Nice things. edit. in Hello.

I've put on a lot of weight recently. I got complacent about my portion sizes, ate a shed load of crap and stopped going out walking because of work. As a consequence, none of my summer clothes fit me, boo. At the moment I'm wearing a short jumper dress, but that's fairly sheer so I'm having to wear a t shirt under it anyway. Hurry up and lose the flub! I can't go out walking in this get up, I'll scare the world!

I find it easier to diet when it's hot. I don't want to eat stodge or heavy carbs and I seem to go right off chocolate. This is a good thing. I like drinking fizzy water and eating vegetables and fish in this weather. I'm in the process of trying to recreate a wild rice salad I keep buying from Booths. Obviously it won't be identical because in have no idea what's in it, but wild rice, puy lentils and a bit of mango can't go horribly wrong, I'm sure.

I don't know how, but the way the work rota has been done, means I'm off work for the entire week. If the weather stays like this, I can be out every day. I don't need to even go on the bus, a five minute yomp and I'm out in the countryside. I'm going to try and aim for a 5-7 mile walk or cycle ride three or four times a week. The glorious countryside is more than enough incentive for me!

I finish work officially on July 7th. To say I'm looking forward to it is an understatement. The mere thought of me leaving has made me feel freer somehow. Whereas before I'd think "I'll do that chore tomorrow, today I'm going to have a well deserved day off..." now I'm thinking "I can sit on my arse later, I can relax once that job is out of the way." It's a good feeling and it's made me want to tackle the big jobs that need doing, like repainting the girls' bedroom. But that's one not to be taken lightly....their room really is like the pits of hell right now. I've told them once it's done, we'll tie dye some curtains and duvet covers for their room. They shot off to make a start, then just sat there screaming at each other for a couple of hours. I think drastic measures are called for. I shall tackle it with a roll of black bags at some point this week. But I can see it now: "mum, where's that tiny black stone I've saved for 7 years? You've thrown it away?! But Jake gave me that when I carried his bag for him once!"

-sigh-

I've found that, since I handed in my notice, my boss and I are opening up a lot more to each other. We've always got on since the start, but it's like she's become less of a boss and more like a friend that I work with. I think we've found out more about each other in the past week than we ever have in the 8 months I've been there! Plus I've had volunteers pop in to tell me they're sad I'm going, which is really nice. :)

Not one person has had anything negative to say about my decision. My mam gave me the "think carefully before you make any rash decisions" speech, and both my parents had a hard time understanding that I was giving up paid work to do voluntary work, but after a think my mam said "I suppose you have to do what makes you happy!" I'd hate to be stuck in a mediocre job for the rest of my life, just because it was paid. I've never earned much more than minimum wage anyway, it's about time I did something for me.

Edit: What I've got to remember, and I don't always, is that I moved back up to the Lakes because I wanted to spend more time exploring the scenery and to get a job that would befit my degree. When I first took on the job at the EWM, it was in order that we'd have some money coming in when we first moved up and we wouldn't have any problems renting a house. We're here now and John is working, puts I've had his blessing to pack in my job. I don't know to whom or why I'm trying to justify what I'm doing!

We've been planning our family holiday. John's keen on going to Scotland again, this time to see his step sister, Jessica. She lives with her husband and two kids on a tiny island off the west coast. It looks beautiful, plus she's not far from the ferry terminal for Mull, which we were planning on maybe visiting for a day out. Eleanor (and secretly Bel!) is excited about seeing Tobermory, so she can see where the characters in kid's tv show Balamory really live.

If anyone knows the area around Oban at all, any ideas of what to do and visit would be fab. :)