Day 803

Day 803...

We decided on a different approach to our day today...we have decided to try intermittent fasting by simply delaying our breakfast till lunchtime.

And as part of that we decided to get out bright and early for a walk and we completed 2.5 miles in 45 minutes. We were out and walking by just gone 8am and although it was a little damp it didn't deter us and according to my fitness tracker we walked at a faster pace than our normal lunchtime walks and had 41 minutes of fat burning exercise - that'll do nicely.

On our return I decided to get back into doing some of the body-weight exercises that I used to do when I initially went low carb eight years ago. So this morning I reintroduced my body to planks! It was a little tough going and I think it will take me a few days to get back into the swing of things but I still managed a full plank and two side planks. I just want to up my times and re-introduce a few more movements, but I've made a start and that's the most important thing - onwards and upwards.

After a quick shower I headed out the door and paid our local Lidl a visit as we needed a few bits and bobs. The advantage of going on a Tuesday morning was that I was probably the youngest shopper in there!!

With the shopping all put away I did a little online shopping. Having dug out the cosplay at the weekend I realised I was short of a couple of pieces of make-up. I needed an eyebrow pencil and some face powder and I thought the easiest, and probably cheapest way, was to buy online thanks to good old Amazon.

I also spent a little time looking for leggings for my workouts; who knew there could be so many styles...so many in fact that I haven't been able to make my mind up yet!

So as lunch rolled around Simon and I had our usual cooked breakfast and it was lovely and so much more relaxed having it at lunchtime rather than in a rush on a morning. And neither of us had felt hungry so I think going forward this will be our new approach to the day.

The afternoon was spent at my dads house as I wanted to go through and catalogue all of my mums ornaments and collectibles. She had over the years collected quite a few things and they are simply too good to donate and I am sure there are collectors out there who would love some of the pieces we have and it would be great to think they could all go to homes where they will be fully appreciated. But before that can I happen I need to figure out what we actually have; so lots of photos taken and uploaded to my laptop so that I can now start the process of collating and categorising!

And that was my Tuesday, see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 802

Day 802...

Going to be a quick one today!

It has been a day of catching up on a few odds and sods and an afternoon trip over to Birmingham.

But the main news of today was that we woke up to the announcement that Star Wars Celebration for 2023 will be held in London next April.

It was Celebration in 2016 that got Simon and I into the whole Star Wars cosplay thing. Back in 2015 we heard about something called Celebration and as it coincided with Simon's 50th birthday year I suggested we give it a try. After tickets had been bought Simon the brought up the idea of attending in cosplay...to which I said that providing I didn't have to wear the infamous Princess Leia bikini I'd be happy to join in with the fun.

Then followed a year of building two Mandalorian sets of armour and becoming official members of the Mandalorian Mercs costuming club. We then booked our hotel and attended as members of the Mercs helping out with various activities along the way.

Since then we have added my Governor Pryce and Simon's Stormtrooper to our cosplay wardrobe and joined two more costuming groups - Joker Squad and East Midlands Garrison.

So on learning that Celebration would be happening in London in April 2023 we set about booking a hotel. Suffice to say hotel rooms were scarce as every Star Wars fan out there seemed to have snapped rooms up as soon as the dates had been announced!

Now the announcement came at just after midnight, UK time, and so consequently we did not hear about it until about 8am this morning. In those intervening few hours not only had hotel rooms been snapped up but the prices of remaining rooms had risen considerably, plus add into the equation that the event is happening over the Easter weekend when prices would naturally be higher anyway! But we managed to find a room within a ten minute walk of the Excel arena where Celebration will be taking place...not a cheap room...but it's a room in the location we wanted and so we decided to book it anyway. We were able to book without a deposit and with free cancellation up until the day before...this means that should something cheaper become available we would be able to re-book! But for now we have a room...next is to wait and see what the actual ticket prices are going to be, but we won't know that for a little while yet.

And with that excitement I will see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 801

Day 801...

A nice and steady Sunday after yesterday's long day trooping.

As much as we love trooping two days back to back as some of our fellow geeks are doing can take its toll. There is a lot of standing around and holding poses which leaves you with muscle aches in the strangest of places. Simon finds his inner forearm aches from holding his blaster (which is actually quite heavy) as he holds it pretty much in the same position all day. I tend to stand in one position to look like a stern imperial officer, often with arms held behind my back so I find my biceps can ache along with the backs of my legs. My boots still need a bit of wearing in so by the end of the day my feet and ankles had had enough but thankfully today they have felt pretty good.

