So what do you do?

Back in 2014 my journey to better health and wellbeing began. I didn't know it at the time but that desire to simply 'lose some weight' would cause a complete new way of life for me that has evolved, and continues to evolve, ever since. And because of those changes, along with my passion for knowing and understanding more, I often get asked the question 'so what do you do?'...well this is what I do!

Where shall we start? Well let's go with the obvious...food! Back in 2014 I started off with a low carb/keto approach to eating which gave me the weight loss I'd been wanting for so many years, but since then my approach has changed as I learned more and more. So whilst the ethos of low carb/keto is still there I think the easiest way to describe the food I eat today would be to simply say 'real food'. By which I mean we cook whole foods all the time. We avoid ultra processed food (I urge everyone to read Ultra Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken it is eye opening and will put you off packaged foods for life!). If we do occasionally buy any packaged foods then we follow these simple rules...does it have more than 5 ingredients? If the answer is yes put it back! Does it contain ingredients that you have never heard of or that you wouldn't find in a kitchen cupboard? Again if the answer is yes put it back!

So what do you eat I can hear being asked? Well a typical day for me can look something like this;

I'll start the day with a black coffee (fully caffeinated) and will usually have my first meal of the day around late morning/lunchtime which tends to be bacon, eggs and mushrooms (breakfast foods are my favourite!). Dinner is around late afternoon/early evening and will be some type of animal protein (chicken, ground beef, steak, salmon etc) with either green veggies (stick to veggies grown above ground) or salad. To round out the day I will have an evening dessert/snack of greek yogurt & berries (raspberries & blueberries are my go to) with a drizzle of honey. If I do feel the need for a snack at any point then this is where my favourite dark chocolate comes in, I prefer 90% cocoa but will always aim for a minimum of 70%. But other options can include a couple of dates, an apple, small amount of cheese, hard boiled egg, small amount of nuts or deli meats. And for drinks I will stick to black coffee or black tea which after our first morning coffee will mostly be decaffeinated.

A couple of caveats to the above;

Protein (animal based is preferable...more satiating and more nutrient dense) should be your primary source of food, not only does this keep us satiated it helps to maintain our muscle mass which becomes so important the older you get.

Alcohol - I try to avoid alcohol and only have a small glass of red wine occasionally. To be honest I like the taste of red wine but I don't like the effects of over indulging and the less I drink the less I want it.

Treats or cheats - these do happen occasionally and we aim to stick to the rule of 80/20...as in 80% of the time we keep to our regular foods and routines (although I suspect this is probably closer to 90%). Treats may involve indulging in something carb focused like bread or potatoes if out for a meal or maybe having a sweet treat with a coffee (but we do tend to buy just one thing and share it between us!). We make sure to really enjoy any treats that we have while at the same time not letting those treats define us...all too often I hear people indulge in something they know they perhaps shouldn't have which then gives them the green light to throw all their good work away and revert back to their old habits. Have a treat, enjoy it and then get back to what you know you should be doing.

So with food covered let's move onto exercise. Now I need to start this by saying that I have never been sporty; poor coordination, lack of confidence and an aversion to getting sweaty and out of breath always meant that I just simply didn't have any interest or desire to do any sort of exercise. In the early 1990's we started going to a local gym; this was in the days before big franchised gyms, it was relatively small, friendly, supportive and non-judgemental. We made a great group of friends and we sustained going for a good number of years (even during both my pregnancies)...although I would often remark that sometimes the muscle that got the most exercise was my jaw muscle from all the talking I would do! But at that time our diet wasn't great and so all the effort I put in down the gym had very little effect on my weight or body composition.

With the addition of children and Simon working away from home we gradually slipped out of our gym routine. In 2014 when I started my initial weight loss journey I was introduced to body weight exercises - squats, lunges, press-ups etc - and along with my new way of eating I began to see a change in how my body looked and felt. Fast forward to around 2018/2019 and we re-joined our old gym (although by now it was much, much bigger and much busier) and we were even able to enrol the kids along with us. Then the pandemic and all the various lockdowns hit; having no gym to go to we invested in some basic equipment and converted our garage into our home gym, and it was the best thing we ever did - no more gym subscriptions, no more having to drive to get to the gym, no more looking for some where to park, no more having to turn out in all sorts of weather, no more excuses on why we couldn't get to the gym and no more waiting around for machines. 

