Half term done!!

Well half term has come and gone in a flash!

Jeff ripped up the old carpet on Saturday.

I then sanded and washed it all down, ready for painting. 

2 coats of undercoat before 2 coats of topcoat!!

Most of the week has been spent decorating!! 

I used to love decorating but alas, no longer do!! Don't get me wrong, the end result is lovely but......the actual decorating bit is just tedious! This small bit took 4 days, 4 coats of paint and was expensive to do!! Still, it's done now! The carpet doesn't get fitted for another week, gives the paint time to harden off. As paint is so expensive, and because there is a reasonable amount left, I need to keep the motivation going and re-paint the woodwork in the bathroom upstairs, which is scuffed and marked and maybe use it to do the coat cupboard door. Then there's the kitchen doorway surrounds and the actual doors, in fact all the woodwork in the house needs doing, plus new doors, and really the whole house just needs to be repainted and refreshed!! Will just park that for another day!!

We took a break from painting on Thursday, to go up to Cardiff to meet up with Sophie and Sam. Had a catch up brunch over at Llanishen Reservoir, before viewing 3 properties with Sophie. It was a useful afternoon, continued to clarify what she wanted, what is realistically available in her price range, what work she is prepared to do and what finances are therefore needed. A standard 2 bed 'box', an upgrade from her one bed rented flat, is priced at her top budget but most are ex rented properties and are in need of a lot of love and attention, a minimum immediate 10k spend, which at the moment she doesn't have! So we chatted through all the options and I think she's feeling a little more realistic and positive about things. The right house will come along, at the right time xx

Sam was on good form. Still focused and on course to finish this summer, chunking off the last of his assignments and essays, before a final exam in the summer. He was pleased to have finally mended his bike and got back out on it, speeds everything up! And I'm just happy to see that he has finally bought and wears a helmet!! He was going to come home for the weekend but as always with Sam, his plans changed, so only Sophie came back for the weekend once she'd finished work on Friday.

She met up with her friend, whilst I finished painting and then we went to see the new Bridget Jones film in Wells on Saturday afternoon. It was BRILLIANT! I laughed and cried, loved it. I read the book years ago, 12 yrs ago to be precise!! God, that makes me feel old!! Even bought it in hardback! And it was really nice to see the cinema full. At my weekday matinees, there is normally me and about half a dozen other people. It's only £5 and if not supported it will go and then it'll be too much of a hassle to go somewhere to see a film, so really happy to see all screenings were sold out!.

The weather has been mixed this week. Very cold to start, warmed up slightly, one sunny day, but a dollop of grey, damp, bleurgh weather in the mix. When he has been able to, Jeff has been out in the garden, cutting back the ivy and annoyingly, without consultation, my Blackberry bush! I love my blackberry plant by the backdoor. Can easily pick a handful daily when in season, and still have plenty to freeze. But he's cut it back to nothing!!! I'm not impressed!! On a more positive note, the daffodils are starting to pop up and flower in the lawn and pots, and when the sun has been out, it has felt like Spring could be just around the corner.

Although today is back to cold and wet and windy. 

So not completely out of the woods yet!

I've tried my best to keep focused during half term week. It's always trickier with Jeff at home and days out and this weather has me craving carbs, but I've made good choices when I can and I've been implementing the Glucose Goddess hacks where I can. I have had more bread/carbs than I should have but I start in the gallery on Wednesday and will have four concentrated days a week, to make a real difference. I can only eat what I take in with me and as I finish at 5pm, it's straight into making tea, so no picking/grazing/snacking. The one thing I really need to do is 'move' after eating. If the weather improves, I need to go for a walk around the block after tea and make sure I do a few rounds of the gallery after I eat my lunch.

My motivation.....Italy, in just four weeks!!

So, there you have it, half term week done! 

I've swapped the heart bunting for my cheery, yellow, spring/Easter bunting and have brought out the fake Forsythia!! Cheers up the dresser and is a prod to Spring to show its self. We finally got around to booking our accommodation for Lisbon in October, just need to book up the ferries needed for this summer. Sophie and I checked in for our flights to Pisa. We are going with just the carry on 'free' under the seat luggage option and waited for check-in to be allocated seats, so saving over £100 each. It'll be our first trip with the under seat 'free' luggage option and I'm very interested to see how we manage. We're only going for 5 days, one change of accommodation, so will be a good test. So four weeks of the gallery ahead, my focused health kick and hopefully better weather!!