Post Comment Love 30th June - 2nd July

It's Friday again (where has this week gone?!) and that means it's time for Post Comment Love. Link up your favourite/best post of the week, or even a post that needs a bit of extra love, and Stephanie and I will send that extra love your way. 

This week seems to have gone so fast, I think it's partly due to LP having an inset day on Monday and BP having inset days yesterday and today. So really I had just 2 days of regular routine this week. They're both ready for the holidays, they've been coming up with ideas for things for us to do during the summer and keep asking how long it is until they break up. Just for the record it's 3 weeks and 2 days, which means we have that time to come up with a plan that allows the Hubby and me to get work done at the same time as making sure the boys have a great summer.

The weather has certainly had a turn hasn't it? I tell you what though it can't bring my mood down at the moment because I had some fantastic news this week. If you've been reading about my smear test journey you'll know that I found out I had cervical cancer. I had to have a second treatment to work out if they'd cut it all out or not. Well, on Wednesday I had a call from my consultant to tell me that they didn't find any more cancer cells! How awesome is that?! I still have to go for a consult to discuss follow up but I can't stop smiling!





  • The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it.

C.C. Scott





The recent health issues have made me realise that I need to take more care of myself though and over the next few months I'm going to try harder to be healthy. As soon as I can start exercising again I'm starting walking again and I have plans for healthier food too. Planning is proving very helpful. 😉

Are you ready for the summer?





Blogger Showcase


Unfortunately our scheduled Blogger for this week is not blogging anymore so there's no showcase this week. If you're interested in being featured do get in touch with us!





Pocolo


Each week you'll be able to link up from either of our sites and between us Stephanie and I will comment on every post linked.

The rules; Link up your best post written in the last week and we'd like you to comment on at least two other linked posts, as well as the hosts.

Help us spread the #PoCoLo word on Twitter and include the badge on your post.

Please do pop over and say hi to this week's Blogger Showcase. It's always nice to get a comment or two.

If you'd like to be featured in our Blogger Showcase please do check out the questions and email your answers to us at postcommentlove@gmail.com.

Thank you for popping by.

Post Comment Love
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You are SuperMum!

One of the first posts I ever wrote was about being SuperMum and how I simply wasn't super at being a mum at all. I described how I let the washing pile up and the kids ran riot most days. I wrote that it's okay to do and that you should be happy with not being SuperMum, but what I failed to realise was that you already are SuperMum in your children's eyes.

Okay so some of the time the kids think you're Evil Mum, especially when you're telling them to do their chores or asking them to pick up the mess they made. They will also drive you insane with their incessant bickering and vying for your attention. But at the end of the day you are their SuperMum because you are always there.




Nurse


Their noses are blocked up, their little eyes are puffy, and they can't stop coughing but they know for sure that they'll be looked after because they have you. It doesn't matter what you already had planned if your child is sick you cancel your plans to take care of them. You nurse them back to health, all the while ignoring your own needs, making sure they are as comfortable as they can be. Even when your kids are feeling really rubbish they know a hug from you will make it all better.

SuperMum!




Laundry worker


Your kids always have clean clothes in their wardrobe, they don't have to go searching for clean clothes. Despite all the complaining at having to put their dirty clothes into a basket you still ensure said clothes are washed, dried, and ironed to be put back into the wardrobe. Your kids are never without clean clothes. 





The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.

Honore de Balzac





Your kids also sleep on clean bedding. You make sure to change and clean the bedding so they're sleeping soundly every night. They may not see this happen but they do know you're responsible. 

SuperMum!




Chef


Every single day you get up in a morning and your first thought is for others. You get out of bed and make breakfast, making sure that your kids go to school having had a healthy, filling, breakfast. On school days you give them lunch boxes filled with healthy choice meals (for the most part) and snacks and during the weekends you cook lunches they'll enjoy. Dinner is the family time and you ensure to have the family at the dinner table eating together. You cook the meal, sometimes choosing their favourites, and enjoy watching them eat their meals.




Your kids are always fed, they don't go hungry.

SuperMum!




Cleaner


On a daily basis you wash dishes, clean pans, vacuum the carpets, and tidy mess. Your kids live in a relatively tidy home and aren't climbing over rubbish to get to their toys. You can have visitors without much trouble (even if it does require a quick tidy first!) and have no problem with your kids friends' coming over to play. 

A tidy house, thanks to you.

SuperMum!




Taxi Driver


As your kids grow up and want to go to various clubs or to see friends you take on the job of taxi driver. You take your kids to the football or dance club, you drop them off at their friends' house, you drive them to meet their friends in town, all the time without complaint (most of the time). 




It doesn't matter where your kids want to go, you'll take them.

SuperMum!




