'll let you know how that is when I get back from Thanksgiving .

The biggest barbecue festival/cookoff in the world takes places in Lynchburg, Tennessee which is about 30 minutes from where we live. We've forgotten about it that past few years though! Apparently one year a British couple came top in their class, which tickled me no end!

Girlie dogs, well Pen has been spayed, so she cleans herself but not constantly, how old is Ellie? I think she's young right? She could be coming in for season, just put some old towels around where she lay's or you could be in for some mess...

More later, got to go, someone wants to talk to me

Lynne - when you say that the meat is cooked long and low - is that over a BBQ like here - just up higher so it stays cooler - or is it put in to a container to cook (braised/boiled)? If the second then could I reproduce the long slow cook using a slow cooker? Yum - I love discovering 'new' food and I've got some brisket in the freezer!!!!

Chris - we aren't really sure how old she is. Being a rescue dog everyone has just estimated her age. She's obviously had a litter of puppies at some stage in her life but, even so, shes very puppy like in her behaviour - she wants to play ALL the time. Having said all that, I am judging her by Labrador standards so I'm probably wrong.

Yes Sarah, the meat is cooked over charcoal. Our smoker has the meat set quite high above the coals. DH cooks it very low I'd have to ask him what temperature. He then finishes it off in the oven at 250 for 2 hours, smothered in sauce.

You could replicate this in a slow cooker, however you would lose all of the smoky taste that comes with cooking over coals. I like to take a small beef roast and cook it on low for 8 hours in the slow cooker in a little liquid. I then shred it and mix in bbq sauce. Yummy. Really yummy. Makes very good open faced sandwiches. You could also use chicken or pork.

That sounds really yummy! I've got some of that liquid smoke stuff - impulse purchase last summer - so maybe I could put in a little of that to reproduce the smokey flavour.

I'm doing something strange with sauerkraut tonight. You put a base layer of thick cut sweet potatoes on the bottom of a roaster, on top of that goes a layer of pork cubes which have been pre-browned - then on top of that goes several cloves of finely chopped garlic mixed with one finely chopped green chili, a large chopped cooking apple and chopped onion - then on top of that goes a large jar of sauerkraut mixed with a tablespoon of dark brown sugar, some nutmeg and caraway seeds. Once you've got the layers done you pour over 2 teaspoons of white wine vinear and a wine glass of white wine. Then you cover it and bake it VERY slowly for 6 hours. I've not cooked this before and it smells absolutely wonderful - hope it tastes the same as it smells - although it is a bit of a strange combination.