We still use our garage as a garage but have bought equipment that we can store easily and make the best use of. This means we now workout with weights three times a week for about an hour each time...and the 'non-sporty me' now schedules gym time into our calendar so that we never miss a session! But the other thing that we do is walk; we aim to get in excess of 10,000 steps per day and it is very rare that we don't get outside and get our steps in. It has become an integral part of our routine so much so that the day just doesn't feel right if we have not gotten those steps in. The effects of walking are tremendous; it is low impact, it is free, it keeps you mobile and active, getting outside you get the benefits of sunlight, the therapeutic affect of being outside and the chance to 'blow those cobwebs away' as well as a chance to destress and re-connect with nature. For Simon and I it is a great opportunity for us to connect, to chat about our plans, to have the time to talk and simply be together. Walking in our local community means that we have made connections with local businesses and with people we see on a regular basis, and simply seeing others out and about and saying 'hello' provides those social interactions which are so important.

In addition to food and exercise we try to ensure that our sleep patterns are consistent. I'd like to say that we aim to get good quality sleep but I'm not really sure how you do that and how you would prove it?! As a menopausal woman I will suffer from night sweats (although these are a lot better and much less frequent than they have been!) and these will obviously disrupt my sleep.  But we try and have a regular(ish) bedtime routine and are pretty consistent with the times we go to bed and the time we get up in the morning. 

We are also very fortunate to have our own infra-red sauna and try to use it for 30 minutes every day. We may even use the time getting sweaty to meditate as well...after all we have no where to go so why not multi-task and make best use of the time!

But with all of this the key to success is consistency. Almost 11 years after my initial weight loss I have kept the weight off and continue to learn more and adjust but I keep on going. I keep on doing what works.

My goal is to live as long as I can, to be as healthy as I can and to be in the best physical shape I can be. I want to be able to enjoy the life that I have ahead of me in the best way possible for the longest time possible. To live my life to its fullest unencumbered.

So, to sun it all up eat real food, lift some weights, walk, connect with others, sleep well and repeat!

Health & Wellbeing

What to talk about next?

Well, I've introduced myself and I've spoken about my love of all things Disney so I think the next logical subject will be to chat health and wellbeing.

Now I do have a couple of pages that talk about various aspects of my life with regard to eating well and looking after myself but I think it feels right to give a bit of an overview of where I started and where I am now.

For most, if not all of my life, I seem to have been in a constant battle with my weight. I was never really happy with the numbers on the scale or the image in the mirror looking back at me. I think I was pretty typical of most women craving the slim and sexy figure but never being able to obtain the image I had in my head. 

As we moved into the late 1980's my then fiance, Simon, was diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolaemia, a genetic condition leading to high cholesterol levels and was told to adopt a low fat diet as a matter of urgency. We dutifully did as we were told; we ate as low fat as we could, we embraced the plethora of low fat foods that appeared on the supermarket shelves, we abandoned eggs, cheese, full fat milk, yogurt and cream and we even became regular gym attendees! But I still battled with my weight and my figure. Two children later and things had not improved, and all the time we stuck religiously to the low fat diet and did as we were told by the powers that be.

And then in 2014 a couple of things happened. First we watched a couple of documentaries; 'Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead' and 'Fed Up'. They highlighted the perils of processed foods and sugar along with the strength and commitment of people who were prepared to put in the effort to getting themselves fit and healthy. Then a few weeks later a chance conversation with my daughters karate instructor introduced me to a locally run group called 'Get Real Fat Loss'; a 90 day challenge to lose weight. Now I have never bought into the whole weight-loss industry of clubs and meetings but this was different. It was run by a local guy, Jason, who wanted to give women the right information to set them up for a new way of eating and living. We were a small group of women who encouraged each other by way of a private Facebook group all guided by Jason who gave us personalised food plans along with some body weight exercises (see my page Getting Real for more details).

About two thirds of the way through the 90 days I had reached my target weight and by the end I had lost around two stone (28lbs) and dropped from a UK dress size of 12/14 down to an 8 (and sometimes even a 6!). Then, while on my 90 day journey, I read a book by Gary Taubes called 'Why We Get Fat and What to Do About it' which provided the science behind the nutritional changes I'd made. So what were those changes? At that time the major change I made was the number of carbohydrates in my life - no more potatoes, no more pasta, no more rice and no more bread. All those foods that I'd been told were good for me because they were 'low in fat' were in fact hijacking my insulin response and causing me to hold onto fat rather than burn it. (see my page Eating Well, Staying Healthy for more information).

