Tuesday 30th June 2020

Mornin' all.

I've walked and fed the puppy and taken all my pills, including the newest OAB one.  It made me feel slightly sick for about 10 minutes, but no other side effects since, so I'm thinking that the nausea was a psychosomatic response and I'll be right as rain with it now that I've taken it once without any side effects.

I've achieved another 2 blobs since coming home with the puppy and I'm at 10k steps already, so I'm hoping I'll double that by the time I've had my lunch and fingers crossed 🤞 it'll be my most ever steps too.

Steve said last night that we'd be having pizza for lunch today... hope so 'cos that should significantly increase my calories which I really need to do every day so that I don't lose more weight when I've been told not to.

I'm gonna have a Cherry Bakewell tart to start off the day though.

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We did have the pizza for a late lunch and I've got 10 blobs in the app so far.  Gonna take the puppy out for her second stroll of the day soon, which will hopefully improve my steps count to more than 27k today (currently at 18k steps), doubt I'll get above 25k in reality though  😞

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Just a short blog post today... I'm completely shattered, so I'm having an early night 💤.  Sea ewe orl 2morro.

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Monday 29th June 2020

Mornin' all.

I've taken the puppy out for her marathon Monday stroll and managed to get 3 blobs on the Fitbit app, so I can recover until it's time for the first stroll up and down in our back yard. We are both totally wiped out, so doubt either of us will be moving very far today.

I'm gonna take my pills and have a banana to try and help me to recover... I'm gonna need all the help I can get today❗ 😉

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OK, that's the first few lengths done but my legs are still wobbly, so I don't plan on moving off the sofa for anything other that visits to the toilet for the next hour 'cos it just won't be safe.

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Second set done, so it really is time for my pills at the bare minimum now.

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Pills are finally taken but I'm wobbly now 'cos I've just brought the rubbish and recycling in.  Gonna do my mid-day lengths then I really will be having a banana❗❗

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Had the banana at last and it's already working its magic on me... I love being able to sort minor things with certain food and drink... ginger beer for nausea and banana for energy are my current go-to's and it saves the NHS prescribing pills that I don't need to take regularly... the natural things are faster working than pills too - usually within a couple of minutes❗

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Had 4 pieces of fruit today and there are only 2 pears, 2 bananas and an apple left since Friday.  It didn't seem possible to get through so much on Friday, but now I'm thinking there's nowhere near enough to last us both 🙄  I've got to significantly increase my amount of calories so that I don't lose too much weight, but fruit doesn't seem to be very calorie rich... maybe I should get a box of breakfast biscuits again to see if they increase my calories enough❓

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I've just taken my last two pills of the day, 2 hours late, so I'm gonna start shutting down now in case they kick in faster than usual.

Nite nite orl 💤.

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Sunday 28th June 2020

Mornin' all.

The deep virus scan is running atm so can't check my emails all day, but it's only once a month that I do it and the peace of mind is worth it.  Means that I can get straight on with the planning, reading and reviewing that needs to be done without any temptation do "just do a quick check of my email, it'll only take a minute, if that" which turns into the best part of an hour and I've lost all concentration and memory about what I was doing before it.

I've taken my morning pills and walked the puppy - she was coping really well with it this morning, so we did an extra 8-10% in preparation for tomorrow.  If I take her out this evening I'll do the same then too so that tomorrow isn't too much of a shock to either of us.  It'll be the first time in 2 (or is it 3?) weeks that we've done a 'Marathon Monday' walk so I want us both to be safe while we're walking it tomorrow.

I'm charging up my fitness tracker before I go out the back for my first set of laps of the day.

Also just emailed the Council about seeing a cat pooing while we were on our walk.  I don't want to be accused of it being our senior puppy dog, so I've asked if it would be possible to test it if the family the cat belongs to complain about it.

Gonna put my fitness tracker back on my wrist, go for a wee then do my first set of lengths of the day.  BBS.

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That's the lengths done and dusted, so I can keep planning for the next half an hour now, before I need to reattach the wrist band back onto the tracker and go out for the 11am 🕚 lengths.

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Lengths sorted for another hour and I've got 22 chapters left to plan out, then that's it, finito and I just need to read and review the picture book then.

Let's see how many chapters I can plan in the next 35 minutes.

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That's another hours lengths done and I've now got... hold on... 18 to go, so I managed to plan 4 chapters in the last hour, which is a big disappointment and I'm gonna try and do better in the next hour as well as having my lunch 🍴 of squished up eggs... simple but yummy - nowt wrong with that at all.

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This last hour has been a lot better, 9 chapters planned out in about 45 minutes and I've just got 9 more to go, so it's time to start slowly tieing up loose ends now.  I'm hoping that I'll have it totally planned out before 5pm so that I can get out of Chikako's head and into the right headspace for reading a picture book then reviewing it on my writing site and blog.

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Just had to take a paracetamol for the first time in several months because of my back pain... it feels very much like the Endometriosis pain used to, so maybe it's "that time of the month" for me now that my coil has moved out of place?  It's either that or the affects of me making a conscious effort to straighten my posture today.  Either way, I hope the paracetamol kicks in soon.

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The pain is so bad that I feel sick now, so I've cracked open a can of ginger beer to hopefully ease the nausea.  The pain is starting to ease, so hopefully the nausea will improve now too.  I'm not often nauseous any more, so when it does happen it's obvious that I'm feeling hideous.

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That's the 5pm stroll completed very slowly and cautiously.  I'm starting to feel slightly better now - the paracetamol and ginger beer combination is working now, so I'm gonna finish off the planning then take the puppy out for her second stroll then read and review the picture book.  It's taken longer than I was hoping and I'm feeling a lot worse than I was hoping, but I'll still be able to get the review sorted before I head to bed, like I was hoping for when I came downstairs this morning.

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That's the book read and reviewed, my 7pm lengths done and dusted and my back is starting to get painful again, but I can't take any more painkillers until 8pm 😞

The whole day tomorrow is mine though, so I might just veg out for the entire day after the puppy's morning stroll.

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Just taken my last two pills of the day... almost 1½ hours late, but they and my last dose of paracetamol are down the hatch now and I'm gonna take the puppy for her last stroll of the day then head to bed I reckon.

