Positives and negatives

Happy Friday! We made it – almost time for the weekend. And apparently a wet and windy one for the UK. Joy of joys.

Yesterday was a slightly different day as I was working from home. There were several positives and negatives in my day so I thought I’d base my post around that theme.

Positive: No commute in the morning. Bliss. Also, getting up at 8am is heavenly. I think I had a full 10 hours sleep.

Negative: I was really sleepy and reluctant to actually get out of bed. Can’t I work from bed? No. I needed to get up, showered and downstairs at our table to get into ‘work mode’.

Positive: I had Cougar Town on in the background as I worked. I am so addicted. I think I love every single character. They’re hilarious. Also 20 minute episodes are perfect chunks.

Negative: I had to keep pausing Cougar Town when I needed to concentrate and think. I would have loved to have just sat there watching the TV all day but I actually have work to do and it required a bit of brain power. Boo.

Positive: Unlimited access to all food.

Negative: Unlimited access to all food. Thankfully I had our weekly food shop delivered later in the day so we were a bit bare on the snacks until the afternoon. Then a huge watermelon came into my life.

Watermelon snacks

And then there was some serious watermelon massacre…Watermelon massacre

I couldn’t stop. It was so good.

Positive: I got loads of chores done in between working. Putting the washing on, hanging it up, etc. I love feeling doubly efficient..

Negative: Alfie giving me his big old furry “walk time?” eyes. All. Day. Long. No Alfie, you just have to go in the garden I’m afraid.

Positive: I had running club in the evening which was great because it meant I didn’t have to rush home and have a mad dash to get ready. I could even prepare dinner for when I got back (Ben was working late so it was just me for dinner). I could just shut down my laptop and amble upstairs leisurely.

I was quite nervous about running club as I hadn’t run since Sunday (all part of the ‘easier’ week). I was just terrified of any pain or discomfort. But I started running and it was great! Towards the end of the run my groin was slightly achy and I could feel it going downhill but otherwise I felt quite strong.

image

I got to the meeting spot to find my usual group flagging on numbers. In the end it was two speedy guys and me. It wasn’t too tough and we took it easy in the middle as it’s now a lot darker in the evening and we were running through some woods and had to be careful of footing. I managed to push it on my own for the last mile as I headed home.

Positive: I got to wear my new high vis’ arm band. It’s got LED lights all round it that you can turn on. Brilliant for the winter. One of the guys said it looked cool

Negative: That same guy said it looked cool…just like a Christmas tree. Excellent.

The run really helped me feel more confident for my goal pace for the half marathon on Sunday. Basically I’m going to aim for a certain pace (comfortable but not completely easy) and then as I hit 9 miles see what I think of pushing it a bit more. Who knows. I’ll see how it goes.

I’ve ummed and arr’ed about taking my hydration belt but I think I’m just going to go ‘naked’ (there’s an image!) and if I need water pick it up at the drinks stations (of which there are plenty). I don’t think I’ll need any gels either, but there are some available there.

After the run I got home and ate a mammoth meal of stir fry veg, chicken, butternut squash, courgette (zucchini) noodles, chicken and cream cheese.

IMG_5014

You know when you go from starving to full really quickly? Yep I felt that quite strongly last night!

So tomorrow I’m off to Bristol to see friends, and then it’s the half marathon on Sunday…duh duh DUH (<– dramatic music, if you didn’t get that…)

What are your plans this weekend?

Do you switch up your work out gear for winter? Any high vis’ lovers out there?

Water, gels…how do you fuel during races? Unless it’s hot I won’t bother, maybe just water from the stations. Gels only if it’s really tough. I’ll have had a good breakfast so I’ll be fine.

The little things

Hello Friday! Wow where did this week go? It went crazily fast. Not that I’m complaining.

I thought I’d do a post on some random thoughts and occurrences of late. It’s the little things in life that keep things interesting!

1. It’s a well known fact that cake on a Friday doesn’t count (FYI this was last Friday’s cake – I didn’t eat cake that went off yesterday. Would I refuse a one-day-stale piece of cake though over no cake? I’d rather not answer that…). Cake is an indulgence I need every week. Without fail.

