Moondreamer

A 3 day trip, doubled beacuse the return day would have been one of the Christmas holiday days – suited us although it was our first Christmas out of UK (A long time ago, before wh had children and dogs!)

Our hotel was on the outskirts of Cairo, but every room looked out over the Pyramids – a fantastic sight. We will never forget riding a camel – poor camel – or the day a donkey got loose in the crop fields between the hotel and the Pyramids – it had eaten a swathe of green before its owner noticed. On our last morning, we managed to persuade a taxi to take us to the Pyramids before most of the tourists and the locals were there, and then the peace and surroundings really sank in. I remember a (presumably) local man sitting in the sun, with his back to a pyramid, reading a newspaper.

There was much else I’ll never forget – small passageways into tombs and pyramids wih sometimes no light, a journey to an oasis with children running apparently from the desert as soon as sweets were produced, the Cairo market, a day cruise on the Nile (on Christmas day), accidents as a matter of course to the taxis, 4-6 lanes of traffic on each side of the road, with street vendors trying to sell to every vehicle as soon as the traffic stopped, feeling we were taking our lives in our hands whenever we tried to cross such a road (despite being used to a busy city!), shop keepers saying how cold they were with long-sleeved shirts, while we were in T-shirts and sweltering – all great memories, even the less good ones.

Okay, the holidays are (nearly) over, I can try to get back to a routine (although I loathe routines!), and try this time to keep up the good steps I started before.

When I first started this, my goal date (our 25th wedding anniversary, June 13th 2006) was well over a year away. Now it’s only 9 months away, so perhaps I’ll find it easier to focus, and it’s not so close that I have to choose between weight and more important things.

I was doing not too badly with no extras and reduced added salt and some extra exercise, but then things sort of fell apart! (a hurt foot didn’t help!)

So – my weight this morning was 15st 6lb – more or less where I started (so that’s a bit of a plus – it hasn’t gone up!) I have noticed, though, that it swings between 15 st 9 and 15 st 3 in a normal week.

I’ve made what I feel is a big step forward – I’ve managed to get back to planning meals based on our weekly activities, so when there’s a night (especially on one of my working days) that one child comes in, 2nd child comes in, 1st child goes out (driven by me), husband comes in, husband goes out, 1st child comes in, 2nd child goes out (driven by me) – you get the idea! – I plan in advance a simple meal that can cook before or while I’m out, and can be eaten as and when people need to.

I’ve planned the meals until next Sunday (they’re not rigid, they can change) and it helps me not nibble while I stand in the kitchen, exhausted, trying to put a meal together! It also helps me feel more in control, which again means less nibbling…!

So – I’m not setting a weight loss goal, but my goals are to stop the extras, drink more water, and to try to post regularly here!

Well done to all who have lost weight, and to all those who have tried!

On Saturday, just before we went away for a few days, we bought some new scales (very much needed as the old ones lost or gained us almost a stone depending on where we stood.)

The bad news? I’m not 14st12, I’m 15st6.

I’m ridiculously bothered by this, becsuse the ‘new’ weight does not take away from my small steps forward, but it feels as if it does.