adelearcherwrites

[adelearcherwrites]

Pass the Passport

Heartening news… It’s my own stupid fault, I know. But my husband took it upon himself to book some flights to Slovenia next month (like one does), so on hearing this cheering news, I languidly ambled upstairs to double-check my passport would cover the period of travel – plus six months. And low and behold, it did not – it expires in August 2022. Even then, I was still fairly chilled about it;…

[adelearcherwrites]

Gym Don'ts

Gym Don’ts

Now, there’s nothing worse than a regular gym-goer telling the novice what to do and what not to do. And let me tell you right off the bat that this isn’t going to be a post about clueless newbies starting out at the gym with improper form, or lifting too light, or being one of those who will only run on a treadmill for an hour without touching the weights. We know NOTHING about strangers at the…

[adelearcherwrites]

The High-Functioning Introvert

Happy Easter!

As good an excuse as any I’m sitting here in a Work from Home Café (is that a thing? I was going to say Internet Café but we’re not in the 90s, so I think I’ll stick with WFH Café). I mean, a lot of people her are working from home…in a cafe, but you can also just sit and drink coffee and eat cake if you want to (and I am). But I thought I’d bring my laptop along and force myself to write a…

[adelearcherwrites]

What I Eat in a Day 😳

*sigh*

Protein shake *Trigger warning – diet discussion* I’m sorry. I’ve knowingly lured you in under false pretenses. Because this isn’t really about what I eat in a day – well it is a bit. But it’s more about how I’ve changed my perspective on (and my general annoyance over) diet culture. I’m sure you’ve seen the trend on Insta and TikTok (I don’t have ‘TikTok’, I’m fifty). Some twenty-something…

[adelearcherwrites]

Namaste Yogis

Child’s Pose: My shoulder stops me getting any flatter. In passing, I mentioned the other week that I’ve recently got into yoga and have practiced nearly every day since the beginning of October. So I think it’s a keeper even for a person like me who tends to go through ‘phases’. It’s a practice that I’d attempted off and on over the years but never really got on board with as there was always…

[adelearcherwrites]

Age Appropriate

I was going to write this blog when I turned fifty (just before Christmas), but you know me. I struggle to do anything to a timetable lately, and I’ve proven time and time again that I’m hardly consistent when it comes to writing. But I’m a captive audience today (aptly, sitting in a hairdresser’s chair having my [in reality] salt and pepper-coloured hair dyed blonde for the umpteenth time). And…

[adelearcherwrites]

Three Lions

Ima’ just leave this here… This wasn’t the blog I was planning to write. ‘TWO blogs in mind?’, I hear you cry. Well, it’s like buses with me. You wait forever and three come along at once. And then an entire year passes by with absolutely nuffink. Or perhaps you were hoping I’d go away again. Who knows? Either way, this blog post seemed a little more pressing. Last Wednesday night was a special…

[adelearcherwrites]

REACH for the Stars (if only)! 💫

Look, this photo doesn’t do the flood justice… Hey! How’ve you been? Personally, I’ve been better, but we’ll get onto that in the next paragraph. My husband, with his intimate knowledge of blog-writing, insists one mustn’t start a post apologising for not writing a post for so long, but when you’ve been AWOL for 329 days (God, that’s nearly a year), I feel you need to at least give a passing nod…

[adelearcherwrites]

I Ain't Missing You at All

I Ain’t Missing You at All

Well, things are undoubtedly easier: I can go out for a meal if I want to, I can go to the pub (I could, but I can’t be arsed), I can go back to the gym, panic-buying is over, and (fingers crossed) my choir will recommence in September and delay-ridden Zoom meetings will be a distant memory. Hoorah! Life truly has regained some of its normality. Things really have relaxed a fair bit since…

[adelearcherwrites]

The Great Outdoors

Roots manoeuvre

There aren’t many positives to this COVID19 outbreak. But if I were to look for one, I guess I would have to admit that the pandemic has forced me to pay attention to my garden. Yes, yes, we are currently allowed to go out for our one daily walk, but since lockdown began, we (and every other person on the planet who possesses a garden) has realised that since none of us are going…

[adelearcherwrites]

Surviving The C-Word

When I originally wrote this blog midweek, I was feeling a little more chipper than I am this morning. But day by day, the C-Word is becoming more destructive. More people are falling sick, more businesses are being forced to close, more people are becoming isolated, more plans are ruined, more people are worrying about their financial future. But you already know this, and since I’m rather too…

[adelearcherwrites]

I Told You I Was Ill

I Told You I Was Ill

Despite my husband’s protestations to the contrary, I am rarely ill (shut up, husband, I’m not). Since I’ve improved my fitness and began to eat a healthier and less processed diet over the last couple of years, I don’t seem to pick up many viruses. But when I docontract something, I like to do it big-time. As you may have guessed, I have currently fallen prey to a virus and would consider…

[adelearcherwrites]

Change is as Good as a Rest...

Change is as Good as a Rest…

Oddly enough, I’ve just logged into my blog for the first time in ages(we won’t talk about that), and today – on the day of writing this blog – 13th February – is the apparently the fifth anniversary of this blog’s existence. So, yeah…that’s…a thing, I guess. I tried updating the look of the site to mark the occasion, but I just ended up losing all of the menus and widgets (if you know anything…

[adelearcherwrites]

I.Just.Can't.Even.

I.Just.Can’t.Even.

“…But…why…?”

Now, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is just another one of my many ‘ranty’ posts. It isn’t. But that’s okay. Like I say, I forgive you. And although I have been known to moan about stuff, I’ve also been known to write posts about things that make me happy. Well, I did once. Things like…oh, I can’t remember…ah, yes…bin day! I like bin day. Anyway, you could read that one positive…

[adelearcherwrites]

(Falling at) the Final Hurdle

(Falling at) the Final Hurdle

Penned Friday 5th July 2019:

I was just considering the disgusting idea of writing a first draft of this blog on paper(ugh! Paper? What is this, the bloody dark ages?), when the nurse called me in for my consultation. And my two-and-a-half-hour Minor Injuries Unit stint was finally over, with a suspected sprained ankle. Now I’m lying on the sofa with my super-fat foot propped up on two cushions,…

[adelearcherwrites]

Mid-Life Crisis!

    Perhaps it’s something about being in your late forties (forty-seven *cough-cough*, actually), but I’ve been and gone and done something rash. Don’t get me wrong, I have no regrets, I have been living the quiet life – the safe life – for far too long. But last month I took voluntary redundancy from my Practice Nursing job. A role which I had being doing for thirteen-and-a half-years. Some may…

[adelearcherwrites]

Sing II (Competition Special)! 🎶

Sing II (Competition Special)! 🎶

If you ever read this blog (c’mon, you do, don’t you?), you’ll know I joined an all-female choir a couple of months back. Well, since that time, we’ve been involved in a competition! So, I thought you might like to hear about my exciting experience of top-level, all-female, fight-to-the-death, choir face-off…type…deals…

As you will recall, we have been learning four songs since January;…