5 Photos / Randoms on a Friday (Gym, Walks, Shopping, Books, Lists

I guess this is my new blogging cadence - 5 random photos on a friday?

I am currently blogging from a relatively chill house, where twins are sleeping, and Ezra (8) and Lily (6) are playing some sort of den building game which seems to involve taking everything from their rooms and collecting it into a small space in the house to build new "rooms".  

The kids have an "inset day" (or 'Insect day' as Lily calls it) which means they are off school.  This morning we had some of their friends over and it was actually fine, mostly because the twins were still at nursery.  I even hoovered the house, which is a big big mess because our new cleaner is injured and not currently cleaning and I am very sad about that.

Anyways, a week of random photos is in order!

GYM

At the start of October I started a new gym "programme" where I split my workouts into Push / Pull / Legs.  It's been pretty fun and I've started actually recording my weights and that's been fun too, although I should really use some cool app rather than a forever Apple Note.  Last weekend I did legs at the gym.  I do gym once or twice a week and the other one or two are Peloton strength.  I really like this machine because I love lifting heavy things and when I don't have to lift myself I was able to leg press 160kg / 350lbs which seems like a lot! Or maybe its normal and feels like a lot.  Anyways, I figure if I ever need to lift up a car I could maybe leg press it because my lifting weights are nowhere near that high.  

It's a Sign

This building is on my walk to work and I always wondered what it was.  What is the Loss Management Group?  I imagined a group of counselors helping people work through personal losses, or maybe a warehouse of lost things, although I imagine it is probably a money thing. It seems like the Loss Management Group needed some Loss Management Support because the building is now up for sale.  Hopefully they don't sell at a loss.

Personal Style & Shopping Fails

I am an avid second-hand shopper for my kids.  Here's Ezra in secondhand trousers and a Boden jumper (which was free, the Vinted seller put it in with some other things I bought) and Lily in her Crew bee jumper and super stylish leggings (leggings were new because leggings for 6 year olds have a lifespan of 1 kid)

I am not as good at secondhand shopping for me.  I just don't have time, or things fit weird, and also we don't live in an affluent place where thrift stores have lovely things.  If I was back in my hometown (Marin County, California) I would be all about the thrifting.  

Anyways, I recently bought myself a new jumper and wore it to work on Thursday and on the way home it got a hole! I was so annoyed I had ChatGPT write an email to the store (Boden) and Boden replied immediately with a refund.  I was very impressed with the customer service, but would have been more impressed with a long lasting jumper.

Reading

I absolutely trudged through Kamila Shamsie's Best of Friends because it was for book club. Book club started in January and we have read some great books.  I got the sense going into this book club that we were going to do less book talking so as to be more inclusive to everyone as not everyone has the same taste in books.  

Book club was on a Wednesday night and we ended up not talking about the book at all (not everyone read it) and even though it was a not very good book (IMO) I feel like I probably shouldn't have spent so much time slowly reading this book over the last fee weeks.  Also I probably shouldn't have gone out on a Wednesday to not talk about the book (I was up at 5:30am on Thursday for work, that was my own bad planning).  

The reading vs. not reading might be a common book club situation/dynamic.  Maybe I need to find (or start) a second book club with a book focus.

Now I'm back to reading The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez and it's lovely.  I'm not erudite in my reading, but I do love a good bit of thematic / analytical analysis from my (book) clubbing.

List of Lists

Lily has taken to making lists and I love it.  Here is one of her many Party (Prtee) lists.  I am always here for lists and for phonetic spellings