Stop being worried but enjoy life?!

Back to my blog. Life as usual.

I haven't written any post in this blog for a few days since Thursday. It wasn't totally true that I have been too busy - I'm busy as the ACCA exams are coming and there're also some other things to do (e.g. helping a friend who's now in Malaysia to buy some dresses, doing shopping, posting ebay items, going to class, etc.). Also I'm tired of myself 'complaining' or moaning about any unpleasant things in life - especially my health concerns. My VIP has tried to ask me not to think about those health problems, and I know I'm suffering from health anxiety (oh am I mad?!). Anyway, my life's ok - I went to gym (Thu), went to school (Fri), did weekly food shopping (Sat) and did some cleaning duties at home. I slept longer (due to cold weather!) and ate more! (hmm, I always feel hungry!)

One more month and there's Christmas Day!

I just hope my performance in ACCA exams is not too bad and I can have happy Christmas!! :)

Dinner on Thursday: ready meals from Sainsbury's at reduced prices! 

Plus tortellini from Waitrose :) 

Dinner on Friday: home-made meal with steamed salmon (from Bolton Market)

I'm gonna eat more fish instead of red meat, for health reason...

Lunch (Friday): sub of the day (tuna) from Subway

I preferred going to Subway for lunch these days when I went to class. 

It's cheap, yummy and healthy :) 

Weekend dinner: cheese & bacon omelette with baked beans & chips

I missed the chips and omelette! :) 

Lunch (today): pasta in miso soup with brussel sprouts & luncheon meat!

Dinner (today): rice with smoked haddock & Chinese cabbage with 粉絲!

Oh Christmas is coming!

Gotta work hard for the exams!

No class. No gym. No use of laptop. Did my ACCA revision...

After last night's scare of itchy & rash skin, I felt better this morning. I slept for more than 9 hours! I had felt quite tired after taking anti-histamine last night. As the ACCA exams were nearer (less than 2 weeks to go), I started being more focused on the revision. I didn't use computer till the afternoon (only to check email!), nor did I go to gym. Any 'non-urgent' matters are to be delayed till after exams! I only have to work hard for 3 weeks and then I can be 'free'!!

I have become lazier in writing this blog, in going to gym.. hmm...

Breakfast: Chicken, Emmental & Bacon Club from Waitrose!! 

It was very tasty! I love it! :) 

Lunch: lazybone's meal! steak pie and vegetables served with rice

Dinner: beef stew with carrots & potatoes + broccoli 

Yummy :) 

No motivation to work hard on revision?

Back to class.

Today was the 2nd day of the revision class for F4 paper (Business & Corporate Law). The tutor said we didn't seem to have motivation to work hard for the exam, which could be told by the fact that some of my classmates were absent, late or left early and whenever he asked us questions, no one could answer them! =_=' He asked us if we were confident we would pass the exam - I'm confident! :p Though I still haven't worked hard enough...

My itchy and rash skin has come back! :(  When can I have days when I don't feel any discomfort/unwell?!

Lunch: Subway meatball! 

I was too lazy to prepare lunchbox and

so I went for a 'healthier' choice (instead of Mcdonalds) when dining out :)

Dinner: noodles in soup base (carrots, swede & potatoes) with mixed vegetables

Dinner: sushi as snack! :) 

Meeting with the dentist

Staying home. Had my regular tooth check up with the dentist. Lower back pain still persists. :(

I like to have a day off on Monday so that I can avoid Monday blue! Just like today - I could do my laundry and tidy up my room. Time seemed to pass without me noticing and doing anything at all! :(  I went to the dentist in the late afternoon for a check up. It had been 6 months since my last check up. Time flies! My appointment with the dentist lasted less than 5 minutes! :p She just had a quick look at my mouth and teeth. She said it looked fine, except for the fact that I had some plagues building up inside! :(  That was why I had bleeding in my gum. She suggested me buying an electric toothbrush which may help clean the teeth! It sounds a bit relief to me as my gum problem isn't serious. :p I hope my other health problems aren't serious either! :p  My lower back pain has been ongoing for more than a week now. *sigh* My joints also seem to be 'weak' and cause a bit of pain. Feel like I'm so fragile! :( Probably my sitting posture hasn't been so 'correct' that I have problems with my back?!