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The spreadsheet is up on my site, so it's time to hit the sack now.  Nite nite orl, sea ewe in the morning.

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Saturday 27th June 2020

Mornin' all.

Taken the puppy for her walk and it was just starting to spit with rain by the time we came home which'll hopefully cool the temperature down a bit... I just don't want thunder and lightning is all.

I saw a magpie on the roof opposite where we were walking, so I hope that it's not a signal that someone in the street has passed away.

I've taken my pills and gone out for the first few lengths of the back yard and it was raining pretty heavily, so I hope it was just a short, sharp, shower and it'll move off before the second set of lengths.

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Just done my second set of lengths and it's totally hosing it down out there now, so I'm totally drenched through❗  I hope Steve doesn't put the fan on today.

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He's just made me a coffee, put the fan on and opened the window too, so I'm gonna freeze now 'cos I'm drenched through and sitting here with soggy clothes on, but Steve doesn't care about that - as long as he gets what he wants then the rest of us can fuck off.

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11am 🕚 lengths done and it's stopped raining now, thankfully.  We're having "crisps and fruit and stuff" for lunch and Steve's promised that I'll have egg sandwiches and he'll have scrambled eggs for lunch tomorrow, bet we won't though.

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Just had to put my cardigan on because I'm so wet and cold.  Thankfully Steve's turned the fan off now, but the window is still wide open.

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Sorry about no updates since this morning, I was taking part in my second ever scrawl crawl and have been busy planning my next novel ever since❗  I'm hoping to be half way through by the time I head to bed tonight and the other half finished before lunchtime tomorrow then I've got another book to read and review tomorrow afternoon... busy, busy, busy.

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Taken my last two pills of the day, so almost time for my last lengths of the day.  I'm trying to improve my posture and I've just got the upper third of my back to straighten now, after being slouched for the last 30-odd years then I'll be proud of my lack of height again, instead of looking shorter and older than I really am.

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Just got back from walking the puppy for the second time today.  Her panting really was just the heat, so I'll only take her for the second stroll if she hasn't been panting for the majority of the day... if she has, it'll just be the first early stroll and we'll leave it at that.

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Just planned out chapter 25 of 60, so that seems as good a place as any to stop and head to bed for the night.  Just wanna check up on the maximum word count I'm allowed first, then that's me going upstairs until the morning.

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Oooh❗  I've saved myself 5,000 words and 6 chapters by checking on the word counts, which means I'm 2 chapters shy of half way through planning it now❗  Yaaay❗

Gonna head to bed now that I've discovered that... nite nite orl❗

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Friday 26th June 2020

Morning all.

I've taken the puppy out for her stroll and decided to just do the morning walks for a week or 10 days or so instead of re-introducing the afternoon/evening walks after only 2 days of morning walks after my enforced but needless self-isolation for 14 days and 4 hours (yes, I was counting 😃).  I'll see how she's doing with her once a day walks next weekend and take it from there.

I've popped my pills, so I can dive right into the book after I've been for my first set of exercises, in the back yard, of the day.  It'll be another short blog post today, but I'm hoping I'll have the review up and sorted by the time I head to bed tonight... it's been a definite must-read so far❗  I went to bed a couple of hours later than I would usually 'cos I wanted to find out what happened next in it 👍

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What an incredible book!  I'm very nearly finished reading it and it's been an incredible journey with the main character... a well deserved 5 stars throughout the whole thing!

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Oh.

My.

Goddess.

A definite must-read.

Gonna put the reviews up now, before I forget.

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OK, reviews are sorted and my 12th hour of lengths completed.  Gonna take my last two pills of the day when I come back in from the 7pm ones and head to bed for a reeeeeally early night - think I need it after last night's very late night 🙄 🤣

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Just taken my last pills and I'm gonna go out for my final few lengths now, then come back in, publish this then head to bed I reckon.  Back to normal again tomorrow.

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That's me done for the day now, so publishing this post then shutting down and heading to bed for the night.  My legs are absolutely done in and I'm knackered, so hopefully I'll be in the land of nod nice and quickly tonight 👌.

Nite nite orl.  Sea ewe in the morning.

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Book Review: "Love & Pollination" by Mari Jane Law

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

I've loved chapter 1!  This is hopefully the start of a great book that I'll really be able to get into... the full 5 stars are well deserved so far!

Chapter 2 was good too... poor Perdita!

So far so great with this novel, still a very well-deserved five stars... I'm wondering why each chapter is only a few pages long though??

I was wrong about the chapters only being a few pages - chapter 4 was definitely longer lol

I'm deeply loving this book - currently up to chapter 9 and my life has been on hold since the first page because it's so great... not gonna finish it before bed time tonight 'cos I'm only 22% of the way through, but it'll be the first thing I open tomorrow morning, even at the expense of my email which is usually one of the first things I open... you *have* to get your eyes into this book in my opinion!

This is getting better and better... Perdita has just taken a librarian into a shop and met a friend there... innocent, right?  Read chapter 15 to find out!

Yep, still just as good the next day... books don't usually make me tearful, but I'm feeling pretty choked up with pride at the end of chapter 25!  WTG Perdita!

Just read chapter 35 and it was such a huge relief that it happened... got 9 pages left to read and the author is doing a fantastic job of tieing up the story... WTG author!

Chapter 36 is a huuuuuge relief and the author is doing a fantastic job.  This is a truly fantastic book!

Just finished it and I love a happy ending... this is most definitely a must-read and I can't recommend it highly enough!

Thursday 25th June 2020

Good morning all.

I've taken the puppy out for an early morning stroll and we both coped a lot better with it.  The puppy wanted to come home for the first quarter, but that's only 'cos I hadn't walked her in two weeks 'cos of having to self-isolate, but when we both got used to it again she didn't want to come home 😍  I'm gonna take her out again at about 7.30pm for her afternoon stroll to see how she copes with it, then take it from there.

I fed her when we came home and she went out for a poo within a few minutes, so I cleared it up and went out for my first lengths of the day.  My legs were kinda going "WTF are you doing❓❗" but I pushed through it and carried on walking.  Almost collapsed a few times 'cos my legs obviously weren't used to it, but it'll hopefully be back to normal by the time I take the puppy out for the last time tonight.

