Well I don't have time to write much as I've got to finish off an assignment before tomorrow night but will share these with you.
These are the group pics that the nice people at Maximuscle have sent me from the Body of 2009 photoshoot.
After seeing these pics it will become obvious to you why I felt like a bit of a lardy giant!
In case you were wondering, the girl on the opposite side to me is the one who actually won the 'Inspire' category (next year she says, next year...!).
You'll be able to read all about her and the others once the new website is up and running... but more about that at another date ;-)
So, first here we are in our sports outfits: (yes, I know I shouldn't have worn those tatty old Tchibo pants and should have worn shorts to show off my quads! Also can't believe how pale I look despite having a 'dark' coloured spray tan!!)
Next we had to wear white shirts and black trousers: (yes, high waisted trousers are always a no-no if you have a large behind but they were the only ones I could get in a 10 at short notice - I don't wear trousers at work, only jeans!
And finally here we are looking rather more glamorous :-) (I love that dress, bright colours are a must... who wants to be a wallflower! Hilarious that I was still gigantic despite wearing the lowest height heels!)
Anyway, that's your lot, I'm off now to write about Pain and Water-Borne Infections... jealous?! ;-)
Big huuuuuge apologies for my absence but I haven't had time to breathe lately let alone blog!!
Sometimes life gets in the way of even my blogging! Capturing and keeping a moment spare to myself is becoming increasingly more difficult as the year wears on!
I imagine things will settle down in January and I'll be all partied out, but until that point my online appearance might be even more sporadic than at present!!
There's so much to squeeze in before crimbo and work is just nuts at the moment, I'm writing code using syntax/methods I never have before... what I'd give for a bit of training in this, it's so frustrating at times!!
Of course, the eureka moments are worth it and by the time I left on Thursday I was able to output some pretty plausible looking results into one of our database tables :-D
It's all pretty boring geeky stuff mind, reporting on whether we're in breech of service level agreements and the like - rock and roll!
By contrast my studies are super interesting, though not as immediately rewarding as my day job ;-) learning facts like that 15,000 litres of water are used during the production of just 1kg of beef - I feel sooo bad about my love of sirloin!!
Anyway, "I'm off track, got to stop that"
... which leads me seamlessly (ahem) onto my first gig report
Just Jack - Shepherds Bush Empire - 9th November 2009
(it was a lyric from 'Glory Days' in case anyone was concerned I'd actually finally totally lost it)
Was super excited about seeing Just Jack, been a fan since he brought out the awesome humorous and observational diatribe that is 'Starz in their eyes' - a scarily accurate analysis of the whole zero to hero popstar process which is unforgiving of the ones who fall from grace along the way - does anyone remember those Pop Idol/X Factor contestants 6 months further down the line once they've faded into obscurity - only to emerge every now and again to turn on the christmas lights somewhere remote, or cut the ribbon on some discount designer store in a far out shopping outlet centre ??
"Welcome to the kingdom of the blagger Uncutting you nose clean, coating you bladder"
Pretty sure he says "uncut in your nose, Clicquot in your bladder"
would certainly make more sense, damn these lyrics sites!!
Anyway, the perpetual happy chappy gave a rousing performance, I think it was his only London show, and received plenty of well-deserved adoration from the crowd (us included!) :-D
It was sooo lovely to see him at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, it's such a great venue, it's much smaller than our local place and the acoustics are magnificently better in comparison!
It feels so much more intimate there, when I went to see Starsailor there earlier this year I felt like they were singing to me in my living room - the place is so small that even stood at the back of the floor area you're still pretty close to the action!
Still too far to take a decent picture on my rubbish phone camera:
boo hiss.
Anyway, if you wanted to see one of my favourite songs, here's Snowflakes... this is lovely, much slower, really gorgeous:
But of course, if you really want to listen to/see the real crowd pleaser you have to check out this video clip of 'The Day I Died'. I can't embed it for some reason, blergh!
It stars the oh-so-lovely James Nesbitt, who I was thrilled to see again in our gym last Saturday - I was worried that thought he'd moved out of the area, hadn't seen him for months!! *gasp*
By contrast to my adulation-filled report on Just Jack's gig, this performance won't receive such an emphatic review!
The storyline goes:
Set in an average Korean home, the family members are all surprisingly agile. They include a grandfather, a drunken uncle and a karate-chopping mother. Each is a specialist in a martial art and they enjoy challenging each other. Comedy and combat is very Tom and Jerry and the characterisations and plot have the simplicity of cartoons.
I can't say it 'captured my imagination' and was far too obvious at times - like the 'love interest' - a studious type who suddenly is possessed by superhuman strength and agility (not to mention fighting prowess and some testosterone fuelled aggression!) once his Harry Potter-esque glasses are 'r
Here's another rubbish picture, of the stage
Actually that's absolutely dreadful! Here's a promo one:
In fairness, it does what it says on the tin - it's a light-hearted tale comprised entirely of slapstick and martial art displays in pretty equal measures.
However, I'd have probably been happier if they'd cut out the entire 'storyline' and just had a bunch of dudes running round kicking ten shades of shit out of each-other... but in a fabulously agile and elegant fashion ;-)
Snow Patrol - Royal Albert Hall - 24th November 2009
WOW
I could really stop writing now and that would be sufficient in describing how the night was for me, but then it wouldn't do it any sort of justice now would it! (would also be a pretty boring review too… ;-) )
Unfortunately the gigs sold out pretty quickly and I wasn't able to get any really decent seats. However, being the Royal Albert Hall, which has the most amazing acoustics *wherever* you're sat - that didn't deter from our enjoyment of the night in the slightest! :-)
Here's a general pic, we were at the front of our block, but as you can see, pretty high up!!
Aside from a somewhat embarrassing uncomfortable moment when some random punter in the crowd managed to attract Gary Lightbody's attention sufficiently that he actually left the stage, mic in hand, and walked over to him in the crowd.... cue everyone holding their breaths thinking "oooh what'll happen, something deep and meaningful?" (or secretly hoping for a punch-up - cameras at the ready?! haha nahhh) - personally I just thought he wanted to give the guy a hug... anyway, the guy says he wants to propose to his woman, through Gary!! Gary somehow agrees to this, and utters the words, only to find that his 'woman' is nowhere to be seen!
whether this was just a casual acquaintance who scarpered at the thought of it getting that serious... or the woman was actually just a figment of the fella’s alcohol-addled mind, I'll never know!
Anyway, he pressed on with the show... it was amazing!
Visually the performance was pretty basic, but then it didn't need to be anything flashy with a voice like Gary's!
There were a few pretty flashing laser/spotlights at time though.... ooooooh aaahhhhh ;-)
Have you eaten chocolate eclairs? Not the actual donut-styles treats with the chocolate on top and the cream in the middle, I'm talking the actual mini chocolate versions (these things).
I remember the first time I had one, I put it in my mouth and sucked away (matron!) until nearly all the caramel had gone... but then I bit into it and there was this lovely rush of smooth cool chocolate - quite unexpected!!
Gary Lightbody's voice is like that, it's all I could think when I was listening to him since, just how smooth and luscious he sounded!!
I really like Snow Patrol but I wouldn't count myself as their biggest fan. However, after that show I feel a lot more love for them.
The highlight of the show for me was when Gary started introducing the next song, it was a duet he said he'd written to sing with Martha Wainwright. He then went onto say that he had a very special person present to perform it with him, and I thought "RESULT!! I get to see Martha Wainwright live - woot!"
Nothing could have prepared me for hilariously wonderful surprise that was James Cordon!!! I didn't know how or why it could work... but it did!!
All in all it was a fantastic night and we left the place with a warm glow feeling very special indeed to have been part of such a lovely intimate-feeling concert. I felt like he'd been sitting in our living room singing just for us, it was lovely :-)
Classical Christmas Concert - Sunday 29th November 2009
A good friend of mine plays violin rather well. So much so that she plays in an orchestra which gives performances at various point during the year.
