Rants and Raves #5

And we’re mid-week! Hurrah! Can you believe it’s Christmas next week – as in next week? I’m pretty much in the “I love Christmas, it’s my favourite time ever” camp so I’m fairly excited right now. I know some people aren’t as keen on Christmas and it can be quite stressful, but I just really enjoy it – the atmosphere, family time, food (ALL THE FOODS), friends, music, films…I love it. Anyway, on to my rants and raves!

Rave: And on the theme of Christmas… Christmas jumpers! I’m a jumper lover and it really appeals to me on two levels: it’s Christmassy and it’s warm.

IMG_8781 From Matalan

Rant: Ben pretends he doesn’t like Christmas jumpers but I’m convinced there’s an excited little boy in there somewhere…

IMG_8789 From Tesco

I’m sure he loves wearing it really. But anyway, Christmas jumpers are amazing. It’s sad they’re only really socially acceptable around Christmas. And I lost my last jumper as I thoughtfully put it away last year…to an unknown location.

Rave: The gym! OK it is early days but I’m really enjoying the variety. I did (my gym’s version) of body pump, which isn’t the Les Mills one but is a very similar concept, at the weekend. The class worked on muscles that I had long been neglecting: shoulders, back, triceps, biceps, chest…it’s been a while. And my body made me full aware of that the next day as I was hobbling around like a 90 year old woman struggling with simple activities.

I also did a class called Pure Blast. It was 30 minutes of high intensity exercise. Basically you either sprinted on the treadmill or cycled madly on the bike for a set amount of time, then did a series of exercises like squats, burpees, sit ups, lunges, etc. before getting back on the bike. Non-stop for 25 minutes (5 minute cool down – or in my case, collapse on floor). This was followed by a core class which was run by the same monster guy. He did a very similar concept whereby you did a certain core move a set time and then moved quickly on to the next move. After peeling myself off the floor I realised I quite enjoyed it. My body didn’t know what had hit it – there was just so much variety!

Rant: My gym, I won’t lie, is one of the cheaper gyms (PureGym) but works brilliantly for me. It’s open 24 hours a day and has loads of different classes which are perfect for my schedule. It’s also massive so there’s never a chance of not getting a machine or set of weights. However it isn’t glamorous by anyone’s imagination and some people who go there (I am heavily generalising here as I know a lot of nice people who also go there) can be a bit intimidating and, for want of a better word, are a bit “rough” (I fully admit to to being a snob). This was proved as I came out of the gym and was cat-called by a bunch of guys also exiting. Me quickening up to get to my car just heightened their calling. Lovely.

Rave: Alfie. Need I say more?

IMG_8522 Alfie gives me hope that one day when I become a mother (*heart palpitations begin*) I will sink into the role easier than I think. I just love this fur ball more than words – even if he does decide to poo when his walk is 99% over and we’re well and truly past the poo bin.

Rant: OK this is something I’ve been meaning to post about. When Ben went to China (and Hong Kong) he asked me if there was anything I’d like him to bring back. I said some Chinese sweets as I was intrigued what they’d be like. Verdict?

IMG_8546 Not sweet at all. In fact, there were these so-called ginger sweets (actually I have no idea what they were called at all as the description is in another language) which blew my head off! The after burn was ridiculous. I was bitterly disappointed. You live and learn.

Rave: Hey check me out posting not one but two ‘outfit of the day’ photos in one post! I used to do this a while ago but then stopped because…well, I’m actually devoid of any style and my clothes are quite boring. But I was quite proud of this outfit. If you think it looks stupid/ugly, please don’t tell me as I want to continue to live in my fantasy world… 😉

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Jumper from Matalan, skirt very old stolen from sister years ago, socks from River Island, necklace and boots I can’t remember (this is possibly another reason why I don’t post my outfit that often)

I much prefer summer to winter but winter does have the benefit of long boots and layering. And long socks! They were so toasty. Almost typed “tasty” (food is never far from my mind clearly).

Rant: Working from home is amazing. However deciding to “chance” doing an update on my computer in the morning before I started work was not wise.

IMG_8788 I started it at 8.30am and it didn’t finish until 1pm. I kid you not. I felt terrible because obviously I couldn’t do any work. My manager was aware and it had happened to someone else in the office the other day so it wasn’t really an issue. I pottered about doing chores and bits and bobs. I suppose you could say that’s a good thing – but I’m the type of person who when genuinely sick and can’t go to work is convinced they’ll think I’m lying or taking liberties. I hate people thinking I’m dossing about or not doing my job. I got what I needed to do done for the day though so it wasn’t too bad in the end.