So we were able to have a much more relaxed start to our day and once we had collected our weekly grocery shop we (okay Simon) had the job of cleaning up and storing away our kit from yesterday.

My kit is straight forward and the only thing I will need to do at some point is to sponge clean the neck of my uniform jacket. Simon on the other hand needed to give his stormtrooper armour a clean and store it back in its storage trunk neatly. We thought a piece of elastic that keeps the shoulder straps in place had been lost but it turned out to have just slipped underneath and out of sight. He then took the opportunity to re-whiten his boots and make a slight repair to his blaster where he'd noticed a section was feeling a little looser than it should. But all in all that was pretty good going for our first troop out in over two years!

This afternoon we were joined by our good friend Michelle as she had driven down to spend a few hours with us before we went out for the evening. We managed to squeeze in a little 2 mile walk before grabbing a bite to eat and heading off into Nottingham.

This was our second weekend of burlesque and cabaret and today we were at The Gilded Merkin held at The Glee Club in Nottingham and produced by, and starring once more, the delightful Scarlett Daggers. Another great show and I cannot recommend highly enough trying one of these nights. Tonight we had traditional burlesque, juggling, fire eating, sword swallowing, comedy burlesque, more comedy and singing!

But it is late and so I will sign off for today and see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 800

Day 800...

And my first official day of 'retirement' and I was looking forward to a slow and steady start to the day but that was not to be.

Today was our first time 'trooping' with our fellow Star Wars geeks since February 2020...for obvious reasons. Although events had started happening a few months back a lot of places had been insisting on tests and masks and we simply refused to go along with anything that wasn't just normal.

We are members of two costuming groups; Joker Squad and East Midlands Garrison and so it is a matter of seeing when either are attending an event and whether that event is something that we are able to get to. Luckily for us today we were trooping with East Midlands Garrison at Em-Con held at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham which is only a few miles away for us.

So we were up and out the door by 7.50am and were outside the arena by 8.20am to meet up with our Star Wars family.

Arriving at the arena with our East Midlands Garrison family

We had about 20 members of the garrison in attendance today and our first task was to find our changing area and get kitted up for the day.

Star Wars cosplay is not a glamorous life and we often find ourselves allocated some rather interesting locations as our changing area. Today was no exception as it appeared to be an empty storage room with a few chairs and not much else. But we got on with getting kitted up which for me involved transforming into Governor Pryce from the animation series Rebels complete with a black, bob styled wig and for Simon it was Stormtrooper time.

Our day was then spent wandering around the convention, meeting the public and having lots of photos taken, some of which were with a few of the celebrities in attendance!

With 'Hunter' from the TV show Gladiators!

With actor Will Mellors

With actor Nick Frost

A long day but an enjoyable one and one in which we were able to make a lot of people smile as well as raise money for a charity called PASIC which supports families of children who have cancer.

So now it is time for a well earned feet-up in front of the telly!

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 799...Last Day

Day 799...

And we have reached Friday...

...last day of this term...

...and last day at pre-school for me...for good!

I set off for work at the normal time armed with goodies for my team. When I arrived at work I was greeted by this attached to the front door...

Suffice to say there were more 'dodgy' photos displayed inside along with a massive banner wishing me a 'Happy Retirement'.

But the day started with me handing out some gifts of chocolate and alcohol to my team along with some cakes and strawberries and cream to keep us going throughout the day. My team knowing that 'sweet stuff' is not really my thing anymore had prepared a more keto friendly option for me...

Mmmm meats and cheeses!!!

Although there was still work to be done over the course of the day it was a much more relaxed and chilled out kind of day compared to the normal hustle and bustle.

Midway through the day the children presented me with my leaving card and gift to which I am extremely thankful to all my staff...

Card made by the children...much bigger than it looks here!!

Gorgeous Disney Couture Kingdom Junkyard Mickey necklace

And although it has been my last day at work I will be staying involved with the pre-school as chairperson on their committee. 

I started on the committee way back in 2001 when Ethan started at the pre-school. I'd volunteered as a parent helper whilst heavily pregnant with Molly and I was talking to one of the staff and happened to  mention that I used to work for a bank. Their ears pricked up and asked if I would like to take on the role of treasurer...I said 'yeah, ok, don't see why not' and the rest is history.

After a couple of years on the committee I moved into a paid role of 'administrator' before eventually joining the team as an early years practitioner in 2004. I attended evening classes to study for my level 3 childcare qualification which I'd achieved by mid 2005 and by 2008 I was manager! 