I was really looking forward to this performance, not least because of the great programme of music:
- Bach, Sinfonia from the Christmas Oratorio - Dvorak, Cello Concerto (Soloist Kwesi Edman) - Brahms, 2nd Symphony
But also because my friend had told me that the cello soloist was something rather special.
I played the cello at school for quite a few years. I was never amazingly good (probably due to my lack of practice and discipline!), but I did enjoy playing and took several exams.
However, I have *never* heard a cello sound like it did when Kwêsi played. It sounded like he was playing a violin at times, so expertly he was able to reach the highest of notes. It sounded magical, and I was captivated - not least because the man is absolutely beautiful!
I forgot my camera and my phone's camera doesn't have a zoom. I tried to take a pic just after he was finishing his bows but you can't really make him out too well:
Ahh, my final gig/concert/show report - you still with me?! ;-)
This was my final (I think) surprise from Joe for the year. You might remember that a little while back he organised a special wine tasting evening for me, well he'd said that something was happening last Thursday but wouldn't divulge any info so was very intrigued indeed!
However, best laid plans and all that... I got an email from one of our friends the week before to a bunch of us saying "don't forget Eddie Izzard next Thursday!!!"
oops, I guess he forgot it was meant to be a secret! :-D
Anyway, I was very excited about seeing the glamorous Mr Izzard, having seen him on TV a few times and, most recently, reading about his running an amazing 43 marathons in 51 days for charity!! What an awesome achievement from one we'd deem to be somewhat 'less-than-sporty'!!
The last (and only!) two times I've been to the O2 I've been in charge of snapping up tickets so we've always gotten good seats - usually at the front of the second block in the stalls.
This time we were about as far back from the stage as before.... but miles above it!!
Okay, I might be exaggerating a teensy bit there but it certainly felt that way... especially walking up the stairs to the seat!!
Here's the view:
You wouldn't want to lean too far forward huh??!
Anyway, once I'd gotten over my terror of being up so high I realised that it doesn't really matter how far up the seats are if you can still see the screen... if we were sat at the back of the hall then it would have been a different story - might as well just watch the DVD, you'd see more!!
I enjoyed the show, but not as much as Michael McIntyre... but I'm not going to draw comparisons as they both have very different techniques and modes of delivery... Eddie is less routine and more ramble.
The benefit of that is you're unlikely to see him do exactly the same gag more than once... unlike MM whose routine I've now seen 3 times in the last few weeks!! (I must say however that I've found his jokes just as hilarious every time round, he's quite the master of observational comedy!).
Eddie spent most of the performance attempting to disprove the existence of God - quite humorously I must add (I did like his take on the whole Noah's Ark tale!), but it did also feel to me like perhaps the wrong forum to be doing so and that maybe he's actually at the point where he'd really like to believe but is desperately after some proof/evidence!
God doesn't work like that unfortunately!!
All in all an enjoyable night, but lacking in the whole belly-laughing "OMG I've got tears in my eyes and my cheeks hurt so much from the smiling" aspect... perhaps a little more rehearsal might have paid off... or is that just me subscribing to the more formulaic comedy that's around now? I don't know... I love Jimmy Carr as a presenter and comedy-show panellist, but hate his stand-up act.
It's a good job everyone finds different things amusing though or the world would be a very boring place!
Right, better get off now, I have lots of training news as I have managed to get to the gym when I've not been out partying/eating/drinking or at gigs!
Oh and I've discovered a love of netball... but more about that soon!
Hope everyone's well and you haven't missed me too much - I know some of you have more than others of course ;-)
I'm sorry I've been so rubbish over the last couple of weeks but I've got shedloads on at work and have been out every night so haven't had any time to just chiiiiil (and blog!)
I have a quiet night in (for a change!) this evening so will do my best to update you later (expect post of mammoth proportions!)
in brief though:
cardio - bit crap, only some elliptical trainer work (due to not having any time because of work and social committments - yes I know that sounds lame but seriously I've not been able to sqeeze it all in!!) food - not bad actually drinking - waaaay too much, can't see it getting any better either due to the nature of this festive season! weight training - pretty good in terms of upper half! managed to get out with Joe last week and did 3 sessions... very pleased, it helps to split things out a bit, did chest & arms, back and then shoulders yesterday :-) need to do more lower half stuff though :-S
right, that's your lot, need to get on and get back to project work but hopefully catch up later.
hope you've all been well, have been reading blogs when I can but not able to do much in the way of commenting due to time restrictions!
