Does anyone else find it weird to be ending february without having had pancake day? Its clear to see where my priorities lie (food!) but it really has sent me off not having done pancake day yet! I guess March will just have to be a bonus of both pancakes, mothers day (please get me some treats) and sneaky pre Easter surprises!
Life lately for me has been overall really lovely. Aside from a bad case of a stomach bug that saw me in bed for a few days completely wiped out, it has been mostly filled with up’s. I have lost a bit of weight (5lbs of it from that sick period of life – so ya know – silver lining and all) and I feel so much better for it. I have had also had some lovely walks with friends, welcomed a friend’s new baby (and eagerly awaiting some more) and then received the news yesterday that a dear family friend has passed away. Life is so full of up’s and down’s, and twists and turns, that it has been another reminder of how fragile life is and how we need to treasure our friends and family. The passing of our friend is especially hard for us as she did so much for me when I lost Poppy – she was so thoughtful, visited me and always sent me messages about Poppy. Her and her husband always released a balloon on her birthday and sent me a pic of it. I will miss that kind soul in our life.
Life is a funny old thing isn’t it? And I certainly never expected to be writing about all of that today. But then again this is my life lately and one thing I know all too well is it can’t all be plain sailing and wearing T Shirts in the sunshine every day (another weird one for Feb!), although as a sun lover, I really wish it was and I wish saying goodbye wasn’t so hard.
The start of this month for me saw me doing my second assignment on “Professional Organisation”. Aspects of it were interesting and yet other parts, completely annoying. I managed, after an incident of discrimination towards me at college when I went in to submit, and after several late nights to get it done, I was able to complete it and actually hand it in on time. It always feels good to accomplish these things and I am hoping to do well with it again. I am also hoping I can gain more passion for counselling again too as I continue with it. It has been a struggle to be enthusiastic recently and it makes it all so much harder.
Loving
This month I am loving being able to wear my sunglasses and bask in the sunshine – it has been such treat so early in the year!
I am also loving my slightly trimmer self. I have been working hard at eating slimming world foods with Nathan (he has lost a stone and a half since Jan) and walking loads more and it has been so beneficial to me. I have lost a joyful 11lb so far and it has made such a huge difference to how my clothes fit and feel, as well as having less bulges! I want to lose possibly 5 more LBs because whilst I had no weight loss goals for this year initially, at the start of this month I realised my weight had crept up far beyond where I am comfortable and so I had to take some control to feel more confident. It will be nice to be in better shape for later Spring and Summer, and then just maintain it.
One of my fave treats over this month that have been huge in helping me stick to eating well are frozen Muller Yogurts. I am a huge ice cream lover which is obviously counterproductive to weight loss, so frozen “1 Syn” yogurts are a dream come true when I am snuggled watching stuff!
I am also loving these brighter mornings, sunny days and having had a week off for half term – it has been lovely.
Watching
We are still watching “The Voice” as a family and I am keeping up with “Call The Midwife” – both of which I am still very much enjoying. We also rented Christopher Robin for family film night which was really cute. I have never been a huge Winnie the Pooh fan, but I did enjoy this one with the fam!
The film that I loved seeing the most though this month was “Searching”! We watched together for date night and it left me thinking A LOT! It is a little quirky in how it is made, and it leaves you guessing all the way through, but it is a great insight into social media and the power of it (good and bad). It’s got some good twists too which we really like in a film.
Other films we saw for date night were Crazy Rich Asians – funny and cute. And Johnny English – the usual silly and predictable mishaps you would anticipate. We were hoping to go to the cinema as part of our Valentines celebrations, but as Alice (and then me) got sick we had to cancel – I was gutted!
Reading
I really need read more so that I can actually have something rather amazing to talk about!! I am not doing well AT ALL with this one despite it being one my goals this year! I have started “The Undiscovered Self” by Carl Jung for college and once again it is a hard going book – I think come March I will be ditching these counselling books and find something less educational and read for fun!
Listening To
I have spent a lot of this month listening to repeats of Peppa Pig from the smallest member of the family – she is a little obsessed and as she doesn’t nap so much anymore, it is a sure way to have her chill now and then when I have deadlines to meet! I am always sure to play and get out on a morning to offset the screen time!
I have also been listening to a lot of podcasts, Imagine Dragons and The Greatest Showman soundtrack some more!
Visited
This month we visited the coast a lot, Dalby forest and Flamingo Land. We have had some scenic and fun family days out at places that are all on our doorstep and it has made me especially grateful for where we live.
Bought
I haven’t particularly needed anything this month (there’s a first) but I did grab myself a new jumper last week when I was in Primark getting Ethan some new pumps and Tshirts. It is bright green and fluffy and goes great with so many things. The best part was that it was only 3 quid – you can’t go wrong can you??
