A Bad Start, but a Good Week W/E 23rd September 2023

This week didn't get off to a good start. On Sunday morning, OH and I dropped into Aldi, whilst we were out and about picking up a few bits for DIY. I enjoyed checking out Aldi, as I rarely shop there, but they had some good high protein desserts which I decided to try.

OH then dropped me off with the dog, so that I could walk her back home over the golf course. Just as we got across the footbridge to the golf course, I saw a fellow dog walker looking for one of her dogs. I then realised that I'd seen it by the bridge, along with another dog walker who was carrying his dog. I'd assumed it was with him.

Anyway, she went over to look for her dog and I carried on walking. She later came back without having found her dog. I asked if it might have gone over the bridge following the other dogwalker, so she headed off again to see if it had.  Several people said they'd seen it following the man and his dog, but he hadn't stopped to see who the dog belonged to before heading off over the bridge.

The lady who'd lost her dog had 3 dogs, and one followed her over the bridge, leaving the other, who was older and slower on the golf course. I stayed around with it to keep an eye on it until she came back, but it kept running off in different directions looking for it's owner and our dog is quite old and slow and we were chasing around after it until my dog was exhausted. Anyway, luckily, the woman's son came over and she returned and he took both dogs home, whilst she continued to look for her dog.  It appeared from witnesses who'd seen it following the man, that it had continued to follow him through a park on the other side of the bridge.

She headed off back to try to find it. I felt for her. If that had been me, I would have been very upset. I have to give her credit, she kept her calm. By now, OH had arrived in the car to pick up our dog, as she was too tired to walk home, so I walked back over the bridge to see if I could see the dog in the park across the road. I couldn't, unfortunately, so came home hoping that she found him. What I couldn't understand, was why the man didn't stop and look around for the dog's owner, instead of letting it follow him.  Most responsible dog owners would do this. I'm hoping it might just be a case of his dog being on heat or something and that he wasn't abducting the dog. I really hope she gets him back.

I walked back home to get more steps in. This took me to over 9,000 steps for the day. It was the day of our local Jumble Trail whilst this was all going on, but by the time I got home I was too tired to go take a look around the stalls.  After I'd had some lunch and recouperated, it had started raining and most people would be packing away. Pity, but then I've just offloaded a whole load of stuff from the house, so it's maybe just as well that I didn't go out and buy more.

Instead, I spent another afternoon sewing - my happy place. LB messaged later. She'd had a crazy shift at work at the theatre, working on an adult, as opposed to a children's show, as the bar was far busier. She sounded like she enjoyed it though, which is good. She's picking up a few shifts here and there whilst at Uni.

On Monday, it was back to work. I was still working on the same task and just got my head down and managed to get to the end of the list of calls that I needed to make. I was then asked to finish off a list that another temp who had left had been working on. I agreed to go in on Tuesday to do this.

On Tuesday, I took the bus to work again, but it was diverted a completely different way, so I had to get off at a point that was closest to work and walk there. I continued with the task I was trying to finish and once it was done and I'd finished off any filing, my temping work at this employer came to an end, as they didn't really have any more work for me to do. I was fine with this, as I was so looking forward to getting back to the gym and classes again, starting on Wednesday. I'd really missed them whilst working full time over the last few weeks.

When I got home, the first Xmas present that I have bought for LB had arrived. I was pleased about this, as it was quite expensive and I didn't want it to go astray. I started looking for a part time job straight away. There were lots of Christmas vacancies being advertised, so I applied for a couple of them. Then, to celebrate getting my freedom back for a while, I headed out for a long walk with the dog.

On Wednesday, it was back to business. I got up early and headed out with the dog, as she was desperate to go for a walk. I was back by 9.30am, so I had a bit of time before heading to the gym. I used it to catch up on some banking and pay some bills. I noticed that my wages were showing, ready to be paid into my account tomorrow, and I had a little more than I expected which was good. I think I got paid for a Bank Holiday.

Once I'd finished sorting my finances, it was time to go to my usual Soca Aerobics class. It was a different teacher when I got there, but the class was still good. It just felt good to be moving again, if I'm honest. By the time I got home, I'd done 13,500 steps, so I was very happy to relax for the rest of the day and just do as I pleased. Bliss!

I feel like I can now start Phase 3 of my fitness journey. Phase one, being the initial weight loss on a calorie deficit and Phase two, a kind of plateau whilst I've been working and over the summer when there were fewer classes to go to. In Phase 3, I'm hoping I can kickstart more weight loss and lose another half stone at least before Xmas.  We'll just have to see how it goes.

Having said that, Wednesday afternoon turned into a sleepfest. I went upstairs to chill and possibly do some sewing and ended up sleeping the whole afternoon. I must have needed it. I didn't miss much, as it poured with rain the whole afternoon and evening.

Thursday, was my progress check day, where I record my progress on my weightloss journey. I was so happy when I found I'd lost another pound. Things seem to be moving in the right direction again, thank goodness.  I headed out to Pilates in the morning, which I enjoyed after a couple of months break.