Rave: I’ve done my one month free of Kindle Unlimited. I downloaded (for free) and read Thorn Birds (wowza is that an epic love saga or what! Slightly creepy as well) and the The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window (absolutely fantastic – very dry and sarcastic humour but this really appealed to me).

I also downloaded Life of Pi and Great Expectations as audio books and listened to these in the car on the way to and from work. I loved Life of Pi and really recommend it. I chose Great Expectations as I don’t think I’ve read a Charles Dickens before and thought I really probably should. It was over 11 hours long though!

I decided I was going to cancel my Kindle Unlimited account though as I didn’t think £7.99/month was worth it. I do read a lot of books but I usually aim for the cheaper ones and there wasn’t enough audio book selection to keep me interested there. This meant that I had to listen to Great Expectations quite often towards the end of the free month as when you cancel Kindle Unlimited they remove the Unlimited content from your devices. Though I’ve managed to duck this so far by not connecting my Kindle to WiFi (sneaky, sneaky), but for my phone (where I listen to the audio books) this was impossible.

Anyway long story short: I enjoyed Kindle Unlimited but I’d prefer to spend £7.99 a month at Audible where you get a free audio book from a huge selection every month. I did enjoy Great Expectations though – even if Dickens often decided to use 12 words when one would have sufficed.

Do you enjoy reading/listening to audio books? I love getting through twice as many books by using my ‘dead time’ when I’m commuting to listen to something.

Have you ever tried “foreign” sweets before? Generally I’ve had good experiences but I think this is because I’ve always had more “Westernised” sweets.

Are you a Christmas jumper lover or hater?

Rants and Raves #3

I’m feeling grumpy. It can’t be helped really. It’s Thursday, when really it should be Friday.

I don’t want to moan…but I will. Sorry. I’ll try not to just rant the entire post.

Rant: With Ben being away it is quite lonely at the moment at home. I get very set in routines when I’m on my own as well. Walk Alfie, cook dinner, watch TV, go to bed. Nothing exciting really happens. I’m used to having him there to joke and laugh with, or moan and groan at…depends on the day and mood really 😉

And with the 8 hour time difference it’s a struggle to keep in contact with him. Especially as with him being in China they don’t allow Facebook or Twitter, and I need to wait for him to get access to the limited Wifi in order to either WhatsApp or Skype. Humph.

Rave: Although saying that, with Ben not being here, this means dinner can be whatever I want it to be without having to worry if Ben will a) like it b) eat it.

Chickpea meal

Looks rather grim doesn’t it? But actually it was really tasty. I literally threw chickpeas, Brussels sprouts, courgette, onions, mushrooms and kale together with cream cheese and BBQ sauce. It’s just what I fancied. For me BBQ sauce and cream cheese are big winners.

Rant: perhaps ‘rant’ is too strong a word here…but Ben does make me laugh. He goes to Hong Kong and China and he eats… Italian. To be fair, he can’t go wherever he pleases as he’s with work colleagues but still. He ate Japanese one night which I suppose is at least that vague area of the world to some extent. Though he did tell me he had the strangest Hawaiian pizza which had a sweet dough with tomato sauce, tinned fruit salad, olives and cheese on it. I did say to him he’s probably better off actually eating the local food! *sighs*

Rave: Alfie is very loving at the moment as I’m the only one there. Despite Ben’s side of the bed being free, he still cuddles into me at night. My furry hot water bottle.

IMG_8446 But it also means I’m the one who has to clean up his sick when he wasn’t well the other day. This is usually very firmly a blue job…but currently no blue is here to help.

Rave: getting cool things in the post. I received a Fuelify goodie box which contained a lot of exciting products.

IMG_8459 A full review will be coming soon!

Rant/Rave: a mix of the two if you like. It’s no secret that I hate my commute. It’s a fair way from Southampton to Basingstoke and can take on average an hour (sometimes more) to work and then from work every single day. It grinds on me. Even when it’s plain sailing it still takes 40 minutes. To me this is absolute dead time. The radio is OK but I despair of BBC Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw in a morning (I was a huge Chris Moyles fan – sorry non-Brits, basically Radio 1 sucks as the best DJ left a few years ago and now it’s run by a moron) and I’m not quite ready to switch to BBC Radio 2 (which is aimed at a slightly older audience).

