Apart from the dark mornings and evenings, the cold and rain, things are quite happy in my neck of the woods! It’s always nice to take stock of a few things that are making me a happy Anna.
The ‘C’ word: What is this madness? Christmas stuff already out in supermarkets. This photo was actually take two or three weeks ago as well.Christmas cakes, mince pies, stollen… yep. It’s October. That said, I love all things Christmas, especially food-related items) so I’m happy with this state of affairs. More mince pies in my life can only be a good thing.
Tesco encouraging kids to eat more fruit: They’re offering a free piece of fruit to children coming into the supermarket.
So they can chomp on something healthy as they walk round with their parents. What a great idea! Nice one, Tesco. We’ll let you off for your Christmas products 😉
New shoes: I bought some new shoes. They were really cheap as they’re of an older seasons but I really needed a pair of simple comfy shoes I could easily slip into and wear for quick errands or walking Alfie.
I tend to have a lot of trainers, pumps, boots and then my gym shoes (Vans & Converses – ideal because they have flat soles for squatting and deadlifting which help me be more “in tune” with the ground and lifting) but nothing that I’d be happy to get a bit mucky. I had a previous pair of Skechers and I wore them to the ground. These were only £25 which I thought was a steal.
Unusual gel flavours: A lovely friend of mine (a triathlon legend it must be said – his training cycles make mine look very amateur indeed) sent me some gels as a good luck present for my marathon (though with strict instruction NOT to use them during the marathon if I hadn’t tried them first).
Maple Bacon flavoured gels!! I know some (many?) of you will be thinking “that’s so gross” but I’m genuinely looking forward to trying them out. I quite like the GU gels (I still remember that salted caramel one I had once…so good. And the lemon flavoured one that tasted like a zesty pudding) so I expect good things 😉
Protein Porridge: I got a packet of this Mornflake Go! High Portein Porridge in my goodie bag from the Chester Marathon. Normally I will never use porridge packets because they always contain some form of sugar or flavouring and I can’t stand sweet porridge. For me the only sweetness I like is from the milk, so it’s very subtle.
But this was different. It’s a pack of oats containing soya protein isolate and (other than a stabiliser) that’s it. No sugar, no fruit, no seeds…just oats and protein. One packet though wouldn’t be enough for me for breakfast as it was around 130 calories. So I used two with almond milk and it tasted almost identical to my normal porridge.
Basically the same texture and it was really filling. I’m still regularly having scrambled eggs (with cheese, kale and olives – love it) for breakfast but I miss my porridge. The reason I swapped was because the porridge was quite low in protein but this is a great compromise. Though it is more expensive, so I’m looking into getting some unflavoured protein powder and playing around with that.
Woofins: These are adorable…even if I was disappointed when I first saw them as I thought “oooh cake” and then realised they’re actually for dogs.
Alfie isn’t a huge treat lover or chewer. For example, if I give him a dentist stick to chew on he puts it in his mouth then wanders around whimpering until I take it off him and cut it into four pieces for him (what a princess…). Although he will easily eat them normally when he’s around my parent’s dogs – but I think this is due to the fear that if he doesn’t they’ll eat it for him. Anyway, I digress, he wolfed down this mini cake – he loved it!
New car: OK it’s pretty much identical to my old car, just new.
I love the Fiat 500 and wanted to stay with them. Unfortunately I did want a different colour (I quite like the mint) but they didn’t have it in stock for when I wanted it so I had red again. As someone who is rubbish with adulting, having a brand new car with no MOT or service to worry about for a while is a huge weight off my mind (especially as I was late with my last service by about 10,000 miles as I got confused <– story of my life).
But things making me nervous: A 10k obstacle course race (Chepstow Stampede) with my friends, Kate and Jamie, that’s happening Saturday. I did that obstacle course in Spain but I don’t think it can quite compare to a muddy obstacle course race in Britain during a rather wet autumn. I’m stressing a bit with what to wear as I don’t really have anything I’d happy to never see again if it got ruined… and I’m scared about being really cold and wet. But other than that, it should be a laugh. We’ll see…
Have you ever done an obstacle course race?
