Midweek Catch-Up 13/08/25

Here we are with another midweek catch-up. I have lots to talk about this week again, so grab a cuppa and have a read.

A green speech bubble with the words "Jen's Midweek Catch-Up" and "13/08/25" written inside in black and gold text.

Contents

Weight Loss, Exercise and Mental Health Catch-up

This week was an exciting week on the scales, not only did I lose the 1.75lb I gained over the holiday, but a little extra too, with a loss of 3.5lb so now I am almost 2lb lighter than before I went on holiday! I am really pleased with that! Now, to just keep going!

Exercise has been limited as I have only just really got over the chest infection and I am still coughing a little so I have been takiing it steady but in the next few days I plan to start going for more walks again and back on the crosstrainer.

My mental health seems reasonably ok at the moment so I am happy with that. I am not sure if it is just the endorphins from an amazing holiday plus the excitement of wedding planning (more about that further down!), or it is a good sign in the longer term. I guess only time will tell.

A glass of red iced drink with a black straw sits on a table in a modern indoor café at Bahia del Sol, with blurred background showing plants, large windows, and soft lighting—perfect for an all-inclusive Santa Ponsa escape.

Books

This week I have read quite a bit again, I have been loving my Kindle and reading daily! Here are the books I have read this week:

After enjoying Lola is Missing by Alison James, I read Now She’s Gone by the same author. It features the same detectives, but you don’t need to have read the previous book to follow it. In this book, the detective from the National Crime Agency, Rachel, is in Edinburgh looking into the death of a teenager from the Netherlands. It turns out, though, she is right, and it is a lot more than it seems. A good book, but some aspects were a bit predictable!

Then I read another one of the same author’s, Perfect Girls by Alison James. This one I didn’t enjoy as much as the previous two, if I am honest. The previous two did have some elements where the detective seemed to have endless funds to travel to investigate relatively straightforward crimes, but this one took it to a whole new “surely that isn’t right” level! First, she travels to America to help investigate the murder of a woman from the UK, then, when she is asked to return home as they think they have solved it (surprise, surprise, they haven’t), she decides to go back to America. As she wasn’t given expenses to go back across, she did it all out of her own money, with leave from work. This included paying for various hotels, flights back and forth across America and hiring cars, all to solve murders that she wasn’t actually on the case for anymore! So yes, it got quite unbelievable! The author has written lots of other books (different characters), but I am not sure if I will read any more.

Last week I told you I had read The Secret Diary of an Arranged Marriage by Halima Khatun and loved it. So this week, I read The Secret Diary of a Bengali Bridezilla by the same author. I really enjoyed it, so next I think I will read the others in her series. If you like RomComs and fancy something a little bit different with funny bits and described as a Bengali girl’s Bridget Jones’ Diary (which I agree with), then I would definitely recommend it.

I am currently reading Eight Years of Lies by Lisa Hall. It was something I was suggested on my Kindle, so I have not read anything of hers before, but so far, I am enjoying it. Has anyone else read her books? If so, let me know what you think.

A Kindle e-reader in a turquoise case displays the cover of "Now She’s Gone" by Alison James, perfect for a Midweek Catch-Up, featuring a black-and-white image of a girl in a dress standing on a path.

Family and Life

Since we came back from holiday, it has all been work, work, work here, and nothing very exciting has been happening on the whole; however, I do have some exciting news. Stuart and I got engaged almost 3 years ago, and we have started planning our wedding for 2027. For one reason or another, we haven’t done it yet, but now that we have started, it is so exciting! I will share more details at some point in a full blog post, but I am so excited!

Rail holding various different white and cream wedding dresses.

On the Blog

Do you remember a while ago, I mentioned that I was in the process of designing a journal? Well, it is now all finished and submitted to Amazon, so it should be on sale in the next few days! I will be running a giveaway too for a reader or two to win one, so make sure you watch this space! It is a 12-week journal and perfect for anyone trying to lose weight or start exercising. Here is a sneak peek of the front cover for a teaser!

A turquoise cover with black text reads: "My 12 Weeks to a Better Me Journal SNEAK PEEK." Bullet points mention prompts, QR codes, trackers, Midweek Catch-Up tips, and building healthy habits. A QR code and icons appear in the center.

A giveaway – as promised last week, I have a new giveaway for you all, so if you fancy winning a £15 Amazon voucher, then pop over to my giveaway article and enter!