Sunday 14th March 2020

Mornin' all.  How are you all doing today❓

I've already taken all my pills for the day, just got my evening two to take now then that's it for the day.  It's Sunday, so time to put the rubbish and recycling out... hoping to leave it until the puppy has been out for her poo, so that it's not left out there for a week.  I'm gonna go and feed her now then hopefully 🤞 she'll go out the back and we can put everything out nice and early today.  Time for me to read a children's book after that, which'll keep me busy for the rest of the day.

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That's the puppy fed and I think she's just taken herself out for a poo, so as soon as Steve wakes up we can get everything sorted for this week.

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Blimey Charlie... it's 9.30am 🕤 and the rubbish and recycling are out already❗  There are literally 4 pop bottles and a half-full black bag which covers half of the bottom of the rubbish sack and about a third of the way up it too this week... that's the least we've ever put out I think, and I've been self-isolating since Tuesday afternoon, so I was kinda thinking there would be more rubbish, rather than less and definitely more recycling 'cos I've been drinking more.  WTG us❗

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Time to read the book now then...

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Jeez Louise, it's painful to read because there are so many errors in it.  I've read 40 pages out of the 142 and it's already below 1 star, so I'm giving up on the book already and not wasting any more of my time on it.  Not a happy bunny 🐇 now 😔

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It's not even released until 1st September so it's not like there was any rush for me to even read the dratted thing... I rushed my lunch so that I could get through it too - even less happy about it now❗

Gonna release the tension and frustration by coding and uploading the photos I took this morning.

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OK, photos are up now and I'm a little more positive now, so I'm gonna try walking off the last bit by strolling up and down the back yard for a while... hoping to get to my minimum steps today for the first time since Tuesday afternoon when I was told by the hospital to self-isolate for the next 14 days before going in.

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Just come in and I'm 137 steps short of my target, so I'm off out again to try and hit it before I head to bed.  If my maths is right, if I do 25 laps an hour I'll hit the standard target of 250 steps an hour and it'll stop my legs from siezing up when I have to walk into the hospital and it won't be so much of a shock to the system when I'm finally allowed to take her out for her daily walks again.

Gonna go out and do another 10 or 15 laps to try and hit my target... BBS.

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Yaaay❗  I've hit my daily steps target for the first time again and I've done three hours with at least 250 steps an hour, so that's what I was aiming for.  I'm thinking I'll do 10 laps each time I go to the bathroom as well as at least one more set of laps an hour to try and get purple circles in each of the 14 hours starting tomorrow... means I've gotta start at 6am 🕕 and go all the way through to 7pm 🕖 though 🤣

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Gonna head to bed now... bet I'll still be awake at 10pm 🕙 though 🤣

Nite nite orl 💤

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Saturday 13th June 2020

Mornin' all.

I've already taken me pills and put the exercise spreadsheet up on my site so I'm gonna check my email and Facebook then settle in for a readathon day today methinks.

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It's gonna be an unhealthy lunch of "crisps and chocolate and stuff" apparently, which is fine by me as long as it's not a regular thing again.

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Oh boy was that an unhealthy lunch - I've eaten more for one meal today, than I did the entire day combined yesterday... not good, but at least that's not a standard now.

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Just finished reading the book and writing the review... the first and last couple of chapters are great, it's just the pages in between that have made me give it a 3 star rating.  Hold on while I do all the review admin for it...

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That's the reviews added to this blog, my homepage, NetGalley and Amazon now, so I'm gonna publish this and head to bed for a much-needed early night I reckon.  Got one more book to read and review for my author site tomorrow, then I'm all caught up again.

Nite nite orl❗

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Book Review: "Message From a Star" by Michael J Clark

⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

The first poem is lovely... I hope the book carries on like this!

After a veeeeery slow and boring start, things are starting to improve again now, thankfully.

There are 9 major/main characters introduced in the first chapter though and I'm already confused about who is whose partner and child!

The two friends are in really deep poo now and just keep getting deeper!

Skipped through several chapters because it just was sooo boring and it just seemed a waste of my time to read through so much boredom.  I'm at chapter 20 now and the main characters were either caught by the police but talked their way out of it or they are still on the run... I don't care either way any more, I just wanna get to the end of the dratted thing now.

There have been a few good bits in this, but I've skipped another 4 chapters forward now.  Its almost like the author had so many good ideas to start off with but quickly ran out of steam and just wrote through boredom very quickly.  The book has potential, but there's been very little to keep me interested unfortunately.

The last couple of chapters are as great as the first couple, it's just the main part of the book that is preventing me from giving it a higher rating and more positive review is all.

