Project 365 – February

This is the second month of Project 365, which I am doing monthly! If you aren’t aware, this is a sort of blog challenge, where people write a short diary entry every day for the entire year, often with a picture. Some people post theirs weekly or daily, but I post mine Monthly! You can check out a bunch of other bloggers participating, sharing their daily lives, at the bottom of this post. February is one of my favorite months, as it’s my Birthday Month.

February 1st – Birthday Party

I swear, 2025 is the year of Birthday Parties. We went to two in January and started off February with one right at the start. But, firstly, Dann and I had a bit of a lay-in, until Robin wanted to play video games, and I got up. We finished off a Valentine’s Day Hidden Cat game, which is one of her favorite types of games, before everyone else was up for breakfast. It’s a pretty chill morning, though Robin also wanted to play Don’t be a Scaredy Bear, which is a toy we were sent for review. I do like when she gets toys out of the pile and wants to dive into them! Amelia joined us as well. Dann and I spent the afternoon out playing Pokemon as it was Gigantamax Kingler day, so we needed to take on a bunch of these battles with friends. It ended with just enough time to go to Tom and his wife’s birthday. We have known Tom for quite some time, and this party had been planned for a while, so we were very excited to be getting all dressed up and going out. The party was a house party, with lots of drinks made by Tom, bagels and scones. It was a lot of fun! I had not been to a house party in quite some time.

February 2nd – Long Sunday

Sunday was a bit of a long day! We had a lot of stuff to get done; waking up early to go out and get potting soil and groceries. I had a few more Costco plants that needed re-potting and wanted to get that done, along with the laundry catch-up and a bunch of work that had been sitting on my computer from the end of the month. Dann made one of my favorite noodle salads for lunch, and then we went out to do some last minute Gigantamax battles with Zapados – which is always a bit of a fight as only four people can go in each lobby. It was a bit of planning but we ended up getting a few done! Dann wanted to grab some bits for his board games, and then we headed home. Dann made dinner as well, beef pho, and I made a smashed cucumber salad as Dann’s friend came over for the evening to work on the board game. A day of tasks, but a fun day of tasks.

February 3rd – Max Monday

Today I had so much work to do, which is often how Monday’s go. I spent a lot of today at my desk, working through tasks and going to meetings. Dann was stuck in the same situation as his workplace is launching a massive project today or tomorrow, and they don’t really know when, so he’s been on standby. At lunchtime, Dann made marry-me-chicken, which is one of my favorites. In the evening, we met up with a bunch of friends to take on Gigantamax Moltres. I ended up getting 4 Moltres, no shinies yet, and it was a lot of fun! Dann then went to DnD and I headed home for girl dinner and to play some video games. I had a few games I needed to get reviews live for, so I caught up on that as well before Dann returned and we went to bed.

February 4th – Seeing Friends

Today was another big day of work! Dann launched a new site at his job, so that’s very exciting for him – he’s been busy writing up content. I spent the day in a few meetings and editing, which was a lot of work. It feels like this week is ramping up and moving too fast. I also had some volunteer work to do today, where I collected a bunch of materials for my youngest’s school, that they are using to create a playground. This was a lot of arranging drop offs and making sure they had what they needed. In the evening, we went out for Spotlight Hour in Pokemon Go, where Dann got a Shiny, XXL, weather boosted, hundo Dialga, which is quite a big achievement. We then picked up a friend from the train station and had a bunch of friends over for our bi-weekly Table Top night, where we played Intergalactic Plumber. The person making dessert was sick last minute, so we ended up cooking build your own ramen and churro cheesecake bars. We then dropped our friend back off at home after midnight before coming home.

February 5th – Pokemon Go, Food and Friends

Today, I woke up early and got right to work. It feels like work has been a huge part of my life lately, but it’s mainly just because we have a lot going on workwise before my birthday later this month. Dann was feeling a little rough as he didn’t sleep well, so I made chicken wings in the airfryer for lunch. I didn’t think this would turn out as well as it did, but it was fantastic! Dann and I also did a little shopping as one of our Pokemon Go friends, Husky, had his birthday the other day and was coming out to play Pokemon Go later that evening. I then had an evening call with some Americans about a project we were working on, before zipping over to Raid Hour. It was the same Pokemon as last week, which always is a little meh, but there were some Dynamax Moltres out, so we did a few of those. I got a shiny Dialga, which is nice. Afterwards, we took a friend home then went to Mui & KoKo for dinner with Ryan and Tom along with Taylor who was at Pokemon Go. Dinner was quick and we then headed to the cinema to see Companion, which was very good. Dann and I then headed home and went to bed.

February 6th – A Day In

I think we all knew we needed an ‘in’ day. There was so much for us to sort of get done and mark off, and I wasn’t feeling the best either. We don’t get sick very much in our household, either due to the vitamins we always are taking or due to the fact that we take care of ourselves, so when we feel a cold coming on, we rest up. Today I primarily just did work. We did go to do our bi-weekly Costco run, where we got steak for Kai’s breakfasts, beef jerky as his snack, drinks for the girl’s lunches, the donuts Robin really loves, and then lots of produce that Amelia finds to be fun like the multicolored tomatoes. While there, I had to have a picture with the giant Pikachu squishmallow and also have a bunch of samples! It was a restful day, but a good day.

February 7th – Giving a Talk

I woke up early and did a lot of base level work before heading off to London. I was invited to give a 3 hour long lecture at the University of Greenwich in London. This talk was all about indie games, building a brand, building a presence, and contacting press about your game. First, the head lecturer took me out for lunch at a local pie and mash shop, which had some delicious pies. I got to try liqueur – the pie topping – for the first time which was very herby. We then headed over to my lecture hall. There was very good attendance, I am told, for a friday afternoon! I was quite happy with how engaged everyone was. Afterwords, I went to a local pub for one drink, and then made the trek home. Amelia had her friend home from school, so I had pre-made dinner and Dann just needed to pop it all in the oven. When I got back, everyone had eaten dinner, and we all got to hang out before Amelia’s friend went home and we got ready for bed.

February 8th – Dog Man Movie Day

Robin has been very excited about the Dog Man Movie. We booked up tickets for the afternoon, and from the start of the day, she’s been talking about it! In the morning, she’s always the first one up, so I put on some new games we got on the Xbox and played some Hidden Cats games with her. We finished the one we were working on quite quickly, before switching to a little puzzle game, and eventually her deciding she wanted to go on VR. I made a blueberry lemon drizzle for breakfast (primarily for Amelia), and we had a bit of a slow day. Robin and Amelia and I played P For Pizza Kids Menu and a new game called Intergalactic Plumber, along with doing some arts. Kai went to the gym and then played quite a bit of Minecraft before the movie. We did stop at Smyths to grab a birthday gift for Robin’s party tomorrow, for her best friend. We all quite enjoyed Dog Man, with Robin enjoying it lots! We then went home for Katsu Curry for dinner and settling down before bed.

February 9th – Pretty Average Sunday

Robin woke up bright and early, excited for the birthday party she is going to be going to. Her and Dann played Splunky until it was time to go to her party. She had a ton of fun and came home with pizza and cupcakes. Kai started packing for his trip to Disney with his school tomorrow, making sure he had everything before hopping to the store with Dann to grab last minute stuff. Amelia and I planted some of the seeds from the Pot Gang, which was sent to us at the end of January, so said to plant in January – we have our fingers crossed for them to sprout. We planted strawberries and chives so far, with some potatoes sitting on the windowsill to sprout. We then went out to play Pokemon, with Kai staying home to play Minecraft. The girls ended up getting some milkshakes and Robin went comic book shopping too. Kai went to the gym in the late afternoon, then we headed home. Robin and I played some tabletop RPG, lead by Dann, until bedtime.

February 10th – The Longest Monday

Some of us woke up at 3:30 in the morning to see Kai off to Disney. I’m really happy he is finally going on a trip abroad, especially as his younger sister has already been to France and he’s never left the country. It’s so good for him! He had to leave so early in the morning though. Their first day is primarily just riding on the bus and ferry, but he’s been keeping in touch. He’s got my card, so it’s been fun seeing what he ends up purchasing. The first thing Kai got was a coffee! He doesn’t even drink coffee. Robin and Amelia went to school as normal, and Dann and I were all set to stay home and work for most of the day, with a bit of errand running and Pokemon Gym playing after lunch. Robin’s school had a book fair after school, so her and I dipped in. She got three books from the book fair, which was very exciting. We went up town to get some shakes and play a Dog Man board game at Geek Retreat, but Amelia got really upset due to some personal stuff, so we headed home and cancelled down going out to Max Monday. Instead, we had Girls Night, with two movies, their favorite dinner, and some special desserts.

February 11th – Amelia and Robin’s Awards

Today was a pretty normal, busy day. We woke up (Kai is still at Disney) and had breakfast before getting everyone out the door for school. Robin wanted to take her ukulele in to school, for lessons, so she was pumped about that. I had meetings and a lot of work to be done today, as Tuesdays are reserved for a specific client I work for. Last year, Amelia and I both entered a local art showcase and neither of us made it in (though Amelia got a special mention), this time Robin and Amelia entered, and both of them were picked for showcasing! So, Dann and I went to spotlight hour before going to the awards. Sadly, due to their other parent preventing them, neither Amelia or Robin were able to attend their own award ceremony. We recorded the whole thing so that Amelia could watch it back, but she really should have been there. Robin didn’t mind as much as she is so much younger, but this was extremely important to Amelia. It’s really a shame when parents, especially ones divorced for this many years, still deny their child activities just because the other parent would be there (and has arranged the entire thing).

February 12th – Early Valentine’s Day

Dann and I aren’t very into going out on Valentine’s Day. We find everything is really crowded and it’s hard to actually have a nice time. Instead, we always celebrate Valentine’s Day a few days early, midweek before, so that we avoid the rush. This allows us to have a better experience and also to have traditions we do with our children! We went to Happy Lamb to have a big hot pot. Dann and I often go to hot pot for Valentine’s Day, as it’s such a long meal with so much talking and cooking together. We had a lovely time and went back home absolutely stuffed. I then had a few work meetings, back to back, as well as Raid Hour in Pokemon Go to prep for. We went out to Raid Hour, there were no shinies this week but a big turn out! We skipped the movie as Kai was coming home from Disney and was running a bit late. After that, Dann and I went home, finished up some housework and went to bed.

February 13th – Valentine’s Day Prep

As an American living in England, I always try to find American things. England doesn’t have a bunch of heart-shaped boxes of treats or the tubes of M&Ms, but Dann and I did spend a few hours driving around to stores looking! For Valentine’s Day tomorrow, I got Kai some chapstick, cash and a cologne set, which felt very teenage boy. Amelia and Robin got some plushies, Robin got a face mask set and a bunch of nail polish. For Amelia, we got her a fun notebook and some pimple patches. I do like gathering stuff like that! We then planned the Valentine’s Day themed menu at home, before I went to pick Robin up from school. She was pumped as she had a school disco after school, which she got all dressed up for before heading out. Kai when to the gym and I got dinner ready. Robin did pick a very wrinkled dress, which I offered to iron, but she didn’t want to be bothered and just wanted to head right to the disco. After we had dinner, Amelia and I went to a Valentine’s Day themed cupcake decorating class, which we both very much enjoyed. Amelia was a little tired, but otherwise we had a fantastic day. Robin, while we were out, convinced Dann to take her shopping and got new shoes and clothing, which is very fitting for Robin.

February 14th – Valentine’s Day

I got up early to make pink pancakes, berry compote, and pack some Valentine’s Day themed lunches. Dann got me some very beautiful and fancy flowers from a local flower shop, along with a few little gifts and some chocolates. We then did a quick shop for stuff for lunch and dinner, some work, and I made sure to grab the Valentine’s Day theme and avatar on Neopets (yes, I play Neopets). Dann made really delicious spring rolls for lunch, which had pork belly. I then started making raspberry palmiers for Pokemon Go tomorrow. I like to do little treat boxes for different holidays, though the group has gotten so large it’s more like first come first serve. I wish I ordered about double the treat boxes! I picked up Robin from school, who got ready to go to gymnastics. Kai went off to the gym and we picked up one of Amelia’s friends to have over for dinner. I made some special heart-shaped burger patties for all of the kids, which was well loved. There were lots of video games played, Robin worked on her half-term project, and Kai hung out playing video games before bed.

February 15th – Art Gallery Open

The public opening of the art gallery that has Amelia and Robin’s work in it is opening today, so we invited their uncle, grandmother, aunt, and all went to see the art! I am so glad the girls did end up seeing themselves exhibition – it’s such an amazing achievement, especially at their ages. We had a nice time walking around and noting down which art had already been sold. As this was the first public opening day, it started to really fill up! Dann made lunch today as well, Amelia had a little Glanentine’s Day party she went too, and we did a bunch of raids for Hoopa Unbound. There were a ton of us out, and I even got a hundo. We then headed home to get warm and have some food, along with doing boring things like cleaning.

February 16th – Task full Sunday

I woke up early and was still in a treat-making mood, so I made some Oreo truffles for some of the Pokemon Go friends that are heading out to do Shadow Raids with Dann and I. We have a bunch of deep cleaning to do today and tomorrow, which started off sort of early as I had hired some people to come and power was the front of our house. The outside of our home has steps and some cement that has grown moss, so I hired a local company to come out and remove it all as it seemed like too big of a job for Dann and I. Dann has rented a shop vac, which we do every two months, to refresh our carpets. As a family with kids and cats, and an individual that doesn’t like things to be very dirty, When the house is surface level clean for a few days in a row, I tend to want to start doing deep cleaning. We ate a bunch of leftovers for lunch, cleaning the fridge out as well, and went out Shadow Raiding all around town. Then, Dann and I wanted to go out on a little couple date, so we went to Battersea Power Station to see their light display, which we tend to go to every year. This year the showcase was a little hard to follow, due to the lack of a big map, but we really enjoyed the Yarn Ball and the person holding buildings – however, the indoor light pieces did look very average compared to others in a mall! We then headed home and went to bed after playing some video games.

February 17th – Another Monday

Our household is in a real cleaning funk. The weather is mild, there is plenty of hours to open our windows, and we are in full cleaning mode. We’ve got the carpets all looking clean today, ran some stuff to the tip, cleaned the axolotl tank, and organized the children’s rooms. I actually woke up with burns on one of my feet, due to a hot water bottle that I put into bed (I had no idea you could burn yourself on them!), but that hasn’t slowed me down. It’s been a full on work day as well, with a bunch of writing to do and meetings to attend. I started working with a new company the other week and this week is a heavy meeting week for them, which has been a little intense time-wise, but it’s always good to have more work to do. Dann and I are going to the spa tomorrow for a little two-day away for my birthday, which I am overly excited about and have been thinking about all day. After lunchtime today, I went up to the middle of the town to interview a Pokemon Go player for an article. We had some pizza fries which were delicious. In the evening, Dann’s going to DnD and I am going to Max Monday to catch some Dynamax Pidoves in Pokemon Go. I ended up getting a hundo Dynamax Pidove, which is everything I could have asked for. I went home, had some leftovers for dinner, and headed to bed.

February 18th – Day at the Spa

For my birthday, Dann booked an overnight stay at the Luton Hoo Hotel, which is a beautiful manor, with tons of land to walk around, a great-sized spa, and a bunch of treatments. I woke up at my normal morning time, did all of my normal dailies and work, and then we headed off after lunch. It’s not too far at all from ours, so when we got there we checked into our massive room and settled in before going to the spa. I really enjoyed the hot sauna and the vitality pool, before Dann and I went for treatments. I got an hour long back massage, facial, and head massage. It was extremely relaxing and left my skin feeling great. We then went back to the sauna for a bit before going to our room to get ready for dinner. We had dinner on the property quite late at 8 pm, and then took a little walk around the grounds, before retiring for the night to our room.

February 19th – Home time

We woke up today feeling quite refreshed, before heading down to the mansion for breakfast. They had a fantastic breakfast buffet! We then took a big walk around the grounds, seeing a bunch of animals. There were peacocks, cranes and muntjacs. We spent some time really exploring and seeing all of the area, before checking out and heading back into the real world. Dann and I got back at noon, where I then jumped into a bunch of work before going out for Raid Hour this evening. I got all the pins ready and this raid hour was one where we collect donations for our local food bank. It’s was a two-Pokemon raid hour, which is often popular, so we got a lot of fantastic donations. Dann then had a friend around for dinner, he made a bunch of asian food, and then we met up with Tom for a film. We saw Heart Eyes which was very gorey! Then, headed home.

February 20th – Activities!

We all got up early and Kai went straight to the gym. Our kids have done absolutely nothing all half term, so we wanted to change that. After settling in at home, getting some of their homework done, playing some Crossy Road Castle with Robin, we had lunch and then headed out to Lakeside to see their little festival. We went on a bunch of the rides, with Robin and Amelia both loving the Circus Levels and Kai enjoying the Waltz. I think there is something so fun about going to these little circuses! We then went to Costco, as Robin had been asking for some reason, and had a bunch of samples plus got Kai’s weekly steak order and his other protein items. When we came home, Amelia, Robin and I did some drawing and coloring, before Robin found her roller skates. She then proceeded to spend the rest of the evening skating around. I made dinner, we ate, we played some video games after dinner then all went to bed.

February 21st – My Birthday Day

It’s a very busy day, as I woke up early to go to EUIC, which is a massive Pokemon Tournament. I have a press pass to this, so I also got the chance to do a Pokemon Centre walk through at 7:30 am, over an hour before it opens, when everything’s restocked. So, while everyone was sleeping, I went into London! Getting to explore the Pokemon Centre ahead of opening was so much fun, then I went into the venue itself. I got to meet up with friends, play lots of Pokemon, spend quite a bit of time taking pictures and gathering stuff for an article, it was really, really quite fun. Just after lunch, I headed out to meet Dann and our kids at the Twist Museum, as we have been exploring all of the museums of optical illusions. When I arrived, we all got settled in. The Twist Museum was a bit crowded, they didn’t seem to pace people like others we had been too, so after two rooms Kai developed a headache and was pretty done with the place. The girls really enjoyed it though, and we continued through at a normal pace until we were done and headed back home. By the time Kai got home, he was feeling better, so we did Birthday Celebrations, had dinner, and then played some games until bedtime, with Robin skating around the entire house the whole time.

February 22nd – Alton Towers Pirate Takeover

We always go to Alton Towers for Pirate Takeover. I woke up early, prepped lunch, and we headed off after breakfast. Alton Towers is a bit of a drive, so we eat lunch in the car and head right to the park. Their takeover event is quite fun; there are new activities each year and this year there was a new roller coaster that was so much fun to go on! After an entire day of pirating, we checked in to our hotel, which was Splash Landing at the park. We went for the Ice Cave room, which Robin found to be the best thing ever. For dinner, we went to TGI Fridays, where they sang to me, before heading back to the hotel to sleep. I was exhausted and ready to get to bed.

February 23rd – Splash Landings

Myself and Robin woke up quite early at Splash Landings, with everyone following a bit later. We had breakfast buffet at our hotel, looking out at the water park. After packing up our stuff, chucking it into the car, we went to Splash Landing Water Park and waited for the gate to drop. Our family was the first one in! We spent the entire day there, going on the lazy river, the outdoor and indoor slides, and being splashed by the dump bucket. It’s one of those things that never gets boring, though we were all very much raisins when we left after nearly 6 hours! We ate lunch there at midday, and waited until many of the rides were shutting before we headed off to a Cuban restaurant that Dann picked out. It had delicious food and a live band. We then headed home, where I unpacked and cleaned up our stuff with Dann before going to bed.

