Stratford-upon-Avon in Late August

Hi friends,

Stratford-upon-Avon is the nearest town from my cottage but I normally avoid in weekends as it is packed with tourists in summer. 

This is the high street in Stratford. There is the Royal Shakespeare Theatre nearby.

Public library is a Tudor building.

This is where my favourite gift shop is.

Paxton and Whitfield, my heavenly beautiful cheese shop with the Royal Warrants.

Excellent people and Weight 4

Hi friends,

Today’s weight.

I had a very interesting session yesterday. The people in the class were excellent. I truly enjoyed being with them. The training itself was about supplier relationship. Very well structured and the class stayed proactive throughout the day.

You can spot "the undertaker"(I was wearing black again!), can ‘t you?

Weight 3

Hi friends,

Today’s weight.

I have to be very careful today. I am having a professional training session at one of those sleek conference venues and these places are normally geared up with unlimited supply of fluffy coffee and chunky choco chip biscuits. Buffet lunch with a selection of cakes and cheese… It’s an ultimate challenge to my will power, isn’t it?  

Breakfast and Weight 2

Hi friends,

Today’s breakfast.

Aubergine, red pepper and green pepper.

Enoki mushrooms and onion.

Chives.

Also I had tender stem broccoli (leftover from yesterday) and yellow tomatoes.

And this is my weight this morning.

57.6 kg. It has become 300g lighter than yesterday.

Tip?

Always take a photo before you eat….

Absolutely rubbish, isn’t it? Well, at least I am honest with you. ;-p

Today's breakfast and my real weight

Hi friends,

Today’s breakfast.

I love anything with Teriyaki sauce. Mix up soy sauce, brown sugar or honey, mirin, white wine (if not Sake), and bit of potato starch and microwave it.

It is so easy to take more than 5 vegetables when I cook in Japanese style. Today, I used tender stem broccoli, chives, green pepper, onion, carrot, lotus roots, shimeji mushroom and enoki mushrooms. 8 in total. Not bad.

What happened to my declaration to lose weight? Indeed, I am working on it but no intention to change my diet. My diet is good. Although it is high carb and bit high on salt, it is relatively good for my body and keep me happy.

However, this is the reality. I am more than 1 stone heavier than my best.

As I love foods, I go for comfort eating when I am stressed. I start eating things like this.

Chocolate Crème Brûlée. There were two of them and I ate one as per the instruction and another one, I used it as chocolate cream and ate with bananas. It was sickeningly sweet.

No wonder why I have got a very round tummy and extra boobs above and under bra….shocking!!

My plan is, to lose 1 stone for 3 months. 1 stone is 6.35kg. 2kg in 1 month. It is pretty doable, isn’t it?

I cannot lose weight in a drastic way. It is too risky at my age. I will end up with a saggy body and wrinkled face. Slowly but surely that is how I am doing it.

Let’s see how it will work…

Colours!

Hi friends,

I found this beautiful scarf and bought it for only £9.99. Lovely texture and great colour

.

This is the colour I want to wear. When pink is with purple, it is not so girlie, but rather classy and elegant, isn’t it?

Anyway, this is the real reason why I went shopping. Sunglasses.

I broke the pair of Karl Lagerfeld’s which I enjoyed for years. As they were grey framed, I was looking for something bit more colourful this time and I found this pair. Aren’t they beautiful?

I was torn between this pair and green framed gorgeous pair of Fendi’s. However, I am determined to have bright colours in my life….and when it comes to colours, Missoni knows how to use magic.

Today's Power Breakfast

Hi friends,

Today’s breakfast.

Omelette with Juno’s special sauce (ketchup, brown sauce and white wine – mix up and microwave it!)

Very onion bread. High carbohydrates!

Potatoes. Another carb!

Pudding! More Carb!

I think I had enough….(what happened to my diet?)

My new fuchsia pink(?) dress...

Hi friends,

Ladies, it is about our favourite subject, Shopping!

Nope, I am not talking about oriental mushrooms and yellow tomatoes today.

My wonderful colleague TW was wearing a pair of fuchsia pink trousers and she looked so stylish in them. Yes, my dear ladies, pink is THE colour. I have not bought any clothes since May but kept “de-cluttering” the wardrobe instead. I think it is about time for me to get a new dress.

And this is what I bought yesterday…

Eh…..yeah. It is not quite fuchsia pink, is it?

It is python print comes in my usual blue....... Damn, I did it again. 

Can anybody go shopping with me to stop buying blue?

Anyway, I will wear it with dark grey heels at work. Definitely not black shoes as they will make this dress looking very normal or even rather dull. Grey heels are a good choice for work, but really, Silver is the colour for this dress, isn’t it?

And ladies, guess how much I paid for this dress.

Bargain!

Good Will Hand Soap

Hi friends,

I organised a night out to congratulate a friend who is getting married in Thailand in September.  As it was a classy venue, I gave up taking photos of foods there. Darlings, there is a line to draw at the tender age of 40 and plus.

If it is for celebration, I always volunteer to organise a meal or collection. There are 3 more people who have married by now or will marry in few weeks. To be honest, it was bit tricky handling 4 collections at the same time and I kept mixing up cards.

However, what goes around comes around. Good will calls another good will.

One of the friends gave me this as her thanks for organising a day and getting a card and gifts.  