What kind of car do you have?
What non-workout shoes do you normally wear?
I totally agree that it’s far too early for C things to be in the shops! Aaron had steady been eating mince pies!
The free fruit in Tesco is for big kids too right?!
The fact that Christmas items were in our supermarkets before I even saw Halloween stuff was pretty depressing. This year has gone by SO fast!
I’ve got a Kia Picanto.. she’s coming up to a year old at the end of November.. I too love not having to MOT it!
I tend to wear trainers or converse, mostly converse in a couple of different colours, they do the job.. but maybe wont be so suitable in the colder months.. I might have to buy some boots!
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Nice shoes! I love skechers- I normally buy them on holiday as they are cheaper, and then save them until the old ones have holes- classy! They are so comfy though. That would be my summer choice, and then now it’s cold and wet, boots are my other choice.
How exciting on the new car! I’ve got an i10 and it’s great- I wanted something small (but not as small as the Fiat 500 as I didn’t fancy driving past lorries in in) and most small cars were bigger (eg the new clio was so much bigger than my old clio), so when I found the i10 it was perfect- plus I got a discount being a teacher.
I’ve been looking at the Christmas cakes (especially the little lebkucken) but have resisted so far. Although half term is a time for me to make our Christmas cakes 🙂
Good luck with the obstacle race – I think the weather is meant to be OK on Saturday so hopefully you won’t get too cold.
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I love the Fiat 500’s such a cute car, but not practical for us right now. It’s crazy how early they get the Chrismas stuff in the shops these days. Although I did buy a couple of foodie bits that were on offer in M&S the other day to save.
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I did actually end up watching Home Alone on Netflix the other day! I did think it was a little early at the time, but the same day somebody posted how many days there were left until Christmas and I had a panic that I wouldn’t be able to get everything in time, especially as I can’t drive for another few weeks yet.
A Maple Bacon flavoured gel? That sounds so random! Although I am a massive fan of the Salted Caramel GU gels. I’ve picked up a few samples of their Chocolate Peanut Butter gel whilst pregnant which I can’t wait to try once I’m back running again.
I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy an obstacle course but loved one that Dan and I did a couple of years ago. It’s much more Dan’s thing than mine, and he’s actually signed up to quite an extreme one in January which I’m going to go and watch. Have you got any old free race t-shirts that you could wear? I live in old race t-shirts for trail or muddy runs as it doesn’t really matter if they get ruined.
I have a Seat Ibiza which, although I didn’t buy new, is the most new car I’ve ever owned and has been the most money I’ve spent on a car before. There was almost an issue the other week when I thought I’d insured it but actually the insurance had run out six months earlier. Randomly, (and incredibly luckily!) I was stopped in a random search by police two days after realising and quickly getting the car insured, so I was so glad I realised when I did! Whoops!
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I start my temporary Christmas job next Wednesday so suspect that I will have overdosed on Christmas by December 1st. I think there should be a rule that shops get Halloween and Bonfire Night out of the way before they sell Christmas related products. I’ve never done an obstacle course race, I’m not sure my fragile knee/foot/ankle would cope. Even cross country/trail races scare me. I don’t have a car at the moment but my last car was a Volkswagen Golf. I had the car from new and named it Geoffrey… I get away with wearing smart trainers most of the time.
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I’ve often wondered if retailers do Christmas stuff early in the UK too, I guess they do. Here in the United States, Christmas stuff starts appearing as soon as Halloween is over. I think it’s insanely early because I like to focus on one holiday at a time. Anyway, that fruit idea is really good, and gives customers a reason to shop there. Glad you got a good deal on a nice pair of shoes. Looks like they will match pretty much anything.
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I am loving all the Christmas things in the supermarket too – it’s never too early in my opinion.
I wish Tesco would let adults have the free fruit too though 😉
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Oh so in love with the protein porridge !!!
I got a KIA car which has a same form like your Fiat 😀
By the way, nice shoes 🙂 i prefer sneakers for wearing everyday though 😀
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