Time For Pancakes!

Hi Honeys
I hope you've had a fabulous day today and managed to miss the snow & sleet we had earlier today.  I was standing outside our Doctor's surgery when the rain very quickly turned to sleet and then very, very light snow, all in the time it took me to wait for a taxi to take me home!

Got home, hugged Jade and, with today being Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday, I thought I'd whip up a batch of pancakes for Hubby coming home as a treat 😋

Would you like to join in the fun honeys?  Let's start off with a basic pancake recipe then shall we?
How can something that tastes so good be so easy to make?  Let's get started then dear ones, to the kitchen...

How To Stay Safe When Out & About: Part Two: Staying Safe In A Crowded Place

Hi Honeys
I hope you've had a fabulous week and, if you're in the UK, that you were able to be inside and safe yesterday from the effects of Storm Doris which was, as I started to write this yesterday afternoon, literally blowing a gale outside our home.  Our furbaby Jade & I spent the afternoon hugging on the sofa listening to the noise outside and I was hit with a horrible headache.

We were blessed to get through the storm with only a couple of fence panels blown off in the back garden. Compared to past years this really is a blessing and I think it's mostly due to Hubby working so hard to reduce the height of the back fence last year. 

Storm Doris has now mostly passed us in the UK and is headed toward our cousins in Europe.  Be safe dear ones, if you can, stay in doors until it passes.

Safety has been on my mind a great deal lately.  So many upsetting stories in the press and on TV on a (it feels like) daily basis, so, last post I wrote about ways to stay safe when out and about.  For this post I thought I'd continue this theme by looking at ways to keep yourself and family safe in crowded places such as venues.

Staying Safe In Crowded Places...

So, you've planned an outing.  Maybe its to the beach on a gloriously sunny day (if you're blessed to live near the ocean.... oh how I dream of that honeys) maybe it's to a community picnic, to a large auditorium to see a show or pantomime, whatever it is, you've got it all planned, bought your tickets, everyone gets into the car and off you go.

How To Stay Safe When Out & About: Part One: What We Carry And Being Aware Of Our Surroundings...

Hi Honeys
How often do you think about the safety of your home or possessions?  I've been hearing about break-ins recently and there has been enough concerns about thefts such as pick pocketing for it to be mentioned regularly in our local paper over the past couple of months.

Hubby and I had a conversation about the security of our home and have agreed that while we are lucky in that our home is never empty (we work our shifts around our furbaby Jade so that one of us is always at home with her, she's a very nervous little dog) there are a few things we need to work on, such as adding a chain to the front door and adding further security lighting at the side of our garden which at night is in total darkness.

I'll write another post about home security to follow honeys and share how we're improving ours but for today I thought we could look at how to stay safe when outside our home.  I know from chatting to customers at work that too many have been victims of pick pocketing and/or handbag theft.  Often through being too trusting of their environment or by leaving their bag in the shopping trolley and being distracted long enough for it to be taken.

I wish we lived in a completely safe world, one where we didn't have to give a second thought to our personal or home safety but the simple fact is that we don't dear ones  Now, that's not to say that we should all be so afraid of crime statistics that we never leave our homes and barricade the doors and windows but there are some simple steps we can take towards keeping ourselves, and our possessions safe.

Our Latest Bargain Kitchen Smiles

Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to promote any products or store,just sharing my latest smiles 😊 If you don't have a poundland it's worth looking in your nearest pound or dollar shop to see if they have these items too, chances are, they might.

Hi Honeys
It's silly what can make me smile 😊  As you'll know if you've read this blog before, with the help of my dear Hubby, I'm on a mission to declutter our home and I really do avoid buying anything that can re-clutter it.  

I spotted a couple of things recently though in our local Poundland store that just made so me smile and I just had to have them.  The fact that they were only £1each was just a bonus 😊  

I'm trying to feel guilty about buying these little treats but I really can't honeys.  In total they only cost us £4 and I've been smiling every time I see them 😍  So, nope, no buyers remorse here, just smiles 😊

Let's take a look at these smile-inducing-and-actually-quite-useful items shall we?

Super Easy, 3 Ingredient Valentine's Day Shortbread Cookies

Disclaimer: I haven't been asked to promote any products just sharing one of my favourite yummy recipes.

Hi Honeys
Valentine's Day is on the way so I thought I'd make some super easy (seriously! If these were any easier to make they'd make themselves!) incredibly yummy, shortbread cookies 🍪

This is my never-fails, go-to recipe for Scottish Shortbread and it really is as delicious as it is easy to make honeys.  I'm making these for Valentine's Day so, of course, I've cut the shortbread dough into hearts, double hearts and lip shaped cookies using adorable cookie cutters ❤

These are perfect to sneak into packed lunches with a little love note ❤ for loved ones or why not make a huge batch for gifting?  Tiny humans will love to help make these too 👶

Let's make some magic shall we?

The Most Important Thing You Can Do When You're Ill...

Hi Honeys
I think I'm finally <touch wood> on the mend! After over six weeks of my body trying to cough up a lung (or two!) I've reached a point where I can stand at the back door to watch over our furbaby Jade in the garden without being bent over in a coughing fit.

Changes in temperature still bring on coughs but I've been a passenger on this yearly chest infection roundabout ride for most of my life, having been born with damaged lungs, and I know it's near the end now.  Winter is fun around here. Not. It hasn't lasted this long for a few years and while it hasn't been fun I'm happy that I've managed not to miss any shifts at work.

I'm blessed to only work two days a week, although they are the two busiest days of the week and both run through into late evening, but bills need paying so I do feel blessed not to have lost any much needed pay.

What I have lost though is January.  Hubby & I had such plans for the first month of the year.  We were going to start the year by decluttering & organizing each of the rooms in our home before making a start on decorating projects but here we are in February (how did that happen!) and nothing done yet.

Which brings me to my point honeys.  The single most important thing you can do for yourself when you're not feeling your best is to treat yourself with the same care as you would any other loved one. We know that, right?  Then why is it so difficult to do?

We're wired that way dear ones.  We keep our homes, we cook, we clean, we care for furbabies & family members health but when it comes to self care our programming flags this behavour up as being selfish.  Mine certainly does. Loudly.  My inner voice can be a real nagging Nellie and can she guilt trip me!

I've learnt though, from hard won experience, that unless we're willing to invest the time and self care that's needed when we're poorly it will take far longer to shift whatever ails us.  Writing cheques our bodies cannot cash is a sure fire way to make any illness drag on and on.

You have to take care of you honeys, because if you don't, how are you going to be strong enough to care for your loved ones?  We have to block the voice in our head that tells us we're being lazy or selfish for snuggling on the sofa with our furbaby when we're ill.

Tell that inner voice to shush. Pay it no mind and do what you need to do to get better.  Rest.  Drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated, eat regularly, even if it's only a small amount, but most of all rest. 

Wishing you good health, smiles, love, laughter and a whole heap of hugs dear ones.  Till next time, stay warm, smile lots and hug even more x