Farewell January, you've been grand

The boy goes back to school tomorrow after the summer holidays and to be honest, I am ready to get back into a routine.That is not because having him home from school is challenging anymore because basically he is old enough now to look after himself, if you call staying up all night playing games and sleeping all day looking after yourself. He was also away a couple of times including one stretch of two weeks where he went to Perth to stay with my relatives.

I have to say that this summer feels like it is ending, and that is despite the fact that we haven't had much hot weather at all and there is officially still a month of the season to go. I don't remember having this feeling in previous years and when I look back I think it is because I have managed to pack a fair bit into this January.

With the intention of actually doing some blogging I thought I would share some pictures from my January. We started the month off with a day at the beach, on one of the few hot days we had, and boy was it hot! That day started off with a bit of a frenzy though as I realised that I no longer have any bathers that actually fit so had to rush out and buy some. The major thing I realised on this day out was that I really did let my weight stop me from doing some things. I wouldn't have said I did if you had of asked me a year ago, but the reality was that this was the first time I had been fully into the ocean in years. I had waded in up to my knees on occasion but not strode into the waves confidently. I was a bit worried that the lily whiteness of all that skin being exposed to the sun might cause some blindness for bystanders but no one said anything.

There was time spent being a tourist in my own town. I had a friend come over and I took them to some of my favourite places, but we also went to the Shrine of Rememberance. It is a place I have seen before but never actually been to. I didn't realise that you can climb to the top of the shrine and get a 360 degree view of the city. I will definitely be going back there again. That whole weekend was awesome and I think is pretty sure to feature among my highlights for the year!

There was good food and good company including an Australia Day barbecue, farewell drinks for a friend who is moving to Perth, drinks by the river on a fine summer evening, catching up with friends, a retirement do where I go to be a lady that lunched and even some cooking for other people that I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.

There was a night at the tennis at the Australian Open

And a night of dancing. Hours of dancing to both modern music and awesome 80s pop.

There was also lots and lots of basketball in the last week of January. This is a big part of my routine for the next 8 months or so.

And there were movies, including Mockingjay, The Water Diviner and The Imitation Game, which is my favourite of the movies I have seen.

Oh, and the shopping. There was a lot of shopping!! I cleared out my wardrobe at the end of December and got rid of all my really fat clothes. Whilst I am trying to be a little controlled buying new clothes that may not fit for long, I must admit that it is really, really exciting and fun to be able to walk into a normal clothes shop and find things that fit and look good. In the last ten days I have bought 2 dresses, 4 tops, a pair of jeans, a pair of leggings, a ring, a set of bangles, shoes, earrings and a handbag. I am becoming a lady who likes to shop, which is something I would never have said about myself.

What you won't notice in here is any mention of books, and that is because I haven't actually finished a book this month. Not even one.  Shocking, but true. I am, however, really enjoying the going out and living life! I feel as though I have a lot more capacity to enjoy life at the moment. It is an unexpected bonus of losing so much weight. I always went out and did things but not like I did this month. Long may it continue.