Thank you

Hi friends

It was minus 4 this morning and it is literally freezing here. That is the downside of living in an old cottage in the middle of nowhere.

However, it is my blessing to have this dawn to start the day.

We now have less than 2 days in 2014. Health wise, it has been really a tough year from the start and I am still not 100%. It reminded me what I had been neglected though.

Although I look younger than my age, inside of my body is much older, especially, my lung which was diagnosed as weak as 67 years old. More than 20 years older than myself! It scared me, to be honest.

As you know, I never smoke and I hate the smell of cigarettes. I was never a big drinker but I stopped drinking. Well, life is soooooo not fair, especially for mine, ever since I was born.

That was my mantra until I hit my 40^th birthday. Now, I am happy and content with my so-not-fair-life. Things happen but it is ourselves to turn it into an opportunity or leave it as another unhappy memory.    

In the end of the day, it is our perception which will give meanings or values to everything around us. In another words, I am the only person who can make myself truly miserable or happy.

Off course, I prefer the latter one and it is how I should live. That is the very simple way of living  I am practicing in these days.

Thank you very much for your time reading my blog this year. Thank you for being there.

I wish you all the best in the new year. Have good fun.

Merry Christmas

Hi friends,

I wish you all Merry Christmas.

What did you get for yourself? I booked 2 plays at Royal Shakespeare and 1 at Swan Theatre. I will be at theatre on 30^th, 31^st December and 2^nd January. What a cultural way to spend winter holiday!   

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, have great time.

Thinking of you on this special day. God bless you all.

Christmas Dinner

Hi friends,

I had my first Christmas turkey today. My friend and I went to Rooftop restaurant in Stratford-upon-Avon (again) and enjoyed the foods and the lovely riverside view.

I normally skip starter.  Instead, I had this.

Main course.

Then, pudding. It has to be chocolate. They created Angel’s wing with white chocolate and I could taste Bailey’s.

My friend had Christmas pudding with brandy custard. It looks small but considering the scary calories, this could be the sensible size for pudding eaters.

As always, lovely foods, friendly service, and great view. Definitely one of my favourites.

Breakfast and Lunch

Hi friends,

How are you doing? I had been half-dead. Oh dear.

Whilst I was on business trip, my asthmatic cough came back and I had been coughing like a dying old dog.

Must admit, it was sheer madness travelling to Germany and Poland then China in 3 weeks.

Trip to China gave me a pleasant surprise, though. They have invested vastly and developed themselves significantly in recent 10 years. Especially, two factories in Northern China impressed me. Their manufacturing capability might be better than Japanese by now, needless to say the gigantic capacity they hold. I am keen to be back to see them again.

However, 11 hours in a plane is a real challenge to my health. BA’s business class was rather disappointing considering what was paid.  I will fly with ANA or Swiss next time.

Anyway, my usual topic to tell you that I have recovered and come back to my normal life.  Breakfast and lunch.

Although I had a series of fabulous dinners and banquets in gorgeous restaurants in the past days, I prefer eating what I cooked in my little cottage. Well, jet-setters life is no longer for me. I admit gladly, I have become old and hopefully more down to earth.

Thanks for reading. Have a super Sunday. God bless.

Reiki Certificate!

Hi friends,

Ta-dah!

 As you know, my latest craze is learning Reiki Healing. I completed the 3^rd course and got the certificate from my master a couple of weeks ago. I am seriously thinking about taking the master course eventually, but for now, I need to practice as much as I can. So, my dear ladies and gentlemen, if you are not feeling well, contact me on my mobile number. I need a guinea pig. Please?

Breakfast and Lunch

Hi friends,

Just an usual topic to report to you that I am still alive. See you later.

Christmas Goose in Swabia

Hi friends,

Back from Southern Germany via Zurich at night on Friday. Absolutely shattered by the time coming back to my cottage. I have to look after myself better than this.

This is the traditional dish in the region where I was visiting. Christmas goose in Swabia.

Dawn in South Wawickshire

Hi friends,

How are you doing?

I have been running like a headless chicken but hey ho, what is new?
I took these photos this morning in front of my cottage and I thought you might enjoy them.

It was so peaceful and this is the only time I could be free myself from this madness.

Wherever you are, whatever you are up to, take care of your beautiful selves.

God bless. See you soon. 

The Bank

Good morning my friends,

The following is what my lovely friend introduced to me through her blog. It seems this has been floating around on internet for a while and is available on YouTube, too.

 I don’t know who originally created these simple yet philosophical words but whoever it is, I truly agree with this person.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is already mid-November, that is why I would like you to read this and share the thoughts with me. Especially, those who have noticed that we haven’t got many days left in 2014. Less than 53 days to be precise, my darlings…  

=====

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.

What would you do?

Draw out every cent, of course.