Aaaaanyway, long story short, I’ve signed up to Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited (30 free days) as I saw they had audio books available too. I do read a lot as well on my Kindle, but thought while I drive I could listen to another book. Normally audio books are fairly hefty in price so I was pleased this was part of the deal. I decided to go for Life of Pi.

I’ve got the book on my Kindle but when I tried to read it I just couldn’t get into it. But listening to it is fantastic! In just over two days I’m 40% into it and it’s so good. I need to see the film as well now. Listening to it in the car just makes the journey zoom by as I get sucked into the narrative.

I’ve also downloaded Great Expectations to listen to next as I’ve never read it. I’m aiming for the more ‘dense’ books as I’ve found I can get into it easier than if I tried to read it. I’m still reading another book at the same time as well. Will see if I’m swayed by this Kindle Unlimited business by the end of the 30 days I think!

And that’s all I have in my current lonely, empty existence…well it’s not all bad. The house is extremely tidy and I’m only using one loo in the house (we have three) so that means only one bathroom needs cleaning this weekend! Wahay it’s the small things, right? 😉 I’m going to my parent’s house on Friday night for an Indian and staying over with Alfie so that should be good. Then really it’s just one week till Ben’s back! Hurrah!

What have been your rants and raves this week?

How do you cope when you’re alone in the house?

Do you listen to audio books?

Running, poo and a failed recipe

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m back running finally. I will hasten to add though: for how long, who knows! I’m still not entirely convinced I won’t remain injury-free. My shin issue is something I need to keep a beady eye on as I’m not sure it’s gone for good. But this is similar to my IT band where it needs to be managed, meaning regular single-leg squats and resistance band work. For my shin….I’m not so sure really. Compression socks and keeping the calves loose?

So last week I started with Kyle coaching after a bumpy delayed start due to my foot. We worked very closely to make sure everything was OK. He gave me lots of exercises and advice.

Peroneal Tendon Stretch And lots of stretching!

When I began running (last Tuesday) it was under the instruction to run 20 minutes easy and to stop if I felt any pain or major discomfort. The day before my foot was feeling almost fine so by Tuesday evening I was feeling happy to run. Apart from a little stiffness it was perfect. Again under Kyle’s instruction, I ran Wednesday and Thursday (all easy, gradually building up the time) and then took Friday off, parkrun on Saturday and 6 miles on Sunday. All easy paced and all with no foot discomfort. Hurrah!

I do struggle though with what I class an “easy” pace. I probably should run it slower, but if I’m only running a short distance then I think easy is a relative term… and I will admit I find it very hard to slow myself down. Whether it’s a mental thing that I feel I need to go faster or a physical thing where I just don’t realise I’m running faster, I find it tough for the shorter runs. For longer runs though I will be very strict with myself and aim for a slower pace, and for recovery runs after harder sessions.

I have no idea what’s to come though in terms of running as it’s out of my hands! Something which I find hugely scary and hugely relieving. It’s also nice to have someone I can hassle ask questions and get advice regularly and specifically for me and the concrete goals I want to achieve. The internet is great but it’s all very vague.

Away from running and onto things more amusing. I just have to share this book that Ben and me found in a little trinket shop.

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Because really these are the big issues we face 😉 First world problems and all that… It is very amusing and definitely Ben and my type of humour (we are children). There was also “How to Poo on a Date” – I mean, really?? Plan these things, people. Maybe there should be a book “How to Poo in a Portable Loo” or a “A Guide to Pooing for Runners” judging by the horrific portable loo experience I had in Berlin.

Moving swiftly away from toilet humour to recent dinner adventures! I haven’t posted any recipes for ages as my food is very dull and samey, so thought I’d motivate myself by trying a new recipe every week. Now I will preface by this by saying this isn’t really a recipe more like a “don’t do what I did” kind of warning.

I saw the below recipe for sweet potato and halloumi burgers and thought it looked amazing. I knew I could win Ben over because it contained cheese and I mentioned the word “burger” so I felt confident.

image

Source

I made the patties at the weekend and thought I’d freeze them so I could have a handy quick meal one day after work. This was a big mistake. I’d advise you not to freeze them! Maybe fridge them to firm them up for an hour but do not freeze. They just fall apart completely when you defrost them, which slightly devastated me.

Sweet potato halloumi burgers

I tried to flip each patty and, well, it just fell apart. So I just stirred the lot and cooked it as kind of a bubble and squeak *sighs*.  However, it tasted really good and even Ben was a fan. I’m sure as actual burgers these would be terrific but they are rather delicate!

Hopefully I’ll have better luck with other recipes but hey if it taste good that’s all that matters right??

