I tan really easily, so at the moment people are asking where on earth I went to come back this colour! It definitely makes the thighs look thinner (and due to my increased bikini wearing the tan line seems to be much higher up this year

The gas people have me off today. While I was away they sent a letter saying they wanted to change the gas meter today. So I phoned and said there'd be no-one in during the day (ever) and did they work weekends. They said no, but they worked til 8 so could do after 6.

I dash home from work, get in at 5.59 and what do I find? A card saying they called at 12. I don't think there's any sense in which 12 is remotely near 6. I phone back and apparently when they say "after 6" on the phone, what they put on the computer is "afternoon". Again, debatable... Anyway, I've arranged another "after 6" appointment and they've noted on the computer that there won't be anyone in (also it's not a Friday which may have had something to do with their desire not to hang around!) so we'll see what happens.

I've made it to Tesco now so I have lots of nice food to tide me over for the next week or so. I really need to attack the garden tomorrow, I think I've got a 7 mile run tomorrow and 11 on Sunday, so fairly gentle (!) compared to before my holiday, I'm working back up, I think it's 18 miles next week.

I have stupidly bad lying-in problems! I was awake at half 6!!! Gah! Slight pain since I was up till 11pm sewing kickboxing trousers for Lee!! He's had a HUGE rip in his crotch for WEEKS and I keep telling him to sew it up or get his wife to. His wife says to buy a new pair and he won't sew them, so I offered. Mug ME? Anyway, he says don't sew them up with pink thread or anything!!! So I have sewn "SHENTIE" across the @rse in big red block caps, like those R&B chavvy trakky bums, with stuff like "hot stuff" and things on!

I've done it to annoy him, but I think he'll actually like it! It'll come off easily anyway - crap sewing on my part so it can be unpicked!

I'm contemplating having a nice after my 4.7 miles on the treadmill last night. I sweated so much my whole shirt was soaked - apart from my armpits! Hooray for Mitchum! I'll just have to bath in it next time! Thing is it's so hot and sticky it wouldn't be worth it! Might make me sleepy enough for a lie-in though!

DF should be home soon - he's been policing and is usually back by now, he must've arrested someone.

It's raining outside, but it's still no sun just sticky! Great

oh and yesterday lunch I changed my brake pads on my bike. All by myself! I'm so proud! If there's one thing better than doing your own mechanic work, it's doing it in a little black dress and flip-flops!

Woo Hoo!!! Well done!

Its just nice here - not too hot - hazy sunshine. Loads of bunnies, deer and other assorted wildlife out for the dogs to chase - when it gets too hot the wildlife all stays indoors.

D'oh! Do you ever have a mental lapse and forget a word that you use a lot? My dogs have got what their trainer called an imperitive command - it is 'still' - when I say 'still' the boys immediately turn in to doggy statutes until I give the release word - and today I needed to use the imperitive command but I couldn't remember what the blummin release word was!!!! D'oh! I could see George (stuck in mid-stride statue mode ) looking at me out of the corner of his eyes doing the doggy equivalent of raising his eyebrows and tutting - but no matter what I said they would NOT release until I finally remembered the right word.

Ooh! Nearly forgot - I mentioned it on the weigh in thread but, after all my worrying, things weren't too bad when I got on the scales this morning - only a 2lb gain. I really felt like it would be more. Anyway - new nutrition plan starts today with homemade blueberry smoothie mixed with oats for breakfast.

What well trained doggy statues

Yes.... but I got the feeling they were having a good chuckle at me frantically struggling for the right word. Well, maybe not Fred - he's a serious dog - but George certainly was because when I finally did get them released he dropped his jaw (doggy laugh) and his eyes were sparkling.

Woo Hoo! I just went to change my sig to show my weight increase - only to find that I haven't actually gained any weight at all. My weight is still 13st 4lbs - the same as it was a month ago. For some reason I thought I was two pounds lighter than I was (probably because at 13st 2lbs my BMI goes down to less than 30 which is one of my targets).

I've just been to the gym and done 8k a bit faster than marathon pace on the treadmill. It was meant to be 7 miles, but I got bored and decided not to force myself to do it, the long runs are more important at this stage so I'll save myself for tomorrow. If I'm feeling good and the weather's nice I might add the 2 miles onto that and do 13 instead of 11.