Each of us has such a bank.

Its name is TIME.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back.

There is no drawing against the "tomorrow". You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success.

The clock is running.

Make the most of today.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have.
And remember that time waits for no one.

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.


Today is a gift.
That's why it's called the present.

Over the Rainbow

Hi friends,

What a funny weather! The heavy shower washed my dusty car and it looks rather clean now.

This is what I just took in front of my cottage. Can you see the double rainbows?

Wishing you all the best in November however you are feeling right now. Everything will be fine soon. It will be whatever it should be.

See you soon and take care. XXX

Breakfast

Hi friends,

My breakfast this morning.

RapidLash!

Hi friends,

Ta-dah!

I got it at last.

It is sold at Boots at £41 but you know what I am doing for living. After my research, I found it at £19.20 including P&P on Amazon. It was delivered in the following day. 

Only down side is, I have to be patient for 8 weeks to see a visible result.

It is hardly “rapid” but  wait and see…

Anti-aging Brunch

Hi friends,

The weather has become like the one we had in September, hasn’t it? Hope it will be mild winter this year. I just received the electricity bill…. Yes, we indeed need mild winter.

Ladies, our favourite subject today. Anti-aging and foods.

This is my super anti-aging brunch.

As usual, rice was cooked with Soya powder and after cooked, I added Sesame powder and mixed it up. I talked about the benefits of sesame and soy products quite few times in the past, so I will skip their benefits this time.

Avocado. I made roll sushi with ripen avocado. Avocado is, as we know, rich in Vitamin E.

Tomato. These small red ones are Berry Tomatoes. They are smaller than plum tomatoes and much sweeter than ordinary ones. Tomatoes are rich in Lycopene. Lycopene is said to be beneficial to prevent heart disease and cancer of prostate, breasts, lung, bladder, colon, pancreas and ovaries. It is also known as powerful antioxidant. However, ladies and gentlemen, it should be taken from foods in a natural way. If you use artificially processed lycopene, it might worsen prostate cancer.

Vinegar. I often use rice vinegar to marinate vegetables. Vinegar is said to ease our fatigue, and slow aging process. It also has great benefits, such as anti-cancerous and blood glucose control.

Pork. I do not eat meat as often as I used to, but I still enjoy pork and chicken. These are shallow-fried pork and prawn burgers with breadcrumbs. Comparing with other meat, pork is richer in Vitamin B which is very important for your skin and nerves.

Miso Soup. What more can I say about miso? The greatest product from Japan. If you are serious about anti-aging and anti-cancerous, this is the product we cannot miss, as well as tofu. I normally add tofu and wakame (kelp) in miso soup. It makes your diet healthier as you can add any kind of vegetable in miso soup.    

Lastly and most importantly, this is my mantra. Drink green tea in the morning and drink lots of water during a day. I only drink 1 Littre of water, as I take enough fluid from foods such as fruits and that is enough for me to maintain PH balance in the body.

Straight Hair

Hi friends………..especially those who have not seen me for a couple of weeks.

I had my hair straightened like this. How’s that?

My good old engineering colleagues are now calling me Ozzy. Charming, aren’t they?

Unfortunately, AML did not like it, either. All ladies were so far really complimentary though.

Well, my dear ladies and gentlemen, at the tender age of 45, I can no longer be bothered to think how I may appear in front of men.  I would rather choose to save time in the morning.

This is not Brazilian Keratin treatment but Japanese straight perm called Yuko System and unlike other treatments, it makes minimum damage to your hair.

My dear friends, hope you like my new hair.

Thanks for reading. See you soon. God bless you all.    

Breakfast and Lunch

Hi friends

We got sunshine at last! It is a beautiful day, isn’t it? To make most of it, I will go out for country walking. Also, it is good time for me to get my favourite cheese, Mont d’Or, so I will pop in the shop in Stratford as well.  Mont d'Or is Vacheirn (cheese from Cow’s milk) and available from France and Switzerland. The difference is, whether it is pasteurised (Swiss) or not (French). I prefer the latter one. It is only available in markets form 10^th September to 10^th May but here in England , it tends to  disappear from shops before Easter.

Anyway, it is enough of my cheesey talk.

Hope you are well and enjoying yourselves there. God bless and take care.

My usual breakfasts and lunch.

Environ

Hi friends,

Did you see the big full moon on 8^th? Although it was cloudy here, I could catch it in the morning on 9th. Also I could see it in the evening on the same day.

The moon is said to have some influence over our moods and at full moon phase, it often causes impulsive behaviours. After all, the word “lunatic” is coming from that.

Then, I can understand why I got this box...

Ta-dah!

Yes, it was truly impulsive purchase but I have no regrets. :-p

Breakfasts and Pudding

Hi friends,

My usual topic, breakfasts.

