Finally spring is here. Last few weeks were weird, we had snow, then cold Easterly winds, and now finally some sunshine and warmth. I had viral fever for a week, and gave it to my boyfriend who suffered from it longer (I reckon it was a bit of the manflu though).

Some beautiful spring daddodils from around where I live:

So true!On my way home, I observed this billboard at a bus stop.

I'm not obese, I'm overweight. I have a BMI of 26. And I want to get myself in a healthy category, with a BMI of 20 to 25. Hence I really want to get back at my diet of VLCD, as NHS calls it, which is very low calorie diet. So basically I'll be dropping my daily intake to about 600 to 800 calories. Once my BMI and weight are within range, I will adopt a lifestyle of healthy eating and diet. I will have a consultant to help me with this.

So I'm excited for my new phase in my diet.

Overeating does cause obesity. And I'm overweight because I can't keep my hands off shortbread, crisps, and sweet stuff. My work has free vending machines. It's so easy to nip out a packet of munchies than actually waiting till I get home for healthier alternatives. If I do wait till I get home, I get so ravenous that I can't stop to gobble down whatever I get my hands on. That needs to change. My lifestyle needs to change.

Spring flowers are out, but the weather is supposed to get colder this week.

I love snow, though only on my days off. It's painful during work, winds are freezing and pavements are slippery. Quite interesting to see joggers out even at this weather, they have serious fitness goals.

Here are some pictures from outside the window during and after snowfall:

Probably quite a silly thing to post, but I do love breakfasts. It's an important meal of the day, and my favorite are full vegetarian breakfasts. That way, I can easily skip lunch and go straight to dinner without any meal in between, and still retain the energy. I however prefer this on weekends only,

So below is my first choice of breakfast. It's based on Scottish protein rich breakfast but with vegetarian theme. A slice of normal toast with butter, baked beans, scrambled egg, hash browns, potato scone, fried mushrooms, fried tomatoes, and my favorite avocado, followed by black coffee.

My second choice is a partly vegan breakfast from Juice Garden. Its partly vegan because of the addition of a poached egg. And along with it are sourdough toast, with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, homemade beans, avocado with falafel and a bit of herbs on top. The highlight of this dish are the wild mushrooms, they are a heavenly delight.

Finally, to add something really healthy, I love fruits and granola. I love crunchy fruits, and make my mix quite sweet by adding in honey sometimes, or often flavoured yoghurt.

Last weekend, boyfriend and I went for a walk along the Linn of Tummel. It is a 19th woodland area in Perthshire, two hours away from where I live. It is where the rivers Garry and Tummel meet – linne is Gaelic for ‘deep pool’.

It is the first time we went for a walkway that was so far from home. The journey was very green, and full of life. The river itself was very dry, which allowed us to walk along the stony banks quite easily. There were families with children splashing about, as well as a few folks fishing. The walkway took us quite deep into the woods, and across an abandoned rusty bridge. The views from there were fantastic, and we took loads of pictures. After a while the sun came up, and suddenly all colours changed. It was a beautiful day.




Back home, we realized we forgot to do our usual grocery shopping. So we took out whatever was left in our cupboards snd fridge, and made ourselves a small feast. We made two types of nachos, one with cheese and salsa and the other with curry, and spicy chicken liver and paneer tikka. We also opened a bottle of wine. A perfect end to s beautiful day.

It's been quite a while since I had updated. Mostly because it has been very quiet. Last two weekends we stayed in at home, due to bad weather and a few commitments. We were planning to maybe go this week somewhere, but boyfrriend hurt his shoulder/neck and is on bedrest for now.

Do you guys ever go out to eat alone? When I was single, I used to love to go to nearby cafes and maybe read a good book, with an unlimited supply of coffee. I've stopped doing that when I started going out with my boyfriend, and when we moved in together. But ever since I've started working in Edinburgh, I've enjoyed tit bits by myself here and there. My favourite is an Italian lunch place which makes gourmet pizzas. I had gone for chicken wings, chicken and rice soup and a small pepperoni pizza.

Edinburgh is full of legends and stories. Wandering around the city, one such story I found was Greyfriar's Bobby. It recounts the Victorian tale of a Scottish Terrier dog, who spent 14 years by his master's grave after he passed away. Quite a number of films have been based upon him. There are quite a few pubs and places around that mentions of the legend.

Last weekend me and boyfriend went to visit the Scottish Owl Centre in Whitburn, half hour away from home.

The owls were beautiful and very well looked after. We went to a flying session, where the trainers gave us a very brief overview of the different species in the centre, as well as the breeding programmes.

How was everyone's valentine's day ? I didn't have much going on. I had planned to cook dinner but it was half 8 by the time I got home from work. Boyfriend was very tired as it was a promotion day at his store. He left at around 4:30am in the morning and was home fast asleep by the time I got back. So I just ordered a Dominoes pizza.

But he did get me a cute make up case over the weekend. I had been wanting one for a while.


On the other hand, I finally said goodbye to Non, my little travling toy friend, and she is on her way to another country. I planned to take her to a few places, but didn't have enough time. So it was mostly around Glasgow and Stirling.


If anyone wants to have a look at Non's journeys, here is her Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/non_travel_world_2/

During last weekend, me and boyfriend took a short trip to Stirling.

It is the smallest city in Scotland, and is very much seeped in history. Its most famous attraction is the Stirling Castle, which sits atop of Castle Hill. Several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1542. It was also one of the main focal points for Scottish Wars of Independence,the last one in 1746 during the Jacobite Invasion (a nod for Outlander fans). It was hard to pinpoint exactly when it was built, but it certainly dates back to earliest twelfth century.

We took quite a few photographs around, and the evening views were beautiful with the snow.


Here's another gorgeous evening view:


Surrounding the castle are the famous Douglas gardens,with its own myths and histories:



Also surrounding the main Castle buildings are some beautiful stony courtyards:


Lastly to add, there is a ghost present in the castle, who is said to be one of Queen Mary's servants in the form of a green lady. She has bern viewed quite a few times. And Mary herself is seen as a pink lady.

I was very depressed and upset since yesterday. I'm not sure why I'm in the gloom, and I go back to work on Monday. My boyfriend suggested we go out, he wasn't in the mood to ruin the weekend. He drove me to Loch Lomond.

Loch Lomond is half hour's drive out of Glasgow. It was a beautiful late afternoon, much cooler than Glasgow. It was quite quiet also, I can imagine most people around were locals.


There isn't much to see around in Loch Lomond, a little sea life aquarium, a few cafes and an expensive mall. They are on the shores of the loch.

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