Thanks Michelle

Helen, that run sounds brutal, at least you made it in before the rain. We have muddy shoes here too...J went paintballing last night and came home covered in the stuff. Came in without his boots on thank God, and then decided he'd slip his great big size 11's into my shoes (8 1/2) to go and bring his stuff in... made me laugh as he shuffled across the floor trying to keep his toes wedged in... BOYS!

Nice day here again today, I have more washing going, all of J's uniforms, so they're going out on the line in a mo...hopefully the fresh breeze blowing will get rid of the fuel and oil smell that the washing powder doesn't seem to get out.

I think I'll attempt another go at moving te spare room around today, that should give me a work out...I've been putting it off for weeks now and it needs to be done.

See you all later

Chris those stories are sad, the one about the little boy is awful.

I just left my second job, I work at Childrens Hospital part time and there was this little boy around 2 standing in the lobby at the wishing well. I was looking for my sunglasses in my bag and I realized I had some Hershey kisses from school. I asked his Dad if he could have one and he said sure so I gave him one. So his Dad says, say thank you and he said "I was just going to make a wish, then say thank you." He was so adorable, poor little guy was in his johnny and a diaper. I gave him another one and he said "thank you, my name is Cameron." I left there thinking how stupid some of the things are that I let myself get upset about. This little guy was having a great time throwin pennies with his Dad while being a patient at the hospital.

On a cheerier note, very nice day here, going for a run later, and possibly dinner with the ladies.

Have a great one all.

Hi I'm back! I had a GREAT time - despite staying in a house which needed cleaning from top to bottom on the day we arrived (ewww - how can people live like that???) I've done loads of walking but I've also done loads of eating... I think I've gained about a stone (14 pounds)... possibly more - I'm VERY worried about getting on the scales. Blummin' cream teas!

I'm typing one handed. Something has happened to my fingers on my right hand - not sure what - but the top joints of the middle three fingers feel like I've slammed them in a door - and sometimes the next joints down feels the same way - owwwwww I'm hoping it'll go away now I'm home.

Mmm cream teas, don't set me off! Glad you had a good time, and I'm sure the weight gain (if there is any) is both worth it and temporary

RSG, aren't children's hospitals wonderful. I used to go to CHOP in Philly and was amazed at the kids there....wonderful little human beings and the docs and nurses are fab.

Welcome home Sarah, glad to hear you had a fab time... I enjoyed AZ too, although it wasn't the 'cure' for Hannah as I had silently hoped. But it was nice to be in the sunshine and interact with friends, rather than while my way about this house. Don't worry about those cream teas, you can hardly go to Devon or Cornwall and not have them, it's the law Hope the fingers feel better after a good nights sleep in your own bed and nice clean house... hope those swappers left yours as clean as they found it, they sound like a mangy family

I've got a horrible headache this afternoon and evening, have taken some pills and it's lifted a bit, but I think it'll be a hot bath and an early night for me.

Blummin jeans! I bought 2 pair from Marks & Spencer £9,50 each. Bargain! I thought. But they are those very low waisted jeans and although I go size 20 not 18 - the button rests on my saggy tum and is quite painful, plus of course I expost acres of tum too. Gross! I cannot be bothered to take them back - I think I will see if they look any better if/when I lose a bit of weight (by then they will be very baggy! I did get some joggers that look comfy though. I just needed a comfy pair of trousers. Is that too much to ask for?????

Hello all!

Michelle - you could be onto something there about your "off switch". I think I read that babies whose mothers were malourished while they were pregnant and gave birth to underweight babies were more likely to be obese in later years because they were programmed to eat as much as possible because they had been effectively starved in the womb... So yes indeed I think you're right.

Doughnut - WTG on the swimming! I swimming, I found a great pool, unfortunately most of me is usually too tired to go at the moment! However when things shuffle down a bit, I will probably have some more energy to go at the weekend.

Chris - that's really sad.