When you become a mum you never think for a second about all the jobs you're taking on. Being a mum is not just one job, it's many. You become nurse, laundry worker, chef, cleaner, taxi driver, and so many other things. 





In a child's eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe. 

N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms





In my eyes every single mum out there is SuperMum. 
You are awesome.

Tonight when the kids are finally in bed and you get that small moment of peace for yourself be sure to raise a glass with me and toast yourself and all the other SuperMums out there!

Weight, health issues, and what I'm doing about it

If you've read my blog recently you'll know I was recently diagnosed with cervical cancer. While it was a shock I'm lucky that the doctors believe they already cut it out when I had a LLETZ procedure. I'm currently in recovery after a second procedure which means I can't exercise, and given that my weight hasn't gone down for a long time that's not great. My weight has always been an issue and it goes up and down all the time, only this time it's stopped going down. 

Over the last few months I've lost and gained the same few pounds and it doesn't feel good. I feel like I'm letting myself down, I'm not trying enough. I know that I need to reduce my portion sizes to begin with, I've done it before so I know I can do it. But when it comes to dishing up dinner I always end up with more food than I intended. It's like the fat me takes over and thinks "ooh food!" and piles it on my plate. It's not good and I need to do something about it. 




  • Every new day is another chance to change your life






This week I have bought some fruit to try and tempt myself away from the sweet stuff, if I replace the artificial sweet with the naturally sweet that's gotta help right? I have apples and clementines for snacks and after meal treats and I'm hoping that works. This morning I even decided that I didn't want to finish my breakfast cereal because it was too sweet. I secretly hope that I'm going off sugar and there will be a miraculous switch in my food preferences, but of course I don't really think that will happen. 

What I have been doing is trying to have healthy food swaps, much like the NHS website suggests. I have wholemeal bread instead of white, I have semi-skimmed milk instead of whole milk. I have always cooked my meat under the grill instead of the frying pan but there has been a trend towards the frying pan of late and I need to switch back. My food choices are the problem at the moment though, I would much prefer to have a plate full of lasagne and garlic bread than a healthy turkey bolognese with no bread, and the boys are the same too. But I need to change things, I'm the one in control of the food in the house so I should just cook healthy meals.




  • Dear Stomach, 
  • you're bored not hungry, 
  • so shut up!






I have plenty of healthy meal recipes and they're not even that difficult to make so I don't know why I've been avoiding them. Part of the reason is that I'm getting more and more lazy, I admit it. Not being able to do exercise for a few weeks is not helping with my motivation. I can't exercise so I'm not energised to do anything. In the last couple of months that's happened twice and again I'm unable to exercise. A slight change in my attitude lately though is that I do want to exercise. Once I am able to exercise again I plan to get up at 6am every day and do a half hour of walking, even if that's on the treadmill. At least it's something and it'll help with my motivation. 



The other reason to be more active is health, being obese is not great for your health. I move less so I gain weight, which means I feel worse and eat because I feel bad. It's a vicious circle. Being overweight also has serious health implications and with everything that's been going on inside my body lately I'm more aware that I need to be healthy. As with anything I think planning is key.

I've been reading up on weight loss and the NHS website has some great tips; 12 simple tips to help you lose weight. I'm definitely going to be implementing some of these. They also have some great recipes for you to try too.

So this is me, again, writing my intention to do something about my weight. Whether I gain or lose weight I'm going to start keeping a diary and track the exercise and food that I'm eating, perhaps that'll help me too.

How do you stay healthy?

Am I an introvert?

The Hubby and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary recently and we headed to London to have a whole weekend to ourselves. It was a wonderful weekend and we had a great time, but while in London I had a few lightbulb moments about myself that surprised me.

While I have always been a quiet person, shy and enjoy time alone, I have never really thought of myself as an introvert. As far as I was concerned I just liked quiet time but that didn't make me an introvert. I thought introverts were people who spent most time alone and didn't go out to parties, they avoided them. The weird thing is I'm not sure why I thought I wasn't an introvert because there is so much that points to it.




I need quiet time


London is a busy city, there's always something going on and it can be difficult to find somewhere where there is no noise. This was one of the things I noticed most during our weekend, the constant noise, even late at night, was something I found difficult to deal with. 

At home I can sit in my room and the only sound I hear is my fingers hitting the keys of my keyboard. If I stop typing the sound stops and there is silence. I love the quiet, it gives me a chance to either sit and think or just sit and enjoy the peace. With two boys at home it doesn't happen very often so when it does I appreciate it. 





Solitude matters, and for some people, it's the air they breathe

Susan Cain





Spending the weekend in London made me realise how much I enjoy the quiet. It is a need and after the weekend away I have learned that the quiet is important to me. By the time we got home on Sunday all I wanted to do was sit in the quiet and do nothing. 