Have you had any baking or cooking failures recently?

What kind of sense of humour do you have? I think mine is very dry and sarcastic – but also quite childish and silly.

What’s your favourite veggie burger flavours? I’m a big fan of sweet potato!

Books I’ve been reading

Recently I’ve been a bit obsessed with reading running books. It’s become a problem. What can I say, I love running. Here’s a review of some of the books I’ve been enjoying lately – though not all to do with running!

Eat and Run – Scott Jurek

Scott Jurek is an incredible athlete blessed with some very nice genes and some great determination and skill. He regular runs 100 mile and above races and wins them. He is incredible and a great inspiration. He’s also vegan and at the end of each chapter gives a vegan recipe. The books is very interesting and you are literally going “wow, seriously?” the whole time.

While the facts and information were great, Scott himself and the tone the book didn’t appeal to me. He came across quite arrogant and made it all seem a little too easy. There was really no grittiness and any hardship he has had was skimmed over. He made me believe that running an ultramarathon was something quite easy and well within anybody’s capabilities. While this is great, I don’t think it’s realistic. He is clearly on the gifted side of the fence when it comes down to running and this skews his perceptions of realistic training. Also his ‘easy’ vegan recipes do indeed seem very easy, if you have a 1,000 of the strange ingredients he lists.

Running and Stuff – James Adams

I would absolutely recommend reading this book straight after reading Eat and Run. Perhaps this man appeals more to me because he’s British and has more of a British tone than Jurek (no offence to any Americans out there but us Brits have a slightly less optimistic outlook to life).

If you were under any illusions that running an ultra would be easy this book will fully reset those expectations. All the gory details of running stupidly far (like across America far) are laid bare in this book – peeing, vomiting, pooing, bleeding. Unlike Scott bounding along through his ultras like a galloping gazelle, this man pretty much crawls to the end of his ultras in a broken, bloody, sweaty heap. But it’s a brilliant read. It by far gives a more realistic idea of what an ultra-marathon is like (not that I would know of course). Another interesting contrast to Jurek’s book is the amount of rubbish food that Adams eats. We’re talking regular MacDonalds, sweets, sugary drinks, fast food…which is vastly different to Jurek’s slightly unrealistic clean vegan (and at times raw) way of eating. I don’t have anything particularly against Jurek but it’s just Adams strikes me as you’re every day guy so easier to relate to.

824 – P J Robbins

This book focused more on a journey towards the so-called ‘hardest race on Earth’, the Marathon des Sables (a six day ultra across the Sahara Desert). Again, kind of similar to the previous book, a British guy going from being a regular runner to suddenly going for the big one. It’s a fascinating read to hear his experiences and the ins and outs of this race. Funnily enough the previous author, James Adams, also writes briefly about his experience with this race and they have polar opposite experiences and opinions on the race. Again nothing like Jurek’s ease with running such long distances, it’s a very gruelling and honest account.

Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer

Not a running book, but an account of a young man who went on a crazy trip and sadly didn’t make it out alive. He gave up his normal life (college, family, money) and literally just decided to, what I can only describe as, “find himself”. He walked, hiked, canoed through the tough terrain of Alaska on his own. I won’t lie I did question the boy’s sanity many times during the book but I also envied his ability to just let go and live the adventure he was desperate for. How liberating that must be, but also terrifying. It’s a non-fiction account of what’s known about the boy and at times can seem a bit tedious with some meanderings off into other historical accounts of people doing similar things, but it is an eye opening read nonetheless.

Wild – Cheryl Strayed

I found out about this book because it’s very soon to be a film with Reese Witherspoon, of which I now really want to see. This book is fantastic. I much preferred it to the previous book. It has a similar idea of dropping everything in one’s life and going to find yourself but is easier to read because it’s from the lady herself. I’m not joking when I say the temptation to suddenly going camping and hiking in some remote area of America was strong as I was reading this! It’s raw, real and very engaging.

Do any of these books appeal to you? My favourite was Wild out of them all.

Have you ever been influenced by a book to do something or try something new?

What’s your favourite genre? I don’t have a favourite, I tend to read anything that sounds good, whether that’s fiction or non-fiction.

**Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for TWO FREE tickets to the Yoga Show in London – you have until the 12th October**

**These are affiliated links but all the opinions are my own as usual!**

Things lately

I thought I’d do a post on some ‘stuff’ I’ve been enjoying lately, like books, films and, most importantly, food! (Psst! It’s my birthday today too!)

