January Blues?

January blues anyone?

Snap.  I have no money – zero, zilch, nada – and am dealing with my post-festive back fat.  However, I am enjoying the crisp sunny days and the fact that the nights are drawing in late enough for me to see the sun after work…when there is sun.

I don’t “do” resolutions but I am trying to get into some good habits this year, as they seemed to have slipped during 2021:

• I’ve managed a few lunchtime walks, to refresh my brain and body
• I’ve ordered 2 lots of Hello Fresh (I love a discount to draw me back in) in an effort to eat more veg
• I am reading almost every night, as part of my sleep routine
• I keep a gratitude journal
• I’m moisturising after (almost) every shower to get rid of my scaly Winter skin
• I have started to drink ginger and lemon, including this in my 2 litres of water per day, which must have some positive effect on my gut health (I might be making this up)
• I am back to watching This Is Us – I put off watching it for so long, because it is an emotional rollercoaster, and if I watch it, it means there will come a time when the series will be over. But it really is true brilliance!
• I am endeavouring to complete the daily dance steps as per BBC1 Morning Live. Mild exercise, but also a great way to keep warm!  By the end of the week I will be able to do the Charlston.

Now, things that haven’t worked out quite so well:

• Darren is NOT up for meat-free Mondays
• I rarely manage to stay under 2000 calories-a-day
• I am rubbish at getting up earlier to stretch and read something positive/motivational

But hey, the positives outweigh the negatives, so I’m taking that.

Although life is semi-normal, I don’t really tend to go out much, and evenings are getting a bit “samey” (despite the gourmet meals I’m providing and the epic TV series we are binge-watching), so a couple of Fridays ago I suggested we take a walk to the pub.

Our closest pub is about a 20 minute walk away through the woods (even if we went the road way, there is no street lighting).  We left home about 5pm and it was already getting quite dark.  Despite the cold weather, I can’t cope with having too many layers, because I get hot within about 5 minutes.  So it was a simple top, coat, bobble hat and gloves combo for me.  Whereas Darren layered up with thermals, long-sleeved top, hoody and coat (how he manages to work outside is beyond me) and off we went.

It was very refreshing to hear the leaves crunch and smell the woody aroma of the trailway, mixed with the smoke of wood burners.  We could see our breath in the dim light and it felt really good to be out.  We didn’t pass a soul and the pub was very quiet, which suited us, and 2 gins later I felt cosy and merry and ready for a wander home.  I also felt the walk justified the calorie intake.

*****

Darren is going to be 50 this year and neither of us can quite believe it (obviously his boyish good looks help) and we don’t actually feel like we’re old enough to be actual grown-ups.  I finally understand what my parents meant when they used to say “our bodies are getting older, but we still feel young inside”.

Boy, do I get that.  I hear all kinds of creaking and “popping” noises when I twist, turn or stand up (or bend down, lie down, walk….).  HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?  And why do I still get spots?  I am in my forties for goodness sake.  Seriously, you gotta give me something if you’re taking away my natural collagen and adding inches to my waist.

It doesn’t help that I am addicted to sugar.  The other day we had banana Angel Delight (retro) with mini foam banana sweets on top.  Bloody delicious.  FYI you can also buy giant foam bananas and shrimps (although why are they sold together?  And what do the shrimps actually taste like, coz it’s not seafood?!)

AND there is now this in the world:

 

 

 

 

Darren advised me at one point, he was interested in doing the “sofa to 5000 miles” which firstly made me laugh, because he almost got it right, and secondly made me hide underneath the blanket in case he wanted me to join him…

Don’t get me wrong, I WANT to want to do these things.  Last year (or was it 2020…?) I was ON IT and actually enjoying my lunchtime exercise.  I did feel good.  But now I just feel blah, and have done since around the last day of Summer.  I have motivation (lose weight, live longer, feel better) but I’m not motivated – if that makes sense.  I am in a perpetual funk, and the only thing that will help, is for me to start doing it.

So, this morning I woke up early and went for a quick walk – 15 minutes/2000 steps – and it was flipping busy out there!  All walks (pardon the pun) of life: a woman exercising her collie; a man in his later years jogging in a high vis jacket; 1 car; a neighbour putting her bins out (in actual fact, this is the real reason I had woken up early); an elderly gentleman walking his Scottie, who nodded his head and tipped his cap to me (#countrylife) and the farm’s barn owl.  I also heard cows a-mooing, ducks a-quacking and what sounded like 2 pheasants flirting or fighting (I later discovered it was the latter, as a lone bird was skulking in the field looking sad).

As I neared the farm, a man dressed all in black walked past and we politely nodded in acknowledgement.  I suddenly thought about the chances of being kidnapped by said lone man (he was probably a very nice guy), but I figured I’m too heavy to be grabbed and dragged off.  But at least I was wearing a bright pink jumper and hat, so I would be easy to find in the woods.

Bit of a morbid vision for a Monday morning….

*****

On a lighter note, a couple of weekends ago we decided to get out into the fresh air and enjoy a day trip.   Our Sunday commenced with a lie-in (bliss) and bacon roll (yummy) and then we packed up a flask of tea and some Custard Creams.  We drove to the coast, donned our wellies and unpacked the metal detector.

I grabbed the snack backpack and Darren strapped on his “finds bag”.

And the bloody tide was in.

A fellow detectorist was making his way back to the car park and Darren politely stopped him and asked how his morning had gone.  It was nice seeing them chat about their hobby, and I noticed a few similarities between them, which made me smile.  Then Mr Detector’s wife walked up to us and and I just stood and stared at her.  It was like looking in a mirror in 20 years: she had the same Birkenstocks as me, a long blue coat, jeans and pink top, blue eyes and blonde hair!  She also looked really fed up, as it turns out she had been waiting for her other half for about twenty minutes.  Is this a sign of things to come?

The waves were crashing against the shore, families daring each other to get close, kids squealing with laughter as they ran away from the foamy seawater chasing them.  There was a dog barking at the waves and playing the same game, the waves at least thirty times larger than the brave little canine.

It was very cold and everyone had thick coats, bobble hats and rosy cheeks.   What a perfect January day!  I was wearing my new wellies from Christmas – teal neoprene ankle boots – and enjoyed stomping over the shingle to get to the beige sand.  I took a few snaps of the cliffs, framed by the atmospheric sky, and of Darren combing the area.                         

I must have been drawn in by sirens, because the next thing I knew, the water was lapping over my toes as I took shots of the white crests forming.  Then an incoming wave crashed around me and I could feel the cold seeping into my jeans.  I was squealing from the cold, but laughing out loud and holding my phone up above my head.

I squelched towards the rocks and emptied my shoes out on to the sand.  Everything was soaked – my feet, socks and jeans – what a state!  Without much beach to detect and with no findings as yet, we walked a little further and then decided to sit with our cuppa and biccies, watching the world go by (and people getting wet legs).

Darren managed to find a towel in the boot of the car, so I chucked my soggy jeans and socks in a bag, wrapped myself in the towel and blanket, and sat half naked with the heated seat on full power.

Life is never dull.