Since then I have been able to stick with the low carb (or keto) approach to eating and as the years have moved on I have become more focused on eating real foods. I try to cook everything from scratch and limit the amount of processed, and especially the ultra processed foods, in my diet. The approach is that if something has more than five ingredients or contains things that wouldn't appear in a standard kitchen cupboard then I will not buy it. There is a great book by Chris van Tulleken called Ultra Processed People and I would urge everyone to read it and understand just what the so-called 'food' in the lovely packaging on our supermarket shelves actually is!

The bodyweight exercises that I started back in 2014 have now evolved into a weights workout three times a week. Around 2018 I had joined a local gym with Simon and both our kids but when the 'lockdowns' happened in 2020 we decided to convert our garage into a home gym and it has been one of the best decisions ever. We have enough equipment for us to workout effectively and are still able to use the garage as a garage! It also means 'getting to the gym' is easy and quick and we have no excuse for not getting out there and getting a workout done.

Then a couple of years ago I decided to step away from my job of 18 years as a pre-school manager and I entered the world of retirement. Being at home enabled me to spend more time being active; daily walks became the norm and gym sessions didn't feel quite so onerous. I was also able to spend more time 'on me' and began to incorporate cold showers, Wim Hof breathing and meditation into my daily life. 

Last year Simon decided to set himself a challenge to lower his body fat percentage. As part of a routine check-in with our doctor we were introduced to a set of scales that recorded not just our weight but our BMI, body fat percentage, muscle percentage, visceral fat percentage and our RM calories (resting metabolic number of calories). And while all our figures were great Simon wondered whether he could get his body fat under 10%. With an upcoming cruise (Disney of course) as incentive he found a personal trainer to try and help him achieve his goal. So with a focus on getting enough protein in our diet and increasing our daily step count to around 14,000 Simon hit (and has maintained) his goal and along the way I also managed to reduce my body fat much to my surprise. 

Late last year we took the decision to invest in an infrared sauna after a home improvement project gave us the extra space we needed. A daily sauna has now become part of our lives; thirty minutes a day to relax, meditate and absorb the benefits of heat exposure.

And as we rolled into the new year Simon joined me in this retirement malarkey so we now have the time to pursue those things in life that have had to take a back seat during our working life. We have the time to devote to our own wellbeing, to concentrate on our diet and exercise, to spend quality time together, to kick start travelling more than we have been previously able, to enjoy spending time with our Star Wars cosplay family as well as numerous projects that we now have the time and the head space to take on.

And that is where you find me now...enjoying life with my soul mate and best friend by my side, in the best physical shape of my life and looking forward to each and every day and the possibilities that lay ahead.

Overdue Blog Post - Part Three!

Wow, so I finally have the time and space to get writing again and find myself approaching the end of March having not written anything since early January - whoops!

Luckily for me I have been keeping a diary of sorts and so have a pretty good idea of what I've been up to but am wondering how best to either summarise or move on from my last post. Which I think means this will be more of an overview and perhaps there will be separate posts focusing on some of the happenings over the last few months.

Plus I need to figure out a way to get back into writing more often...perhaps I need to go back to my diary type posts that I did over the preceding couple of years...something to think about!

But let's get back to the job at hand and try and summarise what's been happening of late.

So, where were we...ah yes Christmas! This year (or should that be last year?) was different to our usual routine of years gone by. This was the first Christmas since my dad had passed and that meant the first Christmas for Simon and I without any of our parents and while that brought about its own set of emotions it also meant that we had only ourselves to please. Which meant we were able to mix things up a little!

Molly and Dan were spending Christmas at their home, having spent the previous year with us, so we decided to travel down to see them instead. This resulted in us making the journey to Bournemouth on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas Day) for a few days before returning to celebrate the New Year at home.

I'd realised as we approached Christmas that ordinarily after having the big Christmas Day meal we would make use of any leftover food on Boxing Day...but as we wouldn't be home on Boxing Day this meant a change of plan. As Ethan's birthday is on Christmas Eve we decided to have our big Christmas dinner for his birthday instead and then make Christmas Day a very relaxed affair with presents and leftover food, which worked out beautifully. It was so nice to be able to enjoy the unwrapping of presents and have a very chilled out day as opposed to the usual slaving away in the kitchen! Plus because there was only the three of us it meant that cooking on Christmas Eve wasn't the big ordeal that it would have been compared to previous years. Oh and of course birthday celebrations in this house meant it was Mickey waffle time!

