Day 886

Day 886...

Before we headed out on our early morning walk Simon spent a little time setting up the 3D printer. He had the print from overnight to remove, which is always a bit of a tricky job, and then the next print to set going as this was going to take most of the day. 

We had a bit of a longer walk this morning managing 3.3 miles in 1 hour and 11 minutes which was a bit of a slower pace due to the picking of blackberries. I think this is the third week we have been able to pick berries when out on our walk and we filled a tub that resulted in 600g of blackberries for the freezer.

Next on the agenda was a trip out to Ikea which we did with a short stop by our local recycling centre as we had a few items that we needed to get rid of. At Ikea we purchased some new everyday cups, three new saucepans and a couple of drawer organiser inserts.

Whilst at the retail park we decided to pop into the sports store Decathlon for no other reason than to just have a look around. As it was we found a couple of 5kg bar weights that will not only work for the bar but will also work as an alternate to my dumbbells. I already use a couple of 5kg dumbbells but find them awkward to hold for a couple of exercises but these new weights are shaped like a steering wheel and will be much easier for me to move about.

New weights, working out this evening

We arrived home and it was time for our first meal of the day...our lunch/brunch or whatever we want to call it and we were both more than ready for it today. Some days the hunger just gets to you!

Then for some reason my mood was just 'off' this afternoon, I didn't know what to do with myself and so we put on some random daft TV programme. I even attempted my jigsaw but couldn't lose myself in it like I would normally. So we decided that we would head down the gym and for me it was an arm and shoulders work out tonight.

Over the course of the day Simon has had great success with not only successful 3D prints but also completing his latest piece of digital art. The only downside he discovered was that he'd painted the details on the wrong piece of his recent R2D2 prints. He'd diligently and carefully added painted detail over the course of the weekend and then this evening realised that out of the two very similar looking pieces he had printed he'd painted the wrong one. Hopefully he will be able to sand back the paint and recover both pieces; just a tad annoying as it was a very slow and precise painting process that he will now have to repeat.

And with that I will see you all tomorrow.
xx

Day 873

Day 873...

And with Simon back at work today we had our usual 1.9 mile early morning walk in just 36 minutes and it was another glorious start to the day.

My day has been relatively quiet and has been a simple sort of day. I had a quick Lidl shop to do as we needed fresh salad and a few other bits. It is so handy having a Lidl just a few minutes car drive away and I am finding that without being at work it is much easier to change the way I shop. I am no longer tied to a weekly shop where I try to get everything at once from one place but can now shop when needed and when I feel in the mood to! 

I made a point of sitting outside with my coffee to soak up some sunshine before it got too hot and I have started to re-read one of my low carb books. It's called 'Low Carb, High Fat Food Revolution' and it's an easy and informative read to understand how we got to where we are today and what we can all do to make ourselves healthier and slimmer too.

And while the day was a little cooler, and the sun had not yet reached the window where my jigsaw resides in front of, I decided to take a few minutes before lunch to get some pieces into place. 

Our lunch was a little later today as Simon is very busy with work. They have a deadline looming and so it's a case of everyone working as many hours as they can over the next few weeks. This does mean that our plans for this coming weekend may not happen and at the most optimistic are 'on hold'.

Over the course of the afternoon I was able to get a little cleaning done, a few more jigsaw pieces moved around and some online searching for canisters for storing our tea & coffee. An easy task you would think but who knew it could be so boring and that there would be so little choice! I had to walk away as my eyes were beginning to cross and so instead I headed down the gym!

My workout tonight was focused on mainly abs with a few squats thrown in, but it was a rather sweaty session and a shower was very much needed at the end of it. Although I am quite pleased to report that I had my second three minute cold shower of the day!

And with that I shall see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 867 & Day 868

Day 867...Wednesday

And the day started with another two minute and thirty second cold shower followed by our early morning walk of 1.9 miles in 36 minutes. The clouds were rather grey but there was a hint that the sun was trying to get out and my weather app told me that there was only a 13% chance of rain...suffice to say we experienced the 13%. Just as we stepped out the door it began to rain so I quickly grabbed my lightweight rain coat and Simon grabbed the umbrella. Thankfully within about ten minutes the rain had stopped and although it was a little cooler than yesterday it was actually lovely and refreshing.

First job of the day was to head out to Lidl for a little catch-up shop, all those fresh things to keep us going over the next few days.

Once back home I had a relatively quiet day. I had a few odd jobs around the house to do, a little laptop work and a little internet distraction! I have been eyeing up some Funko Pop Vinyl figures that I had seen in Forbidden Planet in Nottingham and thought I would look online to compare prices. Now I'm not normally a Funko collector, we have a few odd ones that have been received as gifts but this particular set had caught my eye. It's a set to mark the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World and involves one of my all time favourite attractions; the People Mover. There are four in the set and they feature Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Stitch each sat in their own People Mover carriage. Although it looks like the Stitch one maybe a little hard to find at a reasonable price but I think the other three should be quite reasonable. I am still in two minds but they would go rather lovely in our new study/craft room!