Almost time for my second set of laps of the day, then I've got a book to read and review, so if this is a short blog post today, that's why.

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That's the puppy walked and fed for the day and I'm half way through the book, so it'll be another short blog post tomorrow, but the book is soooo worth it.  I'm heading to bed now... nite nite orl.

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Wednesday 24th June 2020

Morning all

I've started the virus scan and taken my morning pills, so I'm gonna go and jump in the bath and shave my pits now... my legs will just have to wait a bit longer.

BBS.

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Back now. 

I decided to do my legs after all. 

I'm never waiting that long between shaves again 'cos I had to unclog the razor 3 times per armpit, once each for my arms and twice each for my legs... the water was dark greeny brown, almost black, when I pulled the plug out and my skin was peeling off whenever I rubbed it with any kind of pressure at all!

That's me clean for the next 3 months though 😉

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Feeling incredibly proud of myself right now.

Since getting weighed to know what my starting goal was when I got my Fitbit at the end of September 2019 (I was 72kg then) I went down to 63kg in about February/March kinda time and I've just been weighed again (literally about half an hour ago) and I'm now 54kg which is "right in the middle of your ideal weight range, so you now don't need to lose any more, just keep maintaining" according to the nurse.

My blood pressure is perfect too and there was only a 9 point difference between the fitness tracker on my wrist and the medical blood pressure machine which the nurse seemed to be impressed by the accuracy of it considering it's a not a medical device.

She wants me to go back once more in about 6 weeks time to have my blood pressure checked again in case today's was just a positive fluke, but if it's still accurate then, she's happy for me to just do it from home after that which will open up an appointment slot for something that can't be done at home like blood tests and smears and dressing changes and jabs etc.

Gonna celebrate with cheesy chips and baked beans, garlic mushrooms and onion rings for tea, which'll prolly take me into the red on the graph, but it's been at least 10 days if not 2 weeks since I last went into the red calories and I think I'm allowed to now today after getting such good news❗

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Update on tea: just having cheesy chips and baked beans to go along with 2 cans of pop.

I took the puppy out for her first stroll in two weeks a couple of hours ago, but underestimated just how hot it was out there, so I'm gonna try again as soon as I come down tomorrow morning, in the hope that it'll be significantly cooler and more bearable for both of us.

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Cor lummy I'm bloated now❗

I've taken my pills and don't plan on having a late night tonight 'cos I've potentially got an early start in the morning.

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Heading to bed now. Nite nite orl.

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Tuesday 23rd June 2020

Mornin' all.

I've done 2 hours worth of lengths and about to do my third, so I'll BRB

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Back now, and Marie's taking me to get my blood pressure and weight checked tomorrow now.

Almost time for my fourth lengths of the day, so I'm gonna head out there now... BBS again.

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Up to 7 hours completed now, so I'm half way to getting a green semi circle again, for the second time this week.

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Just put a photo of the puppy dog up on my site and I'm gonna go and do this hours lengths now... BBS.

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9 hours out of the way and about to start on hour 10 of the 14.  It definitely helped to use my quad cane, 'cos it felt like I was only out there for a couple of minutes rather than the hours it felt like this morning and I feel more confident about using my quad cane now, which will really help when I take the puppy out for her first walk in 15 days, tomorrow, 'cos I had to self-isolate needlessly.

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I DID IT!!!  Didn't think about it until literally seconds before I did it, but I stepped down and then back up the entrance to the back yard❗❗❗  I've been using the frame of the door to clamber up and down for the last 14 days without even thinking about trying it without holding on to the frame, but I did it by leaning heavily on my quad cane and hoping that I didn't fall flat on my face❗  I'm gonna try and remember to do the same for the last four trips into the back yard, but it's done wonders for my confidence now.

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That's another hour done and dusted and I clambered down and up again, but nowhere near as confidently as an hour ago.  I wanna try and climb down and up the kerbs outside the house and at the doctors tomorrow, totally alone, but having someone there just in case will give me a confidence boost 'cos that's exactly what it is, lack of confidence causing my anxiety.

Being forced to self-isolate for the last two weeks has done wonders for my confidence, but tomorrow will be the real test of just how confident I feel 'cos I'll be leaving the house for the first time in 15 days and 4 hours.  If I don't fall over tomorrow I'll feel sooo good going to bed.

So that it's not a shock to either of us, I'm gonna walk the puppy in the evenings only until the weekend, then back to twice a day at the weekend, ready for 'marathon Monday' again.  If all that goes OK then we'll be back to normal again when our legs have got used to it again.

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That's another hours lengths done and dusted.  It's gonna be 6pm at the very earliest that I take the puppy out for her stroll tomorrow... it's just waaaay too hot out there to do it any earlier and not get too hot.  It's still reasonably light at 8pm, so it might even be then that I take her out.

Gotta remember the weekly virus scan starts tomorrow too, so I'll come down, turn my laptop on and get in the bath so that I don't stink Marie's car or the doctors surgery out too badly at lunchtime.

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Almost time for my last lengths of the day and I've got a book to read and review that I'll hopefully feel unexhausted enough to start on when I get home from walking the puppy at about this time tomorrow evening.  Need to remember to have a bath first thing though 🤣  Gonna be weird not doing any lengths, but I don't wanna risk not being well enough to walk to the doctors surgery door and finding the bell to ring to let me in.  If I don't feel up to walking the puppy tomorrow evening, then that's OK too, I just don't want my legs to give way on me and not being able to get back up is all.

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That's the last lengths of the day completed, pills taken and I'm completely exhausted now, so gonna do one last check of my email and Facebook then I'm heading to bed for a really early night.

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Off to bed now.  Nite nite orl 💤

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Monday 22nd June 2020

Morning all.

I woke up at 5am 🕔 again this morning and went back to sleep until almost 8am 🕗 but was almost wetting myself by then and Steve was in the bathroom when I came down so almost had to wee outside.  Thankfully Steve realised just how urgent it was and hurried up a bit, but I still had to push past him in the kitchen.