We had a lovely few days in Bournemouth even though the weather was rather soggy. We were able to exchange presents, enjoy some lovely meals, do lots of walking interspersed with coffees and even a little ice skating. Although on this occasion Simon decided to forgo the skating as it was very, very wet and joined me and Ethan in watching Molls and Dan enjoy themselves on the ice.

On the 29th December we travelled home with Molls and Dan making the journey as well so that we had a few days with all of us at home. We were able to make use of the outdoor skating rink in Nottingham that this year had an elevated 'skate path'...

Nottingham's Skate Path, above the Christmas market

...and when I saw 'we' I do of course mean Molls, Dan and Simon. I watched from afar and then went off in search of coffee and a little retail therapy. We saw the New Year in as a family with an array of board games and a lovely 'big' meal on New Years Day.

But by January 3rd the house was very quiet; Molls and Dan had gone back home to Bournemouth and Ethan was back at work. That left Simon and I with a couple of days to get the house back to 'normal' as we embarked on the horrible task of taking down and putting away of all the Christmas decorations; I love all my Christmas 'stuff' and hate having to put it all away. It actually took us about three days to put everything away with the majority being done by yours truly once Simon returned to work.

Well with Christmas and New Year done lets move onto January.

We started to get back into our routine of early morning (and rather chilly) walks followed by our Wim Hof breathing and a little meditation. Cold showers have now become the 'norm' for both Simon and I and these have continued regardless of what we have been up to. Unfortunately after getting back into our stride with the morning walks we had to take a little bit of a break as I suffer with chilblains on my left foot and once aggravated it becomes uncomfortable to walk on for extended periods and only gets worse if my feet get cold. So with a spell of very chilly weather we took a bit of a break from our walks.

Through January I was dealing with the sale of my dads house as we had signed all the necessary paperwork just before Christmas and it was now a case of working with solicitors to get everything done as speedily as possible.

We also started making some headway with our Jedi robes ready for Star Wars Celebration at Easter. And of course when I say 'we' I actually mean Simon, and his focus was on making some leather pouches for our belts to house our mobile phones. He also mastered the technique of metal casting by using pewter to make the buckles for our belts. 

For my part I had to order some different trousers as the fit on the pair I'd originally ordered was a little snug. And then there was an awful lot of research into the correct material to order for the outer cloak...something that was of the right dark brown colour and that was also of a heavy, wool like material. Suffice to say I think I went cross eyed looking at all the different options out there.

By the end of January we had found a local dressmaker that was willing (and excited) to help us with the technical aspect of putting the tunic/tabard section of the robes together. But I think I will go into more detail about our Jedi robes in a separate post!

We tried to get out for our morning walks again when the weather eased but no sooner than we had got back into the routine the weather turned rather cold again so we resigned ourselves to just get out as and when we could.

As we moved through January I was focused on getting more things removed from my dads house in readiness for the sale going through, along with the subsequent organising of Ebay sales. And my involvement with pre-school continued as we looked at the ongoing finances as well as a potential change in charitable status; so lots of research and a fair few meetings over numerous cups of coffee.

Ethan is still trying to find himself a house and we managed a viewing of one, but it was not quite what he was after,  and he had another couple of viewings cancelled at the last minute. First time buyer houses seem to go rather quickly once they get on the market - oh well just got to keep on looking.

And I think that covers January, so I will stop here and get writing the next post!

Time for an Overdue Blog Post - Part One!

Well it's been a while since my last blog post at the end of October so figured I'd better put finger to keyboard and get writing!

Thankfully I've had the presence of mind to make a few notes over the last few weeks as I'd really like to try and keep the diary approach to writing going. So what's been happening and where to start?

Let's kick off with a bit of Disney travel news. For the first time since 2019 I can now say we have a Disney holiday booked but this time it will be a first for us as we have booked a cruise! Not only will this be our first Disney cruise but it will be our first cruise ever!

After a lot of debating and being swayed by friends who have this year experienced both Disney and non-Disney cruises we have taken the plunge and booked ourselves a place on the Disney Dream sailing out of Southampton, UK next September. Our 7 night cruise will see us venturing north as we take in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo and Sandnes in Norway. This does mean lots of research ahead for me not only about the ports we will be visiting but also all about cruising Disney style.

Since the end of October we have continued with our early morning walks getting out most mornings although we have now resorted to wellies when we venture out over the fields. 

