This morning I was sitting at the dining table catching up with some study, I took a pause to look out the window, saw my dahlia now needing to be dug up and stored for the winter. I got that Dahlia at the sell off at the Hampton Court flower show this year, next year I want to go to the Chelsea flower show, So does my mum, we are spending boxing day at my mums house, must think about what I am going to wear, soon be Christmas must make sure we have enough gas in the bottle for the BBQ, thats our BBQ out in the garden, oh look there is my Dahlia, ready to pull up before the frosts get it, I bought it in the sell off at the Hampton Court flower show this year..........................................................................

So is that A.D.D? or just mind numbingly bored from reading about formats, standardisation.................................................................... I will complete this course!

GGGGRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

• middle child if I say I cant afford lunch in the cafe having a tantrum in town does not help
• Britannia building society, having 1 member of staff on duty at lunchtime on a market day is dumb
• general public, I know you are having a lovely day out but when you suddenly stop dead in your tracks on a packed pavement to gawp at a market stall I will end up ramming the buggy into your legs - no point giving me 'that' look
• Mr. NCP man, if I come to you and tell you my car I has broken down on the third floor with no lifts working and ask you what happens about the exit ticket whilst am waiting for the AA don't shrug your shoulders and say 'not my problem' when I am obviously harassed, hanging on to 2 (very hungry) kids having carried the buggy and shopping and the small child up 3 flights, and then had to carry child back down 3 flights to get help and then with the prospect of carrying them back up again! and then look on in amazement as I burst into tears
• Argos man - if you have an offer advertised in your brochure and it doesn't go through the till, I don't care - just sort it
• post office lady, £42.30 - £21.50 is not £15. no matter how many times you try to work it out on a piece of paper. use a calculator

however to the AA man who came out to me within half an hour, couldn't get his truck in the car park so came up said 3 flights of stairs (all smelling of wee) smiled at me and the kids and had the car going within 5 minutes - I LOVE YOU

ok that's it, feel better now, having shoved McDonald's down the kids throats (hey at nearly 3 that was poppy's first one!) and sat them on the playstation so I can have a cuppa in peace (and some rice cakes , i did not have McDonald's!)

SMIDSY

I am going to use this blog to have a little rant about all the twits who drive cars with no regard for other road users.

I am talking about the drivers who do not see vehicles with 2 wheels!

Poor Mr.B got knocked off his bike yesterday!

He loves his little Honda C90, does Mr.B. It may be 20 years old, and he may have other bikers point and laugh at it - but it gets him out and about.

But now its poorly, maybe even gone to the other side (no, no, no, not that other side!)

Thankfully Mr.B is OKish, he has a sore chest, a bad graze on his elbow, a cut on his leg, cuts on his hands and A SORE RIGHT BUTTOCK!!

He said as it was happening all he could think was 'this is going to hurt'
after it happened he thought 'that wasn't so bad'

and then the driver said 'sorry mate I didn't see you'!

remember think once, think twice, think bike!

MOOOOOOOOOOOOO

You got it, beef stew and mash - although once again noses were turned up by the younger 2, but I guess they will catch on soon enough - eat or go hungry!

beef stew

serves 5

5 points per serving

625g lean braising steak, diced
lfs
1 onion chopped
5 rashers lean smoked back bacon, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped roughly
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
500g tin chopped tomatoes
375ml beef stock
200g small mushrooms

• preheat oven gm2
• lightly SEASON beef and brown in lfs in a CASSEROLE, in 2 batches, removing to a plate as it browns
• spray casserole with a bit more fat, and cook onion, bacon and celery over a high heat for 5 minutes
• stir in garlic and cook for 30 secs, then add tomatoes, beef stock and browned beef
• season stew bring to simmer, cover and cook for 45 mins
• stir in mushrooms pushing them down into the liquid, then replace lid and cook for a further 45 minutes

serve with mash

Spent the afternoon at the main town library, trying my best to study

it was going really well to start with, then some daft woman from the local authority sat hersef down (I think she was a social worker) and started chatting to her client - with the clients son in the buggy!
Hey I like kids, after all I have 3 of my own, and fair play to her she was getting help to fill out forms to start a college course and get childcare help...................

But is the study section of a library really the place to sit with a pre school kid and chat about it?!

No I didn't think so either. Still got a couple of hours in before I had to leave.

the big cook-off!

Like I said this really is a blog for the ramblings of a boring housewife!

A couple of weeks ago we acquired a chest freezer via freecycle

So my personal challenge was to fill it! but not with 'mums gone to Iceland' type of stuff, but with good, wholesome, healthy, tummy homecooked meals - well OK homecooked meals anyway!
Last Monday I did the big tesco online food order, on Thursday the big delivery came, and on Friday my alram clock rang out at 5am and the cooking began!

Apart from the school runs, and a pee break or 2 I didnt stop cooking until 7pm!

At that point I lost the will to live, so stopped for the night for fish and chips. The table laden with meals cooling down, and the fridge full of ingredients for more meals.

Saturday morning no alarm, but up at 9 and cooking again until 3pm.

And there on my table were 29 different meals, all pointed to the weight watchers plan. a lot of chopping, peeling, washing up and clearing up.
But now I can be Mrs. Smug at every meal time (except Sundays when we will have a good ol' fashioned roast) when my family will eat well without a miserable Mrs.B having slaved in the kitchen.

Tonight it came into its own. Brownie night for me, Rainbows for middle child - normally a hectic mad evening of corner cutting meals, but not tonight oh no! tonight we had;

cottage pie

serves 5

7.5 POINTS PER SERVING

1250G POTATOES, PEELED AND CHOPPED ROUGHLY

2 LEEKS, TRIMMED AND SLICED

625G EXTRA LEAN MINCE BEEF

1 ONION, CHOPPED FINELY

220G CARROTS, PEELED AND DICED

150G MUSHROOMS, CHOPPED

375ML BEEF STOCK

2 TBSP TOMATO PUREE

1 TSP WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

60G VFL CHEESE

5 TBSP MILK

• PREHEAT OVEN GM6
• SIMMER POTATOES FOR 15 MINUTES. ADD LEEKS FOR LAST 2 MINUTES. DRAIN WELL AND MASH WITH CHEESE AND MILK
• BROWN BEEF AND ONIONS FOR 5 MINS
• MIX IN CARROTS AND MUSHROOMS, THEN STOCK, PUREE AND WORC SAUCE. BRING TO BOIL, SIMMER FOR 15 MINUTES. POUR INTO A LARGE DISH
• SPOON POTATO MIX ON TOP, BAKE FOR 20 MINS.

complete with dry fried leeks and button mushrooms. Yum Yum - well 3 out of 5 of us thought so, middle and smallest children turned their noses up - but hey theres no pleasing the under 8's when it comes to mealtimes is there?

come back tomorrow and see what fab food we are having for Tuesday (swimming night) tea (hint: it came from a cow and was cooked for a long time!)