Just Gilly

  I've been baking flapjack for 30 years. The above is this week's effort! Basically granola!  So I'm very close to the end of my challenge, just a few more days and I'm counting them off. My cravings or desire has not waned and I can not wait for it to be over! I am excited to tell you that I have raised almost £200 which makes this all worth while. I'm hoping a few more donations will take me up and over this aim. I know a few of you have said you'll donate so I'll put the link on what's app again. A big, fat, chocolatey thank you to you all! Especially my brother in law who has messaged me every day full of support! And whilst I definitely need chocolate in my life I wonder whether I have a better understanding of it. Insomuch as, will I appreciate it more? Will I take more time to enjoy it rather than guzzle it? I hope I've learnt that chocolate isn't everything and is not the basis for a healthy diet. I hope that chocolate will be in my life...

  I made these Viennese whirls this week. I don't know why. They looked gorgeous and they smelt gorgeous, and I have it on good authority that they tasted gorgeous. But I don't know because I didn't, wouldn't, couldn't eat any! I really wanted to! I've never baked Viennese biscuits before and I can't remember why I suddenly decided to. However, I will be making more. In April of course. Viennese fingers dipped in chocolate! Whoop.  Yesterday I went grocery shopping. Nothing new there. Except I bought loads of chocolate. Chocolate Easter eggs - admittedly these are for Easter gifts, kit kat mini eggs - just to try, chocolate orange buttons - because they are chocolate orange buttons, dark milk mini bars - because they are super nice! I also got chocolate hot cross buns - and they've gone straight into the freezer! But why? Why oh why oh why? They're in the house and I can't eat them for another 2 weeks! The cravings haven't stopped! Though I h...

  Well I must complain. Not many of you told me about your happiness endeavours. Shall I take it that you can't create little moments of happiness? Or just too shy to share with me?  So one of my lovely friends sent me a gift this week. And it's not my birthday or anything. She told me that she wanted to give me some Elemis toning moisturiser, but wanted to check I would use it before she ordered it. She uses it herself, likes it - obviously, and thought I'd like it as it's good for my skin as I shrink. At this point my natural instinct was to say that a gift wasn't necessary. But then I realised that this is silly. If I was sending a gift and the recipient told me I shouldn't, then I'd send it anyway. I'd definitely not say ok, I won't send you anything! So with all my sensibilities I told her that I very much would use it and it was incredibly kind of her, and I thanked her so much for her thought and gesture and I was just delighted. So try it. If...

  So I'm setting you all a challenge. No, don't go away - it's a good one not a challenging one! Stay with me. Now chocolate makes me very happy. And that's not just because it tastes lush. It does all sorts of things with your hormones - it heightens serotonin (the well being one), dopamine (the pleasure one) and lowers cortisol (the stress one) amongst others. I googled it, it's true! So since I've given chocolate up this month I need to find something else to make me happy! As I'm also trying to be super healthy this month I don't just want to swap chocolate with chips (chips make me a bit happy too). And I want everyone of my readers to try this too. In the month of March I'd like you to decide on something that makes you happy and do it! Whether it's everyday or every week (depends on what you choose) just promise me you'll do it. Make yourself happy (because you can't rely on someone else doing it for you). I have some suggestions t...