Mid-afternoon I hooked up with my good friend, and podcast co-host, Michelle to record an episode of the Disney Dream Girls podcast. We chatted about the new Magic Band + that has just been released in Walt Disney World as well as looking at the Halloween foodie offerings. Would you believe that Halloween starts mid-August in Walt Disney World and as Michelle will be visiting in a few days time she has booked an evening at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! While it's great that more people can get to experience Halloween Disney style I still think August is just a tad early!

I was able to make a little more progress on my latest jigsaw before we headed down our gym. This was our second weights workout of the week and it was another warm and muggy evening that just seemed to sap the strength out of you. In fact I did most of my exercises outside of the garage in attempt to feel a little cooler although it didn't give me any extra energy!

Although my second cold shower of two minutes and thirty seconds was actually quite pleasant!

Day 868...Thursday

It was a lovely morning with blue skies and clear views for miles around as we completed our usual walk of 1.9 miles in a sprightly 36 minutes, our pace has definitely improved over the last few walks.

I wasn't really sure what I had planned today but knew that I had a couple of boring online jobs so got them out of the way first thing. It was then onto the ever so exciting (sarcasm here!) ironing before I decided to defrost the freezer! I know I am just living the dream! 

Although defrosting the freezer would have been easier if I'd actually switched it off. To be fair I thought I had as we have a plug that is clearly marked 'Fridge' (it's a combined fridge and freezer) and I dutifully switched it off. What I didn't do was actually check to see if it had actually switched off, it was only part way through defrosting that I heard a noise from the fridge, opened the door and saw that the light came on. I then looked at the oven which is plugged into the same socket as the fridge and lo and behold that was off! So somehow or other we have managed to label up the wrong plug. I did start to make a little more progress with it switched off and Simon lent me his heat gun to help speed things up! But as it had been quite some time since it was last defrosted I didn't manage to get it as fully defrosted as I would have liked but as it had taken up most of the morning I decided to call it a day and attempt the remainder another day.

After a spot of lunch it was time to catch up on a few more jobs. All not very exciting just those need to get done things. I spent a few minutes chatting with one of my elderly neighbours who is a 'tour de force'. She is in her very late eighties and lives alone having been widowed 28 years ago but she is active and gets herself out and about in her car and shows no sign of letting up. She is a gleaming example of how to embrace life and carry on whatever is thrown your way.

I did manage a little more jigsaw today and was able to grab a little time outside in the sunshine with a coffee before rounding the day out with another session down our gym. Tonight it was body weight exercises with a focus on legs and tummy!

Well, I best sign off and see you all tomorrow.
xx

p.s. I even managed to get those Funko figures ordered...well all but the Stitch one so I now have a mission to track one down.

Day 861

Day 861...

We were back to a bit of a grey and overcast start to the day so we ventured out with an umbrella under our arm just in case. As it was we completed our 1.9 mile walk in 37 minutes and stayed dry the whole way round. We did comment that we are back to typical British Summer weather after the searing heat of last week!

My morning saw a few general jobs around the house get done, a trip to Lidl and a little preparation ahead of podcast recording this afternoon. As Michelle is now on her summer break (the plus side of working in education) it does mean that we can record at any point in the day rather than having to find the time at the end of a working day.

So just after lunch Michelle and I got together online to record a show for release this coming weekend as well as a show for our Patreon supporters. An hour and a half later and both shows were done; we spoke about some Disney history, looked forward to Michelle's upcoming trip to Walt Disney World as well as look at some items in the Disney news.

I then decided to have another re-organise of my kitchen. I have a lovely red Kitchen Aid mixer that sits on the counter top but very rarely gets used...baking cakes is a rarity in this house...and so I decided it needed a new place to live. I'd found space in one of the cupboards which had the knock-on effect of finding new homes for the existing inhabitants of the aforementioned cupboard. Well suffice to say two and a half hours later I had cleaned inside and out five kitchen cupboards and re-organised where all the contents lived in a vague hope that everything is in a much better and logical place!

At the end of the day I headed down our gym to complete some body weight exercises along with some light weights as well. Today I found a routine targeting the triceps and so I thought I'd give it a go...we shall see how I feel this time tomorrow! After my workout I needed a shower and so thought I would have my second cold shower of the day and my first two minute one! And it wasn't that bad!!

And that is it for this Thursday, I shall see you tomorrow.
xx

Day 728

Day 728...

Tuesday and the first working day of my week and it was a full day in work today.

Over the course of the next few weeks I am aiming to work as many hours as needed so that we can transition my role over to that of my deputy and other members of my team.

This then meant a full day of going through various bits and pieces from new starters, to funding figures, updating spreadsheets, submitting claims and more. But it was another productive day with more planned for tomorrow.