What a beautiful ending!  If it hadn't been for the middle 400-odd pages then it would definitely have got 5 stars from me!

Friday 12th June 2020

Mornin' all.

The smart scan for viruses and malware was clear again... only takes about 10 minutes and I can use everything on my computer while it's scanning, unlike the weekly quick scan, which is even better.

Got a time for my Gynaecological surgery now 1.30pm... don't know if I'm allowed to eat or not before I have it though 😟  I'm gonna give Steve until lunchtime to call them then I'll do it myself if he doesn't.

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Only just remembered to take my first pills of the day❗  Woops❗  Means that I won't be able to take the Calcium before 4pm 🕓 at the very earliest now❗

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Sweet and sour Quorn pieces with rice for lunch today 🤤

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Oooh... lunch was yummy again today.  Steve left most of his though 'cos he didn't like the sauce as much as me, so we won't be getting it again, but you don't know what you do and don't like until you try it.

Steve's phoned the hospital to answer my questions and basically I can't eat anything after 6am or drink anything after noon and they've just gotta be clear liquids before that, although I'm allowed tea and coffee despite them not being clear, for some bizarre reason.

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Righty-oh, I'm off to beddy-byes... nite nite orl 😴💤

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Thursday 11th June 2020

Morning all.  How are you doing today❔

I'm currently charging up my wrist fitness tracker with the heart rate and blood pressure abilities and I've gotta take my pills too, so hold on while I do that now...

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That's me dosed up until this evening now.  Taking the pills was fine, but I dropped the cap of the squash bottle 3 flippin' times❕❕

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Burger patties, chips (fries🍟 for my American readers 👍) and hopefully veggies for lunch today, yumsk 🤤.

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Sounds like Steve's getting our lunch ready, so I'm gonna put my laptop on the floor in eager anticipation now.  BBS.

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That was so good - vegetarian vegetable burger, chips and lashings of tomato sauce... no veggies unfortunately, but that's OK 'cos there were plenty in the burgers 🤣.  According to the Fitbit app, I'm right on target with the calories in versus the calories out, which is great going by me so far.  I've got 545 calories left for the day, but doubt I'll eat anything else for the rest of the day now.

Also got a letter from the hospital with a pre-anaesthetic telephone appointment on Wednesday.  Dunno about you, but surely they should do most things like that over the telephone instead of taking up an appointment that could be used for someone who needs something done that has to be in person... like they did with my prescription review a few months back - a 5 minute call from the pharmacist rather than taking up a fifteen minute appointment with a doctor.  The pharmacist said I needed to get my blood pressure checked because of one of my prescriptions, but other than that it was all sorted in five minutes and now that I've got the ability to check my own blood pressure and heart rate, if that's reliable then I'll be able to do it totally over the phone and check my own blood pressure while I'm talking to them which'll save an appointment slot for someone who needs to be seen in person for blood tests or blood sugar tests or weight checks or smears or whatever else❕  I'm all for freeing up appointment slots wherever possible❕

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I'm absolutely wiped out for some bizarre reason, so I'm gonna take my pills a touch early and head to bed for another early night I reckon.  Achieved absolutely nothing today, but that's OK... tomorrow is a new day to try again.

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OK, pills taken and I'm gonna head to bed now.  Nowt's happening until the evening, so I'll be able to hopefully get lost in another book and review it before I head to bed tomorrow.  For today though, I'm gonna publish this and head to bed... nite nite orl.

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Wednesday 10th June 2020

Today is gonna be soooo weird.  I've already dosed myself up with my morning pills and started the weekly virus scan but I'm already missing walking the puppy dog 🐶 and it's only been 24 hours since our last one, but it was our routine... I'd wake up, come downstairs, the puppy would take me for a stroll then I'd feed her and let her out the back for a poo 💩.  Today is gonna be sooo weird not being walked twice by her.

I've just been reminded to that I need to read and review a book today, so I'm gonna get started on that straight away, before I forget.

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Just fed the puppy and let her out for her daily poo, so time to keep on reading now.

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Virus scan has just finished... still free of nasties, so time for the weekly backup now, then I can check my email for the first time today.

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11.40am and the backups have just started, so we'll find out how long they take thiis week... assuming I remember to update this blog of course 🤣

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Just over an hour later and the documents are still being backed up, but I've gotta restart my browser now 'cos my other blog is misbehaving and won't let me post the book review  😞

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Back now.  The review is up on my writing blog, I've got my zoop for lunch which I need to put into Fitbit and then I've just gotta code and upload the review to the appropriate page on my writing site.

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Zoop's been added, so time to put up the review now.

