Lifestyle: July and August 2025 Wrap Up 

What Happened 

Join me as I recap what happened in July and August with my hair, blog, health, reading, travel and fitness.

Unfortunately I missed posting my July wrap up so I'm doing and two for one and giving you July and August together.

Wrapping Up July and August: What Happened

Hair

Health

I was hospitalised twice in the intensive ward in May for multiple blockages in my intestine and a diverticulitis flare. Since then it's been a struggle to get everything back under control and work out what I can and can't eat.

In July I had my mammogram and breast scan done. All good, although I had to do the mammogram a few times as it didn't give a clear result the first few times. I'd forgotten how painful it is. Still, needs to be done and the scan and visit ended well in the end.

I'm currently doing preparation for my colonoscopy which is scheduled for 3rd September. I also have more tests and my thyroid scan this week. Fun times! At this point I just want this week to be over and done with as soon as possible. 

In other health news, my husband is keeping me company at home as he hurt his leg when we went to the beach in July. A simple dive turned into a 5cm rip in his calf muscle. We really are quite a couple aren't we? 

You might also like: Monthly Goal Ideas for Better Health

Blogging

Traffic for July: 70,978 page-views

Number of blog posts published in July: 16

Current DA score: 28

Traffic for August:  67,904 page-views

Number of blog posts published in August: 18

Current DA score: 28

In July I was part of a collaboration post Summer’s One Must Read Book 2025 put together by Carol from Reading Ladies with a fantastic group of book bloggers. Your TBR is guaranteed to grow if you read the post! 

If you'd like me to be part of a collaboration post on your blog please get in touch. It's always fun to work with other bloggers. 

Reading challenges

The Clock Reading Challenge 2025

The Net Galley TBR Reading Challenge 2025

Currently reading:

Shadow in the Ward by Ari Gray - currently on page 121/345 - Amazon - Goodreads

Twelve Mile Bank by Nicholas Harvey - currently at 9% - Amazon - Goodreads

Travel

At the beginning of July we managed some trips to the swimming pool and the beach and even a few nights out which was nice. Summer in Rome is always packed with concerts and other events (a lot of which are completely free to attend). We also celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary. 

At the start of July I took my youngest inside the Colosseum and the Roman Forum for the first time which was great. I hadn't been back inside for about 23 years (back when I was a tour guide for the Colosseum). It still has the wow effect! 

We also went to the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica - one of my favourites here in Rome. As it's the Jubilee, we went under the Holy Door whilst we were there too. 

Unfortunately all our plans for the summer kind of went out the window after my husband hurt his leg as he can't walk on it. It would have been difficult enough going places with all my health problems but that sealed the deal and so we've been chilling at home. 

Fitness

I've been trying to keep my daily steps up (not always easy with my health and the added heatwave). 

I've also been continuing with some arm exercises when I can although I've not managed to stick to a regular routine. 

I'm really hoping things will calm down and I'll be able to get into a more consistent exercise routine again soon. 

You might also like: 30 Day Fitness Challenges for Beginners and Tips to Start Working Out: A Friendly Guide for Women Over 40 (or Anyone Just Getting Started)

How did you do with your Challenges over the summer months? What challenges are you doing for 2025? Join the conversation in the comments section. 

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Lifestyle: What Happened This Month Recap

August 2024 Wrap Up 

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Welcome to my August 2024 wrap up! 

Here's a break down of what I got up to this month: 

Wrapping Up August: What Happened This Month

Hair

Health

August is my mammogram month and whilst not at all fun, it needs to be done. All clear for now but they've moved me up to high risk now and so will need the 3D version done from now on and at least once a year. 

The extreme heat here in Rome is still making everything a bit difficult. We've had multiple fires in the parks near our flat this month too which means air quality hasn't been great. That said the various meds I'm on seem to be doing their jobs and I'm not fainting all the time now which is definitely a step in the right direction. 

You might also like: Monthly Goal Ideas for Better Health

Blogging

Traffic for August: 104,150 page-views

Number of blog posts published in August: 20

Current DA score: 27

As a few people have been asking what I've been doing to grow my traffic I'll be doing a blog post to go into all the details about what I do each month and to analyse what's been working for me. 

I do want to say that I haven't been glued to my computer 24/7 to achieve these results. I took a lot of time away from my computer in August. 

As you can see I didn't increase my number of monthly posts either. So far this year my number of monthly posts goes from a low of 15 to a high of 22, so 20 is still my average posting frequency. 

I did schedule posts in advance as I knew I would be taking time away and wanted to maintain consistent posting.

I also scheduled a few tweets and pins to publish throughout the month to promote my blog posts. I make a point of promoting older posts as well as the newer ones each month.

I did update some of my older posts this month too. This helps keep the content fresh in the eyes of the Google algorithm and means I can improve the SEO of the posts, update links, update graphics etc... Nothing major. Just small tweaks. 

Like I said, I'll go into it more in a separate post later this month so I can break it all down in more detail but I hope this helps for now. 

Reading challenges

The Clock Reading Challenge

The Net Galley TBR Reading Challenge

Currently reading:

Shadow in the Ward by Ari Gray - currently on page 72/345 - Amazon - Goodreads

Spelled by Betsy Schow - currently at 80% - Amazon - Goodreads

Travel

We finally made it to the beach! We had a great couple of days at Tarquinia visiting a friend and enjoying the beach. I don't think I've ever seen Lillo quite so happy. He loved it! He swam in the sea, played with a stick he found (it was bigger than him), played with some other dogs, dug holes in the sand, chilled under the umbrellas, and even went with the boys to explore the rocks and made friends with the crabs and fish. It's great when there are free beaches where we can take him too. 

We managed a few more trips to the swimming pool too which was nice, especially in this heat.

My youngest turned 13 😱 It's crazy how time flies. He decided to celebrate with a friend at Zero Gravity and they had a great time bouncing and climbing. 

We had a few evenings out with friends for dinner and drinks which was nice too. 

It's still too hot to be out and about much which limits us on where to go. Hopefully this heatwave will break soon. 

Fitness

Again, too hot to do much. I have been doing some arm exercises with my 0.5kg weights in the evenings though and trying to do a few calve rises, squats, and crunches when I can. Looking forward to the heat easing up so I can go back to proper workout sessions again. 

You might also like: 30 Day Fitness Challenges for Beginners

How did you do with your August Challenges? What challenges are you doing this year? Join the conversation in the comments section. 

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