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February In Review
Mar. 2nd, 2016 09:59 pmIt's fair to say that the determination with which I entered the year somewhat ebbed away from me in February. That's not to say it was a bust, but certainly I haven't achieved as much in the second month of 2016 as I did in the first.
Weight - My weightloss has started to plateau although I did manage to lose another 2kg over the course of the month, bringing my total weight down to the lowest it has been since 2008. However, there have been quite a few challenges, not least my working week in London where alcohol and meals out were plenty. Last week wasn't particularly good either as what with comedy shows and friends visiting, I ended up having five meals out in the space of eight days. Despite this, however, I did manage to keep my gym attendance up to three days a week and my Fitbit is still pushing me regarding the walking. I always walk the distance between work and the city centre unless the weather is inclement and on non-gym days, this sees me hit around 8,000 steps, 2,000 steps short of my 10,000 daily target. Due to my competitive nature with numbers, I have been going out and making up the deficit of an evening so the Fitbit is definitely working. Unfortunately, over the last week I have had syncing issues and this has curbed my enthusiasm somewhat, although I am hoping these annoying technical problems will be resolved soon. The first half of March should be reasonably okay regarding weight loss but the second half looks tricky, with two friends' birthdays and the Pudsey Beer Festival to contend with.
Attic - The attic has been the other major development over the course of the last month, with the radiator and plumbing now installed and the painting completely done. All we need to do now is put the flooring down and the skirting board in and we should be done. I am really looking forward to completing this as the house has been a DIY nightmare for the best part of seven months and it would be great to revert back to normality. It will also be great having our storage back, not to mention a personalised playspace upstairs. The lack of sex as a result of all this has been most frustrating.
Guitar - One thing that has suffered in February has been the guitar but I am hoping to pick this up again this month. Indeed, I have done no guitar work whatsoever, largely due to attic priorities, but I am heading home this weekend and will pick up my own axe from my father's place, which at least will mean I can practice regularly from next week without the need for Stray and Luna to bring their spare guitar over.
Languages - My German has been plodding on, with my daily streak on Duolingo now at 174 days. I do feel I am not retaining much vocabulary though and I should probably start going through my book of notes learning some more words. I should also start picking up French and Russian again ahead of some big trips planned later in the year.
In general, my mental state has been erratic, largely due to the looming EU Referendum. However, with the date now known, I have felt more relaxed, although the weekend when everything was announced was quite tough. I have decided not to worry about it until the middle of May, when the first televised debate will take place, as I doubt much will change between now and then, while I can't let one pending event dominate my mental state. There are other priorities in my life after all. One of these, which the Referendum will impact, is work and although this has become increasingly frustrating as the year has gone on, I am still optimistic of a positive year ahead. Aside from this, everything socially has largely been as you were, although there could be some family issues in the offing which don't bode well. I'll find out more about this when I go home for Mother's Day this weekend.
Weight - My weightloss has started to plateau although I did manage to lose another 2kg over the course of the month, bringing my total weight down to the lowest it has been since 2008. However, there have been quite a few challenges, not least my working week in London where alcohol and meals out were plenty. Last week wasn't particularly good either as what with comedy shows and friends visiting, I ended up having five meals out in the space of eight days. Despite this, however, I did manage to keep my gym attendance up to three days a week and my Fitbit is still pushing me regarding the walking. I always walk the distance between work and the city centre unless the weather is inclement and on non-gym days, this sees me hit around 8,000 steps, 2,000 steps short of my 10,000 daily target. Due to my competitive nature with numbers, I have been going out and making up the deficit of an evening so the Fitbit is definitely working. Unfortunately, over the last week I have had syncing issues and this has curbed my enthusiasm somewhat, although I am hoping these annoying technical problems will be resolved soon. The first half of March should be reasonably okay regarding weight loss but the second half looks tricky, with two friends' birthdays and the Pudsey Beer Festival to contend with.
Attic - The attic has been the other major development over the course of the last month, with the radiator and plumbing now installed and the painting completely done. All we need to do now is put the flooring down and the skirting board in and we should be done. I am really looking forward to completing this as the house has been a DIY nightmare for the best part of seven months and it would be great to revert back to normality. It will also be great having our storage back, not to mention a personalised playspace upstairs. The lack of sex as a result of all this has been most frustrating.
Guitar - One thing that has suffered in February has been the guitar but I am hoping to pick this up again this month. Indeed, I have done no guitar work whatsoever, largely due to attic priorities, but I am heading home this weekend and will pick up my own axe from my father's place, which at least will mean I can practice regularly from next week without the need for Stray and Luna to bring their spare guitar over.
Languages - My German has been plodding on, with my daily streak on Duolingo now at 174 days. I do feel I am not retaining much vocabulary though and I should probably start going through my book of notes learning some more words. I should also start picking up French and Russian again ahead of some big trips planned later in the year.
In general, my mental state has been erratic, largely due to the looming EU Referendum. However, with the date now known, I have felt more relaxed, although the weekend when everything was announced was quite tough. I have decided not to worry about it until the middle of May, when the first televised debate will take place, as I doubt much will change between now and then, while I can't let one pending event dominate my mental state. There are other priorities in my life after all. One of these, which the Referendum will impact, is work and although this has become increasingly frustrating as the year has gone on, I am still optimistic of a positive year ahead. Aside from this, everything socially has largely been as you were, although there could be some family issues in the offing which don't bode well. I'll find out more about this when I go home for Mother's Day this weekend.