We grew from a small pre-school that opened for just 5 mornings a week to a very busy full five days a week venture. A small team of four grew to eleven at it's peak. During my tenure we have been inspected by Ofsted three times, I helped the pre-school move premises back in 2002 and then again in 2020, we've held so many fundraisers from cake sales to Christmas fairs to sponsored bounces to 'Back to School' discos, fashion shows, retail evenings and more.

And not only was this the pre-school that both Molly and Ethan attended it was also the pre-school (or playgroup as it was known) that my brother and I attended way, way back in the early 1970's. So I cannot walk away completely I will continue to support them as best I can in my new role of chairperson I just won't have to 'go to work' anymore.

So what will I be doing in my 'retirement'? Well at the moment I really don't know, but what I do know is that I am going to take my time to figure out exactly what I would like to do with my time and for a change put my wants first!

But back to today...and back home; my first task of the late afternoon was to jump online and record an episode of the Disney Dream Girls podcast for this coming weekend. 

My next task was to get out my cosplay outfit ready for Em-Con tomorrow with our fellow Star Wars geeks the East Midlands Garrison. I needed to make sure my boots were clean and comfy to wear and I needed to try on my wig to make sure I remembered how it should look. Thankfully both tasks were completed with ease - phew!

And now I think it's time I stop typing as we have the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series to start watching this evening...I think we better get it watched so that we don't get it spoiled tomorrow as we will be amongst a large contingent of other Star Wars fans!

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 798

Day 798...

We have had a Thursday and it has been my penultimate last day in work.

And as is the norm it was just a half day in work. I spent the morning updating some documents and just keeping on top of emails and phone calls.

At lunchtime I was all set to walk home as Simon needed the car today as he had a hair appointment. I quickly messaged Simon to say I was setting off for home and he then had the brainwave to pick me up; he was just about to leave for his hair appointment but he knew that I wanted to go to the Asda in the same town so it made sense to pick me up along the way. So while Simon was at the barbers I nipped into Asda to pick up a few bits and pieces, two jobs done for the price of one!

The remainder of the afternoon was fairly quiet as I'd just got a few personal things to sort through before we finished the day with a session down 'our gym'.

All in all a quiet sort of day, and not really very much to report. So I shall see you tomorrow for my last official day in work!
xx

 

Day 797

Day 797...

The middle of the week and as I am typing this rather late in the day I think this will be a quick post.

My morning was spent in work and I was able to put my skills to good use and create a couple of posters for upcoming events as well as construct an email regarding some grant funding. I was also able to go over the forthcoming academic year's long term plan with my deputy. This is where we layout all the various events, special occasions, fundraisers and key dates for the year ahead which we then use as the basis for our planning. My deputy had already completed a good chunk of it and it was simply chance for me to go over it with my 'manager head' on to make sure nothing had been missed.

On my way home I had a quick stop by my local Lidl to get stocked up on a few essentials, as well as a few treats for my last day in work on Friday.

Back home and after a catch-up and a coffee with Simon I had a few of my own emails to deal with, a payment to make and some spreadsheets to update. But with that done I was off to see my fabulous hairdresser Kim who worked her magic, as always, and has updated my hair with a pink-ish twist...

And it was then home to cook dinner and put my feet up!

See you tomorrow.

xx

Day 796

Day 796...

And we have had a Tuesday and we have had a full day in work.

This was the first working day of my last week at pre-school. The morning was spent taking one of my team through the process for claiming the government issued funding. And the afternoon was chance for myself and my deputy to catch up, go over a few outstanding items and make sure that we are as up to date with everything as we can be.

I will still be involved with the pre-school in my capacity as committee chairperson and I have the task ahead of converting the pre-school into a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, but the day-to-day operation and management will no longer be mine!

We had the lovely Jon visit from our local Asda this morning. Jon is their community champion and comes out to visit the pre-school when he can, he runs activities with the children and supports us with our fundraisers. He very kindly brought me some flowers and my favourite chocolate...

I arrived home late afternoon to a freshly brewed coffee and before I knew it it was time to head down 'our gym'. Simon has been keeping a tally of how often we have worked out since we set up the gym during the very first lockdown...we have hit workout 200 today!

So I think it's time to put up our feet and I'll see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 795

Day 795...

Monday...our non-working day of the 'working week', and the start of my last week at pre-school.

Around 9am I had a phone call from my deputy manager who called to let me know of a change of plans. Tonight was supposed to be my 'leaving doo'; nothing fancy just a meal out at a local Indian restuarant but due to circumstances outside of my control that was now not happening.

