I love learning to cook new meals and desserts, sometimes even just to make something out of what I have in the cupboards.

Tonight it was decided that I cook a dry-fried breakfast. A good idea I thought as it helped finish of the odd bits I had in the fridge. So we had mushrooms, tomatoes, fried yams. (sliced in half lengthways), bacon, baked beans and scrambled eggs.

It sounds like a lot, but there was only a half a tin of baked beans and a number of mushrooms. It tasted amazing and it was a great end to the working week. We don’t have this type of meal that often, not even for breakfast, but it was nice for a change.

The best part is that there was not much to wash up.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Yesterday was my yearly mammogram and follow up check-up with my breast physician. A few years ago I found a lump under my armpit and was referred to a breast clinic. Luckily the lump was a large cyst, but it was scary enough and so the following year I was asked to go back for another mammogram and a follow up check-up.

My breasts are lumpy and so I have always done self-examinations to notice any unusual changes. My follow up check up found an usual shape in my left breast and so they did a core biopsy, which came back negative. A needle aspiration was done the following year on another query shape in my left breast shown on the ultrasound.

I went to my appointment on the train. Was not sure how busy it would be after Covid 19. It was empty to what I am used to. It was surprising really, I honestly thought it would have been busier, but at least it was good for social distancing. I arrived at the radiology unit half an hour early, and it was great, as they saw me a little earlier than my allotted appointment time.

I don’t mind having my mammogram. Yes, it is slightly uncomfortable being clamped by the machine as it takes the images, but I would rather be healthy and anything be picked up early, than left.

My appointment with the breast physician and the ultrasound also proved to be okay. I have a number of cysts in my breasts, but all look okay and I left feeling relieved and happy. Back again next year however, but that is the price to pay to make sure that all is well.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

It is always good to get out and about and I have been busy doing that of late and really enjoying it because the flowers are still blooming.

What I like about my walks are the smells that infiltrate my nose. As we are still having great weather, people have cut their grass. If there is one thing I like, although my hay fever would disagree, that is freshly mown grass. The other thing I look forward to and that is the first rain fall after a dry spell. I don’t know why the smell of fresh rain falling onto tarmac and pavements is so enjoyable, but it is.

As I walk around there are so many different smells emanating from peoples homes. The aroma of fresh laundry in the tumble drier, clothes swaying in the wind on the washing line. What I love smelling is the different food smells, from Indian, Chinese and other cuisines. These smells always make me feel hungry, especially as I near home.

The smell I really love in the Summer is the BBQ, There is something about that smell that lets you know the sun has finally arrived and we can all enjoy the outdoors.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

We started our day with a 30 minute non-stop cardio workout before we decided to drive to the City as a new shopping area had just open and we wanted to see it before it got busy.

This was the first time I have been out amongst a lot of people for many weeks and I was apprehensive. The drive in was not too bad and we parked the car and started our walk around.

The first port of call was a take-away mocha and a muffin to walk around with. On our way to the café we passed a group of young people who were larking around and “enjoying life,” but for some reason, one young man was wearing a traffic cone over his face. Not sure of his reasons, but it ended up in the road as he dropped it as he went around the corner.

We ordered our mocha and muffin and waited almost five minutes or more. Must have been a while, both of us had gone to the toilet one after the other and we were still waiting afterwards. Eventually we picked them up and went to the new shops, which was a clean pleasant area to walk through.

The weather was great and in some places extremely warm, whilst in others it was a little chilly. We did a lot of walking around the City and the neighbourhood. We left there after lunch and arrived home an hour later. In total we had walked around 19.50KM, which, according to my fit bit was just over 24, 500 steps! Wow, that is a lot of steps and so tonight we are putting our feet up and having a rest.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

I have been working out since the beginning of the year, but more so during the lockdown. Well, let’s face it. there was no much else to do really.

There are so many different workouts you can find on the internet and I have been working my way through different ones, cardio, boxing, Pilates and abs workouts. It is so much fun and it gives me energy for the day ahead.

I do it for toning up mostly, but also to tighten up what us women hate and that is our ‘bat wings’. They will take a long time to tighten up but I will keep doing these workouts. I do enjoy the weights with my workouts too, as well as the kettle bells. My muscles are firming up well on my legs and arms, but I will take it easy. I don’t want them too firm!

I used to be a regular gym bunny and would do the various classes sometimes, but when I changed jobs it became more difficult to start my day with a good workout. After work all I wanted to do was to get home. I now have no gym fees and can do it at home which is great, Afterwards I can just shower and not have to try and squeeze into a space in the changing rooms, or wait for the shower. I do miss the group workouts and the camaraderie within the gym, but it has benefits for me.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Following my last update, I have an update regarding my upgraded ventilation system.

