Updated on April 20, 2020
19 THINGS TO DO IN SOCIAL ISOLATION!
Hi Guys,
Hopefully, we are getting closer to glimpsing traces of normality return to our lives. On a positive note, better be facing into Summer than Winter. Right? In the meantime, I have devised 19 ways to make your days in Social Isolation a little happier — or at least bearable!
- Start with a daily affirmation: ‘I’m excited to see what the Lord has planned for me today!’
- Make your to-do list. Say ‘I get to do’ instead of ‘I have to do!’
- If you can go out for a walk — do it!
- Turn on Happy Music on YouTube and dance for 19 minutes!
- If you have stairs, run up and down 19 times! Yes, great exercise!
- Plan a huge Post-Covid 19 Party — all the bells and whistles.
- List 19 people you would like to invite to your Party!
- Make a list of your 19 favourite songs.
- Do a word search.
- Make a bucket list of 19 countries you would love to visit one day.
- Challenge yourself to trying a new recipe.
- Journal and ask yourself what have you learnt from all this?
- Have a Spa Day.
- Go through your old make-up. Throw out expired stuff. Clean your brushes.
- Play a game of Patience with old fashioned playing cards!
- Watch some cheery Trinny Woodall fashion videos on YouTube.
- Clean your home. It may take weeks! Baby steps…dust bust, polish, windows, etc.
- Watch Dominique Sachse on YouTube! She has some great ideas on hair and make up!
- Begin and End your day with Prayer and Gratitude.
So guys, just a few ideas which may help!
Keep Hanging in there!
Hugs,
Patricia xxx
Updated on April 17, 2020
FOODIE FRIDAY: QUINOA SALAD
Hi Guys,
This past week my go-to favourite food has been this quinoa salad. If you don’t feel like cooking, you can reach for a bowl of this from the fridge. It is so satisfying and nutritious too! Quinoa is a great alternative to rice and is considered a ‘super grain’ in that it is gluten-free, provides almost double the protein of brown rice and is a good source of fibre too. Alternatively, you can use couscous for this salad too.
I add two cups of boiling water to the contents of this box of quinoa (200 g). For added flavour I add a vegetable stock cube to the water. Simmer and let it cook for about 15 minutes. Then fluff up and allow to cool completely.
INGREDIENTS FOR SALAD:
Cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, fresh basil, pitted black olives, sweet yellow pepper, 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (less or more depending on taste), crushed garlic. Olive oil and apple cider vinegar.
Chop up some cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives and sweet yellow pepper. Add to the quinoa. I also like to add some shredded fresh basil for extra yummy flavour! You can add as much or as little of the veggies, depending on taste. I like lots of garlic so crush two large cloves into the dressing. Dressing for 2 cups of cooked quinoa and salad is usually 3 tablespoons of extra virgin oil to 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Add more if you like the salad moist. Tastes may vary. You can also add some crushed black pepper to the dressing. I don’t as I like the garlic to dominate the show! Garlic is another ‘super food’. The more the merrier – except in ice cream lol!
On lazy days, it’s great to have a big container of this quinoa salad in your fridge, It keeps very well in the fridge and is very filling! The other day I added some of this mix to a felafel wrap and it was delicious! I toasted it and added some yummy mayonnaise so it wasn’t too dry. Lots you can do with this versatile and filling salad!
EnJOY!
Hugs,
Patricia xx
Updated on April 15, 2020
APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEPTIVE…THOSE CHOCOLATES!!
Hi Guys,
Easter is over now and it was every bit as good as I had hoped for — minus the chocolate! The weather was glorious and perfect for taking my first walk after quarantine. I’ll admit I was nervous initially as Kevin had told me about all the new rules and regulations regarding grocery shopping. It’s pretty much the same everywhere. People line up outside a shop, 2 meters apart, and wait politely. Once you get it, it’s a delight as you have no crowds! I’m finding it surprisingly pleasant shopping in these circumstances. No shortage of toilet tissue these days, though I cannot say the same for baking supplies! Funny how things go!
I had been counting the days during Lent until I could bite into my first piece of chocolate. After 47 days not eating chocolate, I found it sweeter than I had remembered, and alas, after two days of gorging on it over Easter, my whole body went into sugar shock! I felt sick, migraines, restless sleep because of all the caffeine in the chocolate, and it clogged up my digestive system. By Easter Monday, I made the decision that sugar is just not good for me — not good for anybody! Daughter Ali advised me to just have a little piece but I’m a chocoholic — it’s all or nothing for me! So nothing it shall be for now.
The walking on the other hand superceded my hopes! As soon as I got down to the seaside, I couldn’t keep up with my legs! It was as if the top part of my body was separate from the lower half! My lungs were parched for a good dose of fresh air and my legs were mad to go walking. The walking has added a huge boost to the daily grind of social isolation. Everybody respects the 2 meter distance rule.