One of my team had been ill over the weekend and so wasn't in work and therefore could not make the meal tonight. Another colleague had pressures in her personal life that simply meant she wasn't in the right frame of mind for having a night out. So with a third of the staff unavailable (we are only a team of seven) it was decided to cancel tonight and to rearrange for a couple of weeks time when hopefully everyone will be fit and well.

We then decided to make the best of the day and take a walk out over the fields to a local cafe called The Cowshed. It's just over two miles which we managed in about 48 minutes and after a lovely coffee we headed back. A slightly different route of 2.5 miles in 52 minutes, so plenty of steps and exercise achieved this morning; almost 50 minutes of fat burning, apparently!!

Once home we were straight back out the door to stop by my dads house in the hope of seeing my brother. Glen and his family have worked hard over the last couple of weeks to clear the house of any obvious 'rubbish' and had managed to fill a skip. Today the skip was being collected and so Glen was working from there while waiting for it to be collected.

Glen was able to take me through what they have managed to do and we discussed what needs doing next. There are quite a lot of things that need new homes and I think one of my jobs over the next couple of weeks will be to catalogue what's there so we can have a better idea of what to do with it all!

Although today we did manage to bring home all my mum and dad's photo albums; there are lots to go through but my aim is to get them all digitised so that we will be able to enjoy them so much more easily. It will also mean that anyone else in the family can also have copies should they so wish.

Back home and we decided to give our Star Wars cosplay a complete try on ahead of trooping this coming weekend. Simon's stormtrooper kit fitted perfectly and it was good to have a run through to remind us of the order that it all has to go on in. I will be going as Governor Pryce from the animated TV series Rebels and thankfully I too was able to get into my imperial officer uniform although I am in desperate need of some new trousers. They have never been the most comfortable of fits (let's just say a high waist without enough length!) so I really ought to figure out a way to get a better pair.

I also took the time to go over my make-up as it is over two years since I last applied it. Thankfully I still have all the relevant colours needed and so was able to gather everything together so that I am prepared for the weekend.

And with that I will see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 794

Day 794...

OK, so let's start with how yesterday ended as I never got to finish that post due to being 'out, out'!

So...my good friend and podcast co-host Michelle, and her husband Tom, arrived at ours late afternoon yesterday. It was lovely to see each other in person and have a catch-up as well as having a little foodie exchange! 

When Michelle had visited Disneyland Paris at Easter she had been good enough to pick up a couple of bread puddings from the Earl of Sandwich...these are amazing and bring back very fond memories of discovering them for the first time while visiting Disney World many, many years ago.

And in exchange I was able to let her have a couple of my favourite American chocolate bars; Milky Way Midnight Edition...

...the kids had got me a box of these for Mothers Day and so I have plenty to keep me going and still be able to share!

And Michelle also brought me this gorgeous glass...

After a bite to eat of homemade keto pizza we headed into Derby to see LaDeDa Cabaret starring and produced by the gorgeous Scarlett Daggers. Hosted by the impeccable Stage Door Johnny and with acts by Storm Hooper, Rod Laver, Coco Deville and Anna Fur Laxis. A mix of variety, cabaret, comedy and of course burlesque and as always was a great night out and I cannot recommend highly enough these nights for a bit of cheeky fun.

It did mean a late return home and hence my lack of a published post yesterday as I simply forgot all about it - oops!

And then we had today - Sunday.

So it was a pretty standard start to the day with the collection of our weekly grocery shop but once that was all put away we set about checking our Star Wars cosplay. Next weekend we should, all things being well, be joining our fellow Star Wars friends at Emcon in Nottingham representing the East Midlands Garrison. This will be our first 'troop' since February 2020...for obvious reasons!

It has taken awhile for troops to be be back up and running and it has been a case of waiting for something accessible to us to become available. We are also members of Joker Squad but as they are mainly based down south it can be difficult to find troops that we can get to easily. And although with East Midlands Garrison there are more local troops they have been few and far between until of late, plus up until recently we would have had to have produced negative tests which we have simply refused to indulge in such pantomime. But all being well this coming Saturday we should be able to don our gear and get trooping again!

As Simon is a Stormtrooper his first task today was to get out all the electronic components of his outfit to charge everything up and make sure all was working correctly. He has fans in his helmet to keep him cool along with a speaker and voice synthesiser to give an authentic Stormtrooper sound.

