Nanie's birthday, the AA, Weightwatchers and the Gym.....

Well, Nan's 90th birthday was last weekend and it was great news that R was able to come with me. It was a brilliant occasion. My brothers and their lady's came too, as did my little pride and joy, Maxy. I really enjoy family occasions actually, maybe because they don't happen very often and everybody seems to have a lot of fun. It was cool to catch up with my cousins as well my other nan. The nan in question however, was in great form! It was unbelievable how good she looked for 90. She has had her problems healthwise in the past but it was fantastic to see her looking so well and enjoying herself. I think its quite incredible that a person can live for 90 years, let alone longer! The memories they must have - some clear & some not so clear, the things they've done and seen, the changes they've experienced in many different ways, the people they've known and the things they must have learned along the way. I truly hope I can get to an age like this...

Anyways, I received my letter from the AA this week stating why I hadn't been approved for my car loan, or so I thought. I was pleased when I saw the letter come through the post as I can't take any more steps towards getting a new car until I know why I was disapproved.

Thus, disappointingly the letter I received simply stated the most obvious thing - that I had failed because I hadn't achieved the necessary requirement for the credit score. Well 'duh!', I know that!!! They didnt specify any reasons at all and instead said I had to write off to Experian (credit reference agency) for a report of my information. How annoying as I am now probably going to have to wait another 2-3 weeks to hear from them now. I wish they could have told me to write to them in the first place.

Here's a beautiful example of irony: I decided to look at their website and see if there was a way of accessing my information my details online. Sure enough, there was!
They were in fact offering a 30 day free trial but you still have to register your card details when you sign up. If after those 30 days you decide you dont want to stay registered then fine. Thus, I went to register my card details and here's the funny bit - they don't accept switch, only Mastercard or Visa!!! I find it highly amusing that a company that holds all your credit information and provides the criteria on which you are judged for loans only accepts credit cards as payment. It was like punishing me for not owning a credit card - haha! Anyway, I wrote off enclosing a cheque for the princely sum of £2 and a strong persuading note to make haste on the reply.

On a seperate note, I have embarked on a programme to help me shed a few pounds as I feel that for my golf next summer, I need to be fitter and stronger. I am also a stone overweight too, which doesn't help!
My choice of programme is the wonderful world of 'Weightwatchers'. This humerously reminds of Marjorie Dawes and 'Fat Fighters' on Little Britain. I am not attending the meetings or anything, just following the dietary guidelines as I don't consider myself in need of support.
The way the system works is by assigning yourself a points allowance each day based on their criteria (mine is 29) and each food has a points value. The aim is to eat upto, or preferably less, than your allowance. I have learned so much about my diet and how bad my eating habits must have been in the past. An example is just now for lunch - I decided to have a ready meal of sweet and sour chicken with egg fried rice. Just before I popped it in the Microwave I realised I'd forgotten to check the points on it. I nearly screamed when I saw - 15 points in one meal!!! That's nearly half my allowance for a day! I threw that straight back in the freezer and opted for beans and toast (7 points instead)! I am certainly looking at things like this differently now and in my first week I lost 3 pounds.
I do give myself 2 days off a week though but have read that this ok provided I dont go crazy!

I am also going to the gym as much as I can now too. It has become very clear that I need to make strong physical improvements to myself not only for my golf but my health too and general wellbeing. I actually quite enjoy the routine I have gotten into there now: cross-training, weights, walking, jogging and swimming. This is the first time I have really attempted to commit myself to getting in shape, so we'll see how I go.

Current weight: 12stone
Target weight: 10stone 8 lbs

Anyways, bye for now......