Birthday party mates

Ethnic hair clip

My mother in law got me this lovely hair clip for Christmas... the funny thing was my mum was going to get me the very same one, and my aunt gave her the very same one. Small world! :)

1 cottage pie in the oven!

So I cooked a cottage pie, posted a photo of it on Facebook, and had to send some virtual pies to my friends :)

That one photo got quite a few likes and comments... my brother was amazed that a meal would cause such online chatter hehe

I am making another one today. When I spoke to mum on the phone in South Africa yesterday, I asked her what meal she would like on her first evening in London.. and she said it was a toss up between sausages and mash, and... you guessed it!

Cottage Pie.

Hence another cooking in the oven currently.

So, what is the difference between a Cottage Pie and a Shepherd's Pie? I have been asked this a few times.

It's all down to the meat used! Beef mince used for the former, and lamb mince for the latter.

I make a simple pie: lean mince; tomato basil sauce; dollop of Mrs Balls chutney; diced carrots; petit pois; mashed potato; grated cheese on top.

Simple to make, filling to eat, a hearty meal on a chilly winter's day!

Kingston shopping and lunching

On Saturday sis and I went to Kingston to do some shopping!!

We were ravenous and first charged ourselves with lunch at the John Lewis 'Place to Eat' restaurant.

I had a chicken Caesar salad and Judy had a prawn salad. We both had a hit chocolate, which made me feel rather I'll afterward! Dairy and me are not mixing well at the mo!

We had a successful shop! I got all the bed linen we need for the new single guest bed (for mum! All whites... Which are accented by a girgeous woollen throw and cushions we have at home), and sis got me my birthday present ;)

Successful shop indeed! Haha

Kruger National Park Birds

Here's a selection of bird photos from our latest trip to the Kruger National park (December 2010). I will title them soo, uploading for now :)

Duck

Goose (or, in this case... geese!)

Ostrich

Secretary Bird

Red Bishop

Kingfisher

Heron

Stork

Guinea Fowl

Yellow Billed Hornbill (female)

Snake Eagle

Lilac Breasted Roller

Mum is oppad London toe!

So mum is on the air and I am literally following her flight on a Virgin iPhone application. Isn't that weird??

Her plane is called Cosmic Girl :)

We were on the same route and time when we came back from South Africa two weeks ago, except our plane was called... Tinkerbelle :)

Although this seems fun and dandy... Not too sure an app like this is too good for terrorists?

One can literally get all the planes stats, their speed, floor plan, air height etc. Loads of info!

Oh well. It's nice to be able to see where mum is at any given time, and I will get to hug her tomorrow :)

Sent from Jenniflower's iPhone

Testing testing 1, 2, 3...

So apparently I can post to my blog from my phone. Here goes!

Sent from Jenniflower's iPhone

WLS stats

12 weeks post surgery: 15 kgs weight loss.

Total weight loss (including pre op weight loss): 22kgs

Asthma review

Well I had my asthma review with the doctor today.

They wanted me to have it with the nurse but I told them that the respiratory specialist was horrified when i told them the nurse does asthma reviews, as someone with my severity of asthma needs to be seen by the doctor only.

Proof was in the pudding as the meds I had been kept on (by the nurse) weren't actually doing the job AT ALL, I needed stronger meds! Which the respiratory specialist put me on immediately when they first saw me last year (symbacourt).

My improved asthma has been my biggest change thus far... I am hitting singing notes I haven't hit for years! :) It's also the most natural (hence slower at losing weight) surgery, which I preferred.

My asthma has improved for 3 reasons...

(1) Weight loss. Without a shadow of a doubt, the laregr you get, the worse your asthma gets.

(2) Correct medication. My asthma improved and my lungs strengthened when I was put on Symbacourt by the respiratory specialist at Chelsea and Westminster hospital.

(3) Protein intake. The 3 most important things everyday for a wls patient is to drink loads of water, take multivitamins, and eat protein before any other food group. And this has made a huge difference for me, because I never used to eat that much meat... and asthmatics need protein! So my increased protein intake helps my weight loss and asthma :)

The doctor said I was a good advert for obesity surgery, and said I had an excellent attitude... for eg. some people would be rather upset at not being able to eat certain foods for the rest of their life, but for me, yes it isn't ideal and I will miss things like the odd pizza takeout, Indian spicy food, steak, ice cream, bread etc....

BUT

I am NOT on steroids with all the backpain and shakes etc. and I can breathe on my OWN and this, for me, is a godsend! The continual clamp seems to have been magically unclipped off of my chest, and I can get up the stairs with nary a wheeze.

It is ONLY a plus. And is something I am so grateful for... and whereas I will miss certain foods, the positives FAR outweigh the negatives.

Whirlwind start to the year

Well, this year has started off with a bang!

I have had two new little girls settling in and starting, I've been finalising my tax for my accountant, and we have been working on changing the playroom to a sleepy/guest room for a V.I.P guest who arrives on 17 Jan... MUM!!!

I am so excited to be seeing her again, so soon. She will stay with us for a month or so, then head off to North Carolina to stay with my brother, his wife and their brood of 3 littlies for 18 months-2 years.

What a wonderful opportunity for her, hey?

Back from a splendid holiday in South Africa!

SA was amazing... The sunshine and laughter and swimming all the best kind of medicine :)

The food?

Well, many foods I battle to digest, am on a continual learning curve.

Biltong proved my protein mainstay on a daily basis. As I eat such a few calories, I need to eat little amounts of protein frequently, to keep going... and biltong proved to be the perfect thing. Most of it I can digest, it differs day to day. If I cannot digest it, I at least enjoy chewing it and tasting it. Unfortunately I do have to spit it out often though. But at least I am getting some things down!

Peanuts are another easy source of protein I can carry about in my handbag too. Obviously, eating too many of them is not good for you (fatty!), but I eat only a little and they hit the spot, which is what I need. Edemene beans are something I keep at hand in England for this purpose.

Chicken is very hit and miss. Depends how it has been cooked and how soft and crumbly it is. Pork has proved quite good. Steak is a big no-no.

Dairy is not ideal. When I have a protein shake (when I feel I cannot eat food, but need protein), I SHOULD be having it with milk, not water, but I cannot have it with milk. I hurl every time. What was a tad worrying in South Africa was I kept hurling up my shakes even when they were mixed with water. I have never had that happen before, and can only put that down being in the heat. It was late 30 deg C the whole time we were there.

I battle to eat bread, sometimes I can eat a little bit of a roll. But generally, bread is too stodgy and a no-no for me now.

White, soft fish like hake and cod is fine. I tried a kabeljou in Johannesburg and it was much too heavy... a pity as it is a beautiful and tasty fish! The other occupants at the table enjoyed it though! ;)

Seafood is another no-no it seems. I have had little prawns which seemed to go down fine, then the next day I won't be able to eat them. I have to spit it out/I hurl/dry hurl. Sorry for sounding gross, but this is my way of keeping a food diary of my wls process, and I have to be quite blunt about it.

I tried some prawns at the Ocean Basket at Hartebeespoort Dam, and they came out practically immediately. I literally had to dash for the loo. And felt so nauseous. I really need to be careful.

Not being able to eat certain foods is worth the incredible health benefits I am experiencing though... like experiencing my first winter in England steroid-free :)

WLS stats

10 weeks post surgery: 12.5 kgs weight loss.

Total weight loss (including pre op weight loss): 19.5kgs