I don't like crowds


I find huge crowds of people draining. Thinking about our trip to London and walking past Buckingham Palace, where lots of people had gathered, I was eager to get away. We walked quickly through the crowds, my tension rising. I don't like crowds. It wasn't until there was more space that I felt the tension ease. Once the people were more spaced out and there were areas with no one I felt better. Walking into a park with a lot less people made me smile.

Thinking about it I realise that I've felt like this before. When we go to Nottingham city centre and it is busy I don't like it. The people walking towards me, going about their business, chatting amongst themselves, I feel under pressure. Just the thought of that city centre filled with people makes my stress levels rise. 




I do my best thinking alone


Being a busy stay-at-home mum I don't tend to spend much time in groups of people. I get a lot of time to myself because the boys are at school most days. This is a great thing for me, I always do my best thinking when I'm alone. 

From creative ideas to working out problems I always work out the issues on my own. I will, on occasion, ask for input from others but it doesn't happen very often. I work best alone. 





Telling an introvert to go to a party is like telling a saint to go to Hell.

Criss Jami, Killosophy





That is not to say I don't like people and will actively avoid talking to people, I value others' opinions and will listen. It just means that any thinking that is necessary is much better to do when I'm alone. 




I don't like the limelight


Whether it's a group chat or a blogging conference I would much rather listen to others shout out their opinions and thoughts. I'm not the kind of person that would raise my hand and offer my opinion. Partly because I'm not sure my opinion is valid and partly because I just don't like the limelight. The thought of everyone looking at me and listening is terrifying. 




A quiz


After realising that I am probably an introvert I took an online quiz which quickly confirmed that I am, in fact, an introvert. Shocking huh? 




Are you an introvert?


Have you ever wondered if you might be an introvert? I spent a little time reading about being an introvert and came across a handy website that lists nine signs you're really an introvert. Reading the article and agreeing with most of the statements I concluded that I am an introvert and went on to do the quiz above. 


Do you have any introvert traits?





Post Comment Love 23rd - 25th June

Welcome back to Post Comment Love, it's lovely to see you again! If it's your first time visiting - Welcome! Link up your best post of the week and Stephanie and I will read and share. 

I had my second LLETZ treatment this week so I'm in recovery again. I've got a few restrictions for the next six weeks but hopefully that will be the end of it all. Hopefully.

The Hubby and I had a great time in London last week celebrating our 10th anniversary. We did lots of walking and enjoyed the sunshine but it was so nice to get back home too. I learned a lot about myself over the weekend, lots of which I'll write about in a post soon.

The boys have inset days next week, again. LP will be off school on Monday and BP is off on Thursday and Friday. I anticipate not getting much work done next week! Summer is creeping up on us too, before long they'll have finished for the six weeks holidays and I'll have nothing planned. 

Hope you've had a great week, let me know what you've been up to in the comments.





Blogger Showcase Jessika from AnecNotes




Who are you? 


I'm an internationally traveling musician, a disturbed citizen of the US, and a young woman. I lead a life far from the beaten path which has confounded everyone I know and love, but has given me fresh insights on the state of our world...and a long list of crazy stories that not even fiction could write.



How did you discover blogs/blogging? 


Years ago a friend of mine opened a private blog to vent about her frustrating dating experiences. While she wrote under a pen name, I was impressed with her candor and willingness to not be embarrassed by what she'd experienced -- and saw how all of us, to varying degrees, have shared similar experiences. Her readers welcomed it with open arms, and were entertained in the process. That left a good first blog impression.



Why did you start blogging? 


I turned 30, and I knew I needed to rise to the occasion of being a bigger, smarter person; I could no longer be the naive, hopeful girl I was before, but I had to allow that girl some place to be. I needed her to be valued and remembered, but not be the one who was making decisions for my future. Simultaneously, the political climate shifted, and I was disturbed by how our leadership was validating and strengthening the harmful aspects of our culture. I wanted to use my own experiences to shed light and awareness on what it's like to be a woman, what it's like to be a working musician, and what it's like to be a woman in a male dominated field.. My stories are to challenge assumptions and beliefs, entertain, and provoke discussion on creating a better world, with more equal opportunities for all.



What do you find most challenging? 


Keeping track of my code names for everyone. All proper nouns referring to individuals and groups are changed to protect the innocent (unless I'm given permission to use someone's real name in a particular post). It's also hard to choose a code name for someone that still reflects the essence of who that person is, as effectively as their actual name does.



What is your favorite topic to write about? 


Probably any post that fits in my "One Liners" category. I already have the one-liner etched in my memory, that threw everyone into stitches, and then I have to build the story backwards from there: explaining the characters and the circumstances so that the reader has access to every nuance of the joke. Then I have to trim it down, to be short and sweet, to maximize comedic timing.