And while things got charged we headed out for a walk over the fields in the sunshine. We completed 3.4 miles in an hour and 10 minutes and according to my fitness tracker 36 minutes of that was in fat burning mode! Whoop!

The remainder of the afternoon was spent doing more mundane stuff like the laundry! And catching up with writing this blog! I now have the task of house hunting online with Ethan to see if we can find any that are in the right sort of area and are worth a look see.

So I best stop typing and I'll see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 793

Day 793...

After a steady start to our Saturday morning we gathered ourselves together as Ethan had a house viewing booked.

He is thinking of getting his own place and had seen a newly listed house in the right sort of area at the top end of his budget and had booked in a viewing for today. Unfortunately this was not going to be the house for him! 

The estate agent greeted us with 'there's some work that needs to be done, it's a 'doer-upper''...mmm...and that doesn't even allow for the general cleanliness of the house as it completely stunk to high heaven of cats! It would need a new bathroom, new kitchen, new flooring, completely redecorating through out and a mega deep, deep clean. Oh well at least house that we look at from now on can only get better...right?!

After a quick detour via Lidl we arrived home in much need of a coffee. While Simon did a little digital art work I enjoyed my coffee sat in the sunshine. 

Our plans for the remainder of the day centered around my good friend Michelle visiting ahead of an evening out in Derby to see another La De Da Cabaret show. So while Simon got all energetic and nipped out for a quick run I took things much slower and did my make-up ready for the evening followed by a little online shopping. I was in need of some make-up bits and pieces as well as some new trainers for walking. I'd found a pair online and figured it was easier to order from the comfort of my own home as opposed to visit a store in person and hope that they had my size. So by the end of this week I should have some new walking shoes to try out.

....to be continued....as we were out late I never got to finish this post and publish it so I guess this will be done today (Sunday!).

See you later.
xx

 

Day 792

Day 792...

Ah the end of the working week for this household.

My day was another spent at the laptop updating contact information for pre-school ahead of my impending departure this time next week. I've also had the chance to go through all of the documents that I have created over the years...the last 12 years as manager...and decide which can now be deleted. I will admit to having a habit of keeping hold of stuff 'just in case', although this has worked in my favour when wanting to go back in time and figure out events or how we handled something. But today was a day of having a cathartic clear out.

Despite the grey clouds and a few spots of rain we were still able to get out for our lunchtime walk managing yet again a couple of miles in around 39 minutes. 

The afternoon saw glimpses of sunshine but in the main it started grey and a little chillier than of late. I chanced sitting outside with a coffee later on and managed only a few minutes before the rain started...although  a couple of minutes after coming inside it stopped - typical!

And while Simon completed some zone two training on the exercise bike I wrote this blog ahead of making keto pizza.

We have a busy Saturday ahead of us so I will stop typing and see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 791

Day 791...

Another day working from home, although my first job this morning was to nip out to our local Lidl for a quick top-up shop before the day got too busy.

But once home my working day was all about updating contact information; emailing, completing online forms and just figuring out who exactly I needed to contact. A few emails are now awaiting replies but I was pretty happy with all that I managed to get completed today. 

I was also able to do a little work in my new capacity as committee chairperson. The committee is a vital component of pre-school as it is a registered charity and cannot function without one. I have decided to remain connected with the pre-school via this voluntary position and today I had a couple of emails to issue to my other committee members.

At lunchtime we walked out over the fields and completed a steady two miles in 38 minutes. It was a gorgeous day filled with sunshine and warmth. This afternoon I was able to indulge in a coffee outside while I topped up my vitamin D supplies!

The day was rounded out with a weights workout down 'our gym' although I wasn't feeling the greatest but I did manage most of my workout although it wasn't one of my better sessions.

But onwards and upwards and I will see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 790

Day 790...

We have had a very pleasant, sunny and warm Wednesday and one that I have spent working from home.

My focus today, as it will be for the remainder of the week, has been to update as many pre-school contacts as possible about my upcoming departure and whom their new contact will be. Because we are registered with a number of governing bodies there are a number of official forms and procedures that are needed to be completed and followed. All smooth sailing so far!

At lunchtime Simon and I headed out for a walk over the fields managing two miles in 42 minutes and according to my new fitness tracker 23 minutes of that was fat burning!! 

Later on this afternoon I was able to hook up online with my podcast buddy Michelle as we recorded a Disney Dream Girls show ready for release this coming Sunday. A lovely hour or so to chat all things Disney and dream about expensive VIP tours, re-opening of attractions and special events.