Lunch: supposed to be a 'vegetarian' meal

'kai lan' + mushroom + (strange) mix of baked beans and egg! :p

Dinner: noodles with 'kai lan' & pork in soup base

(the soup was made with carrots, swede & potatoes)

Baby stuff for my nephew/niece

Busy buying stuff for my 'nephew'/'niece'!

After last night's research on some baby items on the internet, I made the decision on what and where to buy for my nephew/niece that would be born soon. We went to Mothercare to buy a teat for baby bottles, then to Toysrus to buy a 2-pack baby bottles. :)  We then went to Morrisons as we found we had paid for a pair of soothers more than we had thought. But when we checked the items on the shelf, we found the price tags had been changed! :S *sigh* Anyway, as my present 'mission' for the bb has been completed, I don't want to care about whether I've paid more or less. Maybe next time when I'm going to buy baby stuff items again, I know where to shop! :)

Breakfast: this HK-style bun (curry chicken) was long time so see! :p

Too bad I couldn't eat spicy stuff now... 

Lunch at Morrisons: this beef with sauce was a good surprise!

Quite tasty and reasonable price (only £2.5!)

It'd have been perfect if it was served with rice!

Lunch at Morrisons: my first Christmas Lunch this year! 

Hmm, the sauce was too salty.. 

Dinner: rice with half a potato pie (hmm, disappointed that there was no meat), 

Salmon & 'kai lan'

Got another good bargain from Morrisons!

Interesting experience of shopping for baby items

Back to gym and shopping for baby stuff.

I found that I went to gym less and less frequently over the past two months. This month I only went to gym two times so far! :S  In order to make my gym membership worth the value, I decided to go there as much frequently as possible! Even though I still felt quite weak, I thought going to gym for some exercise may help my health a bit. I did feel more energetic after exercising for 25 minutes only! :p

My eldest brother's baby is going to be born in less than 3 weeks! So as his/her aunt I better get her something. :) We went to Toyrus, Mothercare and Morrisons to look for some baby stuff. To be honest, I had no idea what a baby needs and I was surprised at how many little things a baby may need! It's interesting though to bring up a child from its birth. I did enjoy buying baby stuff! Fortunately I got advice from some parents friends about what to buy or I'd have struggled!

Breakfast: oatibix & special K with strawberries & blueberries!

Oh I'm so in love with berries these days! :) 

Lunch: Salmon with Chinese mushroom + 'kai lan' :) 

So many choices of baby items... 

Dinner at Morrisons: as usual :) 

Three ladies one tea time

A quiet day.

No TV, no laptop till the evening! (though I still had internet access through mobile phone! :p). I spent the morning on sorting some items for future ebay selling. :) It was time consuming but I did learn how to do a 'business'. I also wrote diary, tidied up my room and did a bit of ACCA revision. Around 5 p.m. I went out to meet up with two of my ex-colleagues. We went to a cafe called Teacake where there were some very nice tea and cakes. They were quite expensive though. We three ladies had a chat about things like skincare (since one of us is going to HK soon and she wants to buy some skincare stuff there!). A good time. :) though I didn't feel quite well later (again, feverish, weak, tired...).

Yesterday's bargains: all 4 of them cost only 28p in total!! :)

Breakfast: carrot muffin + cereals with strawberry & blueberry

Lunch: olive bread with tomatoes & cheese + omelette with baked beans + mixed vegetables

Tea time with friends

This countdown stuff was used to let us know when our tea was ready!