Please don't be fooled though dear reader, this is not a training update (that will come at a later point when my arms have recovered sufficiently!)... there is some cycling involved, but a) it doesn't involve me and b) it's only minimal and on a stationary bike positioned in my work's bar - high octane!!
It took place the week before this one passed and was all in aid of raising money for the Alzheimer's Society.
I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned this before, but I put forward the idea of a cycle challenge, which I thought would be pretty simple and accessible to most (as opposed to say a walking/running one as they wouldn't have to leave the comfort of the building) and somehow this meant that I was left lumbered with the thing for the entire week!
Fortunately I have a lovely understanding boss who didn't give me a hard time despite taking 2 hour lunches (I hasten to add that the additional hour was made up from my own time though!) every day for the entire week!
So, 12pm til 2pm Tara was stationed in the bar smiling inanely at passers by trying to entice them to participate in what must be the easiest challenge in the entire world.
There were 3 challenges in total
#1 'Turn up and cycle' - Everyone who enters and jumps on a bike and pedals, no matter how long for, gets entered into our prize draw for a pair of tickets to Paris on the Eurostar (pretty damn sweet prize for doing very little)
#2 'Fastest to Five' - whoever cycles the fastest somethings (we thought it was Miles but it was actually KMs (there was no way of telling at first, these LifeFitness bikes aren't the most user-friendly!) gets a £50 gift voucher.
#3 'Furthest Distance' - whomsoever clocks up the most mileage over the week gets three bottles of rather nice wine.
So, Monday I turn up at 12pm to the bar and am greeted by 2 shiny new bikes (LifeFitness have won a contract at our work gym - I'm gutted, I wanted TechnoGym (sorry LF!)) - and very kindly supplied us with 2 bikes for the purpose of the challenge.
These bikes, although gratefully received, were a bit of a pain in the arse to use, especially as the minute you stop pedaling the screen clears! Nobody could work out how to program the damn things (pretty rubbish as that's my job and most the competitors work in the IT and systems dept!) so the whole week we used the 'quick start' feature to its fullest extent!
One more problem nobody had factored in was the fact that as this was a 'corporate' instead of 'victoria' challenge (waring factions, positioned next door to each other, one company, two divisions, bizarre!!) so I wasn't 'meant' to advertise too heavily in the victoria building (despite this being where the challenge was being held!!)
Added to this my placement - by the door to the SMOKING AREA! Can you imagine the responses I received "hi there, would you like to take part in our corporate charity cycle challenge and be in with a chance of winning some fabulous prizes just for getting on?"
cue wheezing, gripping chests, looks of incredulity that I'd even consider *insulting* them with the very notion of physical exertion!!
All in all the usual response I elicited from my most bizarre of notions (if indeed I was even acknowledged) constituted a mixture of horror, disbelief and amusement that I'd even think to suggest they hop on an exercise bike, be it only for a couple of seconds!!
Be under no illusion, this was a tough crowd!
In spite of this there were a few gems who came along and took this event seriously... just ONE woman did the 'fastest to five' challenge, completing it in 21 mins... she was a star, she just got on and pedaled for ages, bless!
Most of the 'competitors' turned out to be people literally getting on, pedalling for a minute tops and then getting off - fair enough, it all went to charity.
But there was one fella who came along and tried out the 'fastest to five' challenge 3 times!! The first time he came he was in his work clothes and just basically went as fast as possible on the lightest resistance going... lots of work, super high cadence but not really going anywhere!
Then a colleague of mine who cycles every day (from north right through central london, nutter!) came along and halved the first fella's time... but he did have the resistance up so was clocking up more mileage (more power = more distance).
So our fella came back and had another go! This time in gym kit - took it down to just over 5 mins.
...was a bit knackered afterwards as you can see!!