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Review has been coded and uploaded and submitted to Amazon, just as the backups finished, so that took the best part of 2 hours to finish, but that still ain't bad going, considering it was about 40GB that I backed up❗

Time to put my external hard drive away and open my email programmes now, while I take my Calcium.

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That's the Calcium taken and my Fitbit charging up now so I've just gotta be patient now and not move off the sofa if it's not around my ankle.  Still feeling weird about not walking the puppy today.

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I can finally log back in to Equifax and I've updated my card so I'm back on track again now.  I've been with them since May 2015 and spent getting on for £500 over those 5 years just with Equifax alone, which Steve doesn't understand why I've spent that much, but it's peace of mind for me which is priceless to me.  It keeps an eye on my social media and scans for my email address etc being used on the internet.  Seeing my credit score gradually increase from crimson to green has been really reassuring too.  Yes, it's a lot of money to spend but it's sooo worth it for me and my sense of security both online and with my money IRL too.  I couldn't be without online/mobile banking and my Equifax account now, same with AVG and an internet connection - they all keep my paranoia in check and makes me feel so much more secure and safe and it's one less thing for my psychosis to cling on to now.

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Had a quick stroll out in the back yard so that my legs don't sieze up in the 2 weeks I'm required to self-isolate before the surgery and I've taken my last two pills of the day, so time to start winding down a bit now.

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Heading to beddy-byes 🛌 now, but I'll be back tomorrow 'cos I've got two more books to read and review lol

Night night all.  See you tomorrow.  💤

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Tuesday 9th June 2020

Morning all.

I've dosed myself up with my pills, taken the puppy for her first stroll of the day and opened my next book to review.  I've also now got my Gynae surgery date - 2 weeks from today (23rd June) and as of right now I've gotta self isolate and have a drive-through Covid screening before I'm allowed inside the hospital.  Dunno what time the surgery is yet, but they are going to send me a letter so that I can let Steve's dad know what time I need to be there.  I'm not allowed to walk the puppy or leave the house for the next two weeks, which is gonna be soooo weird❗  It's only for two weeks and that's every 5 years, so it's not like she's missing out on months worth of walks or anything❗  I'm now officially anxious about it though 🤣

Smells like Steve's put my lasagne in the oven, so I'm gonna put my laptop on the floor in preparation now.  BBL❗

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That lasagne was gorgeous❗  Very intense mushrooms and peppers which I love and Steve hates so he had fried eggs and hash browns instead, which is fine by me.  Gonna carry on reading the book again now though.

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Finished the book now... a fantastic read and a huuuuuge recommendation from me❗

Gonna put the review up now so you'll be able to see what I've said about it and buy it if you want to - I've found it sooo worthwhile to read today.

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OK, the review is up on my homepage, this blog and awaiting approval from Amazon and NetGalley.

Got 2 more books to read then I'm all caught up again... two books in two days is good going even for me 😆

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This afternoon has been sooo weird 'cos I've got to socially isolate/not leave the house for the next 14 days so I haven't been able to walk the puppy and my body is really protesting about the lack of exercise this afternoon.  Missing the next two 'marathon Mondays' is gonna be especially weird, but necessary for everyone's health unfortunately.  If M kicks up a fuss again, then I'll show her the email from the hospital telling me to self-isolate and not walk our puppy until I get home from the hospital then she can take it up with them.

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Currently clearing my browser caches ready for tomorrow's virus scan, then I can have an early night for a change I reckon, even though I can almost guarantee that I'll still be wide awake at 10pm 🕙 🙄

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Heading to bed now, for my first night in self-isolation.  Nite nite orl... sea ewe 2morro 💤

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Book Review: Building Self-Esteem How Learning from Shame Helps Us to Grow by Joseph Burgo, Ph.D.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

I've only read 9 pages and I already like this doctor - so far he's talked about SHAME being different to shame in a way that even *I* can understand which is a relief and I'm putting my SHAME (not embarrassment, apparently) to bed straight away.  WTG Dr!

It's just getting better and better... I'm now wishing that I'd read this book a lot earlier in my life 'cos I've been nodding all the way through so far and I really feel for Olivia, 'cos I've felt the way she was feeling soooo many times!

I'm loving these case study thingamejigs... I've got no idea if they are real clients of the author or not, but they are amazing and I'm still nodding along to them 'cos I can relate to so much of what the author is writing about!

Yep, I've uttered every one of those comments on pages 191-192!  lol

How do you pronounce "secessionist" please?  My husband and I are both struggling with that word lol

Just finished it and I really appreciate the time and writing of the author... a definite recommendation to everyone with even a slight interest in improving their self-esteem and/or a look inside an American Psychologists head!