I posted on the weigh in thread, but somehow I've managed to lose weight over the last two or three weeks since I last went to the gym. I have no idea how on the basis I was eating and drinking loads on holiday and haven't done nearly as much exercise as normal, but I definitely have (and today I'm wearing a dress that's definitely looser than it used to be).

I really must do some cleaning today, the weather isn't worthy of sitting outside at the moment but if it brightens up I might take my Spanish books and some wine and go and sit in the park to do work through them.

Well done on your weight both Sarah and Helen!

You guys RAWK!

Thank you for saying I RAWK. RAWK ?????? Wassat mean?

I've just been experimenting again - making a baked lemon cheesecake this time - without the bottom crust bit. Just (bleugh) seived cottage cheese, eggs, f/f Greek yoghurt, lemons and 1tbs flour and splenda. 90 cals a portion. I hope it tastes the same as it smells. Yum!

Its just about sunny here now.

Just about to do an at home arms & back w/o - with the fan trained on me turned on high.

Ah Sarah that should taste great. I make the cheesecake (also with no base) from Rick Gallop's Low GI book - althought I like to grate in some lime and sprinkle with cinammon as it's a bit bland without. It's really nice and lasts us about 3 days. It's nice with rasps or straws on top, too! Well done Sarah and Helen on the weight front, too! My best friend's civil ceremony was at the start of the month and that - coupled with some major stresses - took me off track for the first time in a year. Daren't weigh myself til I've been back on track a week or two! Is annoying because I'd got down to my lowest weight in about 6 years, until I went nuts.

Ah well, I'm back now and hoping you lot can motivate me to keep going! I only had 2lbs left to lose now I bet it's at least half a stone! Brave Sarah getting on the scales afer being off track - I ain't going to til I've behaved myself a week or two. Last week was the first anniversary of my new way of eating and apart from this past 3 week blip, I'd stuck to it religiously, and had lost 40lb (nearly 3 stone).

Oh and Sarah getting that BMI into 'overweight' (I started out 'obese') was a big, big factor for me, psychologically - it kept me going for months after!

PhatPhoenix - you can do it! I'm sending lots of your way. You and I probably both need a regular to keep us on track.

I wasn't brave - I was just getting very worried that I might go back to my old ways. My mind was playing tricks on me, when I looked in the mirror I thought I was convinced that I was bigger than I had been, even though my clothes were still okay and I was exercising better than usual (probably the extra calories helping).

I don't even really know why I lost the plot - I had always planned to take a rest week after I finished my BfL Challenge - NOT a rest month!

I hadn't thought about putting cinnamon on the cheesecake - nice idea!

Apart from the BMI targets, I've set myself a whole variety of interim goals and I get a great deal of satisfaction when I cross them off the list.

The monsoon season has finally started yay rain and 4 rather wet and soggy pee'd off cats

Ha ha! Nothing worse than soggy pee'd off cats. Mind you, ours (sadly all dead now) would enjoy shaking themselves dry all over us and then sitting on our laps with a "what?, so I am wet, I will soon dry on your lap!!!"

Funny you should say that ...........

It was my ginger tom (Fraggle) that pee'd me off the most, he sat on the coffee table, shook, made some strange meeping noise , then promptly upchucked into my lap arghhhhhhhhhhhhh, guess the heat had got to the poor sod

On the subject of cats we've been on holiday got back today opened up the house sat down to have a cup of tea and out strolled a black cat. I screamed was not expecting that and I'm jumpy at the best of times. He was very affectionate and dry and it was pouring down with rain today so don't see how he could have come in with us today.

He was quite skinny and we were really worried he'd been in for a week but can't find any poo and had no interest whatsoever in the water we put down for him so all I can think of is that he got in yesterday when the neighbour used our key to water the plants. Strange or what he had no interest in leaving either and proceeded to rub against us for lots of fuss but we put him out the back door and he was lolling about in the garden. No idea whose cat he is I've never seen him before so unless he belongs to the new neighbours its a mystery.

Wherever he lays his hat is his home! They do like to make themselves at hom, don't they. I am always amused of tales of cats who moved in with the next door neighbrours! This seems to happen all the time!