Back home, and with a coffee waiting for me, I decided to get on with a little more pre-school work as I am having a bit of a spring clean of all our online folders. A chance to go through and see exactly what we have and decide whether we still need it (I am a tad guilty of holding on to things for longer than needed!) or whether things are actually up to date and correct. I have generated lots of different documents over the years and some will only get used occasionally and therefore may not reflect current practices so these all need a little tweaking.

When Simon finished work for the day we popped out to the gym, aka our garage, for a weights workout. As a little bit of fun we have started to time how long we can sustain a 'dead hang' from the pull-up bar. Now Simon has mastered pull-ups where as me not so much...but hanging as a dead weight from the bar is something I can manage. Today Simon managed 1 minute 40 seconds and I managed 1 minute which I don't think is bad going at all. The exercise is supposed to help improve your posture, strengthen your back, shoulder and lat muscles as well as improve grip strength.

And that is Tuesday all done, so I will see you tomorrow.
xx

A Quiet Thursday

Day 393...

And we move onto a Thursday...just a few more days of my break from pre-school left before returning to work next week.

But it has been a quiet day today as I have not really had too much to do. I've done a few household chores; some ironing, dusting and laundry but nothing overtly taxing or exciting.

Molly was able to take a driving lesson this morning; her first in well over a year. She had just gotten started with learning to drive at the beginning of last year and was really taking to it when the first lockdown got in the way. When we opened up last Summer she decided to wait a while before resuming her lessons, just cautiously waiting to see how things 'pandemic' wise developed. As it was because of more lockdowns and tier systems she was never able to resume her lessons last year and has had to wait until this week to start over. She has her theory test booked for the end of May so fingers crossed she can get mobile before any more 'restrictions' come our way. I think she had a good lesson today and was pleasantly surprised that she could remember what to do!

At lunchtime Simon and I took our usual 1.9 miles, in 37 minutes, circular walk and found it was a little chillier out than we were expecting. The sunshine fooled us into thinking it was 'jumper' weather; thankfully a good walking pace warmed us up. 

I have taken a little more time for me today and have managed three more episodes of the Disney + series 'On Pointe'. Despite having next to no knowledge about ballet, and having no real interest in seeing a ballet, I am really enjoying this series. Fascinating to understand how the School of American Ballet works, how they have a style of ballet that they follow (didn't know there were styles of ballet!), the work ethic that the students have and from a very young age; very inspiring.

As Simon finished work for the day we headed down our respective 'gyms' and today marked Simon's 99th gym session at home since the first lockdown this time last year. We are lucky that we have enough space in our garage to make our own 'gym' although it has involved some strategic storage so that we can still park our car in there as well!

And that was Thursday...one more day done.

Take care.
xx

Day 127

Day 127...

The day started with a couple of work emails followed by a little online Disney research ready for recording the Disney Dream Girls podcast later this morning.

My research was to find out about anything interesting 'on this day in Disney history' and I came across two ladies who both died on the same day, but in different years, but who had both been the voice of Minnie Mouse!

It was lovely to jump online with my co-host Michelle and spend about an hour and a half chatting all things Disney. We actually recorded our usual weekly show which is released on Sunday as well as a show for our Patreon subscribers.

Although we didn't have time to go out for a walk today Simon and I did find the time after my recording session to sit and enjoy a coffee in the sunshine for a few minutes, although I could have done without the couple of wasps who seemed to think I was a good target for their attention.

The afternoon was then spent dealing with a few work emails as well as sorting some home admin tasks along with ordering myself some official Disney face masks...although they won't be with me until September! But as it becomes compulsory to wear face masks in shops as from tomorrow I am happy to have a few more to choose from in the future.

Although the policy for wearing masks comes into being tomorrow our government only released the official guidance as to where masks must be worn late this afternoon. Nothing like being prepared! I have no problem wearing a mask and are happy that clearer guidance is being brought in, if wearing a mask means we can beat this thing then I am all up for doing my part. Although reading the guidance this evening I do wonder why wearing a mask isn't compulsory inside a cinema or theater or museum as these places can be just as busy if not busier than a supermarket and people are likely to spend longer in them as well! Oh well who knows what the thinking is behind it, all I know is that if I feel like wearing a mask is a good idea I will be wearing one and sod what anyone else thinks!

The latter part of the afternoon was taken up with completing a little more of my jigsaw and heading off down the 'gym'. It just started to rain as Simon and Molly headed out so it was a good job they only had as far as the garage to go! We have now cancelled our membership to the gym that we attend as we really don't feel comfortable returning when they re-open in a couple of days time plus we have managed just fine working out at home. We were lucky enough to be able to buy a couple of pieces of equipment along with a punching bag for Molly for her kickboxing and have been able to do everything we would normally have done at the gym. But with the added bonus of not having to drive there and back, not having to drive around looking for a parking spot and not struggling to find equipment free to use, our home gym is working out just fine. And we are saving ourselves money by not paying out for monthly subscriptions too.

Take care out there, whatever you are doing, and remember to wear a mask,

xx