IMG_4285

2. Mini trolleys are AMAZING. This is a tiny trolley from M&S, almost like a basket with wheels which makes me feel like I’m six again. Anyone from the UK: do you remember when they used to do trolleys for children?? So the kids could push a little trolley with their parents as well. I wonder why they disappeared…Oh yes, that’s right because who ever decided to allow young children to push trolleys around a busy supermarket is CRAZY. Hello ankle pain.

IMG_3981

 3. I can destroy half a melon easily in under 10 minutes. Like a boss. In fact, I have to finish Ben’s off as he is so rubbish at getting all the melon flesh. Take no prisoners.

IMG_4276

4. This display on my Garmin annoys me SO MUCH.

IMG_4235

The loading bar is full therefore it should be done, right? Oh no. It stays with that full bar for minutes afterwards. While I am stood in the cold just waiting to run. Garmin, stop lying to me!!

5. Why do people leave the teabags in their drinks? Maybe this is a British thing (or a specifically Anna thing) but whenever I see TV programmes (I must say, usually US programmes) and someone is drinking a tea they always leave the teabag in so the little piece of string hangs down the side. It baffles me because doesn’t this over-steep the tea?? Doesn’t the teabag hit your mouth when you drink? It really freaks me out.IMG_4287

Yes, this is not my usual mug. This is my back-up Scooby mug.

6. One of our knives broke the other day when I was chopping vegetables. The knife blade literally pinged past me and hit the wall behind me. It was like the vegetables were fighting back. It would have been funny if I hadn’t been in shock.

IMG_4289

7. This photo makes me feel a little sad inside:

IMG_4301

He looks so helpless and upset at having being bathed. It needed to happen though. He was getting to one stinky pooch.

8. However this photo brings me right back up to a significantly happy level:

IMG_4281

Sea salt Green and Blacks! On offer! Still expensive though. And definitely beaten to the punch by Lindt.

Well, I hope you guys have a great weekend. Ben and me are running a 5k Parkrun tomorrow so I’m quite excited but also nervous. I hate 5ks, they’re just so fast and painful…but we’ll see how it goes! We might be running a 10k run through Moors Valley Country Park on Sunday depending how we feel. I will be taking that one easy if we do go for it. I’m going to take it more of as a nice trail run then a proper race I think as I think I’ll be shattered after tomorrow!

What’s been making you happy this week?

What are your little things in life that keep things interesting for you? Wow there’s a vague question for you Winking smile

Teabags: in or out?

Weekend Catch-Up

Helloooo. Another week and closer to summer!

And it’s my lovely husband’s birthday – happy birthday, Ben!!

IMG_1712

(A photo from a couple of years ago, but one of my favourites)

So catching up from the weekend. We had a great one! Friday night was ice cream and movie night. We watched Looper and though there were several times Ben and me had to pause the film to discuss it as it was such a head warp, we really enjoyed it. And the ice cream was obviously AMAZING. I’ve successfully trained my body into being able to consume an entire litre of the chocolate brownie frozen yogurt Ben and Jerry’s. Not a talent I’m hugely proud of, but delicious none-the-less.

Saturday morning I got up early and did my 10 mile run. This time I started slowly, took it slowly and didn’t push it. Though I’m currently suffering from a cold at the moment which is highly irritating. [Ben keeps informing me that I sound really creepy because when I’m sat next to him and breathing through my nose I breathe really heavily because it’s slightly blocked – like I can help it!!] So the run wasn’t the easiest despite slowing the pace. I just can’t win!

image

And thankfully I had no issues from my Achilles and only slight pain in my knee at the end. But I’ve been doing lots of stretches to loosen my ‘hip flexor’ which has definitely helped. Funnily enough I listened to a Marathon Talk podcast on my run (one from a few weeks ago as I’m a bit behind) and they had a physiotherapist on and they literally talked about my exact issue. What a coincidence!

After the run I did lots of housework while Ben was out doing something-or-other to his car (installing a head-unit…I thought this was some strange technical device he had to wear on his head but it’s actually the CD player…who knew). As it was his birthday weekend he was allowed to forgo his housework duty. I try to be a good wife sometimes Winking smile

My outfit for the day:

IMG_3868

Jeans from Republic (in the sale as they’re sadly closing down), top from New Look, scarf from Accessorize, necklace from Mango, shoes from Next.