Are you blogging for fun or do you have goals? 


I want these stories documented, and I don't want them to keep evolving as my memory fades. My life has been so strange that I feel compelled to write a book, but I need to make sure each individual story holds water on its own, so here I'm telling them separately. Then maybe someday I'll have an editor string them all into one coherent work. Also, this is a healing process. I'm being honest about my shame in many entries, and in shedding it, I hope to attract more sophisticated and inspiring challenges in my life.



What is your favorite thing about blogging? 


No one else's perspective gets to taint the stories of my life. Now, I'm not saying that the perspectives of those who were witness to these stories aren't valid, but they don't explain my actions.



Have you ever attended a blogging conference and if so, what did you think? 


I have not, but I did recently sit through a blogging webinar by Jeff Goins -- it was very good. Basically, I have the proper infrastructure in place to succeed, I now need to build a following. Then I'll be ready to move forward with his other suggestions!



What are your three best posts? 





Describe yourself in three words! 


Look out, World.



Are you a tea and biscuits or coffee and cake person? 


I am a coffee and biscuits person -- I have a dairy allergy so I usually have bad luck with cake. Biscuits can sometimes be cow product free! (Currently I'm working on the blog entry that explains my dairy allergy, which I was not born with, oh no...stay tuned.)



What's your idea of a perfect night out? 


A traditional Argentine tango milonga.



Your perfect night in? 


Knitting in front of the TV, after having written charts or a blog entry all day.



What would your best friend/OH/mum or kids say is your best quality? 


My loyalty.


Here's link to my blog AnecNotes: Tales of My First 30 Years in the Music Industry. Let me know your thoughts!


You can connect with Jessika here:



Blog
Twitter
Facebook
www.instagram/jessikabrust
www.reverbnation.com/jessikabrust
www.starnow.com/jessikabrust
www.patreon.com/jessikabrust


Feel free to grab our 'featured' badge Jessika!

Post Comment Love
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Pocolo 


Each week you'll be able to link up from either of our sites and between us Stephanie and I will comment on every post linked. 

The rules; Link up your best post written in the last week and we'd like you to comment on at least two other linked posts, as well as the hosts. 

Help us spread the #PoCoLo word on Twitter and include the badge on your post. 

Please do pop over and say hi to this week's Blogger Showcase. It's always nice to get a comment or two. 

If you'd like to be featured in our Blogger Showcase please do check out the questions and email your answers to us at postcommentlove@gmail.com. 

Thank you for popping by.

Post Comment Love
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Don't dawdle, develop your dream home now

Your dream home is something that you can work on achieving for your whole life. You can make adjustments and changes all the time and never quite feel like it's finished. But what if you could have your dream home now? With the right approach, you can design a home that's perfect for you and your family.






Imagine the Possibilities


Some people make the mistake of limiting what they do with their home to what it looks like now. It's like when someone looks at homes for sale and is put off by the current colours instead of imagining how they could change them. You need to use your imagination to think about what your home could become, not what it is now. 




Think About How You Use Your Home (Or Want To) 


If you want your home to fulfill your dreams, you need to think about how you use. Or you need to consider how you want to use your home. This can help you make decisions about things like layout, storage solutions and lighting, among other things, 




Visualise It First 


Before you make any changes to your home, it's useful if you can get a good idea of what it looks like. There are some great tools you can use to help you visualise your home as you want it. Try something like RoomSketcher to draw floor plans, as well as try out decorating and furnishing ideas. 




Be Creative with Inspiration 


Sometimes, you're not sure what your dream home looks like. If you don't know what you want, you should look in lots of places for inspiration. Get creative and try things like this fun look at fairy tale homes from Factory Direct Flooring.

 
Infographic Design By Factory Direct Flooring

Collaborative post

Smear tests, cervical cancer, and how I feel about it

Smear tests, they suck don't they? Stupid tests where someone sticks something into your vagina to check that you don't have cervical cancer. It's invasive, uncomfortable, and can sometimes take 10 minutes. 10 whole minutes with a metal device stuck inside your vagina holding it open so a nurse can poke around to "take a swab" and send it to a lab.

It's one of the many reasons it sucks to be a woman.

But here's the thing about smear tests - they can save your life. 

How do I know? 

Because they saved mine.



My Story so far


A routine letter I get every few years arrived and, as usual, I delayed booking my smear test. Being poked and prodded is not my idea of fun, even if it was a test that could save my life. To be honest though I'd never really thought of it that way before, it wasn't "saving my life" it was just a stupid test I had to have that came back clear every time.

Except this time was very different. 

