Honey On My Mouse Pad

I'm trying to get some Manuka honey into me every day but because I now have to count it into my points allowance I have it with food.  So tonight I had a cup of hot skim milk with two teaspoons in and a piece of soy lin with low fat butter (I had enough points left!) and more honey.  I of course ate it in bed in front of the laptop and now some of the keys and the mouse pad are a bit sticky.
I did really well with my points today, not so many carbs, WW cereal with blueberries for breakfast, an open sandwich made with a piece of wholemeal bread spread with a bit of horseradish cream, then roast beef and a heap of salad on top with coriander and red onion.  I had yoghurt and fruit, then later some toast and cottage cheese, well it seems like a lot of bread but less than yesterday and previous days.  Tonight the boys were having Salmon Quiche but I didn't feel like it so I made up my Foxy Stew.  Onions and garlic sauteed in two tsp of olive oil (we are supposed to have that healthy oil every day) then mushrooms, zucchinis, eggplant, pumpkin, and red and green capsicum, one red, de-seeded chilli, some tomato paste, two tins of tomatoes and a tin of chickpeas.  And some worcestershire and salt and pepper and mixed herbs.  It was great, and so filling.  I froze two containers of it for quick easy meals for either me or for Phill to take to work.  I could be a vego very easily.  I do enjoy meat but I could live without it quite happily if I had to, or if I had a reason to not eat meat.  Can't think of one right now.....
Phill went down and deftly got the car registered this morning.  So that's done for another year and while we'll have to live frugal for the rest of the fortnight, it's a load off our minds.  We thought we might have to get a new windscreen but we didn't so that saved us a few hundred $$$.  I do frugal well anyway. ;)
After lunch I dragged Emily down to the pool and we had a really nice swim and I got my exercise in the for the day.  We had the place mostly to ourselves, some people started coming in as we were leaving.  I surprised myself by swimming half the length of the olympic pool freestyle and then the other half breaststroke.  I was a good and keen swimmer in my younger days, and although I know I am so out of condition I know it won't take much to build up my swimming strength again.  I adore the water and we're going to try to swim every week day until the pool closes at the end of March.

I love our dinky old 1930s pool, I daresay little has changed since it opened.  Junee's used to be like this till they built the new recreation centre over it and made a heated pool for all year round use which is great for the town but it's just not the same.

Our pool is lovely, lots of shady trees and seating and even a gated children's playground.  We both felt good after our swim.

I sent away Emily's subject choices to her new school, they are mostly art related.  She has so much talent, I will take a photo of the "snake" she made last week out of clay, and show you tomorrow.

She surprised me today by coming out without any makeup on.  I know she hides behind it and I know why but I love her natural beautiful face.  She is still hard work at times to be with, but mostly is getting back to her old self.  I know she will never be quite the same after everything she has been through, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing.  We have to learn from every mistake, and every bad experience, this is imperative.  It has taken me till now to start truly learning from mine, but better late than not at all.

Josh came home and wasn't his normal self, he seemed distracted and then announced he was going down to the library to meet his friends to work on their computer animations.  This is huge for him, he rarely goes anywhere.  Phill took him down and left him his phone and Josh rang when he was ready to come home.  I was very pleased by this, although it's a sign that my little boy, my little mate, is starting to grow away from me, in a good and healthy way, and I'm lucky I've had him all to myself till 14, but this is as it should be and I hope there is more of it.  Josh and I are very close and always have been, and that will always be there I know that.

Phill goes to Melbourne tomorrow till Monday and I am thinking that I might drop him off in Junee after lunch and drive on with the kids to the mineral pools and take a picnic or bbq tea with us.  It's still daylight saving and there is nothing to rush home for. 

I pointed a couple of recipes on the food blog but I must put up a disclaimer type thing to say I worked the points out myself using my calculator and also calculating the ingredients and doing the sums with that so the accuracy may not be spot on.

I ended up getting a new WW recipe book from the newsagent here yesterday, the recipes look good and a lot I'll be able to cook for the family.

I'm happily tired now, Phill's snoring either hasn't been as bad or my earplugs are working better.  I'm looking forward to two earplug free nights this weekend though!

I think I'm still detoxing, I've been headachey and resisting painkillers just trying to manage with natural stuff, lavender oil, relaxation exercises.  I'm coming off fatty food, alcohol (again) and also caffeine.  I am only having one cup of normal tea a day, that is my Lady Grey or Earl Grey first thing in the morning, then it's decaf tea or decaf green tea or herbal tea.  I'm not a huge tea and coffee drinker anyway, especially in the Summer.  Phill drinks endless cups though and it can't be good for him, so I've got him onto to the decaf tea and he said he can't tell the difference.

I looked up through the branches of the shady tree we were under at the pool today, at the late Summer sun shining through the leaves and thought of Dot, it's a strange thing to know she isn't in the world anymore.  Stranger too I guess because we haven't seen her for a couple of years and she wasn't in our lives as much as she once was on a daily basis, so it's easy to forget she's gone and to think she's still down there with Barry at the other end of the phone.  Will we ever understand the mysteries of life and death and that tenuous line that divides them?