Monday 8th June 2020

Mornin' all.

I've taken my morning pills and they all went down pretty easily, so I hope that means today is gonna be a good day.  No.  You know what❓  I don't hope it's gonna be a good day, I know it will be.

I'm gonna set the daily virus scan going then take the puppy for her first stroll of the day then check my emails, do the Fitbit admin on my site, then lig aroun on Facebook for the rest of the day.

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The puppy's done a poo 💩❗  The puppy's done a poo 💩❗  That means we can both enjoy our 'marathon Monday' stroll without my anxiety going through the roof - yaaaaay❗❗

Gonna get the counter around my neck and the puppy's harness on her then off we'll go 🐾.

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Back until lunchtime now.  The puppy was a great girl on her walk and the rubbish has already been taken, so just waiting for the cardboard and recycling to go now, then bring the bag and box in then that's it for another week.

The smartscan has finished and didn't find any nasties so it's kept me safe for the last 24 hours again.  Absolutely refuse to be without it now that I've found it and I'm keeping myself and contacts safe, which is sooo reassuring.

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That's the Fitbit spreadsheet up and the cardboard bag and recycling box brought in, so the rest of the day is mine now... what do I do with it though❓

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Just taken me Calcium, so I'm all dosed up until tonight now.  Lunch today is cherry bakewells, yumsk.

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Had a jam sandwich for part 2 of my lunch.  That's all I'm gonna eat for the rest of the day though 'cos I've got 3 books to read and review 🙄 🤣

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Just got back from the puppy's second stroll 🐾 and we were both struggling before we even got half way.  I think we were both feeling the strains of 'marathon Monday' this week, so we'll both sleep well tonight and be back to normal again tomorrow and the rest of the week.

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The puppy is snoring away in her bed and I'm half way through reading a book on how to write a review that has been a total waste of my time so far.  I'll hopefully finish it before I head to bed, but it's certainly not worth staying up late for, unfortunately.

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OK, that's the book finished with a disappointing 3 stars, so time to do the reviews on Netgalley, this blog and my homepage now.

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That's the reviews sorted, so I'm off to beddy-byes now.  Night night all, I'll pester you all again tomorrow 😜

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Book Review: How To Write a Simple Book Review by Allyson R Abbott

⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

The author herself, in this book, has said that short, two word reviews are good, this review is already longer than that, obviously, but I haven't learnt anything new yet... the first 18 pages are just drivel and comparing an erotic novel (that's what 50 Shades is, isn't it??) to a children's novel (although I know that Harry Potter is enjoyed by adults too) instead of comparing them with other books for the same age range and genre... it's like comparing chocolate cake to vegetable lasagne for me - they are the same type (books/food) but that's where the similarities end!

Now the author is going on about comparisons between years... soooo dull and boring, considering I'm only 18 pages in!

After literally a couple of paragraphs about reviewing, the author is now talking to fellow authors about re-visiting parts of their published work and changing it as well as investing in a beta read - Jo Public on the street doesn't give two hoots about that... just get on with letting me know how to write a good review instead of padding your book out to meet the minimum word count!

Oops!  A little spelling error on page 30 - nowhere near as bad as some I've seen in other books, but it still should have been picked up before it went to print  ;-)

Totally agree about authors paying for 5 star reviews and/or writing the review themselves - if they think their book isn't ready to get honest, independent reviews, maybe they shouldn't have published their book yet?

I'm getting confuzzled about which country the author of this book is writing from 'cos they've used both pounds and cents so far - the UK uses pounds and pence but America and Canada use dollars and cents but they've never (AFAIK) been interchangable!

At last!  We're almost half way through the book, but I'm finally gonna learn some tips on writing a review... hopefully!

Oh dear, now we're back to using dollars again... I reckon the author should use just one currency and stick with it... sorry!  Right at the top of page 52 the author is now saying dollar or pound... use one or the other then stick with it fer flips sake!!

What started off promising, ended up being a huge disappointment and a lot of unnecessary padding.  Sorry.

Oooh!  Good shout about those two websites on page 86!  Hold on while I put the URLs in my calendar to have a look at tomorrow...

OK, it's in my calendar now... taking bets on me forgetting all about it by the time I wake up tomorrow though!  lol

The book ends with a lot of advertising for the authors other books which was a huuuuge disappointment unfortunately.

In summary, mainly padding and a waste of my time this afternoon unfortunately.  If you're prepared for that and you've written absolutely no reviews in your adult life, then you might get more out of it than I did, but for me it was a total waste of my time.  Sorry.