After booking my smear test (after much nagging from the Hubby) I went to the doctors and it took about 5 minutes. The test was over in no time and all was done with... or at least I thought it was. Three weeks to the day later I received a letter that told me about "high grade dyskariosis". Abnormal cells had showed up on the test and I needed to go to the hospital for further tests and possibly treatment.

The internet helped me more than the information sent by the hospital and I learned that it was a fairly routine thing. Many women have abnormal cells and most of the time it ends up being nothing. I went to the hospital not really thinking anything was wrong.


At the hospital I had a LLETZ treatment, the doctors cut away some of my cervix so they could test it. They sent the biopsy off to a pathologist who would take six weeks to look at it and send back the results.



The LLETZ procedure, while slightly painful, wasn't too bad. The doctor (a lady) was very nice and discussed what she was doing the whole time. The nurse in the room chatted to me to try to distract me from what was happening. No woman likes being prodded at with metal devices but it wasn't as bad as I'd imagined.

The recovery from the procedure is six weeks and there are various restrictions to the things you do afterwards, like no exercise for 2-3 weeks. It was frustrating being restricted but it was necessary so I just got on with it.

In the six weeks while waiting for the results of the biopsy I read a lot about the procedure and the kind of results you get. The NHS website was helpful, as was Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust which the NHS refers to. On that site I learned that having the treatment reduces the risk of cervical cancer by 95%, so I was fairly sure I'd be okay.

Having "high grade dyskariosis" does not mean you have cancer, it just means there were abnormal cells detected that could, over time, develop into cancer. That's why you have the treatment - to prevent cancer from developing. 

Five weeks after having the LLETZ treatment I was sent a letter asking me to go back to the hospital to "discuss results". When I received that letter I felt like I'd been punched, the wind knocked out of me. I hadn't been expecting to have to go back, I thought I'd get a letter saying everything was fine and no other treatment was necessary. 

I was worried and all kinds of scenarios went through my mind, some of which were rather scary.

It's at this point that I started reading about cervical cancer. It had suddenly become a real possibility and I needed to know about it. About a week before my appointment to discuss results I hit the internet...

On the Cancer Research website I learned that more than 52% of cervical cancer cases are diagnosed in females aged under 45 and 1 in 135 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer during their lifetime. In 2014 there were around 3,200 new cases of cervical cancer in the UK - that's around 9 cases diagnosed every day. These stats were not helping my stress levels. Add to that the fact that you have an increased risk of developing cervical cancer if you have taken the contraceptive pill for more than 5 years (I took it for about 15 years) and if you've had children, I was getting quite nervous.

Then I looked at other stats, like how 19,000 women were still alive at the end of 2006, up to ten years after being diagnosed with cervical cancer. It is something that can be treated fairly easily with surgery (depending on the stage) and the survival rate is good.



The Hubby came with me to my appointment, I was quite nervous to learn what they'd found. When we were called in we went into a small room where the doctor began talking about the results of the test. He began by saying they had found precancerous cells in the biopsy which they'd taken so there was nothing to worry about... but he wasn't finished. 


My heart thumped in my chest. My legs went to jelly (luckily I was sitting). Tears threatened to roll down my cheeks. 





Cancer affects all of us, whether you’re a daughter, mother, sister, friend, coworker, doctor, or patient.

Jennifer Aniston





How had this happened?


The doctor told us more... they had found two areas of cancer but they were very small (0.3mm and 0.5mm) and could be seen under microscope. He (the doctor) said he was confident they'd found it all and took it out, but just to be sure I'd have to have another LLETZ treatment so they could inspect the biopsy to make sure there weren't any more areas of cancer.

So that was it, I had/have cervical cancer.

As I write this post I have just had my second LLETZ which was a LOT more unpleasant than the first, in fact it hurt. I put this down to still being tender from the first treatment. It has been two weeks since the doctor told us about the cancer. I'm obviously in recovery again, another six weeks of restrictions, but this time I'll be going back to the hospital in 3 weeks to discuss the results and next steps. The next steps depend on the results and how I feel about it all.



How do I feel?


This is a difficult one because I really don't know how I feel. Hearing your name in the same sentence as the word 'cancer' is terrifying but at the same time they may have already cut it out. I don't know how I'm meant to feel about that. On the one hand it's a good (okay, great) thing they've already cut it out but what if they haven't?

My head is a mash of emotions. 

I'm scared, in case they find more cancer. Having to have further treatment, having to explain to the boys what is happening, just writing this makes tears well up in my eyes. I can't think about it without my heart pounding and my stomach flipping. 

I'm relieved they found what they did and got rid of it. As far as I know the cancer is all gone and thanks to the doctors and the procedure I may be cancer free. While I had/have cancer it hasn't effected my health at all and other than having to go through a little surgery (LLETZ) everything is okay. 

