It's taken a couple of weeks since getting back from our holiday, but this week, I finally felt like I was getting back to normal. I've been suffering with a lack of motivation to do anything much, but I've kept on keeping on and gradually small things have been crossed off my to do list. There's still a good few things on it, but these are mainly dependent upon good weather and it was very wet at the beginning of this week.
On Sunday, I was due to work from 11.30 am until 6pm. I managed to keep myself busy all of the shift by having a thorough sort out of the section I was allotted to. It often gets neglected, but it kept me occupied for the shift and helped it to pass more quickly. We ended up leaving half an hour early too, as everyone had finished recovering the store early.
Monday, was the usual weekly shop day. I needed to head to Home Bargains today, to get a couple of toiletries and supplements I use regularly and ended up spending £45 there, which was a lot for me. It was mainly due to finding the face cream that I like to use, which I couldn't find last time I shopped there, as I think they've discontinued it or didn't have it in stock any longer. I could only find it in a solitary gift set on the shelf, so had to buy that, but it wasn't too expensive at £4.99. Maybe it is super popular and sells out, I don't know. Anyway, I also treated myself to another face cream, for when the first one runs out and I can't get hold of it anymore. This one was £3.99. I shouldn't need to buy any more for a long time now.Other than these items, most of what I spent was on food.
I then bought more food items from Tesco and some dental care items. I spent more than I intended to, which I regretted as soon as I left the store, because I remembered that I needed to spend £94 at Lidl this week to qualify for the 10% off my next shop. As a consequence, I kept adding things to my trolley to hit this figure and ended up spending more than this and really stocked up the pantry. I still came within the monthly food budget though, which was good. This should mean that food spending in February should be lower, as we can eat from the pantry/freezer for a week or two and February is also a very short month.
It was quite stormy when I finished the shopping and I headed home. I avoided the charity shop this week. I really do not need any more clothes. My wardrobe is bursting at the seams. I need to start wearing more of the things in it, instead of constantly buying more.
On Tuesday, I was booked into my class in the gym in the morning. I'd made overnight oats, but had made way too much. I still ate it, however, and then it felt heavy in my stomach all through the class. I won't be doing that again, at least not making as much anyway. I pottered for most of the rest of the day, doing a bit of blogging and sorting through charity donations. I've now put aside 59 items for donation, as I'm hoping to declutter at least 500 things this year. I also made a few more hexies for my star quilt. I'm down to making the last two star blocks and then I'm almost finished. It will just be a case or backing and binding it. It's been a long project, but I've enjoyed it.
In the evening, OH went out to the cycle track, so I had the house to myself. I was feeling a bit of a mess, so I decided to get a shower and have a self care evening. I felt better for it and then watched an interesting Storyville on TV. I've not been sleeping well for a few nights now, waking every few hours to go to the toilet. I decided not to drink any alcohol or fizzy drinks and not to eat past 7pm and it did work. I had the best night's sleep that I've had in a while getting a full 6 hours at least and then a further couple of hours. I definitely need to be more mindful of what I consume in the evenings, as sleep is so important for feeling positive and having energy.
Wednesday morning, I got up feeling quite refreshed and whilst making breakfast, I decided to make a candle from all the dregs of candles that I've burned over the last year or so. I melted all the waste wax that I keep in a jar and added it to a clean candle jar with a new wick. It seemed to turn out okay and it's made a good sized candle, but it will probably be a strange mixture of scents, although that doesn't worry me. I'd just finished burning a candle the night before, so this will be the next one I burn. I only really burn candles in the winter months to create a bit of cosiness. I enjoy the ritual of lighting a candle when I sit down to watch TV or do some sewing.
A bit later, OH and I headed out for a run. He's recovering from and injury and just getting back into running, so decided to come out with me, bless him, as it was a slow one.
When we got back, I felt inspired to go out in the garden and get some work done. It was finally dry enough to do this, as it had been raining for 3 or 4 days. I managed to tidy the beds, plant out some ferns and hellebores that had been hanging around in pots for months, put some bulbs in, albeit very late, tidy up a few plants, sweep up and finally put the cherry tree prunings on the beds to try to prevent them being used as litter trays by the local cats. I don't know if it will work, and it doesn't look that pretty, but I'll try anything. Here's a couple of pictures:
It felt very satisfying to get these jobs done, and now all that's left is to do some pruning, which I need OH's help with and to take some garden waste to the tip.
After lunch, I rewarded myself by spending some time working on my hexi quilt until I got a call from work asking me to work in the evening, which I agreed to do. I quickly got ready and headed off only to find that the road system where I live has changed since I last went to work and I had to go a different way which took ages and was very busy with traffic. Work was okay when I got there though and the shift passed very quickly.
On Thursday, I had a lie in as I didn't get to sleep until the early hours. We had arranged to meet LB at the Barbican in London (again) to see a movie and then go out for something to eat. The movie we went to see was The Brutalist, which was 3 hours long. It did have an interval though, thankfully. It was lovely to see LB again. I've missed her. The movie, however, was brutal. That's all I can say about it. We went for some supper afterwards and then for a drink before heading our separate ways home. She's coming home for a night or two in February, which will be nice.
On Friday morning, I had a lie in again, as once again I didn't get to sleep until the early hours. When I eventually got up, I had breakfast, went for a run, had lunch, did a few household chores and then went back to bed for an hour or so before getting ready to go to work in the evening. Work was good tonight, I enjoyed it.
On Saturday morning, it was nice to wake up in a new month. I was glad to see the back of January, as it was a bit of a struggle for me if I'm honest, save for the week when we were on holiday. Anyway, I got up and ready to go to the free gym session again, which I enjoyed. OH was out cycling, so I decided to take a walk onto our local high street. First stop was Greggs, to pick up a free vegan sausage roll that I had a voucher code for. I also dropped into Primark, as I needed some sports socks.
On the way home, I visited an old favourite local charity shop, that I hadn't visited for a month or two. It was nice to have a leisurely browse. I ended up buying a handmade dress for £3 on the sale rail, which is really sweet and I couldn't resist, a brand new t-shirt for LB and a couple of very small bits and pieces. I spent £10.50 in total, which wasn't too bad. I also picked up a free book on the way home from the Little Free Library. It sounded like an interesting read.
I wasn't scheduled to work all weekend for a change, which was nice. I didn't have any particular plans for the rest of the day. I just enjoyed chilling at home and doing some sewing. Later, OH used up some mince from the freezer and lots of veg from the fridge to make us a lovely shepherd's pie for supper. It was a nice way to end what has felt like a better week.
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