And while Simon jumped on the exercise bike I made use of my time by writing this blog and cooking a lovely keto shepherds pie.

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 789

Day 789...

And today was Tuesday; it was a full day in work for what should be my only day actually 'in work' this week.

I am now fast approaching my last working day at pre-school and so for the remainder of this week I will be working from home as I attempt to update contact information and addresses and the like.

Although I won't be leaving pre-school completely as I will be on a retainer until the end of July should they need me, as well as taking over the role of chairperson of our committee. As a registered charity we are governed by a committee of trustees and so I will keep that connection with the pre-school through being chairperson.

After work I had a quick stop at home to drop off my laptop and work bag before heading into Derby for a beauty appointment. Before I knew it I was back home and it was time for a coffee and a sit down before heading down 'our gym' for a weights workout.

And that was Tuesday...see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 788

Day 788...

A very quick and short post as it is late in the day.

But today was Simon's birthday and it was a very lovely day of presents, coffee, walks, talking, coffee and more  coffee.

I shall see you tomorrow.

xx

Day 787

Day 787...

Sunday has been a more restful and calm day compared to the last couple of days.

After a relaxed breakfast we headed off to collect the weekly grocery shopping as is the norm for a Sunday morning. Molly and Dan also headed out to fill their car with diesel as well as buy a birthday pressie for a friend...a rather large gnome that resembles the queen!!

We then paid a visit to my dads house where my brother and his wife were busy clearing through. A skip had arrived on Friday and they had spent most of yesterday filling it; carpets that needed to be removed, an old bed that had to be disassembled, old bits of furniture and all manner of odds and sods. The house is beginning to get clear but there is still a long way to go and we have the difficult task of deciding what can be thrown away, what might be useful to keep, any sentimental items, what may be worthy of a charity shop donation along with those items that will probably need to go to auction as they are too good to just 'throw out'.

Molly wanted to have another look around and see if there was anything else that she wanted to take away with her and she was able to grab a few items that her and Dan can make use of. We still have some missing pieces of jewellery to locate and I am fearful that these will never be found; a complete mystery as to where they have gone as they are pieces that we are all convinced my dad wore pretty much all the time. Molly was desperate to have one of his bracelets that we have not yet found but we have said that we could perhaps have a necklace of his converted into a bracelet for her instead. She was so close to her Grandad and I know she just wants something that was 'part of him' to have with her to remember him by.

Before we knew it it was early afternoon and it was time for Molly and Dan to make their three hour journey home. We took a much shorter journey to our favourite Starbucks for an afternoon coffee and to make use of the adjacent jet wash and give the car a clean!

And with a quiet afternoon I decided to take a little time to write todays blog post and to go through a few more photos that I'd scanned a while ago but hadn't had the chance to update on the laptop. With all that has happened the last few weeks my little project of scanning and storing old photos has had to take a bit of a back seat.

So yes, a productive, but much more relaxed day. See you all tomorrow.
xx

Day 786

Day 786...

So yesterday was a tad on the busy side which meant I simply ran out of time for writing and publishing a blog post.

So yesterday...after a full day at work I took a quick diversion home via Lidl to pick up a few bits I'd forgotten the day before. I wanted to pick up a cake for Molly for her birthday but unfortunately there was none to be found for the second day running. Once home I was then busy making keto bread and keto pizza as well as wrapping up some last minute pressies.

Then before I knew it Molly and Dan arrived home. The evening was then spent with lots of catching up to do, the giving of pressies for Mollys birthday the day before and plenty of food and cake to eat. Molly had made herself her own birthday cake, along with some keto chocolate cake, which is something she has always done for her birthday, and she had brought what was left with her!

And then we have today...

A reasonable, but relaxed, start to the day which saw Molly head off to her old kickboxing academy to take part in their Saturday morning class. A chance to catch up with all those she had trained with over the last few years. And while Molly worked out there Simon and Dan decided to grab thirty minutes down 'our gym'!

Then this afternoon we headed into Nottingham. Molly, Dan and Simon went ice skating while Ethan and I hit the shops and had a coffee! We then all came together and went to one of our favourite restaurants, Soulville Steakhouse.

Once home it was time for more birthday cake with a glass of Prosecco!!

Night all and I will see you tomorrow.

xx

 

Day 785

Day 785...

Oops no post today as the day has been rather busy and I have simply run out of time.

Back on it tomorrow.

xx

Day 785

Day 785...

