Another Mixed Week W/E 2nd September 2023

This week began with OH returning from his cycling trip on Sunday. After a bit of stress in the airport in Nice, he got back to the UK okay and decided it was easier to get home from Gatwick on the train, so I spent most of the day doing some cleaning around the house, so that it looked clean and tidy when he got home.

I went through the upstairs and downstairs with the vacuum cleaner and mopped and dusted as much as I could. I changed the bedding, put away laundry and everything else that needed to be put away. It felt good to have a bit of time to spend cleaning, as I'd not done much for a while, save for trying to keep on top of basic things on a daily basis.

OH eventually made his way to our local train station and I picked him up from there in the car. He'd had a really good trip, but was glad to be home. The dog was super excited to see him after over a week. 

On Bank Holiday Monday, I had booked myself into the gym, as I wasn't sure if I'd get the chance later in the week, due to work. I made my way there for 10 am and it was busy with lots of people there working out. I had a good session though and used all of the machines that I wanted to use. I did a little more than I normally would, as I was feeling a bit more energetic.

When I got home from the gym, I just chilled and had some lunch. I ended up having a nap after lunch, as I felt quite tired. On waking, I found I had received an email inviting me to a job interview, which was exciting. I'd applied for the job at the beginning of last week and it was at a location that is quite far from where I live, but I thought it was a job that I would definitely enjoy, so I was hoping the interview, later in the week, went well.

On Monday afternoon, OH and I paid a visit to the allotment to harvest and water. We harvested most of the remainder of the tomatoes, there's just a few left now, and the last of the sweetcorn. We also harvested raspberries, runner beans, french beans, courgettes and lettuce. Many of the crops are now gradually coming to an end, which is good in a way, as things are winding down as the summer comes to a close. It's always quite a lot of work to harvest and process the produce, so we're almost relieved when we don't need to do it any longer.

Tuesday, I was back at work. I decided to get back on my bike and cycle there. I arrived a bit early, so I headed down to the staff room and had a cup of tea before starting the working day, which was nice. The work day went okay, but I thought I'd get more done than I did. 

I felt a bit bad when I told our supervisor that I was going to an interview later in the week. Two other people also announced that they were leaving that day and were unable to work any longer, and another guy won't be working one morning either, as he had a test to do, so we seem to be dropping like flies at the moment. It sounded like they needed us until the end of the week though, so there must have been more work that they wanted us to do. I was happy to earn as much money as I could to be honest.

Wednesday was another okay day at work.  We finished our current task ready to start a new one on Thursday. Not much else to say about the day really. I was really tired on Wednesday night, so I went to bed early and did a bit of research for my upcoming interview, which was interesting.

On Thursday, I decided I would get the bus to work, as I didn't want to tire myself out cycling. I wanted to be fresh on Friday morning for my interview. We were given a new task at work and we managed to finish it in one day, which was less than expected. A few of us were offered the chance to stay on for one more week to do a bit more work, which I was very grateful for, as I think I will put the money towards Xmas. I need to start thinking about that now, especially now my earnings are more sporadic.  I was glad to get home and chill for the night. I'd arranged to go back to work after my interview on Friday morning.

Thursday, also marked the end of the 12th week of my fitness journey, so it was time to take measurements and photos, etc. It wasn't the best time, as I had a bit of an upset stomach, but I went ahead anyway. To be honest, my weight loss has really slowed down in the last few weeks. I'm lucky if I lose half a pound each week. I don't know if this is due to attending less classes over the summer or my new work routine meaning I'm not able to get to the gym as much. Either way, I'm still going to persevere, as things are still going in the right direction, just a bit more slowly.

On Friday morning, I got up early and got ready to head off to my interview. I allowed almost two hours to get there, and it's as well I did as it took me almost the whole of that time. It was pouring with rain when I got to my destination. I was so happy I had an umbrella with me or I would have got drenched. 

The interview went okay, but I came away thinking that I probably wouldn't get it, as there had been 70 applicants for the job. In all honesty, the journey there was long, as the job was located in South London, but having to do it just one day per week I didn't think was too onerous.

Anyway, I made my way back to work after the interview and luckily we had a really simple job to do on Friday afternoon. I don't think I would have coped with anything more complicated, as all my energy had gone into the interview.

I got an email on the way home from work, to say that I'd not been successful in the interview.  I was disappointed, but they most likely did me a favour, as the distance involved was probably way too far.  The feedback on the interview was pretty vague, as I find it often is when it's a no. I'll just have to keep on looking. Hopefully the right thing will come along for me at some point.

On Saturday morning, I had to get up early at 6.30 am as the dog was scratching at the door to go out and OH had gone off cycling. I got ready and took her out. We had a nice long walk. I'd missed our walks this week, as I'd hardly walked her all week. OH had done the morning walk and she rarely needs an evening walk these days, as she gets older. (She's 11 this year)

One good thing about going for the interview yesterday was that I did a lot of walking and my weight shifted in a downwards direction, which was a bonus.

Anyway, on Saturday, I needed to do the weekly shop, as we were out of most things we eat regularly and I needed to use a 10% off voucher at Lidl before it expired. As I was up and about early, I decided to take back the non-induction pan I'd bought for LB and get the £14 refund back on my card. London tends to be very quiet on a Saturday morning, so it makes it the best time to get around easily. I was also able to pick up a few things from Morrisons, that I couldn't get at Lidl, such as some dog food. In the end, I saved £9 on my shop at Lidl, which was very welcome.

After finishing the shopping, I went home and made a lovely power bowl for lunch, which was super tasty. I then retired to bed for an hour and then did a bit of work on the Xmas wreath quilt for the first time in what seemed like ages, which was a super nice way to end the week.

I hope your week's been a good one.