Why do you build me up, butternut baby, chestnut lentil me down? 10/10 club - all welcome!

[pinkspottywellies]

For anyone who wants a boost to their general health. The suggested goals are:

EAT 10 PORTIONS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES EVERY DAY - if you don't usually eat much fruit and veg I would build up gradually or you could upset your digestion.

DO (AT LEAST) 10 MINUTES OF EXERCISE EVERY DAY - can be yoga, stretching or something more energetic. The plan is that the idea of doing 10 minutes is not too daunting, and having started you may well find you want to do more.

There are no restrictions on what you eat so long as you get your 10 fruit and veg as well. The focus is not on weight loss but on improving our energy levels and hopefully our general mood and well-being. Sign up below and post here to tell us how you're getting on and how you are feeling.

Basic guidance on what constitutes a portion of fruit and veg here and you can download more detailed information by following the link at the very bottom of the page

Hello Lully, how goes it? Hope you get your fresh air!!!

Dd2 has suddenly developed artiness. She desperately NEEDS paints and coloured paper and scissors she can actually use and things that are nice to draw with. What is nice to draw with? I don't like felt tips much, wax crayons are somehow not exciting and tend to get stood on and coloured pencils can be a bit unyielding for littlies. I was going to give hjer artyu stuff for Christmas but I'm not sure she can wait that long!!

Sorry, typing gone squiggly.

what's that about coffee?

I have been reading your advent calendar conversation avidly. This morning I was woken up by dd1 screaming up the stairs "IT'S ADVENT". Dd2 less impressed when she was told she could only open one box. Much crying.

I have been into Waterstones this morning but this is okay for two reasons. 1) we don't have an independent bookshop and 2) WERE YOU LISTENING PEOPLE I WENT INTO TOWN!!!!! I did I went in when dh took dd1 to dance class and I took dd2 for new shoes and everything, though I have come back to bed now and feel very tired. I seem to be okay with walking but as soon as I stood still for a minute, like to wait for my PIN number to clear, I had to hold onto something quite tightly and felt quite dizzy

But still I have been outside

toot Crayola do good washable felt tips (if the 'felt tips all over the clothes' look is what you are trying to avoid)

but I can't think of anything but crayons, felt tips and pencils you seem to be boxing yourself into a corner there

chalks are ok; we have done a wall in our kitchen hallway with blackboard paint, you can use black paper and card too and that's good, but very very messy

Hello Lovely Veggers

I strill haven;t got DS' advent calendar out. Will do do right now!

I am making 2 batches of soup (20 portions) for work charity week soup kitchen (don;t ask)

They will go in freezer as next weekend I am making cakes for same charity week cake table and sweets for my birthday.

I have cleaned the house and DH has been into town with DS and has come back with none of the things he was supposed to be doing achieved

Oh Avi...it's cold but crisp & sunny here today...we had the torrential rain & gales yesterday.
Dh came back & went straight out again....I am chomping at the bit to go out as ds is asleep & would rather nip out while he rests.He is very under the weather and prone to tears at the moment & I know dh wont deal with that well
We have nothing in food wise except fruit...I had to be very inventive with lunch
Am rather pleased with my christmas shopping so far,lots of people pleasingly ticked off my list & also managed to track down a print of one of our ancestors from the National Gallery for my Grandmother.He was an admiral & arctic explorer & she has been reading his book recently.
Just have awkward Mother,brother & dh to buy for now

FK...you are good
I never manage to freeze much.....it always seems to get eaten...even if I make simply vast amounts

how is ds?

none of youhave misse dme at all have you...!

I am knackerd. I have been fainting paces at ds school fair and I am so achey and tired.
Ds1 won me 3 bottles of wine, and a bottle of mulled win stuff/ And an infra red massager which actually I have jyst used and it does work!
And the world's nastiest-smelling candle
And a hamper filled with utter crap (and the hamper is one I donated, so I have it back. And the childfren hve been eating terrible, terrible rubbish sweeties all day unsupervised and are alll jittery.