I remembered a bit late (and urgently needing the wee) to do the 15 active minutes at 7am and to start with at 8am, so I went out at 9.50am to do the missing 2x5 minutes and the 9am minutes as w, so I'm back on track now.

I've taken my morning pills and they were a PITA to swallow this morning, so I hope that's not an early indication of a bad day❗

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That's the 10am lengths done and I even managed to separate the strap on the fitness tracker on my wrist, for the very first time since it was delivered, to charge it up so I know I can do it now.

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Steve's just gone for his medical appointment and I'm gonna do my 11am lengths in about 15 minutes so that it's easier calculations for me to do when I get out there.

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Another hours lengths done and the fitness tracker charging again.  Blimey it's hot out there, so gonna try and remember to take my cardi off before I go out again.

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Taken the cardigan off now so that I don't forget when I go out again 🙄  Been smothered in kisses by the puppy dog and brought the recycling box and blue bag through, so that's all sorted for another week now.

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Another set of lengths done and dusted... it's blisteringly hot out there now, so I'm even more grateful than I thought I would be that I took my cardigan off before I went out.  Might even ask Steve to open the window and turn on the big fan when he gets home.

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I was just finishing off my 1pm 🕐 lengths when Steve got home 🤣  Very nearly time for my 2pm 🕑 ones now.

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That's this hours lengths done, Calcium taken and daily photos of the pup uploaded, ready for my 11th hour of lengths in about 20 minutes time.

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Another hour is completed and I've just had a reminder from Moonpig that it's our anniversary next week, so I've just ordered Steve's anniversary gift from Amazon.  Almost time for the penultimate hours lengths, so I'm gonna put the blue curly things on the bottom of this, then make my way outside.

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That's the last hour finished and I know that an extra 5 minutes an hour doesn't sound like much but it's 70 minutes extra a day and I'm reeeeeally feeling it now.  As soon as my Fitbit has charged up, I'm off to bed and I'm guessing it won't take me long to fall asleep tonight.

Gonna start closing all the apps now, ready for when the Fitbit has done the final 5% charge.

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Can't wait any longer... I'm absolutely cream-crackered, so I'm gonna head to bed now.  Nite nite orl 💤

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Sunday 21st June 2020

Morning all.

Woke up at 5am then went back to sleep, so I won't be having the full 14 blobs today, but that's OK 'cos I've managed it once which is all I wanted.  I'd love to do it again but it's no biggie if I don't.  Already done the 7am and 8am blobs for today, so I just need to keep on keeping on now.

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The quickest (Smart) virus scan has finished and I'm still free of nasties thankfully.  Gonna check my emails for the first time today now.

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The puppy's just been out for her poo 💩 and I've cleared it up, given her a doggy biscuit and adjusted the Fitbit to start at 7am instead of 6am and just by starting the blobs an hour later, I've achieved the full 14 hours twice this week instead of once.  It goes from 7am to 8pm now which is a lot better and I don't know why I didn't adjust it sooner❗  Hopefully I'll get another green semi-circle just before I head to bed tonight again... keep your fingers crossed for me pretty please❓

It's almost 10am, so I'm gonna slowly make my way to the back door to do this hours laps then take me pills.  BBS.

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That's the hours laps done and my pills taken, so that's everything sorted until 11am now.  Steve's made me a hot drink to start the day off with and the OAB pills are already working, 'cos I went for a wee 3 or 4 times before I took them and I've drunk getting on for half a litre but it hasn't gone through me yet, even though it would have done within 10 minutes before I took it.

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Another hours worth of lengths as opposed to laps this time 'cos of taking the rubbish and recycling out before I did them, so my legs really weren't up to trying something so new.  I'll keep doing the lengths for the next couple of hours or so, then try doing the laps again.  I can do this, I just need to tell myself that I can and believe in my heart that I won't fall over.  I haven't done so far, so why should future laps be different❓❗

Time for lunch now... crisps, yoghurts, fruit and chocolate 😆

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That's the 5pm 🕔 laps done and I just need to do 10 minutes walking for each of the last 3 hours to have achieved the same as I did yesterday, then I've gotta do my nightly exercises too and I'm gonna aim for 15 active minutes for each of the 14 hours tomorrow, so that I can slowly start pushing myself ready for our first 'marathon Monday' in 3 weeks time, because of needlessly self-isolating for almost the last two weeks.

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6pm 🕕 laps done and dusted.  Only 3 more to go then that's the 14 hours completed again, but my legs are already starting to feel it, so I'm not intending on moving off the sofa for the next half an hour.

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Last two hours of the day completed and I've got another green semi-circle... just setting that hour later has made all the difference today, so I'm definitely gonna keep it at that now.

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Signing off for the day and heading to bed now.  Nite nite orl.

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Saturday 20th June 2020

Good morning all.  How are you doing today❓

I was awake early enough to get my 6am blob today, so that makes up for yesterday's missed blob and I've got the two blobs after it too, so I'm going well so far today.  I've taken my daily pills, including the Calcium because I don't take the FA at weekends, so I'm all sorted until this evening now.

The daily virus scan has finished and I'm still clear of nasties.  Had a couple of privacy issues that are fixed now, but don't know why they were picked up today and not yesterday❗

Almost time for my fourth blob of the day, so I'm gonna put the blue curly bits on this post, save it, check my email and go out the back for this hours blob.  BBS.

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That's the fourth blob achieved, time to put the nightly exercise spreadsheet on my site now... hold on and I'll do it now before I forget.

OK, that's done but I'm gonna ask Steve to help me put anchor tags into the page so that you don't have to scroll down to get to each of 'em each week.

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Done❗  It's all up on the page now and it's almost time for me to hopefully achieve the 5th blob of the morning.

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Blobbed up for 10am now, so time to try putting the back to the top of the page dooberry into the exercises and Fitbit pages now... BBS

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OK, that's sorted and a lot more visitor friendly instead of having to scroll back up and I did it all meself too❗  Yaaaaay❗❗

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That's this hour's blob done and dusted.  Steve's given me a 5 minute warning for lunch, so I'm gonna put my laptop on the floor now.

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Back now and I've managed to catch the puppy dog on film that's currently being uploaded to YouTube then I'll code and upload it after I get back from taking the plates out, then I'll go out into the back yard again.

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The video is up and I've done the now-standard backyard stroll and achieved the 1pm 🕐 blob, so I can relax now until 2pm 🕑.

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That's the 2pm 🕑 blob achieved... didn't remember until almost 2.30pm 🕝though❗  Oops❗  My memory is definitely worst between about 11am 🕚 and 4pm 🕓 for some reason.

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The 3pm 🕒 blob has just been earned and I'm 119 active minutes in and still got 4 hours to go, so I'm hoping I'll make it to 160 active minutes by the time I climb into bed, which will be totally awesome 'cos I'll hopefully have a totally blobbified semi-circle by then too.

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Another blob earned and I've had 130 active minutes in the last 11 hours.  Got 3 more hours to go which, in theory, is another 30 minutes at least which'll take me to my most active minutes since getting the Fitbit at the end of last year.  Feeling particularly proud of myself already 😁

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Steve said I "looked like a tiny blue Darlek when you were doing one of your laps earlier on" because I'm wearing a blue top and was concentrating on not falling over 😄

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I've given up trying to stand up for myself and get advice on things I don't fully understand, so as of right now, 6.55pm on 20th June 2020, I'll go back to constantly doing things for other people and being a pushover.  If someone asks me to do something for free then I'll do it immediately, without question or complaint, 'cos apparently my thoughts, feelings and opinions are worthless.  As of now, I come last in everything - Steve can take as long as he likes with the things I've asked him to do, I will do things for free with my own needs going right to the back of the queue until it's completed for the person who has requested it, I'll continue to pay for the groceries and I'll move every penny I have left over to the joint account to help with the other bills too.

As of now, I'm back to being worthless again 😢

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I've taken my last pills of the day and have decided that as far as the groceries go, we'll get what Steve wants each week and I'll survive on water if necessary.  If Steve wants sausage rolls and beef burgers and stuff like that then that's what we'll buy.  I've got no right to request anything any more.

I've got life insurance that will pay out the full amount when I've had it for a year, so I'll survive until then, then take an overdose of all my pills.  I've got 4 high-strength prescriptions as well as 6 months supply of 4 supplements and it's easy to buy more, so that's what I'll do.  Need to get a Will sorted before then though, to make sure Steve gets the life insurance money when I've kicked the bucket and I think the mortgage is paid off when one of us dies too, so that'll be one less bill for him to worry about.  I've just gotta keep going for another few months is all.

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That's all my prescriptions requested.  Got 3 weeks of the FA and 2 weeks of the other three so decided to put in the request for all of them at the same time.

I'm starting to yawn now, so I'm gonna head to beddy-byes.  Nite nite orl 💤

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Friday 19th June 2020

Mornin' all

I remembered to take my supplements this morning and I was still feeling the positive effects from yesterday afternoon.

I've taken my morning pills and been out in the back yard twice so far as well as clearing up the puppy's poo which was almost liquid 'cos it had been out in two heavy rain showers.  Steve had said he was going to help but this is the third day that they've been out there so I've taken it upon myself to do it instead.  Again.

I've asked him to fill up the bird seed for at least a week and he still hasn't done that either.  It's too high up for me to reach down so I haven't got a choice about relying on him for that.

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I've washed away the poo and put the bag of bird seed onto the side of the sink.  I'm giving Steve until he puts the pizza into the oven for lunch to reach it down for me or I'll do that myself too.  He's registered as my carer but does bugger all to earn or even deserve that title.

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That's four hours I've got the purple blob in the Fitbit app so I'm on track for achieving 13 of the 14 hours again, which is great going considering last weekend I was only getting maybe 3 or 4 blobs a day❗

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Five purple blobs now and I've officially given up with the bird seed now... I've tried to reach the feeder and even the longest bit is out of my reach, so there's no way I can even lift it down let alone put it back up.

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Missed the 2pm blob 😞  Knew there was something I was forgetting and that's what it was 😞  Only just managed the 3pm blob too, so gonna go out and do the 4pm wander while I remember, so that I don't miss 3 blobs today 😟

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Just managed to sneak in the 5pm one with 15 minutes to spare... just got 2 more blobs left to achieve for today now.

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That's the 6pm blob sorted and after coming out of the bathroom it's time for my pills and the final blob of the day.

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That's all the blobs blobbed for the day.  Missing 1 blob that I achieved yesterday, but it's not too bad.  103 active minutes and I'm gonna put my Fitbit on to charge now, while I'm waiting for my evening pills to kick in.

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Got a really short video of the puppy dog currently uploading to YouTube while my Fitbit is charging up, so I'll code and upload that while I'm waiting for the charging to finish, then head to bed for the night.

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Video is up and the Fitbit is at 87% so it's speeding along and I'll hopefully be in bed before 8.30pm with any luck tonight!  I'm feeling my disability and lack of supplements more this evening than I did yesterday for some bizarre reason so I'll hopefully fall asleep pretty much instantly after doing my sit-ups and leg raises!

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Gonna give my Fitbit another 14 minutes to fully charge, then I'm off to bed whether it's fully charged or not 'cos I'm absolutely cream-crackered.

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I've shut down all my other programmes, so I'm gonna publish this and head to bed now.  Nite nite orl.

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Thursday 18th June 2020

Mornin' again all.

Day two without the supplements and I'm already struggling more than I did yesterday so I really don't want to think about what I'll be like when I go for the procedure!  I've taken my morning prescription and done two sessions in the back yard so time to feed the puppy now.  BBS.

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The puppy 🐶 has been fed and poo'd 💩 and had had her morning medication, I've taken my morning pill and Steve said he's taken his too, so we're all set until this evening now.

Gonna go for another wee then head out to the back yard for the third time of the morning.

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That's third session out in the back yard and I've got a couple of books to read and review now, so I'll do that now while I remember 👌

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I've read and reviewed the first books and I've been out into the back yard 10 times so far today, I'm over 12,500 steps, 85 active minutes and I'm about to take my supplements for the first time in 3 days now... I wonder what'll work first❓ 😃

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I only missed 1 day, but I've just taken my supplements again (it's 4.30pm 🕟) and almost immediately my body went "what the...❓  Oooh❗"  My head is significantly clearer, everything is back to being in HD, I've got more energy, more motivation... even my achey arms and knees are starting to ease after only 4 minutes.  It's gonna take a while to get the levels back to being optimal, but it's already better than it was this morning so I'm obviously still low in the vitamins and minerals that I've been taking every day, if they have such an affect on me just missing a single day's dose of each of 'em.

7 minutes later and I'm feeling my body greedily taking what it needs from the supplements.  It's only every 5 years thankfully, but if I struggle so much after missing a single dose of each of 'em then I'm really gonna need support when I finally get the procedure appointment from the hospital.

11 minutes later and my body is ready and willing to do the next set of walking in the back yard again, whereas it was usually a struggle to even remember that I needed to do it each hour, so it'll be interesting to see how I feel after the 5pm 🕔 bits in the back yard.   

I'm still gonna self-isolate until I've been to the nurse next week, just in case, but as soon as I get back I'm gonna walk the puppy for the first time in 2 weeks... I just hope it's not too wet out there❗ 🤣

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Blimey our back door is bright❗  And the walls are sharp❗  In under an hour they've gone from dull and boring and almost blurry, all the way in the other direction to sharp and bright with all kinds of edges and details I missed an hour ago.  I reckon it's the B12 in either the vitamin B complex or the multivitamin that's working so quickly because I had a similar reaction to my first B12 injection too.

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I very nearly almost skipped into the kitchen but managed to stop myself in time 'cos I know I would have gone base over apex and completely shattered the smidgen of confidence I've been nuturing since the lockdown started.  I confidently walk the puppy between our neighbours now and I can walk up and down our tiny back yard without holding onto anything 98% of the time so I didn't want to ruin all that hard work to build it up with a single moment of sheer stupidity.

That first full day of walks with the puppy dog as well as carrying on with the back yard stuff is gonna completely wipe me out, so I might build up to it really slowly and sensibly, like a good girl 😉

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That's the final set of backyard wandering finito and I've earned myself another Fitbit badge for getting over 15,000 steps in a day too and it's even better that I increased the steps on the graph when I did 'cos I've already gone through the previous maximum and I haven't even taken my pills yet❗  Gonna do that now while I think of it though, then finish reading the final 10% of the book and review it on this blog, my homepage and Amazon - I've achieved so much today so I'm especially proud of myself right now❗ 👍

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Just finished reading it and most of it was very good... it's just the spelling and grammar mistakes in the last half of the book that has made me knock off that star... hold on while I put it on this blog, my site and Amazon... BBS.

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That's the review sorted and I've just taken some photos of the puppy dog, so I'm gonna resize, code and upload them to my homepage then head to bed for the night, I reckon.

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That's the photos resized and coded, just waiting for my FTP programme to load up now so that I can get them all uploaded and head to bed.

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Photos are up now, so I'm heading to bed... nite nite orl.

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Book Review: "Tragic Birth of The Freedom Sun" by Aman Soni

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

The first poem is good, but it really didn't need to be on a separate page for each verse... why not just put the three verses on the same page?

The second poem is good too, but it's on a new page for every verse again!

The third poem saved the first star being knocked off 'cos the whole poem was on the same page, as it should be, so we're still at 5 stars thankfully.

There have been a few spelling mistakes so I'm wondering if the author ran a spell-checker through his manuscript before it was published?

There are some amazingly powerful poems in this book and the author should be proud of 'em!

A few capitalisation errors have slipped through on the same page, so those and the previous minor errors are forcing me to reluctantly knock off a star, unfortunately.

More capitalisation and basic mistakes slipping through at 53% of the way through... it's almost like the author got to 50% with the editing and gave up unfortunately  :-(

A confusing spelling mistake this time... should it be halo or hello?  Is there such a word as "rejoicement" and "Alass" or are they spelling mistakes too?  "5 am in the morning"??  Surely it's either 5am or 5 o'clock in the morning, right?

The author has the same issue with spelling lose/loose as me lol  I've just checked with my hubby and it's definitely a single o (losing and lose) so that the line makes sense.  Glad I'm not the only one who struggles with that particular word!  lol

80% of the way through and there's a missing e in the first line before the poem starts.  Has the author stopped caring about their book by now or summat?  There were very few errors in the first half, but there have been loads of 'em in the last 30%!

Just finished reading it and I've really enjoyed most of it... the spelling and grammar issues, especially in the last half of the book really is the only reason I've removed that single star... a touch of editing to get them sorted and it would have been a solid 5 stars from me.  Definitely worth a read though, for sure!

Wednesday 17th June 2020

Mornin' all.

First day in a veeeery long time that I won't be taking any of my supplements so I'll see just how much they are helping me.  Gotta take 2 prescriptions this morning and two this evening, but that's it for a week and I'm reeeally not looking forward to it 👎

I've already done my laps of the back yard though, so can relax for the next hour.

Time to kick-start the weekly virus scan now, while I remember.

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Second hours laps completed.

Poo 💩 emptied into a carrier bag and because of the rain it was a lot less solid than normal, so there's a layer of semi-solid poo stuck to the scoop now which'll have to be washed off before I throw up every time I see it.

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Third hours laps sorted and the scoop washed off... looking like it did when it was new now❗  It's only a cheap, plastic thing, but it's earned its worth many times over already... couldn't be without it now.  Blimey❗  I bought it on Christmas Day 2013 so it's even better value for money now, 6½ years later❗ 

Let's do some quick maffs... 6x52+26=338 times, minimum, that I've used it, plus the clearing up several times a week when she's poo'd on her walk, takes it up to about 500 times I've used it, which, for less than £20 is incredible... it's been outside in all weathers too, but it's still as good as the day it was delivered and much better value than a more expensive metal version which would have rusted many times over by now... if you've got a dog and you live in the UK, I definitely recommend you get the arms length pooper scooper and use it at least weekly for the next 6 years so that you can see why I'm singing its praises so loudly.

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That's the fourth set of laps of the day completed and I've asked Steve to put his shoes on so that we can fill up the bird seed again.  It's waaaay too high for likkle me, even at full stretch, to reach otherwise I'd do it myself.

Charging up my wrist fitness tracker now and after only 2 hours my body is already begging for my supplements that it's obviously come to rely on.  If I'm struggling after 26 hours then I'm already dreading the next 5 days 😔😞.

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Done two sets of laps since the last post, the virus scan has finished and Steve's making my zoop for me while I'm doing the backups... hopefully 🤞 it'll all be done first time this week 'cos otherwise it'll be more stressful than it needs to be.

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Time to do my next set of laps now that I've finished the soup and the backups are underway.  BBS.

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It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring.  He went to bed and bumped his head, so couldn't get up in the morning.

Just done this hours laps and it started raining at ⅓ of the way through, so I carried on walking.  If it's raining before I start then I miss that hour, like yesterday evening, but if it starts when I'm already out there then I keep going.  It's got half an hour before I decide what I'm gonna do at 2pm 🕑.

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That's one of the backups finished, just waiting for my documents to finish off now... it's at 72% and Steve's just looked out of the window and said that it seems to have stopped raining, so I'm thinking that I'll go out for this hour's trip to the back yard and hopefully 🤞 the backups will be totally finished by the time I come in again.  If they are, I'll put the external hard drive away and get this morning's photos of the puppy up on my homepage.

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80% of the way through and it's 2pm now, so I'm gonna go and do this hours laps as long as it's not totally hosing it down out there.  BBS again.

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That's this hours laps done again.  Dribbling with rain throughout, but that's OK to walk in... it's just when it's hosing it down that I won't walk in it if it's raining heavily before I even step out into the yard.

The backups have done 3% in the 18 minutes I was out there 😄 so it's a good job I didn't wait.  It's done 5% in the time it took me to write that sentence though.  We're at 91% now, so hopefully it'll be the last few percents by the time I've put in the final full stop and those curls at the end of this sentence, in preparation for the next section.  Let's see shall we❓

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As predicted up there ⮙⮙ just now, we are currently at 97% of the way through, so it's achieved 6% in under 2 minutes 🙄.  I bet it'll be finished by the time I put in these curly bits...

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Oooh, not quite... it went from 15 seconds to 18 minutes.  We're at 99% though, so it won't be too much longer now I wouldn't've thought.

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I almost fell over twice on the last laps, so my body is already struggling without the supplements... I just hope my body can hold out for the rest of this week, all weekend and on Monday so that I can take them again as soon as I get out of the hospital.

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Finished for another week now, so time to put it all away and check my email for the first time today.

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That was too close for comfort... if I hadn't looked at the fitness tracker on my wrist when I did, I would have missed out my 3pm 🕒 laps of the back yard which I really wouldn't have been happy about.  They're done now though and I can relax for 6 minutes before I do the 4pm 🕓 laps.

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I've given myself 10 minutes break and it's time for the next laps already, so that I don't forget again 🙄

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Just heard from the hospital I was going to have the procedure at.  The anaesthetist (sp??) isn't happy with me having the anaesthetic at the hospital because of my Neurological illness so it's all off after all.  They are going to get in touch with the original hospital to try and still squeeze me in for the Covid and MRSA screening at the same time (1.30pm 🕜) on Saturday, but until I've had those done it's all back up in the air.  Hopefully that means I can go back to taking my supplements now though... still not gonna take them until I've heard from the local hospital 'cos apparently I need to stop them for 14 days before the procedure, but the last 10 hours without them is all the proof I need that my body really does need the extra 4 pills I take every day.

My memory has been worse than it normally is, I've had no energy, no motivation, I'm more exhausted and my bones have been crying out for the Calcium.  TBH, I'd prefer to wait until the Covid thing is totally cleared up and everyone's blood pressure is back to normal and routines and stress levels on wards are back to normal.  It's not an urgent procedure (or is it??) so I honestly don't mind waiting if that's better for the hospital.

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Very nearly forgot to do the hourly laps for the second time today.  They've all been done until 7pm 🕖 now though, and I'm gonna be sooo glad to finally put my legs up into the bed tonight... I've really felt the lack of supplements today and I appreciate their magic more than ever now.

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I've done 13 hours worth of laps today and only missed the 6am one 'cos I wasn't up in time lol

Gonna take my pills and head to bed as soon as they start kicking in.

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Not tired yet, but it's gone 8pm 🕗 so I'm gonna shut down and head upstairs now.  Gonna read one of my zillions of magazines and listen to the radio until I can't keep my eyes open... publishing this and heading to bed now though.  Nite nite orl 💤

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Tuesday 16th June 2020

Mornin' all.

Remembered to do my laps as soon as I came downstairs... didn't manage to get them done in time to get the 6am blob, but got the 7am one within 9 minutes which is a good start to the day.  Hoping to do 10 of the 14 blobs today, so keep your fingers crossed 🤞 for me please❓❗

I've taken my morning pills, including the Calcium, so I'm all set for the day now.

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Smart virus scan has finished and I'm still free of nasties, so I'm gonna celebrate with a double chocochino.

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Still waiting on my software and webpage, so I've now told Steve that he's got until the end of this month (June) to get one finished and next month (July) to finish the other... if he doesn't, I really am going to Trading Standards about it 'cos it's waaaay over time and budget now and I'm fed up of waiting.  I'm gonna put that in an email to him so that he can't deny I've told him.

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A day late, but the Fitbit spreadsheet for last week is up on my site (here) now.  Just waiting for the Fitbit email then that's it sorted for another week.

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That's the 9am laps done and I seem to be doing a lot more steps than I was thinking... I'm aiming for 250 steps an hour yet they've all been just over 1,000 steps for the three hours I've done so far, so I'm thinking it's counting my turn shuffles as steps too, which is awesome❗  I'm gonna see what the next ones are like, but if they are over 1,000 each then I'm gonna have to adjust the spreadsheet to allow for the extra steps I'll hopefully be doing today 🤣  It goes up to 11,000 steps atm, but if I hit the 1,000 steps for the 10 hours I'm aiming for, then the nightly exercises too, then it won't count them all.  I'll give it until just after lunch, then if I'm still doing 1,000 steps per hour I'll try and work out how to adjust the spreadsheet so that I don't get stressed out about it tonight when the graph stays still... not gonna worry about that until after lunch though.