Helen - I feel tired just reading about your running, and also... Strangely motivated! I'm going to do a little bit of treadmill today I think, but my knee is a tiny tiny bit fragile. We walked TONS on Saturday and I just stretched my leg out in bed last night and something clicked in my knee, so I will take it a bit easy. Have you heard about Lasso sprints? If you're aiming for a 4 hour marathon, then you should be able to do a Lasso Sprint in 4 minutes... You sprint for 800m. So you sprint 800m in your marathon time in minutes, then slow down the running for the same amount of time, then do your 4 minute 800m again. I think you aim to do 4 to start off with and try to get up to 10 intervals. Sounds like fun!

Sarah - Hello! Cream teas sound FUN! I ate about half an M&S banoffee pie at the weekend, and you know what? I don't care at all, since the scales are the same this morning as they were on Friday And I DON'T CARE that there wasn't any protein in it!

hello RSG and er... anyone I've missed!

Sooooooo, I saw Kylie on Friday and she is looking really well. I met her Fiance and he is such a sweetie! We went to Pizza Express (surprise....!) and it was fantastic! Oooooh and the ring is lovely! It's a square saphire surrounded with diamonds and they go around the band a bit as well. It's white gold. I really like it! They've set a date for the wedding - September 08 and they are completely luvved up! They were off to Luxembourg on the coach on Friday night. I don't envy them! I hate travelling overnight on the coach, but they said that the plane prices were horrendous. So I suppose I'd do the same!

DH and I went to see a comidienne at the SoHo Theatre - Josie Long. She is just starting out, and I actually stayed in the same room as her when I went to a Summer School when I was 9!!!! But she was very good and I feel she will be successful when she has her act a little more polished, but the unpolishedness off it was actually fairly sweet too!

On Saturday we got up at 5:15am.... And got the tube to King's X and the train to Darlington for my old school career's fair. I met my friend Jen who was my bridesmaid, and my friend Diana, who was another bridesmaid. We met some people who were in our year at school and they all said I was looking "well". That's a euphemism for fat in my book, but I guess they were just trying to say, "Oh my god you're not fat any more, I hate you!" We had a fantastic lunch in an italian place. I had a chicken breast with peppers and goat's cheese on the top, with ricotta pasta parcels and salsa. It was amazing! I didn't have starters, when my friends did! DH didn't have a starter either but ended up eating half of Jen's potato wedges! Then since everyone was full we didn't have dessert and I could live with that!

I went shopping next (live in London, shop in Darlington ) and I bought a really nice Fiorelli handbag that is big enough to get 2 spare pares of shoes in for when Mum and I go to the Royal Opera House next weekend. She is worried about walking in heels, but I've said we can take other shoes. We are going to dress up all niiiiiice and look posh! Then probably go for lunch in Pizza Express I also found their new Primark I got a nice jumper, some cute grey jogging bottoms, some jeans and 2 more bags I got them for the bike One is big enough to get all my pads in, and the other is big enough and small enough to fit in the panniers and won't break, unlike those flimsy Topshop ones I've been using!

We also visited GRANNY with the banoffee pie and we had tea and cakes. We didn't stay long and we wandered back to the train and it was all good. I had a lovely Saturday.

Yesterday we had a long lie-in and then went up to the library on the bus in the rain. I tidied the house and I can now shut one wardrobe door! I've managed to stack all my shoes in the wardrobe without them spilling out, and I've got most of my clothes in there too.

I got some recipe books out of the library, and I'm willing to try new recipes now that I don't have to worry too much about protein grams! I'm willing to be a little more experimental and more into my "whole foods". Although I almost got a gingerbread book out, which showed you how to build gingerbread houses! Maybe at Christmas

Scales are being good with my intuitive eating thing. I weighed 12stone 6lbs on Friday and 12stone 6lbs this morning, even with a weekend of debauchery and banoffee pie! This week I'm going to see if I can drop a pound.

Morning everyone.

Good to see you back Sarah and I'm sure the holiday weight will come right back off. You can't go there and not have cream teas.

Chris sad news

We had chinese last night and of course there's loads of leftovers in the fridge.

We're having some nice weather this week so I'll be able to get out and walk more.

My girls are off school today it's Casimir Pulaski Day. Yes you all know it well.So need to get organised as we have a few things to do.