“It was so difficult to get things for you as you are always so awfully fussy over everything around you.”

…Am I!?

“Yes, you ARE but when I saw this, I immediately thought about you.”

Green tea and hand soap. Yep, it is definitely me. I am always drinking green tea and I take care of my hands almost religiously.

Yeah, I see your point, perhaps, I am bit fussy…..well, just a little bit. ;-p

As well as this lovely gift, it is her thoughts and time I appreciate. 

Thank you for reading and I wish you all lovely weekend.

Life is too short. Stop eating and lose some weight!

Hi friends,

There is a wonderful person in Southern Germany and I love his habit of saying. 

Totally agree.

“Life is too short to live on low-fat every thing.” – Kristin Scott Thomas

Oh yeah!

“Life is too short to miss out on the beautiful things like a double cheese burger.” – Channing Tatum

Well said whoever it is.

Then, I noticed that I have become far too heavy in such a short period.

Indeed. Life is too short.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think it is high time for me to stop eating and lose some weight….

Minimalist Breakfast (?)

Hi friends,

I adore Japanese minimalist style and it is my dream to have a court yard in Japanese style.

Simple and neat. It contains seasons and natural beauty. Understated yet it is powerful.. It is almost mesmerising when you notice the philosophy and preciseness behind it. Kaiseki style is the one I get inspiration and theme.

Absolutely fascinating, aren’t they?

Anyway, I noticed that I have nothing in the fridge apart from a jar of miso this morning. How very minimalistic is that!!

Juno’s “minimalist” Japanesey breakfast this morning….oops.

I think it is about time for me to go grocery shopping.... Oh, one thing I am pleased is, I cooked rice in this Le Creuset pan.

It is not quite in line with the authentic Japanese theme, but trust me, they do an excellent job.

 PS: Le Creuset is a French cookware company best known for its colourful enamelled cast iron casseroles.

A mad Japanese scientist - why amoeba became human

Hi friends,

1000mg of Vitamin C and Korean Ginseng really work!

I feel much better this morning. As I spent such long hours in bed yesterday, I think I was floating in the past in my dream. I remembered the conversation I had with a Japanese scientist who sat next to me in the plane from Singapore in 1998. He was a fabulously intelligent person and we kept talking until the plane arrived in Heathrow.

He said he was working as a chief scientist in a pharmaceutical laboratory and attending one of those international conventions for scientists and doctors to discuss something about DNA…I think?

According to him, it is virus which developed amoeba to human.

“Let’s say, we are eggs. I was boiled for 8 minutes but you were left in a pan longer and boiled for 20 minutes.  I look like a tasty yellow and white boiled egg but your egg yolk became bit greyish because of too much boiling. OK?”

(…..yeah yeah. What the hell is he talking about?)

“The heat transformed sulphur and iron in egg and created this grey substance. See? You are carrying different DNA now.”

(Ooooohkey, I think I am getting it.)

“When different DNA and another different DNA are met, we will have something more different from the original. That is how the amoeba became us. When we react to virus or germs, it is because we have not developed immune system for that. Right? Next time you get flu, remember that your body is being transformed to something new. You are being developed to a new type.”

“Wow, that is absolutely amazing. Is it true?”

“Nope. It is just one of theories but it will make flu more tolerable if you think in that way. It always works for me.”

Oh yes. I have recovered from my mysterious illness and feel like a completely new person now.

NOT!!!!

Tatty breakfast and mid-morning treat

Hi friends,

I have been slightly under the weather since Wednesday. Not sure whether it is because of this funny weather or air conditioner in the office. As usual, it started with a sore throat and I got migraine by Friday. I have already used a box of Kleenex for my runny nose.

Now, what I need is a good breakfast, isn’t it?

My breakfast this morning. It is shockingly tatty. I must be really unwell….

Ham, egg, shredded potatoes, baked beans, toasted bagel, fruit salad and yoghurt.

To cheer me up, I had this as mid-morning snack.

Sad thing about me is, no matter how ill I become, I don’t lose my appetite.

If I lose bit of weight, oh yeah! It is worth being ill occasionally, but I don’t.

I overdosed myself with Vitamin C and Korean Ginseng. Let’s see how they work….

Limited Edition - Rachel's Lemon & Ginger Yoghurt

Hi friends,

My Sunday breakfast. Gloucester cheese on flax bread and yoghurt with pomegranate seeds and blueberries.

This yoghurt is, ladies and gentlemen, this year's limited edition from Rachel’s Organic series. Lemon and Ginger.

They had apple and cinnamon last year. This year’s edition is equally nice. Definitely worth trying. Around £1.85.

PS: Any product contains flax must be kept in a cool and dark place as they are extremely prone to oxidation, especially oil.

Full Power Breakfast

Hi friends,

Today’s  breakfast.

Ingredients.

Miso soup with tofu, enoki, onion, spring onion and wakame (seaweed).

Pork mince in baby green peppers with fruit & vegetable brown sauce.

Rice with black sesame and salt flake.

Japanese style omelette.

Tender-stem broccoli.

Spaghetti salad with cucumber, carrots, sweet corn, and ham with mayonnaise & French mustard. Sorry, Italian people. I disgraced your national food, but this is rather nice… ;-)

My “full power” breakfast.