Midweek Catch-Up 03/09/25
Wow, we are in September already, so it feels like it is officially autumn now, and summer is long gone. Today, as I have been typing this, we have had thunder and lightning, so I guess it is time to get all my hoodies and comfy loungewear out and put the shorts away!
Weight Loss, Exercise and Mental Health Catch-up
This week, I have had more tests to try to find out what is going on with my health at the moment. I have had what feels like a chest infection for 10 weeks now, but it doesn’t show on an X-ray or in blood results and isn’t responding to antibiotics. They have, however, found some other issue on my chest X-ray, so we are currently trialling various things to find out what is happening! My asthma hasn’t been too bad, which is also puzzling. I think I am currently a bit of a medical mystery!
I haven’t eaten great this week and have gained a couple of pounds, but equally, I have not exercised at all as I am too short of breath just moving around the house, never mind trying to exercise! I do accept, though this is something I need to work on and eat more healthily again without little slip-ups, even if I can’t exercise.
My mental health is reasonable, given that I feel absolutely shocking most of the time, but if anyone has any jokes to give me a giggle, feel free to send them my way!
The X-ray image below isn’t mine; I don’t think it is easy to get a copy of it, so it is a stock picture, unfortunately!
Books
I have been reading lots again, especially when the weather has been bad, as then I have an excuse not to do the garden or sort out the garage! Also, now that the football season is back, I have more time when I am home alone, or Ben and Stu are watching football on TV, so I enjoy reading then too. So, here are the books I have read this week.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – Last week, I mentioned that I was struggling to get into this one, but I have actually really enjoyed it. I think I just wasn’t patient enough! It isn’t the sort of thing I would usually choose. Set in the 1950s and 60s, it follows a girl called Kya and the nature around where she lives in the marshes, the discrimination she faces and how her life changes when she is accused of murder. A true coming-of-age story mixed with murder mystery and lots about the desolate marshlands of North Carolina. I would definitely recommend it either a a book or perhaps the film, though I haven’t seen that!
Close to Home by Cara Hunter – A thriller where an 8-year-old girl disappears from a family party, and it turns out there is a whole lot more to the story than a simple abduction or murder. The book ends in a way I didn’t imagine at all. This one is definitely a page-turner, and I read it in 2 evenings!
I bought a few new books the other day, and one was Cara Hunter’s latest book. I hadn’t read any of her books but had been recommended them recently, so I was keen to try one. Then, when I got home, I discovered it was the 7th in a series and was a follow-up from book one! Close to Home (above) is book one, and I downloaded that on Kindle and loved it, so now I am reading book two. I am going to read the rest of the series before I actually read my new one!
I finished reading Verity by Colleen Hoover, which I mentioned last week, and I really enjoyed it. If you like books by Freida McFadden, Cara Hunter and Diane Saxon, I would definitely recommend Verity! I am going to read more of Colleen Hoover’s books, but I am not sure which one I should read next. Do you have any recommendations?
On Audible, I am currently listening to The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, but it is early days, so I can’t say much about it yet. I will keep you posted!
I am also reading Dorothy Koomson’s Give Him to Me, which I also bought last weekend! Typically, before I bought it in paperback, I checked if it was better to buy on Kindle, and it wasn’t, yet since then it has gone onto 99p on Kindle! Does this happen to anyone else?
Family and Life
Are your kids back at school or college? Ben starts back tomorrow with an induction session and then induction week next week, followed by his full timetable from the week after. He is studying Level 3 Film and TV, and if last year is anything to go by, he will absolutely smash it! I am so proud of the young man he is becoming, and I can’t believe he will be 20 in November! He was diagnosed with autism at age 2 and didn’t talk until he was 5, but oh gosh does he make up for it now! He has his challenges, of course, but I am such a proud mum.
Anyone who knows him knows how obsessed he is with the film Hot Fuzz, so if anyone has any Hot Fuzz-themed gift suggestions for his birthday, do let me know! I took him to Wells, where it was filmed, earlier this year, though, so not that! If you can help me with ideas, “It is for the greater good” as Ben would say – a quote from the film!
Ben and I have been enjoying shopping in charity shops again recently, he loves looking for DVDs for his collection (and buys every Hot Fuzz DVD he sees!), and I look at books mostly! One of the local charity shops has 4 books or DVDs for £1, so it is always good for a bargain! We tend to combine it with a visit to our favourite tea room, Poffles! If you haven’t been and are in the Mansfield area, you are missing out! Poffles Coffee and Cake Emporium is on the high street in Mansfield Woodhouse.
Stuart and I have been thinking more about our wedding, and I was chatting to the florist we will be using a few days ago, which is so exciting!
On the Blog
This week has been a busy one on the blog. I have published lots of new posts, in fact, too many to list below! I have also been a guest on BBC Radio Sheffield, which was fun! If you fancy a listen, it is around 2 hours 10 minutes into the Paulette Edwards show on 2nd September! They emailed me out of the blue asking me to be on, which was lovely. I talked about healthy budget lunch box ideas for children.
Latest Posts
Here are some of my latest posts you might have missed:
- Healthy packed lunch ideas for teenagers
- Homedics Wakeband review – A silent alarm
- A guide to budget hotels in France from our experiences
- Cactus care tips
- Garlic rice recipe
- A review of Nourished Collagen Gummies
- Why walking is great during Perimenopause
Current Giveaways
I still have some giveaways on my websites. Why not take a look and enter here:
