What a nice surprise, it’s 66 degrees outside with low humidity. It finally feels like fall and the windows are open! I love the fresh air, though it won’t last long, we’re back in the 80s tomorrow.

@steph1498 thank you

@ashleycarole86 thank you so much!

@micki48 thank you so much, so nice of you! Yes, we definitely can do anything! Congrats on hitting onederland again, so close to 196! Really glad that you are enjoying Pilates too

@jugar thank you! I actually just lost 2.5 lbs this week, rest was the bloat and water weight from my workouts and maintenance eating last week. And I did have a cheat dinner — chocolate, belgian ice cream and two Mcd Crispy chicken burgers! I am feeling sane again now lol

PW: 78.1
CW: 78.6

@micki48 those cupcakes look great. I must make the lemon ones ASAP to curb my jealousy lol.

@conleywoods I hope you enjoyed date night.

I feel urgh and I think the gain is largely related to that. Suspect that now we have some breathing room my body and mind are just like "yep, we need a break, gimme".

That said I had another great PT session this morning. This time it was a circuit with some running, battle rope, assault bike and weights; deadlift, back squat, cleans, front squat and overhead press. Similarly to last week I struggled with the weight initially on everything bar the deadlift, probably because we went straight in at 30kg, but on the subsequent sets I was moving a lot better. I noticed such a difference on the runs afterwards too, and it's like my body goes "oh this again? no problem" but I take a while to rebuild my confidence.

My day started at 5.15am and I didn't sleep well, so I was channelling my inner zombie until we started training which woke me right up. Got home about 7.20am, fed the cats, did a couple of tidying up bits, and then spent the next HOUR prepping the pork stew for the slow cooker, meaning I had to have a rushed 3 minute shower before a 9am meeting, with further time pressure added by an unsettled stomach. And yep, I technically start work at 8.30am lol. I don't know about everyone else, but I find you can usually take the prep time in a recipe and double it. I've ended up splitting the stew into two 4-serving batches as it didn't look like everything would fit in the slow cooker, but I've prepped the lot so that's time saved for tomorrow. It smells really nice every time I go near the kitchen and I'm not sure whether it's the smells or being unwell that's making me super hungry.

I'm not going to push the doing-stuff for the rest of today with the exception of making those cupcakes tonight if the eggs won't keep, need to check the date. It'd be nice to plough through and get things done, but I'm conscious that if I don't rest up this week, I risk being properly ill next week when we're off work. Listening to my body when it wants rest is often something I struggle with.

Almost on to Tuesday. Managed to get my steps over 9k, did 15 minutes of booty Pilates. Had my family here most of the day and for dinner. My food is logged and under but about 1,600 calories. Need to get it back down a couple hundred calories.

@conleywoods I love the baby mouse in a crib story. So cute and wild too. Makes me think Stewart Little may have been around or The Littles Family.

Thanks for the compliments on the cupcakes. They were very delicious, so I have been busy giving them to family and two neighbors. I’m done. Not eating anymore.

@ashleycarole86 Glad you found another great hike. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be.

Hope everyone is having a good week. We finally had some chilly weather. 😀

@Terytha hope you are doing ok. Thinking of you.

Congratulations @ashleycarole86 and Bowens1973 - I hope you enjoy your special meal and maybe a celebratory hike

Had a quieter evening last night; mostly PC-admin rather than moving around. The UK has lost a few energy suppliers and unfortunately ours is one of the ones that has gone bust. Found out last night who we're moving to, and the electricity cost now will almost be the same as gas and electric combined with our now-ex supplier. This does not bode too well for our budget, but it's completely out of our control and we don't have any good options. Between that and OH's impending job change, I'm reprioritising and streamlining our budget.

I did put the second batch of stew in the slow cooker overnight so that was done (maybe slightly overdone at the top edges...) this morning. I think options for a slow cooker with a delayed start are limited, but it's unusual to not be able to run it during the day so not normally an issue. We plan to replace the slow cooker and air fryer with a Ninja Foodie eventually, and the current models don't have a delay function.

No plans for any decluttering tonight because we're going to see Riverdance. I am very excited. I've loved Irish dancing since I was a little girl, and practically wore out Granny's Lord of the Dance VHS lol.