Building up your immune system is crucial, especially these days! So everything from eating well, exercise, fresh air, and eliminating stress are vital if you want to come out of this smiling and in one piece. One of the greatest gifts I have got from all this social isolation is the gift of mindfulness, and a greater appreciation for simplicity in my life. The gel nails have gone, the roots are growing out, and guess what? It doesn’t bother me in the slightest! I’ve become so chill about everything. I am sure many of you are noticing that too. It’s as if God felt we were all way too busy, too distracted and way too stressed! Like Mother Earth, we too needed some respite from the noisy grind of everyday life.
So when this is all over, what have you learnt from it all?
Hugs Galore,
Patricia xxx
Updated on April 9, 2020
DAY 14: HAPPY EASTER!
Hi Friends,
Today marks my last day of Quarantine! Yay! I cannot believe how quickly the two weeks passed! Thank you to all of you who joined me on the journey. The discipline of doing a daily blog really helped as did having structure and a routine. I have to say I did miss my early morning walk though and cannot wait to get a good energetic walk in. My body is parched for a blast of good fresh air!
The weather over here in Victoria promises to be lovely and sunny so that will cheer people up a bit. I will be putting up some Easter decorations around the house, as it is one of my favourite holidays of all. I cannot wait for Easter Saturday to relish that Butler’s Irish Easter egg. It looks so yummy and I have been very good staying off chocolate for over 40 days! Absence makes the appetite stronger!
Whatever you are doing, do make it special! Decorate your home. Bring in some much needed cheer. Dress up in your brightest, cheeriest clothing. Buy yourself some yummy food and serve it up on your best china. If you have a garden, pick some flowers for the table. Every little bit of colour gladdens the heart. For those of you missing Masses this Easter, tune into E.W.T.N. and Salt and Light. You can enjoy Mass in the comfort of your own home, as well as the Rosary. So check them out. They may help you fill that Spiritual void as a result of Church closures. I will miss the joyful sight and sound of the Easter Sunday triumphal procession and trumpet blast!
Some people with young children will be painting pictures of easter eggs and sticking them on their windows. Many neighbourhoods will be doing this now instead of the traditional Easter Egg Hunt, so children can walk around with parents and count the eggs they see in the windows. It certainly will be a strange Easter for many this year. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t make it a good one, whether alone, or with your family.
Sending warm Easter hugs your way!
Patricia xxx
Updated on April 8, 2020
DAY 13: NMS CHALLENGE SIX MONTHS ON…
Hi Friends,
As I write, the birds are happily chirping on the trees outside. I think they are telling me they are looking forward to seeing me back walking again lol! The aroma of fresh coffee is brewing, and the early morning sun is gloriously streaming through my windows, carrying with it the promise of a lovely day. Coco is giving me the look of love and God is smiling down from Heaven too, telling me everything is going to be A OK. You gotta believe.
On October 8th, 2019, I began my NO MORE STUFF challenge. The months have flown by so quickly. Hopefully the COVID -19 craziness will fly by just as quickly!!
Six months into my No More Stuff challenge and I have succeeded in not buying one single item of unnecessary stuff — no clothing, shoes, bags, bling, scarves, ornaments, seasonal decorations — Nothing! By the way, DOG stuff doesn’t count! Only me stuff!
I’ve had time to reflect on what I am learning from this unique experience. I do believe that Saturn/Pluto conjunction, bringing transformation, was already starting to kick in, in so much as I wanted to change aspects about my life that I felt a certain discomfort with. The seed sensation of having so much, while others had so little, was planted when I began volunteering at the Homeless Shelter a few years ago. Seriously! I would come come to my luxury and feel a ‘survivor’s guilt’. How was I so lucky, and not them? Was I a Saint in a past life? These were questions I would ask myself, not wanting them answered, for fear of even more guilt!
Other questions were ‘Oh dear, did I never take the price tag off you?’ or ‘Hey Ms. blouse, how come I have never seen you here before?’ or even worse! “Oh drat, I just bought a green top and I didn’t need to because you were here hiding all along!’ Probably common questions asked by a hoarder! Having bulging closets and not knowing what to wear was a paradox! A self-created gluttonous paradox which had to change — for the better! Bargains are not bargains if you don’t need the stuff. Just because something is slashed 75% off doesn’t mean it has to occupy my space. I’m learning…
That was then…this is now… 6 months later!
Social Isolation apart, not shopping, I have oodles more time on my hands! Remember, I have been doing this NMS challenge for six months now. The social isolation thing only started a month ago. I never realized how much time I spent shopping. That was an eye-opener for me! The other thing I have noticed is that I enjoy my clothes more now and love the challenge of mixing and matching stuff and being more creative with what I have.
Six months done and six to go! Here’s to happy days as I continue my journey into the unknown…I cannot believe how changing my mindset about shopping has altered the way I think about a lot of things! I actually believe it also helped me stay off chocolate and sweets for the past 40 days of Lent too. It’s all good and I’m feeling pretty delighted at how the challenge is going!
Be the change you want to see!
Hugs from my home to yours!
Patricia xxx
