Back to reality

Bit by bit I'm reclaiming my home back from Christmas. I find if I do it all in one go everywhere looks stark and bare and depressing, so I've just been moving things every day. Hopefully we'll get the tree taken down tomorrow, although Mr G has gone out for a very rare pint! He and one of his work colleagues have gone out for their 'works do'. Bless them. Mr G cannot drink any more. Hard to believe this was the man who could put twenty pints away when I first met him and still be sober. Two pints now and he's anyone's.

New Year's dinner was excellent. I enjoyed it more than my Christmas dinner, I always do because there isn't all that rush connected to it or madness of present opening beforehand. We had roast lamb with syn free minted lamb gravy, marmite roasties, mashed carrot and swede, sprouts, sweetheart cabbage and a couple of Yorkshire puds. 

There wasn't all that much left on the leg of lamb after we six had all had a dinner from it, but nevertheless I stripped the meat from it, added leftover veggies - peas, carrots and tiny pieces of broccoli that the children had. Added leeks, and the leftover gravy. I'll do mashed potato and swede for the top and make a sort of shepherd's pie with that. I'm making a concerted effort not to waste food at all this year. I'm doing quite well too, two days in...

So, it's our wedding anniversary in a month and we have a lovely treat in store. My daughter's boyfriend's parents (jeez, what a mouthful!) bought Mr G and I an afternoon tea at Chateau Rhianfa as a Christmas present. We are going to try and book it for around then, give us a good month back at Slimming World without any blips or hiccups or birthdays.

After that, it's going to get a little more difficult. Mr G's birthday. A two day jaunt to London via Wrexham and coming straight home to my Mum's birthday.

Something nice happened when we were in Wrexham for the Victorian Market, we went to the chippy we always use. For years I'd been sending my Mum pictures of our fish and chips while we ate there, and she was dying to try it. I'd been raving on about how lovely the staff were, particularly the woman who works there. So friendly. The last time we were in back in October, she wasn't there, so it's probably August the last time she saw us.

We walked in and she was stood behind the counter. 'Hiya!' I said, and gave a wave, expecting the usual warm welcome. Nothing but a polite smile. Ooooooooooooook, I thought. Awkward. So, we go to our usual table and sit down. Gave Mum and June a menu. And she pops her head around from the counter and walks over to us.

'It is you?' she said. 'I'm so sorry, when you walked in, I looked and I thought, I know this girl, but can't place where from. I didn't recognise you, how much weight you've lost!'

I was absolutely chuffed to little tiny pieces :-)

And then ordered fish, chips and gravy

:-)

Oh, and I don't know what day it is. Seriously. Roll on proper normality.