Our cold showers each morning are now embedded in our routine and I have now joined Simon with the Wim Hof breathing method. I have surprised myself by being able to let myself 'indulge' in this 10 minute practice and this in turn has resulted in me giving meditation a try. I have always been reluctant to try meditation as the thought of 'giving in' to something really didn't sit very well with me at all...the act of 'giving up control' felt very alien to me. But after getting used to the calm of the breathing I have now started with some simple 10 minute meditations and have surprised myself with how easy they have been and how I have actually been able to 'let go' and simply 'be' in the moment.

At the end of October we were able to join a Star Wars troop with our Joker Squad buddies at Leicester Comic Con. This was the first time trooping with Joker Squad in over three years! And although we were small in number we were still able to entertain and make people smile. 

Then in November we hooked up with our East Midlands Garrison crew at a local pub's Sci-Fi quiz night which helped raise money for the charity PASIC. 

Not sure how good Stormtroopers are at pulling a pint!!

We had hoped to attend PASIC's Christmas Party earlier this month but as we both had a very slight cold we decided to stay away as all the children attending would be immunocompromised and we didn't want to risk passing anything on.

At the beginning of November Simon had a week off from work and we took advantage of the time productively. We dragged Ethan out shopping with us for a day, luring him with the promise of food and coffee and while he came home empty handed Simon did pick up a couple of shirts.

Next I had a day booked with Saint Heywood at Acadia Tattoo for my latest round of Disney ink. This time it was combining my love of the attraction 'It's A Small World' with the art style of Jerrod Maruyama...

Work in progress

Line work done and colour just started

Finished result

It was then time to take a trip 'up north' for a few days. We started by having a couple of nights in York staying in an old fashioned style of hotel which kind of evoked 'Fawlty Towers' type vibes! But York was as lovely as ever; we walked for miles, drank lots of coffee, had some lovely meals out (great to find a Byron Burger restaurant and a fab tapas too!), more walking, chance to play with my new camera, shopping and more coffee! A short trip which resulted in new shoes for Simon and new jigsaws for me courtesy of the York Outlet mall.

After York we moved a little further north to visit Stockton-on-Tees for a couple more nights. The reason for visiting here was to revisit an area that is very familiar to both Simon and I. For me this is the part of the country where I was born and so consequently I still have lots of family members who live in the surrounding area and who I hadn't seen in a fair few years. For Simon he had spent around 5 years working in Stockton, and living there during the week as it was too big a distance from home to commute. We both have lots of great memories of the area, and of the people, and so it was great to get the chance to re-visit after a lot of years away.

We were able to see quite a lot of my relatives over the course of a couple of days and we have vowed to return when the weather is kinder (it was rather wet!) and the days are longer so that we can explore further.

Throughout the last couple of months I have been trying to clear stuff from my dads house and as a result have become quite skilled at using Ebay! Consequently there has been lots of cataloguing of items, photos taken, items listed, sales made, items packed and trips to the local post office. And every time we get a delivery it means that boxes and packing materials have to be saved; thank goodness we have a shed for storage!

Ready for a trip to the post office

And with it being the run up to Christmas I decided that a review of my Christmas decorations was in order, particularly my outdoor lights. I knew I had a couple of sets that were not working 100% so I decided to invest in some new sets; this resulted in three sets of string lights and a light-up tree!

Obligatory testing of lights!

This did then mean a few days tidying the garden (in the rain) to get everywhere ready as well as planning out how to get everything plugged in. Having had some new outdoor sockets installed over the summer I had the power but needed to make sure that we had sufficient weatherproof boxes for all the cables, plugs and extension leads. Plans were drawn so that when it came to putting them all up it should be a relatively straight forward process.

And we have reached mid-November so let's leave it there as I make a start on a new post.

See you soon.
xx

Day 712

Day 712...

It has been a very quiet Sunday; a very bright, sunny, blue skied and chilly day.

Our morning started off with collecting our grocery shopping and after months of the store of our choice (Asda!) having a badly working app...okay an app that didn't work at all...today it worked perfectly for the first time!!

With the shopping out the way we decided to make the most of the beautiful day and head out for a walk over the fields where we live. It was the first time in a long while that we had taken a route over the fields and we had the good sense to wear our wellies. We managed 4 miles in an hour and twenty minutes and I could tell it had been a while since taking this route as the hills were a little more of a test than they used to be. 