So today has been Molly's birthday and it is the first birthday she has not been at home for but not to worry she is coming home for the weekend tomorrow and as Simon's birthday is on Monday we will be having a bit of a celebratory weekend.

My day started with getting to grips with my new sports/smart watch thingy! Simon had bought himself one to track fitness, pulse, steps etc and I was feeling left out so when I arrived home yesterday he had surprised me with a lovely pink version.

So as I was not in work today I was able to arrange my day into an order that fitted best with what I wanted and needed to do. Once my new watch was working I headed off to Lidl for my weekly top-up shop as well as buying a few extra treats ready for the weekend.

Back home and it was time to get on with a little work. I am in the process of going through all the documentation that has been created over my time with pre-school and having a good clear out of now redundant items.

Lunchtime saw Simon and I take a walk over the fields completing 1.9 miles in 39 minutes. The afternoon saw me carrying on with more pre-school work as well as sorting through some more paperwork relating to my dads estate. 

Late afternoon I was at my dads house as we are having to have it valued so that the estate can be settled, and ultimately the house will be sold. I think that is going to be a very strange experience as it was the only house I ever knew growing up as we had lived there since it was built in the very early 1970's, and we moved in when I was about three years old.

The day was then rounded out with an AGM meeting of the pre-school committee. We needed to swear in a new committee which means that as I am stepping down from my paid role of manager I will be taking on the volunteer role of Chairperson!!

And that was Thursday and I will see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 784

Day 784...

Well I think this is the first time I've stopped today and I'm writing while waiting for Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to start.

We are visiting a local cinema in Derby called The Quad and for the first time are in their screen called 'The Box'. Probably one of the smallest screening rooms I've been in and it's kitted out with comfy chairs and sofas!!! 

But my day has been spent in work catching up with my deputy manager who has returned after a few days away. We've also been getting ourselves ready for our AGM which is tomorrow evening. So a busy day at work.

Once home I had a work email to send and to chase a couple of my own things while enjoying a coffee. Then it was time for our butchers delivery; 4kg steak mince, 2 kg chicken, 4.5kg bacon, 10 pork steaks, sirloin steaks, burgers and 100 sausages! Which then all needed splitting into portions to be frozen.

With that all sorted it was then time to cook dinner; a quick and easy keto chicken parmesan and while that was cooking we bought our cinema tickets online. Which then gave me enough time to eat dinner, get changed and head out the door.

A great film with plenty of action and probably more questions than answers but an enjoyable and quick couple of hours.

See you tomorrow.
xx

 

Day 783

Day 783...

Tuesday and a pretty standard and uneventful Tuesday at that.

It was another full day in work for me as I continued to provide cover for another member of staff who was off work. It was pretty standard stuff as I dealt with parent questions, kept on top of paperwork and emails and helped our new admin clerk with a few tasks.

Arriving home to a freshly brewed coffee I took a few minutes to sit outside in the sunshine, soak up some vitamin D and recharge my batteries.

I then spent way longer than I would have liked researching home insurance policies as we need to make sure that the insurance for my dads house continues until we are able to sell it, and it's at a reasonable expense! My brother has booked a skip for the next couple of weekends so that we can make a start on clearing the house of all the no longer needed, or wanted, stuff.

We finished the day with our usual Tuesday evening workout at our gym; more moving of weights. Ideally I'd like to be doing more and in a more varied way. I used to complete a set of body weight exercises (squats, lunges, push-ups etc) every day and have fallen out of the habit so perhaps my impending 'retirement' from work will help me get back in the habit! I am hoping that with a little more 'head space' I can re-evaluate what I want to be getting out of life and how I can incorporate that.

See you tomorrow.
xx

Day 782...final goodbye

Day 782...

Well the start of the working week and our usual Monday 'off' but it was not a normal Monday for us.

The day started off as normal and the morning was spent wrapping presents for a couple of upcoming birthdays, organising the posting of some of the aforementioned pressies, finishing off a letter to the solicitors, buying some new pillows and placing an order with our online butchers of choice!

My brother, Glen, and his wife then arrived and we all jumped in his car to head over to our local crematorium as today was the day we were to scatter my dad's ashes. The only stipulation that my dad had left with us was for him to be scattered in the 'garden of remembrance' which were the same wishes as laid out in my mum's will. 

Glen had collected my dad's ashes following his cremation last week and today was the final part in saying goodbye to him. The crematorium were able to tell us where our mum had been scattered seven years ago so that we could scatter my dad in the same place. The staff were lovely and transferred my dad's ashes into a nicer, and easier to handle, receptacle. We were then left to scatter them as we saw fit. I let Glen do the scattering and we walked the length of the designated area and spoke about my dad, and my mum, and said our goodbyes. It was much more emotional than I think I had anticipated for all of us; tears and hugs all round.

