I'm back

Sorry for not posting for so long (though not sure to how many people I am apologising here). I have been on holiday in Germany to visit family. Lots has happened or is happening.

I had my last day at work end of July. It was not a bitter-sweet moment, just sweet. One of my colleagues (and only friend at work) was going on maternity leave the same day and we went out for dinner with the others from the office. To Wagamama. Was yummy food. It was a little bit weird because one of our colleagues threw a little hissy fit just before and didn't show up or say good-bye. He then basically turned into the topic of the hour which was nice since I hate being that. But when it was time to go I went with a grin. Not looking back not regretting anything. 

After the last couple of months of work I was really stressed out (part of it probably had to do with me not liking my job the other with many people being on vacation) I really needed a break. The plan was to hang out a week with bf and basically roam around England. Well, that didn't happen so I booked a last-minute flight to Germany. I was supposed to attend a family gathering with my grandmother anyway. Though I desperately tried to get out of that but ran out of excuses when the holiday fell through. So I flew to Hamburg on Saturday morning, very early, spent the day with my sister and then we drove to my parents place in the middle of nowhere. 

The next day was the family gathering. For some reason my grandma got this idea yesterday that it would be nice to have the whole family together on a day in the summer to have breakfast and lunch. I don't mind that at all and it's fun to see the family. It's just that not all of us live conveniently within an hour drive of her house. So she always ends up being mad at one person or another for *gasp* having to work, attend uni or being on holiday (in August, who would have guessed). I think it's a good 30 people she's trying to accommodate. Anyway, it was nice, good food. Of course always those aunts there that I would prefer not to see, who scored my email now and will be in contact to meet up when she's here. Urgh, wish I could have avoided that, but am not very smooth at avoiding social interactions and refusing information without being rude. So a little piece of paper was handed over with too much personal information on it. I like most of my family, I really do, but I guess everyone has this one person that they are desperately trying to avoid. My aunt is of the kind to be avoided. I guess she's not a bad person, just a very annoying one. Always asking too many questions, or making too bold of statements ('oh, you gained a LOT of weight since we've seen each other last. You having personal problems, should we talk?'). But anyway,  everything else was fine.

The rest of the week was very uneventful. We had decent weather, so we went swimming a couple of times, even went running once. Of course we had too much good food. I gorge on bread when I'm in Germany. It's just some of the best bread in the world there and so much variety. I turn into a pig at breakfast, no kidding.

The second week I went back to Hamburg with my sister, her hubby and my nephew. They were all still off work/school. I had another lovely lazy week there. They don't have internet so I was completely cut off (which was kinda nice, but I also hated it! I was missing all those lovely blogs I usually read). We went to playgrounds, played a little Wii, had some beers, rented movies, went to the Baltic Sea for a day, to Lübeck. But in general it was very relaxed. 

Really needed the break. It was so nice to be out in the countryside, see some trees, breath some fresh air. I actually did some proper weeding. Took forever. We worked on it with three people for five days 1 to 2 hours a day and there is still weeding to do. But it was nice to get the hands all dirty. Ah, the simple life. Uh, and I had tons Italian ice cream. Can't really find that in London.

But anyway, now I'm back in London. This is where the new life starts. Now that I'm back I'm supposed to prepare for university. Which I have every intention to do. Just not today.

I did prepare a bit yesterday. I paid my tuition, I ordered my first books from amazon (that I did love, and of course I added some fun stuff!!!). Today I'm supposed to look for work experience/ internships. But not really in the mood. Maybe I will dust off my Japanese textbooks and study some. That I would count as work. Too bad that I already dusted off my Gilmore Girls DVDs and have those on 'play all'. Such a guilty pleasure.

Another thing I am planning to do is live a little bit more healthy and lose some weight. Uh, how I hate to do that. But, I did go grocery shopping yesterday and only bought healthy food. First step: eliminate all temptation from the house. Done. Now I want to look up some nice recipes so I won't get bored of the food I'm eating. The only way this will work is if I don't feel like I'm forbidding myself to eat certain foods, but instead trying new healthy things and eating a variety of things. We'll see how long I can go on like that. I have tons of fruits here that I can snack on and am going to buy some nuts and dried fruits to further my selection. Also tons of tea and coffee in the house. And some yummy innocent smoothies. Love those. They can substitute for candy. Not sure what to do about chips yet. Any healthy alternatives?? Second step is exercise. I went for a run this morning! Thought I try to do that twice a week or so. It's still only 2km. But better than nothing. I thought I'd die when I started this morning but by the time I got back to the house I felt I could go on for longer. I should really look up a longer route now.

I also wanted to post more. Thinking since I am unemployed and all and not starting uni till next months I will try to blog every day for the next thirty days! Really hope I can keep all of this up. Healthy living, studying, blogging. Lots to do! But hopefully the more I do the more motivated I will get.

Sorry to bore you all with a long post. Trying to entertain myself a little bit today. A good friend (you know who you are, maybe I entertained you a bit with this while you waiting) is giving birth today. Scheduled via c-section because of possible complications. Have my fingers, toes and everything crossed that can be crossed. Very excited!!!

So let's hope you will hear from me tomorrow!