Pudding.  This carrot cup cake is a compliment from HR Coffee Bar. It was squashed in my hand bag on the way to home yesterday….

Simply beautiful.  

What an old girl needs to keep going

Hi friends, how are you coping? 

This is what I promised with someone but it was weeks ago. Things have been absolutely bonkers for weeks.

Anyway, if you ask me what I will take if I am allowed to take one beauty product to a desert island. It has to be this. Environ AVST.

My skincare is very simple, in fact, I normally use only this one in the morning and in the evening.

Avocado oil and sesames.

When majority of oil is heated, it changes its nature and become oxidant. Avocado oil is quite strong against heat and rich in Vitamin E. Sesame is again good source for Vitamin E but I highly recommend using ground sesames.  

Japanese Green Tea and Soya Milk.

What can I say? I said enough of them, didn’t I? I will keep taking them to prove my theory.

Supplement.

This is what I have started taking. Again, they are Vitamin E and also Vitamin C with Green Tea and Grape Seeds extracts.

Then, some treats.

At my favourite coffee shop, HR Coffee Bar in Stratford-upon-Avon. They really do good coffee and cakes.

Lastly, roses.

I buy them every week. I might forget to buy breads but never forget to buy roses. They make me smile and good old girls like us definitely need it, don’t we?

Ladies, keep smiling. God bless. Thanks for reading.

Breakfast and Lunch

Hi friends,

I know, you have heard this so many times but I will say it again.

I will lose weight.

As a result of daily consumption of Snickers’ bar and other rubbish, I am now getting close to the boundary of size 10. Before I cross the border, I need to lose at least 4kg.I cannot afford new dresses. All of my dresses and skirts are getting tight in these days except the ones with elastic waist. Doh!!

At the tender age of 45, I cannot lose weight drastically. My cunning plan is, as usual, eating properly, cutting-off junks completely, drinking plenty of water, not eating after 17:00, having salt bath in the evening, doing some exercise in the morning and in the evening.

And off course, drink green tea every day! (The easiest task ;-p)

My normal topic. Breakfast and lunch.  

Enjoy the rest of Sunday. Thank you for reading. God bless. xxx

My Day-off in London

Hi friends,

Hope all of you are enjoying yourselves wherever you are. The weather in South Warwickshire is bit gloomy but I am enjoying lazy morning here.

At the peak of my fatigue and stress, I decided to take a day –off and went to London on Tuesday. It is my policy to stop when I start losing my work/life balance.

As you may know, I am not keen on train journey in this country. Trains are expensive, filthy and give me sneeze and cough. However, my good friend in London lives very close to Marylebone Station and it makes more sense to go there on train rather than driving down to London, spending a lot on petrol, paying congestion charge and criminally expensive parking fee.

I caught a train from Banbury and arrived at Marylebone around 11:00am.

As we planned to meet up at the restaurant in Baker Street at 12:00, I went to Piccadilly Circus to go to my favourite sweet shop there. Minamoto Kichoan sell Japanese style confectionaries. They are very classy and elegant but at the same time, they are shockingly expensive. I have to confess, I spent more than £60 there. Oops.

 Regent Street.

The restaurant my friend chose was just in front of Baker Street Station. As it is within walking distance form her flat, it seems she often goes there. We had great service and complimentary dishes thanks to her “frequent custom”.

I feel happiest when I am having a nice meal with my favourite people. I have not seen this gorgeous woman for nearly 8 years, but it was amazing that we could catch up as if we were seeing each other every month just like we used to.

I am so glad that we are still good friends and could see that my beautiful friend keeps herself as an inspiring soul I knew, despite hardship she had in the past.

Really well spent day-off. Thanks, K. Please come to my cottage next time.

Breakfasts and Lunch - keep eating or cycling!

Hi friends,

Oh dear, I don’t know where my days have gone. Apologies for not contacting you for ages.

It has been really busy and I feel so behind from everything.

However, my dear ladies and gentlemen, I have being eating properly. As you know, when I give up my foods and high-heels, it simply means I am dead.

Breakfast.

I found this in my usual Korean Grocery Shop. Ground Soya Beans, called Kinako in Japanese. Soya beans are great source of Isoflavonoid and it is said to work like female hormone. I highly recommend soya products to those who suffer from menopause.

Although it is not as apparent as women, men can also have menopause. If you are seriously thinking about cycling to the Lands End and screaming the love for your colleague as young as your daughter, congratulations, you got it. Unfortunately, I can only recommend soya products for ladies to take Isoflavonoid. For gentlemen, keep cycling and raise money for mid life crisis charities.

Lunch

I found this at Waitrose. Rapeseed oil mayonnaise.

As there are few king prawns and minced meat left in the fridge, I made “Cutlet-like” using them both and this mayonnaise.

Yummm…………