My dad will now be with the love of his life; he had missed my mum terribly over the past seven years and had never really gotten over her passing. They had been together since their late teenage years and my dad had struggled to function without her there by his side. We can only take solace in the fact that they are together once more.

We then took the time to enjoy a coffee and cake at a local cafe before heading home. Glen and I had some paperwork to go over and collate and later I was able to stop by the solicitors office with it all so hopefully we can make progress with sorting out my dad's estate. With that done and my parcel posted it was back home for the remainder of the day.

It has been an odd sort of day and much more emotional than I'd been anticipating. The last few weeks have at times been a whirlwind and I think I underestimate how much this has all been affecting me. An we still have the outcome of the coroners inquest to deal with but that will be a few months away yet.

So Monday done and I'll see you tomorrow,
xx

Day 781

Day 781...

So I think I am not going to post anything today.

It has been a bit of an 'off day' for me and I don't particularly feel like posting anything and this will be the first time in 780 days!

There's a lot happening in my life, and around me, at the moment and I think today it all caught up with me. So I will recompose myself and hopefully be back tomorrow with my usual ramblings.

See you then.
xx
 

Day 780

Day 780...

The weekend has arrived and we started with a prompt getting up as Simon had a barbers appointment just after 9am.

Once Simon had returned home we gathered ourselves together and headed off into Derby for a little shopping trip. I wanted to see if I could pick up a few birthday pressies (May is a busy month!) and it was also chance to get Ethan out for some clothes shopping.

Primark proved successful for me as I came away with two new Disney t-shirts, a Mickey Mouse themed cushion and some earrings. 

We stopped for a coffee mid-shop to keep us going although Ethan ended the trip empty handed. He's not too excited by shopping for clothes and is quite tricky to buy for. I'd hoped to be able to point him in the right direction but it was not to be today.

I did get asked twice today while we were out and about if I was a Disney fan; I think the themed trainers, jacket, t-shirt, earrings and handbag may have been a bit of a give-away. I was even able to hand out a business card for the Disney Dream Girls podcast!

Back home and it was an afternoon of sorting stuff out along with sitting in the sunshine with a coffee. I'd got solicitors paperwork to go through and needed to get together some more bits and pieces to take into their office next week. Not very exciting but necessary.

And so there ends this Saturday, see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 779

Day 779...

Well this is going to be a very short and quick post as it is rather late in the day to be writing this.

But suffice to say it was another full day in work as I provided cover for a member of staff who is off at the moment whilst also assisting our new admin clerk as she takes over some of my tasks.

On the way home I dropped by to see one of my best friends as today was her birthday. A quick chance to say hello, drop off a pressie and have a little catch-up with her and her hubby.

Arriving home it was time to grab a coffee and set-up my laptop for podcast recording. Michelle and I spent about 45 minutes catching up and recording a Disney Dream Girls show ready for release this weekend where we chatted about the Disney Cruise Line and restaurants at Disneyland Paris.

And then after a dinner of keto pizza my brother dropped by to go over some papers in connection with my dads estate. We are finally able to get things moving with winding things up and moving forward.

And with that I will see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 778

Day 778...

After yesterday's Star Wars Day it meant that today was, of course, Revenge of the Fifth (aka Sith!).

But whatever the day it was another full and busy day in work for me. I spent the day covering for a member of staff who is off at the moment and so have found myself back in full working mode after a few weeks where I had started to take a step back in readiness for finishing at the end of the month.

The trip home involved a quick detour to our local Lidl to pick up some fresh essentials before arriving home to a freshly brewed coffee and a couple of letters from the solicitors. Finally things are starting to move forwards with the winding up of my dads estate and while it is still slow going it was good to get some official paperwork through!

I then had to go and rescue a parcel that had been mis-delivered. The wonderful company that is now called Evri (previously Hermes) are living up to their reputation of being ever so unreliable! Thankfully this parcel was addressed correctly and it just so happened that the house it was delivered to recognised my surname. Although the house is across the main road from where we live the person that now lives there had children that went to the same school as my children and we had been acquainted over the years. They recognised my name and reached out via Facebook! Had they not have done that then goodness knows what would have happened to my parcel!

By the end of the day we had time for a quick gym session before settling down for the evening.

See you tomorrow,
xx