And ds2 proudly presneted with me a horrid porcelain handbag ornament which he bought from the secret santa shop! which I now have to display in a prominent place.

I missed you fmv
The thing about the penis/peanuts made me laugh. It cheered ds1 up as well yesterday when he was ill and sad.

Lully, thank you, he is fine today. He woke up positively bouncing

We have been to uninspiring Christmas fair. And we got hailed on and soaked to the skin.

I have started a thread and nobody agrees with me at all. They think I am poncy. Last time I venture out of the yurt.

what was the thread, oh poncey enlightened one?

here
Should've known better really.

oh TooT! And I know what you mean..the alternative to a crap xmas fair seems to be an overpriced 'french' market round here.
You'll be pleased to know the food at ours was all home cooked, there were 3 fairtrade stalls, a paint your own pottery stall and Snata gave out fair trade gifts (£2 and the girld gort a woven purse, bangle and pencil topped with animals, boys got wooden games/yoyos etc. Was nice!

Oh TooT anyone who regularly posts alongside you knows you are the least poncey prson in the whole world

It's such a shame people bracket concern for the environment / working conditions / economies in other countries as being something to score points at instead of genuinely caring.
I will try and think of something constructive for later.

We don't seem to be having a Christmas Fair as such here. But also, I never go to town at weekends so I am possibly missing something fantastic without realizing

I made shropshire pea soup with a serious lack of mint, and celeriac and ale which is quite incredibly (frothy cover your ears now)

yeasty tasting and delicious.

I have also made an apple cake and am feeling extremely homespun and contented.

DS opened all the doors on his advent calendar behing the sofa when I wasn;t looking

my answer to the advent calendar thingy is one of those fabric ones with little pockets. In goes a little pic snipped last year from old xmas cards and fairtrade choc coins. (50 of them!! (one for each boy x25...)

robert smith can i just confirm coffee IS allowed - or I am leaving. It really id - I drink loads, so does 100 but she dips brie in hers. People drank it on the meet up - oh yes - I noticed.

FK - is your apple cake good? Is it the saem as PSW? I have a bowl of apples and ingredienty stuff - I could copy you whilst listening to russell brand later.

I made my apple cake up today...I stewed some apple with cloves, cinnamon & nutmeg, then chucked it in with my basic cake recipe which I stole from Nigella and made into a gluten free version.

Basical ingredients are

200g plain flour (I use gluten free)
175g butter
275g sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp bicarb
Tsp vanilla

A bit of milk / water if you are using gluten free as it needs extra moisture, but in this case, the stewed apple was enough.

You can add 50g cocoa to make chocolate cake, or mashed banana etc etc.

It makes a 900g loaf cake.

thank you FK. When I make up recipes - I did once for apple cake when PSW kept talking about it - it came out plain and soggy.

My apple cake is TooT's recipe. Very yummy! No sugar, I think? Or can leave sugar out anyway.

Frothy well done on venturing out! Hope you feel ok now and not too wrecked!

GUESS WHAT I BOUGHT YESTERDAY? GO ON GUESS!!!!

I made soup today with everything left in the veg rack. Namely, an onion, a potato, a butternut squash and 2 courgettes. Twas very nice - even dh liked it and dd ate loads. She ate about 3 peas for dinner the other night.

Lully, why did dh go straight back out? Was it a worthy reason or just being an arse? We can get the helicopter out again

By the way, I've started a thread but no-one's answered. Does anyone have a recipe for Lavender Chutney?

Apple cake recipe is

8oz wholemeal s/r flour
cinnamon (tsp ish)
4 oz margarine
2 oz sugar
a little milk
couple of diced cooking apples

Mix dry ingredients, rub in marg, add apples and srit in enough milk to make it stick together. Put spoonfuls on a greased baking tray and bake at 190 for 20-25mins.

I think you bought some pink spotty wellies.

Lavender chutney? I can't imagine what that would be like.