Books

Unbroken – Laura Hillenbrand

Unsurprisingly I like reading books about running. I also like reading books that later become films. I can’t remember how I came across this book but I found out it was going to be made into a film directed by Angelina Jolie and the premise sounded incredible (and had a runner in it).

Unbroken book

It’s a non-fiction account of the Olympic track runner, Louis Zamperini, who was taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War II. “Epic” doesn’t do his story justice. The journey of his life is gripping, harrowing and inspiring. I absolutely cannot wait for the film now (apparently to be released towards the end of the year). The book was hard to read at points considering what he went through as a prisoner of war but it is a fascinating read that I definitely recommend.

The Sports Gene: Talent, Practice and the Truth About Success – David Epstein

In a nutshell, this book explores the arguments surrounding whether it’s nature or nurture as to why some people become successful athletes.

Sports gene book I love books like this, based on research and published papers. However it can get a little heavy going when it goes into details about DNA and particular genes. I also found it a bit meandering in it’s arguments and sometimes a little tedious as it is so heavily research-based. But there were many interesting findings and anecdotes about athletes and ‘gifted’ people which were fascinating.

Films

Food Inc.

A relatively old film (2008) but still very relevant. Food Inc. is a documentary looking at the American food industry. It covers farming, processed food, animal welfare, environmental issues…sounds heavy-going but it was actually quite a good watch in terms of entertainment (not sure if it’s ‘PC’ to call a documentary high-lightening some hard-hitting issues entertaining but hey).Food_inc

Scary doesn’t quite cover many of the issues raised. Firstly, the condition in which animals are reared is horrific. Lack of space, sunlight, hygienic conditions and respect were clear. And also how Big Business is hand in hand the government and how much control they have over the market as a whole.

I live in the UK but a lot of the points raised are very relevant to us in Britain as well. It’s easy to assume we’re “better” but I’m pretty sure we’re ticking a lot of the same boxes.

Maybe clichéd to say this, but this really hit home to me. It’s really changed my opinion on the meat I buy. I do try and get free-range where I can but cost tends to be my biggest factor. Personally I don’t think this is right. If we can’t afford as much meat as we’ve been having then maybe that’s not such a bad thing to reduce down a bit…

Food

I haven’t posted anything about food (other than cakes and meals out) in a while. Mainly because my meals have been quite boring and uninspiring. But I thought I’d show a few choice meals I’ve been enjoying lately. Funnily enough some of my running club friends have been uploaded pictures of their meals on Facebook which is always interesting! I love seeing what people eat.

Gammon and Eggs

Gammon and eggs Quite a standard easy meal. Grilled gammon, two fried eggs, couscous and veg. Sometimes I have couscous or sometimes I go without depending on how hungry I am.

Sausages and Sweet Potato Fries

Sausages and sweet potato Free-range chipotle sausages, oven roasted sweet potato fries and a kale, carrot, onion and courgette mix with onion gravy. Another easy meal and very satisfying. I’d like to say I made the gravy myself but I got an ‘add water’ variety.

Creamy Pumpkin Chicken

Creamy pumpkin chicken Right, before you judge this on it’s appearance, it is DELICIOUS. Basically lots of vegetables (courgettes, onion, kale, mushrooms) sautéed with chicken breast chunks. Then half a tin of pumpkin puree and a big dollop of cream cheese – it gives it an incredibly thick and creamy sauce. Honestly, it rocks my world. My original recipe can be found HERE.

Duck Egg Scramble Salad

I bought some duck eggs the other day from a local farm and wasn’t sure what to do with them.

Duck eggsThe yolks were huge! 

So I just scrambled them with some random veggies and then had that in a salad.

Duck egg scramble salad It was a fairly monster salad and I was stuffed afterwards. These eggs are quite big so probably didn’t need three…FYI they didn’t taste that different to normal eggs.

Feta Chicken

Feta chickenThis is an absolute weekly staple meal in our house. I have shared the recipe before HERE, but now make it in the slow cooker now. Basically you add chicken and the tomato sauce to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Then you crumble feta over the top and let it melt for about 5-10 minutes. Then serve!

I have nothing special planned for today as I’m working. I’m writing this on Wednesday so I actually have no idea what my birthday will bring. Fingers crossed for lots of cake. Because what’s a birthday without cake?! Not a proper birthday that’s what.

What have you been reading or watching lately?

Do you like documentary films? I’m not a fan but we got Netflix and Food Inc. seemed interesting.

What meals are staple meals in your house?