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I've done it!!! 

I emailed the spreadsheet to myself on my laptop, updated the appropriate axis, emailed it back to myself on my phone and Steve talked me through how to get it sorted.  I've done it once now, I just need to keep on keeping on trying to do it alone until it sticks in my head, like the axis thingy did!  I'm feeling really good about myself now and gonna take myself out for the next few laps now.

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Not quite 1,000 steps this time, but still more than triple what I was aiming for, which I'm feeling really proud of.  Almost double my minimum daily steps already too.  I'm thinking I'll still keep aiming for the 14 blobs (250 steps an hour) when I've recovered from the anaesthetic, but I'll do them in addition to the steps I do with the puppy and I'm thinking I'll have to put the steps up to 20,000 so that 'marathon Mondays" are still shown on there - this self-isolation thing has really inspired me to get those blobs filled in, instead of just 3 a day like it was this time last week.

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Not quite 1,000 again, but that's OK... I might have been taking smaller steps initially or something like that❓  I'm currently just over double my daily target and I've only been walking for 5 hours, so I'm feeling pretty good about that.

I'm having the last lasagne for lunch and Steve's having sausages and chips which is fine by me.

Also, Marie is taking me to have the Covid swab on Saturday and for the procedure on the Tuesday, assuming the swab is clear.  Apparently they're a bit nervous about Steve's dad driving so early in the morning, which is fair enoughski... I just hope I don't have to walk too far to the ward is all 'cos my legs just won't be up to it and they'll collapse beneath me.

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Just done this hours laps and I managed 1072 steps this time, so I think I must just have been taking bigger steps the last couple of times.

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Just had me lunch and gone out for a soggy stroll around the back yard again... wracked up 1,110 steps this time - it needs to rain while I'm out there more often 'cos that's the most so far today by pretty much 100 steps 👍 🤣

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That's the spreadsheet and image up for last weeks Fitbit stuff, just in time to do my next few laps of the back yard.

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1066 steps for this hour.  That's 8 hours that I've hit the 250 steps an hour pretty easily which is good going, considering I only started doing the laps on Sunday.  My legs are feeling it but it'll be worth it to crack the 10,000 steps by the time I head to bed and it not being 'marathon Monday' either.  I can so do this - it's gonna be tough going but I'm determined to not let my legs sieze up ready for going in to hospital next week then taking the puppy out for her walkies again next week.  If anything, being forced to self-isolate for the last week has made me more determined than ever to re-gain my health 👌

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1022 steps for this hour and our Iceland shop is due for delivery for delivery by 4.30pm 🕟 so I'll wait until that's been and gone before I do the next set of laps and I will, in theory, be well into the 10,000 steps by the time I come back in.  I'm hoping to crack 15,000 steps today, but 12,500 is my more realistic aim 👍

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1052 steps and the shopping has been and gone, so I'm gonna go and help put it away now... BBS again.

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It's absolutely hosing it down out there now, so I'm not gonna do any more laps of the back yard today and I've already almost hit the 11,000 steps mark, so maybe it's the Green Man's (one of me Deities) way of telling me to leave it be for the day❓  No matter what the reason, I'm not gonna go out again until the morning now... I'm happy with what I've achieved today so I'm not gonna push myself unnecessarily.  I'll try again tomorrow, but take my lead from my body and the weather again.  I know it's possible now, which I wasn't sure of yesterday.

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Just taken my pills and want an early night, so I'm gonna publish this, shut down and head to bed now.  Goodnight all.  See you tomorrow at some point. 

💤

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Monday 15th June 2020

Mornin' all.

The rubbish has been taken already and it's not even 8am 🕗 yet❗  There seems to have been another update to the blogger site overnight and I now can't move the icons dialogue box over so I'll have to click on the smiley face every time I want to put an icon in a blog post now 😞 - so that's 3 times in this paragraph alone already... not happy, blogger❗❗

Time to take my pills now...

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OK, pills taken and I forgot to refil the box yesterday so I had to do it while I was taking my pills this morning.  TBH, I think I prefer it like that though 'cos it means I can keep better track of which pills have gone in and which haven't, so might try it like that again next week just in case this morning's refilling was just a fluke.

Taken a few photos of the sleepy puppy so time to put them up on my site now.

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Even more photos of the puppy dog that I'll put up after I've had my zoop.

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OK, zoop drunk, photos up on my site so time for a stroll around the back yard now... wanna try and do 30 laps an hour so that I can hit the 250 steps an hour.

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Laps done and I hit this hour's 250 steps so I can relax for the rest of the hour now.

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Just hit another 250 steps, just before the end of the hour, so got a few minutes to recover before I attempt them again.  I'm just trying to prepare myself for the hospital thing next week is all... I'd prefer to prepare unnecessarily than not prepare and severely regret it when I get there.

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OK, it's 5pm 🕔 so time for this hour's steps now.

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Why on earth didn't I start doing this last week❓❓  I'm completely wiped out now and my legs are killing me... why didn't I wait for a little bit between the two sessions to let my body recover from the first session before starting on the second❓  Gonna go out again at 6pm 🕕 and for the final time of the day at 7pm 🕖 then head upstairs to do the sit-ups and leg raises then hopefully it won't take me long to fall asleep tonight.

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That's the 6pm stroll sorted... that's every hour for the last four hours now, which is fantastic going by me.  Might struggle with the 7pm one, and I'm hoping to do 30 laps every hour from the time I come down here tomorrow until the last one at 7pm again... it's just the getting motivated to do it that's the biggest problem, but when I've found that motivation I'm good to go.  Done just over half the amount of steps I did last Monday, but tomorrow lunchtime will be 7 days of self-isolation and only 7 left to go... I can do this, now that I'm almost over the hump and since doing laps of our yard, I've built up a small amount of confidence in my walking abilities too.

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That's my pills taken, so time for the final stroll of the day now.

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That's me all walked out for the day now.  I even did my best to keep my head up instead of staring at the ground 👌

I've got a third of me mug of tea left so I'm gonna drink that then head to bed I reckon.

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That's the mug finished so time for beddy-byes now.  See you all tomorrow at some point.

Nite nite orl 💤

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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.