YAY it's Monday - you ready for another week!

16^th April 2012

Kind words cost nothing, and smiles are free. Have a productive week and take time to enjoy the little things life has to offer.

I usually make all sorts of plans when I have a weekend at home and rarely follow through ;-) this weekend however I did, I had planned to take care of me and that’s exactly what I did.  I spent four hours yesterday cooking and now have a fridge and freezer full of meals to save me time for the next few weeks.  All good healthy tasty stuff too, I made that ‘pot of love’ from yesterdays blog, was very tasty although it took longer for the rice to cook that it says.  I also made a double batch of the chicken and bacon casserole from the recipe cards, I just love that meal and could easily eat it twice a day, its delicious.  So I’m all set for a good week, we have no cakes, biscuits or junk in our house because even mom has decided she thinks her health problems might lesson if she cuts them down. 

Yesterday morning I looked back to see what I was doing 12 months ago to the day and smiled when I read and realised it was the anniversary since I’d fetched Alfie, bless him, he’s still as cute as the day I picked him up 2 years ago and helps to keep me fit by taking me for a good long walk each morning.  Keeping a blog or diary is interesting, it’s helped me to notice patterns about myself and to realise that I feel/behave differently at different times of the year, April is usually a month of spending time at home, being productive and getting things done both at home and at work. 

Something’s never change though; mom’s just got out of bed moaning. She does that all the time ;-) and every morning I agree with her and smile.  We all have things in our lives to be grateful for and she is one of mine, moaning or not!

I’ve smiled a lot this last week, after visiting my brother last weekend, I realised how much like him I am, probably because everyone kept telling me!  Since I’ve been back home I keep noticing certain things I do, faces I pull, things I say, and I keep laughing, looking at mom and saying “I’m turning to Terry ain’t I?” She laughs and says yes.  There’s 8 years between us, but mom reckons we could have been twins we’re so alike and it wasn’t until this trip that I remembered how close we were as children and I keep smiling when I think about it.  We’re still alike now and we seem to be living the same life in different countries, we both get up early in the morning, walk dogs, go to work and enjoy life.  I think I may have already said that in a previous blog, or at least I’ve thought / said it before!  I’ll blame perimenopause for not remembering whether I’ve already wrote it or not, I plan to blame it for everything for the next ten years until I go through the change and turn into whatever it is the menopause turns me into!

I’m going to make a conscious effort, now I’ve stocked up with all this healthy food to eat more brown rice, brown pasta, lentils and pulses.  Introduce more vegetarian meals into my life I think, as well as oily fish at least once a week.   According to that ‘super foods to boost your moods’ book I will start to notice the difference very quickly, so we shall see.  I don’t suffer from depression but I have been getting cranky/ratty when it’s that time of the month these days (perimenopause that will be ;-) ), so let’s see if it helps that.

Eating better this last week has definitely got rid of my heartburn/indigestion so that’s one step in the right direction, I’ve heard the saying “nothing tastes as good as being thin feels” but I beg to disagree, they’ve obviously never tasted a good bottle of South African Pinotage or a donor kebab after a night out on the town, or a curry on a Friday night!  However I must say I do believe, “nothing tastes better than feeling well” and that’s why I am doing everything in my power to ensure I eat well to feel great, which I’d already decided before reading that book, now having read it I’m even more convinced it’s the only way to go. That’s why I’m sat here drinking hot water rather than tea because too much tea gives me heartburn!

YAY it’s Monday we get to start another week, how lucky are we!