I'm worried about further health implications. What does this mean for the future? Am I meant to keep a look out for anything else strange? I know I'm at increased risk of developing it again in the future but what about other issues, other cancers? These are questions I'll have to ask my doctor when I see him next. 

The weirdest thing though is knowing that I had/have (see? I don't even know which to use!) cancer but that it might already be sorted. I don't feel like it's as serious as having to go through chemotherapy yet I have been diagnosed with a cancer. How are you supposed to feel about that?



Next steps


As I said, my next steps depend on the results of my most recent LLETZ and the advice of the doctors. My last discussion with the doctor was a lot more serious than the last and he made it sound like I might want to choose to have a hysterectomy. Without knowing much about it how can I choose to do something like that?! Yes, I am done with having children but that can't be the only difference it makes can it?

At the moment I am just waiting to see what happens and hoping no more treatment is necessary.



So why did I write this post?


I wanted to share my story with you to stress how important it is to go for your smear test.

I am 36 years old. I have two children and am happily married. I didn't consider myself at risk of cancer. I thought, despite being overweight, I was healthy and I didn't have any symptoms or indications that something might be wrong.

I can say now that the smear test really did save my life.





What does not kill us makes us stronger. 

Friedrich Nietzsche





Cervical cancer wasn't even on my radar but thanks to the smear test it was found and dealt with.

The point of the smear test is to find those cells (be it abnormal cells or cancerous ones) and get rid of them before they become a problem. If left the cancer can spread to surrounding organs and then is a much bigger problem. 

Going for that smear test really can save your life. 

Book it now.

Please.


via GIPHY


Linked to Weekend Blog Hop and...

Brilliant blog posts on HonestMum.com

Mummuddlingthrough

Twin Mummy and Daddy

This Mum's Life

Our weekend away in London

On Friday 16th June it was the Hubby and my 10th anniversary and we decided we would go to London for the weekend. The boys were staying with my sister, so I spent the afternoon packing for us and the boys and after school on Friday I dropped them off at my sister's house. 




The trip down to London


After dropping the boys off with my sister I headed home and we chilled out before getting in the car and driving to Edgware. The drive was fine, we listened to an audio book and chatted and arrived in Edgware at about 9:40. It didn't take long to work out which train we needed to get on and we hopped aboard.

In our bag I'd packed a bottle of Jim Beam Apple, we planned to drink it in the hotel room once we'd settled in. The Hubby couldn't help himself though, and pulled the bottle out while we were sitting on the train. We only had a small drink but it was so nice and got us smiling. 

During our trip on the tube we discovered that the station right by our hotel had been closed, we had to get off a stop before and walk the rest of the way. That was fine, we were ready to leave the tube (it was very hot), we hurried outside into the fresh air. We walked roughly 1 mile from the tube station to our hotel. 

It didn't take us long to settle in for the night, by the time we were in the room having eaten and settled down it was after midnight.




Saturday


Waking on Saturday morning was brilliant, I didn't have to get up immediately and sort out breakfast for everyone. I got to laze around in bed, play on my iPad, and read on my new Kindle. Of course when you're so used to getting up in a morning it wasn't long before I was feeling restless and we decided to head out of the room.


The front of Corus Hotel, Hyde Park. White building with flowers in flower boxes under windows


When we stepped outside the sun was already shining down and we could tell it was going to be a hot day. We were staying at the Corus Hotel which is situated right by Hyde Park so we crossed the road and decided to walk through the park. Hand-in-hand we strolled into the park and I had to take a photo of the fountain. 


Entrance to Hyde Park, with a cloudless blue sky
We walked into the park and I smiled, I couldn't wait for the walk.


Fountain in the bright sunshine, Hyde Park.


We followed a path that went through the park, passing this Peter Pan statue on the way.


Brass Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park


plaque on the floor by peter pan statue


After the statue we found a small cafe, offering coffee, juice, and most importantly breakfast pastries. We bought ourselves a Pain au Chocolate and a blueberry muffin and continued our walk along the path. As we walked towards central London, and as I stood by the lake, I could see the Shard and the London Eye in the distance.


Swans on a lake, cloudless blue sky with London skyline in the background
If you look closely you can see the Shard poking above the trees in the distance behind the tower block. 


Man walking along footpath next to a lake in Hyde Park


Our walk through the park ended and we reached Knightsbridge, Harrods was across the road but wasn't open yet so we decided to keep walking. On our side of the road though we passed a Harrods Property agent and we stopped to take a look at the kind of properties they offered. There were a few that took my fancy...


Concierge, gym, pool and a spa... all for £15k per week. Yep, no problem! 😱


This one looked amazing and for only £15,000 per week (!!) it could've been ours. Oh my!


