Catch Up

It's been a week or so since I've posted.  In that time I've had another week off work, had a girly day shopping with LB for some essentials that she needed, (plus a few inessentials that I treated myself to), attended an interview for a permanent job in the CS, visited OH's relatives in Yorkshire and started working under my new open ended contract at work. (I got the job!) So it's been pretty busy, but my week off was quite relaxing, save for the interview falling within it.

I didn't push myself to achieve a long list of objectives like I'd done on my week off a couple of weeks before.  This time around I decided to just take time out and try to relax. It was good to get away for a few days after my interview, so it felt like a fresh start when I came back to work and started under my new contract. I'm working half a day less each week, but the difference hasn't really kicked in yet, as I've only worked one week so far.

The recruitment drive that I was working on has now died down with just a few more new recruits to induct, so now I feel like I can switch off when I'm not at work and don't feel compelled to answer a swathe of emails. It feels a bit strange, but I'm sure I'll get used to it and it is how it should be really.

In addition, the rota seems to have worked out favourably with regard to Easter, as I finished work for the week yesterday and don't go back until next Tuesday.  I feel like I've got off a bit lightly, as I did volunteer to work Easter Monday, but apparently I wasn't needed, so I'm just going to appreciate having a commitment free Easter in London.

We normally travel to Yorkshire every Easter, but OH had arranged to do something on Good Friday, LB had plans on Friday and Saturday and I thought I'd be needed to work on Monday, so we went up North last weekend instead. The only problem was that we didn't get to see my sister on this visit, as she had already made plans and was busy, so we'll have to catch her next time.

It will therefore be a homely please yourself kind of Easter this year, for the first time in years. I'm hoping to catch up with laundry, ironing, my finances, do some gardening at home and at the allotment and have a nice roast dinner on Sunday. Apart from this, not much else. I might even push the boat out and buy a jigsaw.  I'm such a thrill seeker.

Getting to the gym lately has been difficult, due to cancelled classes, work commitments and the Easter weekend.  I really need to get into a regular routine of at least 2 classes a week, as I've put on weight over the last year and desperately need to shed some. I need to seek out some new classes in order to do this, so that's something I may do over this weekend. I also need to get my bike out and start riding to the bus stop in a morning on my way to work, instead of driving, (it's a 15 minute walk!) as even a little bit of exercise like this can make a difference on a weekly basis.

I managed a visit to the opticians the other week for an eye test and ordered some new glasses and sunglasses.  They should be ready to collect very soon.  I'm quite looking forward to having prescription sunglasses again, as I haven't had a decent pair for a few years and the ones I did have got stolen from our car. It's a big outlay for the glasses though, as I went for more expensive frames this time with varifocal lenses, so a pretty major expense.

I've also got a dental appointment next week, so more expense, but hopefully not too much.  At least that should take care of health appointments for a while.

I don't know if I've mentioned this already, but we're planning a trip to Australia this summer to visit my sister and her family in Brisbane. We haven't visited for 8 years, so we're due a trip and as LB is finishing school earlier due to taking her GCSE's, we can get away before the summer holiday rush. We were hoping to save money on the plane tickets this way, but unfortunately the dog sitter can't take our dog as early as we would have liked, so the prices get more expensive the longer we leave it and we probably won't realise any significant savings which is a pity.  It will be nice to see my sister though.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend.