Settling in for the long haul

Dakota_Rose

And I’m back! That was such a nice holiday - I loved every day of it and feel so nourished from it. We did a lot of walking, exploring new places and soaking up some absolutely stunning scenery. I could move to any one of the locations in a heartbeat. That’s a dream for another lifetime I think.

We saved a lot of money for this break away, and we spent a lot but not all. We’ve come back with an £180 underspend, which I’m chuffed with. As tempted as I am to throw that straight to overpayments, I know my remaining summer budget is really tight so will keep it in the summer holiday pot to see us over the next few weeks should it be needed.

We also did a lot of eating while away and I’ve felt quite conscious of my weight gain over the week. I am still a fairly petite adult but I have the typical perimenopause tummy developing and I just don’t know how to stop it getting worse without dramatic diets or exercise regimes that I know I will fail miserably at. Being naturally small and active, I have never needed to watch what I eat. This is something of a culture shock so I need to be sensible. Reading into it, as it’s hormonal, the recommendations are shifting to a whole food diet, using weights, lots of walking, plenty of sleep and collagen. I can tick sleep off that list but little else. I love whole foods but have a sweet tooth for sure and love carbs.

I’ve seriously considered buying a walking pad for getting more steps in each day - topping up where I haven’t done enough during the day. I’m worried this is quite a fad though and about the environmental impact of buying such a large item that is destined for landfill when it reaches the end of its life. I’ve convinced myself it’s the answer to my problems but of course now I’ve typed it on here, sensible people will quite rightly tell me I just need to go for a blooming walk!

It’s good to be home and back on my diary. I hope you are all well and look forward to catching up on the diaries tomorrow 😊. I’ve finished a book so another exciting book rating will follow in the morning 😂.

Sun_Addict

Welcome home. Glad you had a wonderful time. Good idea to earmark the holiday underspend for the rest of the summer.

RhiBi

Welcome back! It sounds like the holiday was just what you needed! I’ve no idea what a walking pad is so can’t comment, I’m not going to look up what one is because I’m the sort of person that will then decide I need one in my life!!!

DancingInTheRain

Glad you enjoyed your break.

I hear you on the peri-meni weight gain, it's a shock to my system too. Having said that I bought a walking pad to use during meetings when I WFH in my last job, it's been sat under my sofa for the last 3 years 😳 might be time to get it back out!

Have a great Sunday 😃

Humdinger1

Wonderful to hear from you @Dakota_Rose! Is a walking pad something you use while seated, so you can add steps while doing something else? Love Humdinger xx

ellenvan

Walking pad would be a no from me.

One of the benefits of walking is getting out in the fresh air.

Dakota_Rose

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82096904#Comment_82096904

Hi @Humdinger1, it’s basically a small treadmill. You still need to be standing to use one. I’m being spammed with adverts for them at the moment so I need to stop engaging with the posts to clear them off my social media streams. Or better yet, stay off social media!

Dakota_Rose

Thanks for dropping in and your comments all.

I have two good MSE updates to share today, well three if you include the fact that I have NOT bought a walking pad on a whim 😂. (I also haven’t walked very much either).

1. Reward gift card finally received after jumping through hoops to get hold of it. This is from an insurance policy taken out in January. £100 😊
2. £15 sale on marketplace today, collected and paid for.
   

And on to my book review… while on holiday, I finished Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders, which I enjoyed. It was an easy read and I really quite liked the characters. Like the Thursday Murder Club books, it was far-fetched and despite the topic of murder, a comforting read. I would rate it 8.5/10. This was book 16 of my 26 reads for 2026 challenge. @Blackcats it is now safe to reveal your rating 😂. I’ve got a feeling yours might be lower than mine.

Dakota_Rose

26 books for 2026

1.You Are Here (easy read) 9/10

2. The Seven Murders of Evelyn Hardcastle (time-travelling murder mystery) 9.5/10

3. Love Untold (ending made a middling read worthwhile) 8/10

4. Way Back (engaging easy read with a farm theme and a few typos) 8.5/10

5. The Cuckoo’s Calling (first of the Strike detective novels) 8.5/10

6. Yellowface (‘too awful to look away’ page-turner) 10/10

7. A Thousand Splendid Suns (emotive, heavy but worthwhile read) 10/10

8. Before the coffee gets cold (Japanese coffee-shop time-travelling scenarios) 8/10

9. Us Three (screenplay-style friendship story) 9/10

10. The Twyford Code (a puzzle within a puzzle) 9/10

11. The Shock of the Fall (first person narrative with flashbacks - includes childhood trauma told sensitively and with humour woven throughout) 8/10

12. Guilty (lots of shock factor details, but predictable storyline) 7.5/10

13. The Falls (Scottish detective novel) 8.5/10

14. The Examiner (murder mystery told through emails and messages) 8.5/10

15. First Blood (prequel to a favourite detective series) 10/10

16. We Solve Murders (cosy murder mystery) 8.5/10

Dakota_Rose

I love waking up naturally without my alarm, especially on a Monday morning with a week off work ahead of me. Saying that, I must check in with my emails today and I will be popping into work for a morning later in the week. It’s mid-summer break so I had these things scheduled in my calendar.

We have very few plans for this week, which feels lovely. I’ll be mostly decluttering items for the car boot sale we have planned to do in a week or two. I’ve also got some (slightly) more valuable items that I’ll be listing online. Time to pay that pre-holiday clothes spend back!