There was another apartment I saw too, that one was cost £28 million to buy!! I told the Hubby the only way I'd ever move to London was if I could live there. Don't think a move to London is on the cards any time soon though.




Saatchi Gallery



From there we wandered the streets and headed towards the Saatchi Gallery. The last time we visited London we really enjoyed the displays there so we thought we'd go again. Unfortunately this time there were a lot of selfies on display and I'm not one to consider selfies 'art' I'm afraid. I found it really strange that someone taking a photo of themselves every day for a month was classed as art. It's certainly not my idea of art.  I did however find it rather funny that they had this photo on the wall

Pilot taking a selfie out of plane window while flying


This photo has been proven as fake recently! It did make me laugh though.

Upon further investigation we did find a few pieces we liked, and no, they weren't selfies.

This one had a camera in the frame...

Saatchi Gallery piece, camera inside a picture frame. The picture displayed in lines.


Then there was this...

Man standing in front of art in Saatchi Gallery, the piece is mimicking the man.

And here's how it worked.



The Hubby really liked this one and inspected it for a while. He liked how it worked when he could see the pieces moving. We stood there for a while.

There were some fun pieces...

man stood in front of camera in Saatchi Gallery, his eyes are steaming in the feed

Man's eyes appear to be steamed out, an effect on a video feed in Saatchi Gallery
My eyes!


And this...

Piece of metal art that has a shadow of a man and a woman's head.


The piece itself was metal bugs by the looks of it and both the Hubby and I thought it was cool. I found it intriguing that what looked like a ball of metal mess created such a cool shadow, and on closer inspection it wasn't a ball of mess at all.


Close up of metal art in Saatchi Gallery, it is made of bugs

A mass of metal bugs shaped together to portray the shadow of a man and a woman.




Buckingham Palace


From there we wandered towards Buckingham Palace where they were preparing for the Queen's birthday celebrations. There were barriers and hundreds of people standing waiting for the guards parade. Not wanting to be in the sun for too long (I burn really easily) and not particularly enjoying the crowds we moved away from the area, after taking a few photos of course!


People crowded on paths close to Buckingham Palace

Taken from the middle of the road it was the best opportunity I was ever going to get!


Woman standing in front of monument in front of Buckingham Palace.

Queen's Guards parade, the road is lined with Union Jacks and the soldiers are walking towards the camera
I had to take this one while crossing the road but think it came out okay.


People line streets outside Buckingham Palace. The roads are clear.
And of course Buckingham Palace


Whenever we've been to London before and seen the various memorials I haven't taken much notice. I walk by and note that they're there but I don't stop and look. This time we did and for a moment I let the significance of it hit me. It truly was amazing what some people did in order for us to live the way we do today. 

World War 2 Memorial Hyde Park



It wasn't long before we were ready to get out of the sun and have a rest so we headed back towards the hotel, which is where I spotted another fountain.

A fountain in Hyde Park, people playing in the fountain


We grabbed a couple of sandwiches from Pret-a-manger (amazing sandwiches by the way) and went back to our room for a well-earned rest.




Evening out


We had booked a meal at Hawksmoor Knightsbridge and earlier in the day we had discussed getting a cab there. Of course we didn't realise just how expensive London cabs are and after discovering that a quick 10 minute cab ride cost a little less than £10 we decided we'd walk through Hyde Park again.

Hubby and Morgan Prince take a selfie in Hyde Park
The Hubby and I as we started our walk through the park again.






  • Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Lao Tzu





It was lovely getting ready for the meal, it's been ages since I got dressed up to go out and although I don't wear a lot of make-up or spend hours getting ready it was still nice to feel like it was something special. 

Hubby and Morgan Prince take selfie in front of fountain in Hyde park
We had to get a photo in front of that fountain.


I wore my Lady Vintage Navy Hepburn dress (£50) with a white belt and white petticoat underneath. I also wore my Shapeez, the most comfortable bra I've worn in a long time. It shaped my top half, hiding all those unsightly bulges, so that my dress looked great. The Shapeez is a wonderful bra and oh-so-comfortable, it works wonders on your top half let me tell you. 

Morgan Prince, wearing Lady Vintage Hepburn dress in Navy. White belt and navy shoes.
Feeling good in the knowledge there are no bulges thanks to my Shapeez.


Close up of woman's back.
Smooth and comfortable


You don't notice you're wearing the Shapeez, it's brilliant. I've worn it lots so far and have to keep washing it because I love it so much. You know that feeling when you finally take off your bra at the end of the day? Well you get that feeling when you're wearing the Shapeez, there's no restriction or pinching anywhere.


smooth back
No unsightly bumps here!