My choice: chamomile flower tea

My cake choice: vanilla cheesecake

Its texture was a bit like that of tofu. The base was interesting - with apple pie & some sunflower seeds! 

Dinner: toast with tomato & salmon

A bit full after the tea time.. 

Nice to see my uni supervisor & classmates

Back to the uni to meet my phd supervisor & two of my classmates.

It's been almost 4 years since I last saw my phd supervisor. Some time ago I heard that he had been seriously ill and spent some time in hospital. I sent him an email and got to know that he's recovered and back to his job at university. It happened that my Syrian classmate also sent him an email last month to see how he was doing. So he gathered me, my Syrian classmate and another classmate of mine to his office today for a chat. Supervisor looked ok but he seemed a bit weak and was even fatter than before. I later got to know from my Syrian classmate that he was almost dead when he was in coma for several months! Fortunately he recovered, or we'd have lost such a great linguist - he was excited and talked about his research - he's on his research leave at the moment! The conversation among us was mainly around the situations in the Middle East as my two classmates were from those countries where the political situation was very unstable at the moment. I didn't mind about the topics and having to be quiet - I'm not a good talker in front of my supervisor and classmates. :p It was nice to see my supervisor and my two classmates, which reminded me of those days of being a student. The university's changed a lot (in terms of buildings).

I accompanied my two classmates to a nearby supermarket which was about to close down. I only bought a can of luncheon meat as it was half price. :p Then my Syrian classmate and I went to Blackwells for a late lunch as we were not full when having some snacks in the supervisor's office! Syrian classmate is already 21 weeks pregnant, which surprised me today since she just got married. Basically her encounter with her newly wed husband also surprised me! Anyway I'm glad for her as she's happy with a new family and new life. Last year she was still under stress of getting a stable job and her visa. Now she's got a good man who can provide her with stable and happy life! :)

Maybe Syrian classmate is right. My health problems are due to me being jobless and having too much time to think. She said when you thought you were ill, you were ill and felt your whole body was not well. That's what she experienced before! But when she was with friends, she got her attention distracted and wouldn't feel so much unwell. Maybe I should hang out with friends more often?

Somehow I feel miserable about myself. :(  Anyway I gotta be positive and work hard for my future..

Late Lunch at Blackwells: Tomato & Basil Soup with bread

The soup was nice but I guess I didn't have lunch till so late that my stomach was in pain after I had food.. 

Dinner: spaghetti with mixed vegetables, chicken & pork from last night's soup leftover

in cream of chicken soup! :) 

Oh these strawberries are quite nice! (though they expired yesterday)

Eating & cooking as a way to de-stress?

Back to ACCA class. Cold. Still lower back pain. Feeling ok though.

Back to a quite stressful school day - rushing to class after being busy preparing my lunchbox in the morning when I didn't have much time due to my waking up late. Then I had difficulty attempting some past exam questions. >_< 2.5 weeks to go before the exam takes place! Though I brought with me home-made lunch, I went out to the city centre for a walk during lunchtime - the classroom was stuffy (with central heating but no air ventilation!) and I thought it'd be good for me to stretch my legs by walking. I went to Primark to try to have a look at some slippers after a friend of mine had shown her newly bought ones on facebook. I couldn't find those slippers but I saw some lovely pyjamas; some of them seemed to be able to keep one warm. I was almost tempted to buy one as I want to get myself ready for the winter - especially now I'm home most of the time and I need something to keep me warm when I don't have the heater on at home!

My lower back is still in pain (don't know why!). *Sigh* Can't be bothered about my health problems. Too many of them. I just emailed to an ex-colleague that I got to know in HK recently. She told me she had skin problems as well and her doctor said it was probably because of her immune system. That sounds like my case..