Then we met up with a couple we’re friends with and went to Nando’s for lunch. It became a bit of a chicken eating competition as we ordered. The two guys went for WHOLE chickens and two sides and us two ladies went for half chickens and two sides. Now usually I’m the greedy one out of Ben and me so I was fairly impressed. Though Ben did cave at the last minute of ordering and gave me one of his sides. The embarrassing part is that when I ordered for us at the till the man asked me if I wanted three drinks because he thought there were three of us eating…

And we had a mezze board to start!! With the world’s worst photos I’m afraid. It was so dark in the restaurant!

IMG_3869

And for my main, my half chicken with a corn on the cob and side salad (I wanted to maximise on the chicken experience):

IMG_3870

Sorry that really is a terrible photo… I had mango and lime sauce on it and it was really good. After my run this was a truly appreciated meal. I finished this off and had Ben’s other side (another corn on the cob; I have a crazy obsession with them) and helped Ben with some of his chicken when he was struggling.

Literally could not move afterwards. Needless say I don’t want to see chicken for a while now.

Afterwards we all needed to get outside and walk a bit for fear of exploding. I managed to get a steal in French Connection – a lovely sparkly clutch down from £65 to £10!!! Crazy. Apologies no photo…but it’s very dainty and pretty. I also got some Estee Lauder BB cream. I love BB creams because they’re so lightweight. I don’t usually wear make-up but if I’m going out or having an ugly day I’ll slap some tinted moisturiser on so this is perfect.

~gpr v1 @ 7/13/2011 @ 4:26 PM~gpr v2 @ 7/18/2011 @ 6:45 PM~gpr v3 @ 7/18/2011 @ 8:00 PM~bt v4 @ 7/20/2011 @ 4:51 PM~bt v4 @ 7/20/2011 @ 6:41 PM~bt v4 @ 7/20/2011 @ 7:49 PM~bt v4 @ 7/20/2011 @ 8:02 PM~bt v4 @ 7/20/2011 @ 10:42 PM~jd v5 @ 7/22/2011 @ 11:49 AM~GPR v6 @ 7/27/2011 @ 4:40 PM~gpr v7 @ 7/28/2011 @ 4:43 PM~bt  v8 @ 8/1/2011 @ 4:07 PM~bt v8 @ 8/1/2011 @ 6:37 PM~JD  v9 @ 8/2/2011 @ 1:38 PM~TS v10 @ 8/8/2011 @ 3:42 PM~jd v11 @ 8/9/2011 @ 4:19 PM~JD v11 @ 8/10/2011 @ 9:54 AM~JD v12 @ 8/10/2011 @ 12:39 PM~TS v13 @ 8/11/2011 @ 6:39 PM~JD v14 @ 8/12/2011 @ 9:35 AM

And I also got some running leggings as well from Nike.

Nike-Tech-Womens-Running-Capris-520342_010_A

They’re perfect for when it gets a bit warmer. I have shorts for the summer, long leggings for the winter and capris for the in-between bits but I hated how they flared out at the bottom just under my knees. Also the new ones have a zip just above the bum where I can put my key. Perfect.

Then we had a drink at a little bar and then went home where Ben and I enjoyed a nice evening of Game of Thrones series one (watching again because series two is almost released). Dinner was porridge for me and toast for Ben. Seriously, nothing else would have fitted after all that chicken.

Sunday was a quiet day of family coming over to wish Ben a happy birthday and basically doing not much else (on my part, Ben was still doing his head unit thing – this was his birthday present, by the way). Though I did enjoy a truly delicious lunch.

IMG_3871

Butternut squash and coconut milk soup. I forgot how much I loved this soup. It really hit the spot.

And a standard pudding at the weekend for me:

IMG_3872

Melon! And do you know what, I’m embarrassed to say that I went back and had the other half a few hours later. So yeah, an entire melon was consumed. On a random note, melons really freak me out. Ben has to cut them for me because I honestly can’t stand the inside of them. All those seeds just make me feel really sick. I’m not sure why. The same happens with bell peppers. I’ll use a word that I really hate to describe it: clustering of seeds. GROSS.

I’ve also recently been thorough enjoying snacking on these bad boys:

Popcorn

I was sent these from Lord Poppington’s range of popcorns to review and honestly loved them. I did get the Four Cheese flavour as well but for some reason didn’t manage to photograph it. Probably because I gobbled it down too quickly.

I’m a big fan of popcorn so I was looking forward to trying these. They’re gluten free, low in fat and with no artificial flavours. And being a wholegrain product it means they’re a good source of fibre. And each pack contains between 94-128 calories. And you get a fair amount for this! Better than Snack a Jacks I have to say.

IMG_3813

My favourite flavour by far was the Chilli and Lime. It was so flavoursome. My mouth was a little bit on fire, but in a good way. The Four Cheese was my second favourite. I just love the flavours.

But the only thing I will say is that they only seem to be available on Amazon and quite expensive. I’m a little bit devastated by this as I would honestly swap these for my Snack A Jacks. They’re probably a lot better for me than the God knows what they put in Snack A Jacks.

But, inspired by the above, I have since bought some plain popping kernels to make my own…watch this space.

What did you get up to this weekend?

Sweet or salty popcorn? I would have said sweet but after trying the savoury flavours I’ve changed sides for a bit.

WIAW #5

Wow I can’t believe this is my fifth What I Ate Wednesday. My blog is only in its infancy and I’m still learning and working on it to make it better, but I’m proud of what I’ve done so far. It’s got a long way to go I know but I’m happy. It’s just so great to have somewhere to put the random stuff in my head! It’s very cathartic.

I love being involved in WIAW as well because you definitely feel a sense of community and it’s great to see what other blogs are out there. So thank you Jenn (over at Peas and Crayons)! I’m still grasping desperately to summer with my summery salads and fresh flavours. Just want to hold out a little bit longer!!

 

On that note of summery yumminess, I had some fun over the weekend making these really tasty pancakes. I just kept reading about pancakes everywhere and thought as a Sunday treat I’d whip up a batch of them:

26.08 Pancakes

I used this recipe but missed out the cinnamon (not a big fan) and then drizzled PB2 mixed with water as a sauce and served with blackberries. I managed to get three quite chunky pancakes out of this mixture. Honestly, they were to die for!

IMG_2131

Really spongy and filling. Basically I wanted a really filling pancake that didn’t contain protein powder as I don’t have protein powder!

image

Lunch time I tried my hand at making falafels. I had them in salad with some chicken fried with tagine paste. They didn’t turn out amazingly I must admit. They were a bit crumbly.

20.08 falfels

However, they tasted GREAT. I’m all about chickpeas at the moment. So yummy. Really went well with the tagine spices as well.

Dinner from Monday night was AMAZING.

G cheese veg and chicken

I coated a chicken breast in chickpea flour with paprika and cumin and then fried it in a little oil. Alongside this I made roasted veggies with a sliced peach and crumbled goat’s cheese. Holy yum! (Yay my first holy yum! Sorry, novice moment…). This was epic. Just everything about it. I’m really enjoying peaches at the moment as well. They’re so great in smoothies, salads, grilled, baked…just as a snack. A bit more messy than apples but very juicy and yummy.

Snack-wise I’ve been enjoying beasty portions of honeydew melon:

Melon

And as a bank holiday treat on Monday night, I was very naughty….

Ice cream

I ate A LOT of this. It was so good. And not that bad really…erm…well, it’s not Ben and Jerry’s! I love this product and all it stands for. Fairly natural (gluten free, soya free, dairy free) and her story behind it it’s really sweet (no pun intended…sorry that was lame). Well, I enjoyed my scoffing session and life’s all about a balance! Can’t be good all the time Smile

So all in all a very pleasing WIAW if I do say so myself.

Here’s what I’m wearing today:

Outfit 29.08

The top’s from Oasis, jeans are from Top Shop, the gladiator sandals are from Aldo and the necklace is from Forever 21 (I think!).

In terms of fitness, as I mentioned last post, I’m enjoying my change in running. I’m not running more than 3 miles and always following it with a strength training routine. Whether that be an arm workout, a leg workout, abs or full body. I feel really invigorated with mixing it up like this. Definitely keeps me interested! I also don’t dread working out like I used to. Waking up and thinking “I’m running 2 miles or 3 miles” is a lot easier to digest than “I’m running 5 miles”, you know? I just need to think about nutrition a bit more – I’m trying to get my head around whether I should be ramping up my protein intake and when I should be eating carbs…it’s too complicated!!

Hope you all have a great WIAW! I look forward to sneaking a look through my lunch break/random times during work (shhh!)