I managed to have a little trip to Margate at Easter with Nadja – a girl’s mini break!

I love being by the sea and even though it was bitterly cold and none of the shops were open at the time, we both really appreciated the change of scenery.

Other things that happened at Easter – we enjoyed Adventure Golf, VIP worked in the garden and I got my head down with work. Quite a lot has changed workwise lately an dI’ve had to think of how to adapt and where to focus my energies.

It’s also about getting that work/life balance right isn’t it? I’m conscious of putting everything into work and not actually having a life, so I’ve made a real effort to hook up with friends for coffee, walks and plenty of chats where possible.

Health life

In terms of my adjuvant treatment for breast cancer, I’d been getting an itchy armpit so went to have it checked out this month. My consultant couldn’t find any lumps or discoloration, but he did notice that I was a bit lumpy on my surgery side, claiming “That doesn’t look like my work”.

It made me smile as I sat there having 3 medical professionals just stare at my boobs – I would have been mortified years ago, but you just get used to it – goodness knows how many times I’ve had to whip them out in the past!

And regarding the migraines, I’ve been keeping a highlight reel on my Instagram, charting my progress into getting them dealt with. I was giving the cranial osteopathy a go but after a month I succumbed to the beta blockers that I’d been prescribed. And do you know, as I write this it’s been nearly two weeks and I haven’t yet had a headache or migraine (she says touching wood). So it all looks quite promising.

The one thing I have noticed though is that I get incredibly tired in the afternoon – and so much so that sometimes I just want to lie down and go to sleep. I’m not sure if this is a side effect of the new tablets I’m on – or I just need more vitamins in my diet!

Little Finds

As part of my job as editor of a local community magazine, I get to meet many wonderful people in my community. I’d say it was one of the perks of the job. Recently, I met seven-year-old Arthur who set up his own organic soap business in lockdown. I simply had to include this young entrepreneur in the magazine to inspire others – and bought some wonderful scented soaps. Since interviewing Arthur he has gone on to sell plants and honey – what a trooper! Do check out his website, Bee A Real Hero, and help support him – I can see him being the next Peter Jones on Dragons’ Den!

As you’ll see by the picture below, I also treated myself to a rose quartz vibrating facial roller recently – helps get those lovely Tropic serums into my skin and I have to say, my skin is looking the best it has in a long time right now.

The other thing I was thrilled to support this month was S.H.I.T’s (So Happy In Town) tees to raise money for YoungMinds. Susie has done a sterling job in raising money for the mental health charity for young people and whenever she releases new tees, I aim to support her – and 100% of the profits from the tees go towards the charity which is wonderful. Well done Susie!

Blog & Business Goals

On the blog this month I wrote about our Family Bathroom Makeover – we’re chuffed to bits with the new room and pushed the boat out in terms of getting the room we wanted.

I also decided to try something a bit different – I went on Instagram and challenged any viewers to ‘Ask Me Anything’ – with the idea of writing it up in a blog post. I really enjoyed putting that together. And finally, I teamed up with Barrettine for a blog post about reviving decking in How To Make Your Decking Look Like New post. It’s now ready for summer – and I can’t wait to get the Turkish Seating area out!

Business is plodding along as usual but I have a few things to sort out now as my business partner is stepping down. Quite rightly, she’s putting family first and I’m thrilled that we’ll still be working together as she’ll be doing the design.

But it’s the other things I need to get my head round – namely trying to manage the business rather than try and be ‘a jack of all trades’. I have a feeling this is going to be one steep learning curve for me, but never one to back down from a challenge, I’m willing to give it a go and see what happens. Watch this space (and wish me luck!)

Life In General

I managed some lovely walks with friends the last month which has been wonderful and the fact that the shops and High Streets started opening up this month has been music to everyone’s ears I think! I love walking – and I love catching up with friends for a chinwag and doing both is a great alternative to just sitting on our backsides I guess!

Talking about sitting on my backside, I’ve been enjoying some great telly recently. VIP and I watched The Intruder. We also enjoyed Line Of Duty, Unforgotten and Viewpoint. Oh, and a strange three-part thriller called Too Close.

Having said that, I’ve tried to make more of an effort getting off my backside and doing some exercise – and I’m pleased to report that I returned to netball this month. I am officially the unfittest person there, but I know it’s just about perseverance so I’m going to keep it up with the aim of building up some strength and getting some great flexibility in my lymphedema arm – for that alone it’s worth going!

And I have some wonderful news – we found that a hedgehog has been visiting our garden this month, exploring the area under the decking, and we caught it on camera a few times. It disappeared for about a week and I feared that the fox had got hold of it. But it has since returned and is providing a great source of amusement as we watch the cameras in the morning to see if it appeared in the night.

What’s Next

Now that the warmer weather and lockdown is easing off, I’m going to keep up the walking and meeting friends, try some new household projects (we’ve got the Bank Holidays coming up!) and try to find my feet when it comes to getting the work/life balance right.

VIP and I also have a mini Norfolk break with the kids to look forward to next month – it’s just somewhere we haven’t been before and it will be a change of scenery. Oh and my son turns 16 next month, so hopefully we’ll be out celebrating for that. Plenty to look forward to – let’s just hope we get some nice weather to make the most of it!

I hope you’ve enjoyed April – and have some nice plans for May (I’d love to hear them!)

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