This time last year when we were in lockdown we were out walking each weekend and although we have been out and about when we can it is noticeable that we are not walking as much as we had been. I do miss our walks and I think we will make a conscious effort to get out more, when the weather allows.

The remainder of the day has been spent at home; Simon has been updating some details on his personal website and starting his next piece of digital art and I've caught up on a few household chores and packed one jigsaw away and started the next one.

In a change of plans I will be working tomorrow as one of our team is off ill, but all being well it will be just for the morning. And because a newsletter to all our parents has been issued today I can now reveal that I will be stepping away from pre-school and by the end of the academic year in July I will be retiring! So my focus over the next few weeks and months is to hand over the mantle of manager to my deputy and team so that we can have a seamless transition.

This evening we will be trying to watch RuPauls Drag Race as last night we could not find a stream of this weeks show...although we did find a show called Finding Magic Mike which was really interesting viewing!! 

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 598

Day 598...

Saturday morning away after enjoying the White Lies gig last night. Have I mentioned what an amazing experience we had...such a great evening.

But anyway we enjoyed a cooked breakfast at the hotel before heading out to explore Bournemouth. This involved a wander around the shops with of course the obligatory look around Primark for my Disney fix, although there was nothing really that stood out to me. I also had a look for the coat I'd seen a couple of weeks ago but alas it was not there.

We stopped for a coffee before heading out for a walk along the seafront. It was rather blustery but thankfully not too cold and the rain stayed away. We headed in the direction of Sandbanks although due to it looking rather misty and rainy the closer we got we decided to turn back so didn't quite make it all the way but we must have managed around 6 miles walking today, including walking around the town centre.

On returning to the town centre we went in search of food and had a lovely meal at a greek restaurant and managed to stay pretty low carb only indulging in a little flat bread with some hummus.

We then headed back to our hotel for a coffee before heading off to see Molly and Dan. They have been busy organising all of Molly's stuff which has involved making storage units, putting up shelves and display boxes as well as brackets for her guitars and her kickboxing belt display as made for her by Simon.

Simon was able to give a little help with a couple of things but they have sorted everything themselves and have done a great job.

And then it was back to the hotel to put our achy feet up, relax and enjoy some chocolate.

See you tomorrow.

xx

Day 32

Day 32 and the sunshine is back!

A nice gentle start to the day, as it would be most Sundays. My first focus for the day was to update my online grocery shopping as I am due to collect it tomorrow morning. With that done I thought I would see if a slot was available for the following week and was surprised to see that dates beyond what I was expecting appeared but they were all full for the next 2 weeks...eek! But I then re-looked and suddenly saw a chunk of free slots appear so I grabbed one, added a few items to my 'online basket' and checked out to secure the spot - phew! But bizarrely I looked again and the free slots I'd seen had all disappeared again...not sure what was going on with the system but at least I have my shop booked in.

Simon has been making more progress with both the mouse droid he is building and his R2D2...

We then took a bit of a longer walk out today and managed to complete just under 4 miles in about an hour and 20 minutes. It was a gorgeous day in some beautiful countryside and we are very blessed to have all of this on our doorstep.

And I only had one little rant today while we were out...walking down a small lane we moved over to our left and walked single file to give the couple walking towards us the appropriate distance...shame they couldn't repeat the same favour...I'm sure not holding hands for all of 30 seconds really wouldn't have been that much of a hardship!!

Having these moments most days to get out and walk gives Simon and I the chance to have some time just for us away from the noise of the internet and reminds us of the importance of connecting with those around us. We get the chance to chat, put the world to rights and just to 'be'; we have both said that we must try to make sure we steal these moments after all this lockdown malarkey is done with. To steal moments together without the need to 'go somewhere' or 'do something special' but just to take a small amount of time away from the noise of everyday life.

Perhaps after all of this we will all have a greater appreciation for a quieter, less manic and less materialistic lifestyle. One where we appreciate all that we have and those that we have chosen to spend it with. I'm sure for some the return to the hustle and bustle will be a great relief but I hope to come out of this with a greater appreciation for life, and for what I want from it regardless of what others may think or expect of me. I will definitely embracing 'me' and doing more of what I want, when I want and in the way that I want to do it.

xx

Day 23

Day 23 and the start of the Easter weekend.

Today is Good Friday and here in the UK is what we call a bank holiday, which for a good portion of the population means we get a days holiday. So we have decided to treat this weekend as we would do normally as a four day holiday weekend that we are going to enjoy at home.

My first little task of the day was to record a short 'happy birthday' video for one of my friends little girls who turns five in just over a weeks time. She was supposed to be celebrating her birthday in Disneyland Paris but obviously that won't be happening. Thankfully it was going to be a surprise for her and her sister so they knew nothing about the planned trip...phew! But that does leave her mum with the task of running around trying to organise presents at the last minute and so she decided to put a video together of friends and family wishing her daughter a happy birthday that she is going to put on YouTube because her daughter 'wants to be on YouTube' - so sweet.

We managed another two mile walk in 40 minutes...so it must be time for me to have a rant...first cyclist we encountered was cycling on the pavement, coming towards us and made no attempt to move onto the road where there is a marked cycle path which forced us to walk on said cycle path on the road! We then encountered a couple with a pushchair so we made room for them but will admit to taking a double take as we realised it was a pushchair for a dog.

We were about half way back home and I noticed three cyclists in front of us who had had to stop cycling up the hill (it's not that big a hill) and were 'resting' on the pavement. At the same time we had two cyclists approach us from behind, on the pavement and on the wrong side of the road to which Simon said out loud 'you do know there's a cycle path' as we crossed the road to walk on the opposite side where there is no pavement and just a grass verge! The cyclist then shouted back 'but the road is dangerous'...really? I was lost for words. Then as they encountered the three cyclists now pushing their bikes along the pavement they were forced to move onto the road and actually cycle where they were supposed to. I then heard one of the three struggling cyclists comment 'wish I'd put some budweiser in my back pack' - OMG you're not out for a day trip it's supposed to be a bit of exercise!! ARGH!!

I managed to squeeze in a little jigsaw time before spending an hour or so recording another episode of the Disney Dream Girls podcast that I co-host and today we were talking with a fellow podcaster over in LA, James from Creepy Kingdom, as he designed his ideal Disney park.

So that was my day. Stay safe everyone, stay home, enjoy the time with those you love most.

xx

Day 21

Day 21...

Well I should have been having a relaxing couple of hours at the hairdressers today, having a cut and getting my blonde taken even blonder as my aim was to get back to an ashy blonde once again. Now I need to resist the urge to dye my hair myself...I think I have a box of colour somewhere...might be blue or purple...I wonder how long I can last out before succumbing?

Anyway today was the day for getting the pre-school accounts done and then I can start the task of cash flow predictions...how exciting!! Thankfully everything balanced pretty much first time with only a small amount of searching for a missed entry, so pretty pleased with that.

Our usual walk out saw me ranting at other people (well not directly at them, more under my breath at them). We decided to walk along the main road which links our village and the next so although there is a decent path to walk along there is only a couple of farmhouses to walk past. First encounter was an older gentleman with a pushchair which he was pushing along one handed whilst on his phone with the other hand - why? You've come out for a walk enjoy the scenery and the sunshine and put the phone down! Next we had a young lad on a bike, now this is a wide main road with a clearly marked cycle path on the road but no he was on the pavement coming towards us and was on his phone!! This meant we had to walk off the pavement and into the cycle path on the main road to keep our distance. Next we had a dad and his teenage son; his son was pushing his bike and yet again we had to step out into the road to avoid them. We passed them again on our way back and this time they were sat on a bench with the bike laid on the floor in front of them so yet again we had to walk onto the road - not sure which part of daily exercise means sitting on a bench though?? And then we had a couple of young lads walk towards us, so yet again Simon and I moved to the edge of the pavement and onto the grass and walked in single file expecting them to do the same to keep the distance but no they just carried on walking two abreast! I think I need a t-shirt printing with large letters that says - 'If you can read this you're too close so F**k Off'!

A bit of jigsaw time this afternoon was therefore a nice and calming distraction, and progress is being made...

Today has been a pretty good day, plenty of work completed, vitamin D topped up, eggs bought fresh from the farm opposite, made progress on my jigsaw, chatted with friends over WhatsApp and I was yet again Molly's stretching partner while she completed her karate lesson online via Zoom!!

Let's enjoy the good days and remember there will be lots more of these to come we just need to be patient and sit it out. Stay home, stay safe and we will get through to the other side when all is good and ready.

xx

Day 20

Day 20...

Having a bit of a work day today as although my pre-school is closed there is still a fair bit of admin work for me to keep on top of. I have new terms and conditions of employment to issue to staff, just because it's that time of year, but then I also have to figure the best way forward to ensure my team are looked after during these uncertain times. I also need to make sure that whatever steps we take now ensures the longevity of the pre-school as well...no pressure!!