As you may have read, we had an upgrade to our ventilation system on Friday. All looked fine and it all ran well. We went out on Saturday and when we returned home it was warm and all was well. Early Sunday when hubby came down to the kitchen to make a drink early, there was a screech coming from the control panel.

I rang the company on Sunday mid-morning and left a message for them to call me on Monday. No call came, so I called them around lunch time. No message was received! Anyway I explained everything and after going through some over-the-phone troubleshooting a technician was booked.

The technician came today (Tuesday) and made sure he had his screwdriver in hand. He knew what the problem was and it only took him a matter of a minute or two. What had happened was that the original technician had screwed the control panel to tightly and all that was needed was a little loosening.

Hopefully all will be well and at the moment it is running smoothly. Let’s hope it all stays that way and a thank you to that technician for taking that time out of his schedule to come and sort it.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

It’s Sunday today and hubby and I woke up early as usual. We had an upgrade on our ventilation system on Friday and there was a high pitch noise coming from the control panel this morning. We managed to turn the noise off, but we could not do anything with the control panel. Isn’t that just the way, that there was no-one to contact today, and so I had to leave a message for them to listen to on Monday. Hopefully they will be able to come out and sort it out.

So, we both decided that we were going to do a workout of huge proportions this morning. We were already to go with water, weights and we were in the right head space. It was hard work but we both felt energized afterwards. It lasted for one hour and twenty minutes and involved Cardo, Resistance and Core workouts. You could do them separately or as a whole., which is what we did. Thanks to Daniel and Alex at The Body Project.

Around mid morning we went on our walk around the block as usual and the weather was fantastic. After lunch we worked in the garden, hubby cutting the grass and I tidied up the garden rubbish.

It has been an amazing day, albeit the ventilation control panel breaking down. Not bad for something that was not even 2 days old!

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

Tonight we made a decision that as we were now out of lockdown and our local takeaway was open, we would treat ourselves.

We walked to our local Chinese takeaway and ordered a combination curry and 6 mini spring rolls. Whilst we were there the phone was ringing one after the other and a couple of people picked up their orders. It was good to see that they were busy.

All we could smell as we made our way back home, was our curry. The curry had lots of vegetables, which we really enjoy and the meats were chicken, beef and barbeque pork along with some prawns. White rice shared the plastic container and the 6 mini spring rolls in a paper bag.

After 3 months or so of not having any takeaway foods, purely because we were all in lockdown, it was most enjoyable. A takeaway for us is a once every now and again treat, and we think that this was a well deserved treat. Cooked to perfection and the mini spring rolls are never enough, no matter how many you buy.

We missed our local Chinese takeaway.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

It has only been two days since we went down to level 1 and I am still doing my daily walks as aften as I can.

It was a chilly morning and I wrapped up with a couple of layers and headed out on my walkabout. The driveways are getting clearer with cars filling up the roads again. There are not so many people out and about walking as there were during our total lockdown. Most people I see still smile and say hello or good morning, but it is nice to walk past people now without trying to avoid them as before.

It was a great sight to see kids playing in the playground and the laughter that came from them was infectious. They were having so much fun!

The golf course has so many golfers on it these days. They must have been chomping at the bit to get back out there and improve on their swing.

My walk is a great time to just forget about everything and enjoy the fresh air, listen to the various birds calling and look at the changing colours of Autumn. Then return home and back to the everyday happenings of work, study and housework.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂

As of midnight tonight we will be down to Level 1. After all our hard work here, we have finally got there.

It was hard to believe, but we have come a long way since way back in March. We have had no new cases for the last 3 weeks or so and we now have no active cases. Covid 19 is no more, FOR THE MOMENT!

This is a momentous step and it means we can now all go about our business with no social distancing and can travel on the buses and trains with no issues. We did it hard and fast with the total lockdown, but it has paid off and lets hope that this stays this way!

Our borders are not yet open and lets hope they do this slowly, so we can keep this awful virus out and keep it out.

This morning I went for my official haircut and had to wait outside, as only 2 people were allowed to wait inside. When I saw the hairdresser, I told her that hubby had used his clippers to trim my hair about 4 weeks ago and she said that he had actually done a good job. I told him when he arrived home this evening and he was happy to hear that. I felt almost human again to have my haircut. It is so amazing that just one simple thing like having your haircut can make you feel so good about yourself.

So tomorrow is the start of a new era here and a new normal.

I know there are a lot of countries that are still struggling with this virus and I hope that those countries find the way to get it under control and to come out of this as best they can.

Smile and have a happy day 🙂