30/1/24

Im not doing great with sleep and clock around 5 hours last night. I get the bear ready and drop her off to her minder.

London is busy as usual. I used to get the tube at 6am to be in work by 7ish pre covid as the man worked for a crowd who were ok with flexibility. Many books were read on my commute then. These days I am usually wedged under someone’s armpit.

As you can tell I’m not in good humour. Work is strangely quiet- it’s the prep before the storm! I head to Waitrose for lunch. Sushi and miso soup.

I head back for the bear, rinse and repeat. The bear had a long day tomorrow so I get her to bed by 8pm and she is fast asleep. I used to put baby Bear to bed at 7pm until about lockdown time and then its just been getting later with age. We enjoy her company and miss her during the day. I suspect she feels the same way too but I must try better to get her sleeping earlier.

I make a spare batch of pasta for school and watch two episodes of the recent Dr Mosley show on telly.

29/1/23

Happy Monday. I clock about 5 hours sleep and zombie walk to the bathroom!

Great news, our childminder is back from her break. We get ready and I drop the Bear off to her.

I make my way into London. It is a grey morning, rather uninspiring for a Monday.

Mondays usually mean catching up on late Friday and weekend emails, and planning for the week ahead. I call my dad and learn of the death of a relative. It turns into a sad day.

I head back home late afternoon and collect the Bear at 4.30pm. She has 4 pages of homework to complete.

Neither fancied lasagna so we order a vegetarian Indian takeaway. The Bear is happy tucking into her idly, paneer and roti. That makes me happy.

We potter around and call it a night at 10pm.

28/1/24

I woke up feeling stiff and not in form for Pilates. We made overnight oats last night so the bear was keen to try hers. Thumbs up all around.

I wanted to see One Life in the cinema and there was an early screening. The Bear and I stock up on popcorn after we got our tickets and took our seats. It is a very sad movie and I suspect there was not a single dry eye in the room. Has the world not learned anything since then?

We got the tube back home, stopped at Sainsbury’s to buy some tea and walked back home. It was a lovely afternoon.

Once home I make dinner. Ayam masak merah, a chicken dish cooked in spicy tomato sauce. I used an instant sauce, the last packet in my pantry. I serve it either coconut and turmeric rice, boiled eggs and sliced cucumber. Really delicious.

We sorted out chores and whilst really tired, I couldn’t fall asleep until past midnight.

27/1/24

I sleep in until 7.30am. Its lovely not to have to be up early. Ocado comes at 9am. I make us a cooked breakfast of veggie sausages, potatoes and mushrooms, beans and tomatoes. It goes down well and I end up drinking two coffees and a tea!

We skip swimming as it is around 5 degrees outside. There is a lot of tidying up to do.

I drive the bear to her lamda class and realise once we walk up to the hall that an email was sent around about venue change just got today! It’s a hassle to walk back to the car so we walk for 15 minutes guided by Google maps to the other hall. We are 20 minutes late but then someone else comes after!

I ring the man to come pick me up as it is cold and I don’t have it in me to walk another 15 minutes (this is after a whole morning of tidying up). The man comes for me and we wait for the bear. He drops us back to my car and meet back in town for a quick coffee and sandwich.

We get back home and I pop a lasagne into the oven. It is time for mass and the bear and I make my way into the village. It is s lovely service.

We stop at M&S for dessert thereafter. Once home we eat the lasagna. My main mission for the evening is to get my CGT return done.

We stay up chatting before calling it a night.

26/1/24

Happy Friday. Boy I’m tired. I arrived at work just before 9am and there is one other colleague in. He is shattered too. We work too hard!

The boss comes in and we hardly speak. I head to Waitrose with another colleague who came in later. I bought a pastry and miso soup for lunch.

The boss leaves at lunchtime and I make my way home at 2.30pm. I get back just before 4pm and dial in to a call with the lawyers.

Just before 5pm, I collect the Bear. We head home and catch up on her day.

Dinner is salmon either oyster sauce and ginger, mixed vegetables and an omelette served with rice. It’s a home style Asian dinner. No one is a fan of salmon but we make a decent effort.

I am so tired, bed at 10pm.