A New Month - W/E 3rd February 2024

This week got off to a lovely start with an old favourite dog walk on Sunday morning. I bundled the dog into the car and we went to a not so local park, where we used to walk a lot, until they changed the parking restrictions. It was really busy. There were kids playing rugby at the nearby rugby club, lots of rowers at the rowing club and people playing tennis in the park, in addition to people jogging and walking dogs, etc. London parks are so well used, especially on weekends. We had a nice walk though and then made our way home.

In the afternoon, I decided to christen my new muffin tin and finally make some breakfast muffins, after seeing another YouTuber make some on a video. They turned out okay. Here's a picture:

I probably should have waited until they'd cooled down, but I couldn't resist trying one as soon as they were out of the oven. So simple to make. I used 4 eggs, salt and pepper and a splash of milk and then chopped up onions, peppers, tomato and chorizo to add in. I cooked them at 180 degrees for 20 minutes and they cooked perfectly. They'll be a nice savoury addition to salads or even just nice to eat as a healthy snack. They probably don't contain more than 100 calories each.

On Monday, it was weekly shop day again. (It comes around so quickly) I stayed local this week and went to my local Lidl. It was very busy. I had a 10% off voucher to use, so I saved £7 on my shop which was good. I can't buy everything I need at the local store, so I had to go to a large local Tesco store to get the rest. It was a lot lower spend this week, which is a relief at the end of the month.

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty normal days. Classes at the gym in the morning, work on the evenings and time inbetween to do necessary household tasks, keep on top of my finances at the end of the month, a bit of reading, some sewing and anything else I fancied doing. 

As mentioned in my last post, I was offered a permanent contract at work on Wednesday evening, which was good news, with a slight hourly rate rise, but slightly fewer hours, all of which is fine by me. It's a relief to know that I don't need to start looking for a job again. I'm happy to do a couple of shifts a week on a regular basis. I don't need heaps of money to get by these days, as I've honed my skills in living simply and generally spending less (December and January excluded).

On Thursday, I had a nice walk with the dog. We were out early and it was busy with parents dropping off children at school. I rarely get out that early when I walk the dog. I was back by 10.30 am and as I wasn't due at work until 5pm, I decided to clean out one of the kitchen cupboards.

I started with the food cupboard, as I'd been meaning to do it for a while. I'd noticed there were lots of crumbs on the shelves. I was quite ruthless this time. Anything we don't eat, or that was long out of date went in the bin or food waste bag. There's no point giving kitchen space to things I've bought on a whim and then left in the cupboard for years. I threw out quite a few spices that had hardened in the jars. I mostly had fresher replacements, but if I didn't they were probably things we never use anyway. It felt good to get the job done, except for the fact that I was tempted into finishing off some peanut butter.

Later, before getting ready for work, I decided to read for a while. I'm currently reading Capital by John Lanchester. I bought it from a charity shop. It's a fictional book about a street in South London and the residents who live and work there. It's not that recent, as it's set just before the 2008 financial crisis, but it is still very relevant today, in relation to the themes of the book. I'm really enjoying it, which is unusual for me, as I rarely read these days.

After reading for a little while, I suddenly remembered that I had to catch the bus to work as OH was using the car that night, so I quickly had to get showered and ready, as I needed to allow more time. Luckily, the buses I needed to catch arrived promptly and I got there half an hour early. I ended up killing some time in Poundland and spent more than I intended, when I got tempted by some gym leggings for £10. (I've worn them since and they fit super well and are very good quality.) I definitely don't need anymore now.

Work was good. I managed to see one of the managers before they left for another store, which I was happy about as I didn't think I'd get the chance to say goodbye. She was very sweet and kind and I enjoyed working with her.  OH picked me up later on his way home.

On Friday, I booked myself into the gym and had a really good session for an hour and a half. When I got home, I had a little time to get ready before heading out to ASDA for an eye test at the opticians there. I used to go there for many years, but changed to a local optician. However, I've changed back, as I got fed up of all the extras that they tried to persuade you to pay for. Going back to ASDA was so straightforward. The price on the glasses included lenses and I just had to pay for the eye test on top. No hidden extras. 

My prescription had hardly changed, so I didn't get new glasses, but I did order a new pair of prescription sunglasses, as the optician said there were signs of some sun damage to my eyes. I think my current pair have a very old prescription in them and the frames are a little large and fall off my face all the time, so it was time for a change. The new ones cost £80 and are a bit of a style departure for me (I'll post when I get them), but this seemed very reasonable and I'm excited to be all set for summer.

I spent the rest of the day chilling, baking, doing laundry, watching a limited series called Fool Me Once, that I started began watching on Netflix this week. Absolute bliss. I made some more egg muffins using the same recipe, but smaller ones this time. I bought another muffin pan, that makes 12 small muffins. These are a much better snacking size and are probably only 50 calories each. They turned out well. Here's a picture:

One other small highlight of the week, was that my amaryllis started flowering this week and there's still another unopened bud waiting to burst into life too.

On Saturday, I didn't go to the gym, as I'd gone the day before and OH was out cycling, so I needed to take the dog for a walk. We had a nice walk over some marshland, which we haven't visited for a while. Later, I did some jobs around the house, some sewing, pottered in the garden doing a bit of pruning and tidying here and there and then made us a vegan sausage casserole for supper. I wasn't at work at all this weekend and it was lovely to spend the weekend at home.

It's been a very positive week on the whole. I hope your week has been positive too.