If you were a library book you'd have 'Fine' stamped all over you...

Slightly confused.

Following someone requesting a book I had checked out the day before (originally not due back until Chrtimas!) resulting in a £1 fine per day if I hadn't returned it within a week, numerous 'OVERDUE' emails, many stressed out phonecalls (in as much voice as I could muster) explaining that I was ill, bed-bound, part-time and didn't live anywhere near the University, wasn't there anything they could do, more 'FINE - OVERDUE' emails etc etc, I have now made it into university (accompanied by the correct book, unlike yesterday, oops and my sick note to try to waive the fine...) following a full 9.5hour shift at day job and there is no record that my book was overdue and no fine at all!

I like to think that rather than a computer glitch, this is due to someone taking pity on me and putting the hold request on another copy of the book that someone else may have checked out. Bechod.

Work has been pretty stressful today but rather than rush in too early, hubby and I ate porridge (SW Healthy Extra B) in bed before I went in (domestic bliss?!) and I am glad we did as I, once again, worked through lunch and that's all I've had today. We need to go shopping.

Have done a lot of Welsh today and I am quite proud of that. I had my two hour lesson this morning, did a bit of catch up homework for about an hour this evening and then listened to my audio book in the car after work. We did a bit of a mock exam today though and I am completely screwed. I have been learning Welsh since 1988 and it is appalling how bad I still am. Exam in June. Have recently been told I can't take in a dictionary. Pants.

Considering what to do next. I am at Uni so will attempt to do some work, but as my exercise dance class for this evening has been cancelled, I am wondering whether to find another one to pop in to on my way home or whether I do more work on my thesis instead. Due to having had no food I think the latter is preferable, but a good exercise does help me get the stress out of my system. I haven't done anything since I came down with the dreaded lurgy a couple of weeks ago and although I am back in work I still have an annoying cough.

I think that's excuse enough to stay here, do some work and then go straight home and get in my onesie, right? Or better still, go home via shop and pick up something for dinner as we are out of rice, pasta, meat, potatoes, salad. I think all we currently have is passata and bacon!

Recipe suggestions anyone?

Being Monitored...

Today is not a normal day with regards to activity but completely typical with regards to food, ie it is 3pm and I haven't eaten a single thing. So as I type I am tucking in to something grabbed from the University's cafe bar.

I'm not usually in University on a Tuesday. My work (the day job) is really fantastic in that they let me do a 'compressed week' which means working all of my hours over four days and then taking off every Friday to work on my thesis. However, today I was subjected to the dreaded  PhD 'monitoring event', so I had to swap my days around somewhat.

I commute in and live around 40 mins from the University (on a good day and, let's face it, the A55 doesn't often have 'good days') so left around 8.10am in order for me to be in, arrived, set up and settled in time for my presentation at 9.30am with some of my fellow History/Archaeology PhD students having the same day as me. We had all presented by 12.30pm and then we each had individual interviews after lunch.
Due to me going first (I think it was in chronological order with regards to our research and being the only archaeologist in the room today it was inevitable as my research preceeds the others by around 2000 years!) the lunch break wasn't actually long enough for me to get lunch before my interview (apart from an amazing 'Wild Encounter' tea with egg timer for measuring strength and length of infusion- love it!). Hence why I am only just eating now.

Wild Encounter tea with three egg timers for measuring the strength of infusion

About three weeks ago I would have had this under control. I would have prepared my breakfast last night and it would have been in a portable container so I could have eaten it at Uni (Slimming World 'Overnight Oats'- genius!) and I would have been shopping so I would always have a handy MugShot to hand for lunch. But I am currently not in a state of organisation which means I haven't eaten a thing, just lots of black coffee (at least not accompanied by a rollie which have now been completely rejected from my lifestyle).

This is the trap, and this is why I fell spectacularly off the wagon yesterday. I didn't have anything prepared to eat and didn't want to eat anything naughty so I didn't eat until I left work, which is silly. By this time I was so hungry and fell into my danger area- the petrol station. I perhaps wouldn't have stopped if my tank wasn't completely empty (I tend to drive until I have less than ten miles left in the tank for some reason) but the garage is where I originally fell down when I put on weight a few years ago- it's so easy to snack and drive! So not only did I snack and drive but then went home and ordered a curry- and not even a particularly healthy one. Honestly, what's wrong with me!

Don't get me wrong, I have never been a huge size and I feel lucky for that as the amount of biscuits I can put away is more than the cookie monster, but I have been a lot more comfortable with my weight the last year or so. I was at my target weight for my wedding earlier this year (a honeymoon, a second holiday and a fun-summer-turning-30 later and I have put on a stone, eek!) and I now need to head back to where I was happiest and healthiest and try to stay there this time.

So, I have grabbed something from the Uni cafe and thanks to Slimming World being so flexible I picked up a noodle pot. No, not a pot noodle, but something which is much more healthy. I used the Syns calculator to  work out what the 'damage' would be and it is only 1.5 syns thanks to its free food allowance (yes, you can eat carbs with Slimming World and no, you don't have to count every single thing you put in your mouth!). It seems too good to be true as it is very tasty and should fill me up until dinner. However, as that is probably six hours away (we eat late due to hubby's profession) I may pick up a banana or something similar later.

I have about an hour and a half before I meet up with the other PhDers to go for a celebratory 'It's over for another year!' drink (diet coke for me, or maybe a quick sole G&slimlineT) so I will go over my notes from my interview (it went really well by the way, will have a draft of my entire thesis finished within a year, phew!) and then pop down to check out the new PostGrad hub which has a drop in session today to see what they are offering. As I live away I try to make an effort to see things and make contacts where I can as doing a PhD can be quite lonely.

I was supposed to go to the library to return an overdue book but I brought the wrong book with me. Great! I'm not at my best at 8.10am in the morning. No exercise today as no time but have my Street Fit dance class tomorrow at 7pm so hope to be able to do day job, potentially drive to Bangor, return book, do a little work and then be in Conwy for 7pm for dance class. It's unlikely I will manage all of this, especially as I have to average 9.25 hours a day at work to enable me to take one day off a week, but it's good to have something to aim for, right? Wish me luck!