It works really well under t-shirts too! Even a big girl like me can hide those dodgy bulges (you know the ones I mean right?) with a Shapeez and the fit is great. I'd highly recommend one, plus they do other styles too! Do check them out.

My Hotter shoes were comfy, they rubbed a little but I figured they'd be fine. It's not like they were six-inch heels or anything. 

After getting ready we walked from our hotel to the restaurant, following a similar path to earlier that morning. This is when we spotted a Rolls-Royce ice-cream van - how awesome is that?!

woman stands in front of Rolls Royce ice-cream van


When choosing my outfit for the evening I hadn't considered how hot it would be or how much walking we had to do. By the time we arrived at the restaurant I was very hot, very tired, and my feet hurt.

I wouldn't recommend wearing a Shapeez on a super-hot day - not because it's not comfortable but because it covers your top half. Being covered that much on a hot day may not be what you want. Nor would I recommend trying to wear new shoes on a hot day while walking more than 2 miles! 




Hawksmoor Knightsbridge


I was so glad to walk into the building and down the stairs. It was slightly cooler (but not by much) downstairs and I was definitely glad to be out of the sun again. We sat at the bar waiting for our table to be ready and decided to order some drinks.


Fish House Punch - a cocktail. This is the one I chose, it was fruity and fresh and refreshing after that long walk. It didn't last me very long but did give me that 'after-alcohol' glow.

Peach drink in a cocktail glass, lemon and mint poking out of the top of the glass.



Full-fat Old Fashioned - this is basically bourbon with butter. I know, sounds odd right? The Hubby chose this one, I didn't because I thought it sounded a bit too strange for me. I did try it though (obvs!) and you could totally taste the butter. It was strange, and strong, not something I could've drank but the Hubby seemed to enjoy it.

A glass of bourbon with giant ice cube


Starters



Salcombe crab salad with brown shrimps & little gem


crab salad with brown shrimps, little gem, and radish.

My starter. Crab is one of my favourite dishes when done well and I couldn't help but try this one out. It was, again, refreshing and light. The mixture of radishes with crab meat and prawns was tasty and with a splash of lemon juice on top it finished it off lovely. I thoroughly enjoyed my salad.



Half Dartmouth Lobster

Half a lobster, cress garnish and a quarter of a lemon on a white plate.

The Hubby's favourite dish. Whenever the Hubby sees Lobster on a menu it is difficult for him to refuse it. I don't like Lobster so can't tell you what it tasted like but the Hubby enjoyed it. The only issue he had was cracking the shell, he did end up splashing his shirt a little. Apart from that though it looked like it went down a treat.




Main



Fillet Steak & Chips

Both of us ordered this and I have to say it made me laugh. When the steak arrived it was just steak on a plate, no garnish, no side-salad, just the steak. I don't think I've ever seen that before and was amused by it. After tucking into the steak though I can understand why there isn't anything with the steak, because, to be honest, you don't need anything. The steak speaks for itself. It was succulent and tasty, the outside was cooked to perfection and the inside was soft. I like my steak medium-rare and that's just what I got. It was one of the best steaks I've ever had.

Fillet steak on a white plate

chips, arranged in a tall brass glass


On a side note though the Hubby mentioned that he thought I could do that at home. I'm pretty good at cooking steak, even if I do say so myself, and while the ones I've cooked in the past have been significantly smaller than the one we had at Hawksmoor I think I could do it. I'll be trying it out in the next few weeks.




Dessert



Braeburn Tart

apple tart with scoop of ice-cream on a white plate



After the salad, and the huge steak and chips, I was feeling rather full so I wanted to choose something that wouldn't be too heavy. The tart came with cinnamon ice-cream and was delicious. Not too tangy like some apple tarts can be, it was the perfect end to the meal.



Sticky Toffee Pudding

sticky toffee pudding topped with clotted cream, surrounded by toffee sauce, sitting in a white bowl

The Hubby's dessert looked bigger than mine. I didn't mind because I was already full but I did try it. The sticky toffee pudding was very rich, with clotted cream on top. The cream helped with the strong flavour but it was nice. The Hubby enjoyed it a lot but did mention that he was rather full when he'd finished.


After finishing the meal we were both stuffed, I don't think we could've eaten another thing even if someone paid us. 


We walked back to the hotel (my feet hurting the whole way) and relaxed in the room for the rest of the night. We'd walked miles and we were worn out, not to mention the heat!




Sunday


Sunday morning we woke and decided to head straight back home, we were ready to see our home and relax in a place we knew well. 





Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. 

Oscar Wilde





The weekend was brilliant; I learned a few things about myself (coming in posts soon), got to spend some time alone with my Hubby in the gorgeous sunshine, and we celebrated being married for 10 years. 

How did you enjoy the sunshine?