After lunch, I decided to take a little trip to our local Poundland. I've not been there for months and there were a few things that I wanted to pick up. I had a really good look around the shop and ended up spending £27. I couldn't resist some lovely stationery for journalling.  They had some lovely notebooks that I will use for my journal and for my grateful blessings book. It's something I've been practicing for over a year now and I find it helps me a lot mentally. 

Here's a picture of some of the stationery I bought:

I probably spent just short of £10 on the stationery items. The most I paid for any of them was £2.75 or £2.50 for the larger notebooks, but most of the rest cost £1 each.  This should keep me in journals for over a year. I'm not precious about the notebooks I use. I also use the smaller ones for my weightloss/fitness journey, as a food diary.

Most of the rest of what I spent was on food, household items or toiletries, plus a couple of small confectionary items for Xmas gifts.

After leaving Poundland, I dropped into our local ASDA too. I decided to take a look around the clothing section to see what they had in for the Autumn/Winter season. I ended up buying some new non-wired bras which I'm excited to try on. I'm hoping to be done with underwires, they are so painful to wear. I also bought us a new slow cooker, which cost £27, which I thought was reasonable. 

Here's a picture of the one I bought:

I'd seen this one in Lidl a while back and wanted to buy it, so when I saw it in ASDA I decided to go ahead. I probably won't use the chalk to write on it, but I like the compact size and matt black finish and I can't wait to try it out. Our old one is way past it's best. I'm not sure if it still works, as I haven't tried to use it for a few years. I'll donate it to the next Zero Waste Day, so someone else might get use out of it. They test all the electricals donated.

We started watching the new series of Race Around the World on Thursday night, the celebrity edition. I enjoyed it. It brought back memories of a holiday we spent in Morocco over 10 years ago.

On Friday, I had nothing planned for once, no classes or gym session. I took the dog out for a walk in the morning. She was a bit slow. I think she's struggling with arthritis in her legs, so I didn't take her too far.

I spent the afternoon upstairs sorting, cleaning a little and getting my winter clothes out from storage. Whilst doing this, I went through a big bag of clothes that I'd stored away because they no longer fit. I still really like these items and don't want to donate them in case I manage to get into them again. Unfortunately, none of them fit me currently, despite losing over a stone, which just shows how much weight I've gained in recent years. Some did fit me when I was heavier, but I think the weight has gone on my waist and hips since I hit menopause, so these things still felt a little snug.  Maybe by next year I'll get into them.

I donated a few items, but not many.  I also acquired a pair of navy blue Dr Martens boots whilst sorting. LB was donating them, but I decided to try them on and wore them for the rest of the afternoon.  They were surprisingly comfortable. I never thought I'd own a pair of these, but I'm keeping them and planning to wear them over the winter.  Here's a picture:

In the evening, OH and I watched a movie about Hank Williams, the country music star. It was a little pedestrian to be honest. We then watched more country music programming on BBC4, including a Hank Williams documentary which seemed a bit better, so we had a bit of a Country Music night in terms of our viewing. I love country music. I know it's not necessarily a popular genre here in the UK, but my dad loved it and I was brought up listening to it. I still like it now.

On Saturday, OH walked the dog early so I could go to the free gym session again. He then headed out to another cycle event in Northampton. I did my gym session, which I enjoyed. When I came out, I walked down to our local central shopping street and went to a stall selling lots of fruit and veg.  Our fruit bowl was completely empty and one thing I can't live without is fruit for healthy snacking. I spent £10, but got a whole bag full of fruit and a couple of salad items. Here's the fruit bowl on my return:

£10 well spent. (The raspberries were free from the allotment)

I also dropped into Primark whilst there. It was interesting to see that Rita Ora had done a collab and her new range was in there. There were some really lovely items. I was sorely tempted to buy both a sweater and a coat, but I told myself I didn't need a coat and they didn't have the sweater in my size. The collection was one of the best I've seen in there. I'm sure it will fly out.

I did buy one thing, which was another pair of these shoes. I've been wearing a pair of these all summer and they are so comfortable, as they are made of memory foam. I decided to buy another pair for next summer and put them away, as my current pair are very dirty and may not wash well.

On the way home, someone was throwing out this planter/basket. I decided to pick it up as it looks like it would be good to hang trailing plants in and I've taken some cuttings from one of mine, so have quite a few to house. It looks like it could easily be hung from the ceiling or something similar.

When I got home, I tried out the new slow cooker. I'd promised OH I would make a chorizo and chick pea tagine type dish, so I threw all the ingredients into the pot and put it on low for a few hours.That was supper sorted and I could then spend the day as I wished.

In the end, I spent the rest of the day cleaning. I worked my way down the stairs and hallway vacuuming and mopping (we've got wooden floors) as I went. I also cleaned LB's bedroom too and the vestibule and downstairs toilet.  There's lots more to do, but I left it there for the day. It was good to make a start.

After doing the cleaning, I was glad that supper was ready in the slow cooker. It worked a treat. I'm looking forward to using it a lot more this winter.

Hoping you've had an enjoyable week.