July goals: Update

Hello there! I’m working from home today because the train I usually take to get to work was cancelled and with the next one it was unclear whether/when it would be stopping where I wanted to go. If I’d realised that earlier, I’d have stayed in bed longer! But never mind… this way I started work earlier than usual so I get to have extra breaks.

At the beginning of July, I posted some goals for the month. Now that it’s August, I suppose I should look back at those goals and see whether I actually achieved any of them or not. Making monthly goals is not a thing I usually do (and I won’t be making any for August… goals and birthday month don’t mix!).

• Complete the 30 day squat challenge.
  I actually did it! Okay, it ended up being more of a 33ish day challenge because I inserted a few extra rest days when my thighs went on strike and refused to even consider the number of squats I wanted to put them through that day. I see no difference in the size of my thighs, but Jan claims they feel firmer so there’s that.
• Be more careful with my money.
  Meh. Sort of. More careful than in June anyway, although I still had slightly less left at the end of the month than I would have liked to, especially sionce I assume I am going to need a lot for Taiwan!
• Lose 2kg before my brother comes.
  Well, I got half way there. Lost 1 kg before my brother came. Now I’m down to 1.5 kg lost, although it fluctuates a lot. The scales did show the weight I was aiming for once last week, but I think it was just a fluke.



Not a combination of ingredients I would have thought of myself, but utterly delicious!

• Complete the summer reading challenge.
  Those who read my last post will know that I did not, in fact, complete the challenge. I still have one book to go.
• Eat fruit.
  Wellll, I had some raspberries in a glass of spritzer, ate two whole apricots in July and also had a mago and avocado salad (amazing!) one night while my brother was here. Not quite as much as I was aiming for, bit it’s fruit so I’ll take it 😉

So, there you have it. A semi-success, I suppose. I would have liked to save more money and do better on the fruit front, but this is better than nothing.

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Dinner for one

Either I slept in an incredibly weird position last night or I’ve been exercising in my sleep. I’ve been aching all over today. Stiff neck, sore back and legs that feel like I’ve been climbing mountains. I blame the housework! Just another reason why mopping and scrubbing is best left to someone else. I’ve also been incredibly tired all day, despite the fact that I got to bed at a reasonable-ish time (11pm). I could mhave done with a quick 40 winks this afternoon. Don’t think work would have been too happy about it though.
I remember reading somewhere that Japanese businessmen do that. Sleep at work I mean. They take regular power naps throughout the day, just closing their eyes and having a brief sleep wherever they are. Sometimes they even sleep standing up. There’s a proper name for it but I can’t remember what it is. Definitely something that should be introduced over here in Europe.

I was going to meet Jan for lunch today, but apparantly he had to film a robot at 1pm, which is when I start my lunch break, so I settled for buying crispbread and random tuna sandwich paste stuff from Karstadt. Hopefully that will last me the next 2 days, meaning no more money will have to spent on lunch this week (I have Thursday and Friday off). Result!

I’m now trying to decide what to make for tea tonight. Jan’s not coming over, so it’s just me. I hate cooking when it’s just for myself. It seems so pointless and it means I have to both prepare the meal and clean up the mess afterwards with nobody to help me. *sigh* Also, food tends not to come in one person portions. I can make chilli for two but not for one (how silly would it be to use half a tin of kidney beans and half a tin or tomatoes? And where sells mince in portions that small anyway?) No wonder single people (and students) resort to pot noodle and microwave meals. But as I am trying to a) save money and b) eat healthily neither of those is an option. Maybe I’ll just chop an apple into some yoghurt. It’s healthy, cheap and there won’t be any washing up involved. 😉 (In all seriousness, I might actually go for that option if I wasn’t so hungry. As it is I’m just going to have to bite the bullet and cook something proper. All I have to do is figure out what…)