My attention has been drawn to food recently - These days all I want to do is eating and cooking. I like to go to supermarkets to research the foodstuff! :p

Lunch: My lunchbox - last night's leftovers :) 

Soup of the day: 'Luo Han Kao & Cole Soup materials'

Hmm, don't know why it tastes a bit bitter :(

Dinner: shallow fried pasta with mixed vegetables, salmon & luncheon meat! :) 

Being active is good for health

Tried to be 'active' today.

Having been home for two days, I thought it was time for me to go out - I went to gym (though for only around 25 mins), posted an item at the post office and bought some foodstuff (mainly veggies!) from supermarkets. Moving around may help my health a bit, as I wouldn't feel as cold as when being home (static); also it may help by distracting my attention. :p The weather was quite cold today indeed!

Finally I sat down and did some revision for ACCA. Whenever I started doing the revision, I already felt like sleeping or would like to do something else..

I also diverted my attention to cooking today - I made braised/stewing beef with 'chu hau' sauce (柱侯醬)! That was perfect for a cold weather! :)

Lunch: Burger again (Got to finish it as today it'd 'expire'!)

Dinner: Quite satisfying! And I had to give my cooking of that stewing beef 9/10 marks! :) 

I cooked it for nearly two hours. The beef, potatoes, carrots & tofu were all full of the taste of the sauce!

Missing home/HK?

Staying home all day to rest myself.

I did laundry and cleaned the kitchen & shower room in the morning, which I used to do on Sundays. Maybe these days I feel like spending Sunday doing nothing but having a good rest?! It was colder today. I think my body doesn't like cold weather as its back had ache these two days. =_=' It seems my muscles/joints or whatever are like those of the elderly!! Oh no... Anyway, I'm tired of health problems and so can't be bothered.

I started revising for the ACCA exams. Lots of things to remember. And there's only 3 weeks to go! :(

My health problems made me wonder if I'm not suitable for living in this country especially when it's so cold and lacks sunshine most of the time throughout the year. Don't know if I'm a bit affected by the facts that one of my close friends is going to HK for holiday today and another one's going there in less than 2 weeks time..

Lunch: omelette with luncheon meat + baked beans + tomatoes + broccoli

Was thinking of having meat-free today but at the end gave up..

Dinner: shallow fried udon with mixed vegetables & salmon 

Busy doing photobook & ebay selling!

Staying home all day. Trying to relax while working on some 'tasks'.

After an exciting day out to Bolton yesterday, I think I should calm down and get back to my 'normal' life. I got to finish making a 'photobook' for my friend's wedding, which is a surprise gift for her. The photobook took more time than I had planned but it seems quite fun to do it; it'd have been even better if I had got more time to work on it without other commitments. I spent some time in the evening working on listing some items on ebay for selling before midnight when the zero insertion fee offer finished. Perhaps I need better time management as I often under-estimate the time spent on finishing tasks!

Lunch: burger with mixed vegetables

Dinner: salmon head soup with tofu & broccoli

A bolton day out with 'missions'

A Bolton day out!

What made it special was I went with two ex-colleagues, one of whom is just 12 days older than me! :) So we both are similar in some ways, e.g. being cautious and 'si lai' in terms of spending. :p We got to Bolton market at at about 3:15 p.m. when the fish stalls started reducing prices of some fish. We managed to get 3 big salmon fish for £10 only! That means we each got a salmon fish for £3.30! :) We also got vegetables, fruit and cakes from the market. Then we walked around some shops in the town centre before we went to Morrisons for shopping as well. Initially we planned to have dinner (Christmas turkey!) at Morrisons cafe but the one at Bolton closed at 6 p.m. So we went back to the Chinese takeaway shop near my flat for dinner. Still yummy yummy!

Maybe I should do such an enjoyable and exciting trip with friends more often! :)  It helps improve my physical & mental health! :p

Lunch: last night's noodle leftovers :) 

Christmas is coming!

Dinner: very nice fried udon with seafood & pork in Japanese style

雪菜肉絲湯米!

粟米魚塊飯!

This red bean drink was really very nice! :) 

Such a big salmon fish!