Brake-fast

Yes, the ‘punning’ title refers to a decision on the cycling front (do you see what I did there?!). The story so far.... Peridot saves 4 points every week day for a tad more indulgence at the weekend, Peridot cycles two hours into and back from work – she’s hungry on her restricted points (hell, she’s hungry on the full monte!) but what to do? She needs those points for the weekend but cycling home she gets the shakes each time.... Help comes from a variety of experts who add their thoughts...Pow! A decision – I will eat my 22 points on cycling days and allow myself 4 of the bonus exercise points for the weekend.

But I don’t want to dip into those exercise points too much – the chaos theory is alive and well and occurring on my tracker. 1 point and 1 point don’t necessarily make 2 – they could be 1.5, they could be 2.5 – they could be 2. It’s not helpful. And then there’s the whole issue over point discrepancies – it says online that a Caffe Nero skinny cappuccino is 0.5 point, someone else says that their book says it’s 1 point. If you had one or two every day (which admittedly I don’t), this would make quite a difference. So my saved bonus points are a buffer against those kind of oddities.

I did a stupid thing yesterday. I knew it would not be helpful, constructive or painless but I jumped on SoD anyway. My weight hadn’t changed – so that’s 10 days with no movement now (and even if Amy’s right on that crème brulee – and I SO hope she’s not, I had a mini freak out when I read that! – I’d still technically be under my earnt points balance). On the other hand, my mother’s scales this morning said I was 2lbs lighter. I like those scales so much more! I knew SoD had it in for me..... Well, we’ll see if they relent on the official WI which is on Tuesday.

This weekend is going to be tricky for me. Tonight I’m making cupcakes for my god-daughter’s birthday party tomorrow. I’m having a weeny dinner so I can have one tonight and I am sure I’ll have one at the party tomorrow too (all (roughly) pointed and on my tracker). My god-daughter wants chocolate cakes with pink buttercream toppings (she knows her mind, this girl (she’s 4...)). I found a lovely chocolate cupcake recipe but it had oodles of melted chocolate in – so for the sake of my waistline, I am using a basic chocolate cake recipe with cocoa making it chocolatey instead. I don’t think the children will mind and only I know what we’re all (potentially) missing out on! Then we’re having lunch tomorrow in Carluccio’s where I reckon all I can have is pasta puttanesca as having the lowest points (too afraid to have a starter!). And we’re out for Turkish in the evening (bf kindly suggested I choose somewhere to go with his friend so that I could choose a place which was as point friendly as possible). We’re going to Tas and I can have a chicken kebab and salad and a veg starter pretty comfortably (most Turkish food is really healthy – and delicious too). I looked up baklava – which I love – but at 11 points, I just dare not. Instead they do lovely reconstituted dried apricots with a little sweetened cream cheese and a nut stuffed inside. And I’ve volunteered to drive so that stops any wine temptation. And on Sunday we’ll have a long tramp round the British Museum to look at Assyrian and Hittite artefacts because....

We’ve booked a holiday to Syria in September! I’m very excited, despite my mother saying “but I thought holidays were supposed to be fun”! Her idea of a holiday and mine are very different – the thought of just lying on a beach or by a pool makes me twitchy and grouchy and she thinks going somewhere “so dangerous” is insane. I’m so lucky that bf and I have such similar taste in holidays – imagine if he just wanted to go somewhere bland and all-inclusive and play golf all day! No criticism if that’s your bag – I’m just glad that tramping round ruins and exploring other cultures (and eating their yummy food!) is our joint bag. And a holiday with no swimsuit trauma either! Which is an unintentional bonus. Although since all my skirts are knee-length and all my tops are short-sleeved and scoop necked (hussy as I am - unbeknownst to me up til now), it will require a new wardrobe of long skirts and all-encompassing tops. Apparently if you look European you will get stared at anyway – no matter how modestly you dress and I read that a tall, red-headed female was likely to draw the most curiosity... Well, two out of three ain’t bad!