Oh, Darlington's only about 16 miles from me! I managed a nursery there for about 4 years and loved it. You'll have gone right through my town on the train.

What a small world we live in!

Oh are you in Northallerton? My Granny harps on something chronic about Lewis and Cooper in Northallerton!

Hello everyone

Sad to say the fingers are still as painful as they were yesterday so you won't be hearing much from me cos it hurts A LOT to type. I had my normal Monday shift this morning and just about made it through after tanking myself up on Ibrufen. DH says its old age creeping up on me. (He's probably right...)

Our house swappers sort of cleaned this house - well, bits of it - I had to clean my bathroom and kitchen when we got home.

Chris, I'd hoped that Az would help Hannah - give her a big from me. Is she feeling any better?

Frus, Well done on the intuitive eating - it doesn't work for me - I did it all last week..... cream teas... fish 'n' chips... pizza...

Aw, Chris, that is so SAD about the little autistic boy.

Helen, that female partner sounds like a complete plank.

CG - I had a Chinese takeaway last week, for the first time in ages! Very yummy - but OMG I blew up like a balloon afterwards. It took 48 hours of walking around with my 'big' jeans partially undone for the water retention to go away and I was SO thirsty afterwards.

Michele - I agree with Jen, you might have a good point. My Mum dieted all the way through her pregnancy with me and, after I was born, she actually managed to end up weighing less than she did before she got pregnant and I was a very scrawny baby then she felt guilty about having deprived me so she sort of force fed me milk until I was the traditional 'bonny bouncing baby' - and I think thats when I lost my off switch.

RSG - My DH's first grand daughter was in Great Ormond Street Hospital on and off for most of her short life and the staff there were absolutely amazing - as were the kids. DH spent lots of time there and said it was amazing how the kids seemed to accept their illness as being 'normal' - and the kids even supported their parents who often blamed themselves for their child's illness.

We had an orangic veggie restaurant near to where we were staying and the food was - not very slimming though.

Helen.... if your vegetable box place every send you Jerusalem artichokes DO NOT eat them! They taste gorgeous but they are completely evil.

I took the time last week to have a re-think about the way I eat and I'm feeling a lot more motivated.


My fingers are throbbing now so its time to go.

You have to be intuitive with HEALTHY foods! I'd be hungry eating hi GI and fatty foods!

I tried to restrict a little bit this morning because I thought that now I had a handle on it I could try losing a pound this week - but no luck! It just made me hungrier this afternoon, although that could've been the weights and the HIIT!

Get your fingers checked out at the Docs gal. Also, have you tried icing them? Boots do a cute re-usable ice pack in the shape of Mr Men and Little Miss, they're either with the first aid stuff or with the kiddy stuff. It says not to freeze them, but you can and it doesn't do them any harm.

lol, I'm in Northallerton yes and Lewis & Coopers is a great shop if you want something a bit more unusual. They have some unusual foreign food stuffs, along with a great range of fresh spices etc. I think it's probably a cook's heaven, plus it smells fantastic as soon as you walk in the door!

Can't say that I've been myself, but Granny's a bit of a snob and probably prefers Lewis and Cooper to Primark! I decided to hide my Primark carrier when I went to visit!

I miss the norf quite a bit. I grew up in Gainford, between Darlo and Barney. I had a blokie in Bowes for a little while and I went to school in Darlo. I miss the helpfulness and cheerfulness and people saying hello and thank you!

Honestly, I was in a bakery down here the other day and I saw this guy approaching with a pushchair, so I went and held the door open for him, smiling. And he just completely ignored me. Up there people hold the doors open for you whether you've a baby in tow or not!

oh michelle a pye baby ehy!..

some usless info !.... its more common in boys than girls... & its prob about the age when its diagnosed as then you get a bit stronger the the projectile ness gets well more projectile & baby get skinny & not gainign weight... i got an ace at avoiding baby puke lol... yup... it can hit the wall opposite.. as small incision is made in the pyloric muscle.. to allow milk to pass into the stomach.. & therefore stops the vomiting..

there u are !... lol....