February 24th – Off to give a talk

I was invited to give a talk at Winchester School of Arts on video games, which meant a very early start. I packed up the kids bags, made their (and my lunch), before heading right off at 6 am to catch some trains. It was a lot of trains, not going to lie, but I made it there with time to spare. My talk went well and then I headed back on the trains to make it to Robin’s school for pickup. I ended up getting caught in a big rain storm, but the sky was blue and sunny by the time Robin got out of school. We all went to Geek Retreat where Kai started his first DnD and we al played the Dog Man game we tried to play last girls night but were unable to due to Amelia getting upset during her phonecall. This time, we played the whole game a few times before heading home. I made dinner, we ate it, then we headed out to Raid Hour. Every day this week there is a Raid Hour in Pokemon Go. As this was the event most near my birthday, I brought some Pokemon Cupcakes from a local baker, which I handed out. After Pokemon, us girls went home while Dann went to join Kai at DnD. Then, we got home, had some desserts, watched a movie, did face masks, and got ready for bed. We were all still quite tired from the weekend, so it was a shorter girl’s night then normal!

February 25th – Busy Tuesday

You ever wake up and feel like you have a never-ending list? Well, I started off the day strong by packing quite a few leftovers into the kid’s lunch before they went off to school. Then, I started all of my actual work, which includes far too many meetings on Tuesday. I do feel really unfocused lately, probably do to how much work has piled up, due to being out and about so much lately. It’s a balancing act, but I got a good amount of house work and work work done, which is always very good. The weather was also fantastic again today, not too hot, not to cold, blue sky, which feels fantastic. Raid hour was fun, lots of fun Pokemon out. I find it a little challenging that there are two different backgrounds, three different Pokemon, and I really want a shiny with each background… But, I digress! I went home for tabletop, where Wendy and Josie surprised me with my favorite cake and decorations for my birthday. Matt made gnocchi mac n cheese, and we played Doomlings until midnight.

February 26th – Film and Food and Friends

Wednesdays is always the day of the week that feels the most night-life-heavy. I had a lot of work to blast through today, but I ended up making it through quite a bit! It was sort of boring, probably a lot of writing, and I did enjoy the satisfaction of completing things. We then went out for Raid Hour, after making a bunch of pins as it’s Wednesday. There were three Pokemon in raids, with three different shinies, and they all had backgrounds, so we ended up doing a large number of raids. After that, Taylor, Tom, Ryan, and Dann and I went out for dinner before seeing The Monkey in cinema. I had a free birthday popcorn for being an unlimited member, so I added a bunch of butter flavor oil to it, which is always a fun time. The movie wasn’t my favorite, a bit strange and a lot of gore. We got home around midnight and went to bed.

February 27th – Cosy Day

Robin was feeling a little under the weather at the start of today, so she opted to stay home from school. There have been a bunch of stomach bugs going around lately, so we think it might have hit her. By midday, however, she was back to her normal self. We did spend the morning eating her favorite foods and watching movies that she quite enjoyed on the couch. I had quite a bit of work still to do, but we are lucky as both Dann and I work from home, so we are able to very much adjust our schedules to looking after our children. Kai on the flip side, had a school trip to a Poetry thing in London, so he was actually going to be at school longer than a normal day, getting some culture. I’m not sure if he appreciates it, but did appreciate his day off of real school work. We had a great rad hour, with me getting a shiny with background! And Amelia and Robin got to play with their friends. We got Five Guys shakes afterwards and headed home, before Kai went to the gym.

February 28th – Final Raid Day

Today was a very average day! Woke up, made school lunches, kids went to school. I had a medium amount of work before pick up. Robin went to Gymnastics, Kai went to the Gym. We had stuffed meatballs for dinner early before heading out to the final raid day. Amelia got three shinies in Pokemon Go, and I got two, which felt very good. We had a good time hanging out with friends, got some shakes, and then headed home. Amelia and Kai had a lot of homework for whatever reason, so they spent a lot of time doing that, while Robin and Dann played video games. I had a call with my dad and fell asleep quite early!