I have a ton of emails to navigate through to ensure we can still claim whatever we are entitled to, amend records accordingly, wait for government departments to develop new systems, keep on top of any new information coming out as well as liaise with my local education authority and I have the accounts to do as well!

I received a phone call this morning from Derby Hospital's Breast Unit to say that my mammogram scheduled for next week has been cancelled. I wasn't surprised at all and in some respects quite relieved that I'm not going to be visiting somewhere that could put me at risk of picking something up whilst at the same time not wanting to be causing extra work load for our wonderful NHS. The nurse on the phone was so lovely and bright when she phoned and apologised for the call and then thanked me for being so understanding; in the grand scheme of things at the moment my mammogram getting delayed is not a big issue and I just wanted her to know that I completely understood.

Our usual lunchtime walk was another couple of miles in glorious sunshine and very pleasantly warm and although we saw a few people out and about there wasn't too many to report!

The afternoon was more work emails but then I purposefully stopped work at my usual finishing time as I know I have a tendency to just keep on working! So I stopped, made a coffee and settled down with my jigsaw for an hour or so.

Then when Simon and Molly went 'down the gym' I decided to grab my leggings and get back to doing some exercises myself. Since my operation last year I have found getting back into the gym to be tricky but thought I really needed to get back into doing something so I decided to take it steady and just do some body weight exercises. So I popped on YouTube and had a bit of White Lies playing and then did some squats, planks, lunges, sit-ups along with bicep curls and rows using some light kettle bells. I figured the best way to get back into doing something is to do these kind of exercises that I used to do when I initially started eating low carb (see my Getting Real page) and that I know shouldn't put too much strain on my left boob and then when my confidence and strength increases I can then perhaps 'go down the gym'!!

Time to chill in front of the TV, see you tomorrow,

xx

Day 19

Day 19...

This should have been the first Monday of my two week Easter break from pre-school...well at least I'm off work...of sorts!

The day started off a bit emotional as while watching YouTube we came across John Krasinski's new channel called SomeGoodNews and an amazing piece where he surprised a young girl with the cast of Hamilton singing her favourite song from the show; fair brought a tear to my eye.

First task of the day was to head off to my local supermarket and collect my pre-ordered shopping for the week. Straight forward process of turn up at the lockers, blue gloves on, enter the details, open up the doors to my shopping and load it all straight into the car. Me and Molly have this down to a fine art and were soon on our way.

A rather big shop this week as I was actually able to get a few things that on previous weeks I'd struggled with, but I'm also finding that I'm now spending one large amount per week rather than my usual smaller more frequent shops. Now I'm just using the one place to shop I am missing getting some items from other retailers and it's a tad annoying that I know I'm paying more for some items as well. But I'd much rather do it this way than be in and out of shops all the time.

There was a great sense of achievement though when we got all the shopping in the house, wiped everything with anti-bacterial wipes, threw away as much packaging as possible, split all the fresh meat into portions to be frozen, restocked the fridge with everything in its correct 'use by date' order and had all the cupboards replenished. Although I did warn everyone that just because there was food in the fridge it didn't mean it had to be eaten straight away!!

We took a walk out over the fields again today and I'm beginning to find that to be some what stressful as no matter which footpath we take we seem to encounter people. We had a runner come up behind us and shout 'excuse me' which caused Simon and I to jump and let out expletives! In just under a mile and a half we encountered 3 runners, 1 walker with a dog, family of 4 with a dog, another family of four, 3 older couples, 1 elderly man walking to the post box, 1 elderly man sat on a bench at the church, a young couple and a lady walking on her own...FFS!! We never see that many people when we go walking through our village normally and I'm beginning to feel quite territorial!!

This afternoon I made a start on my next Disney jigsaw...

...I did manage to get all the straight edges sorted and into place though.

Something I remarked on today is that while ever I have something to occupy myself I feel okay and like my normal self and I can just get on with things, but it's the down times that I am struggling with. Those times when there is nothing specific to do or get on with which can lead to my brain not knowing what to do with itself. That can then lead to feeling anxious or worried or just generally being hacked off with the whole situation. The fact that plans have had to be cancelled or postponed and that life is now on permanent 'hold' is frustrating (as it is for all of us) and just wanting everyone out there, across the world, to realise that we all just need to stop, stay home, stay safe and the more of us that can do that the quicker we are going to get to the other side!

Roll on day 20...

xx