The next day a fellow cyclist and climber (who cycles at least 24 miles a day just getting to work) came along and completed the 5km challenge in a blistering 03:46
As you can see, resistance was *right* up!
Ouch!
We'd been told of this mystery man who cycled over 90 miles a day on his normal home-work commute (and contributed over 1400 miles to our TfL workplace challenge, legend.
So, with rumour of S firmly intact, a crowd gathered to see the 'clash of the titans' play out
It wasn't to be though, by 4km this self-confessed 'grinder' realised he wasn't going to beat A's NEW time of 03:35 and gave up - bah!
He could have at least gone the full 5km, some men are soooo competitive ;-)
So A won the 'fastest to five' which is fab as he and his partner have just bought a new house so the £50 voucher will come in very handy indeed!
My colleague came back and cycled for almost an hour to add to his KM tally over the week - clocking up 72km in total :-)
Here's me presenting him with his three bottles of wine :-)
*** One Last Thing ***
If (for some reason!!) you found this post interesting, and want to read about a true cycling legend - you might like to read fellow Serpie, Daniel Bent's blog as he cycles a monumental distance across Europe to India for the charity Action Aid.
"Danny Bent left his home, family and job as a junior school teacher in July 2009 to pursue a 20 year dream. A dream to cycle round the world raising as much money for charity as possible. He is travelling 15,000km by bicycle to southern india where he will work in a slum in Bangalore and a village school in Chembakolli as a teacher."
If you scroll down his latest post to the very end where he details the decor of his less-than-plus hotel room, it might make you think twice before moaning about poor room service and/or an absence of clean towels in your next hotel stay!! ;-)
Oh and if, after reading all this, you're not convinced of Danny's legend status, also worthy of note is the fact that he is the current Bog Snorkelling Triathlon World Record holder!! (eagle-eyed readers of 220 Triathlon magazine might have spotted this featured a couple of issues back)
I tend to just arbitrarily paste some random bollocks into the box below this one and then re-use what I'd typed before without giving it enough thought.
This will change - well, when it comes to training that is.
I need to get more disciplined and perhaps start posting entries *specifically* about my training rather than:
"a bit of waffle
ooh I did some exercise
more waffle
ooh look what I ate too
more waffle still"
maybe I should have pure-waffle and waffle-free posts? :-D
plus I want a label cloud, where can I get one of those?!
Right, have configured it so that the minimum number of labels 'mentions' must be 2... the list was ridiculously long - that's better :-)
anyway, as I trained today on way to work (at the gym that is, I wasn't lifting dumbbells on the tube!) today's post has the appropriate labels applied :-)
Here's what I did...
Please bear/bare(?! what is it, I can't spell today!!) in mind that
a) I am muchos weakos having not done any sort of consistent upper body work for a while due to being a combination of ill/busy/injured (though not always all at once)
I know it's a poor excuse but I'm doing something about it okay?!
Important thing is that my eating has been very good so I've not piled on any weight - I just need to train better, get stronger and feel good about my body!
b) I've actually decided to lower the weights anyway. Just because I can lift heavier than quite a few men in my gym, it doesn't mean I *should*. And, being constantly witness to poor technique and clueless people at the gym it's made me quite aware of my own failings!
So I'm going to work with lighter weights and take my time and perfect my form :-)
This morning was a shoulder session, I did
Seated Shoulder Press - dumbbells (2 x 8kg) - 3 x 10 reps Upright rows - dumbbells (2 x 8kg) - 3 x 10 reps Front raises - dumbbells (2 x 4kg) - 3 x 10 reps Exterior shoulder rotation - cable - (2.5kg) - 3 x 10 reps Interior shoulder rotation - cable - (3.75kg) - 3 x 10 reps
actually wanted to do more but I ran out of time so had to leg it to the office!
So there you go, two posts in one day, aren't you a lucky bunch!!
I'm always a bit reluctant to try new protein bars, mostly because I get on so well with the Maximuscle Promax Diet bar range and I don't feel that I need anything else, but also because my experience with 'fruit' protein bars hasn't exactly been a favourable one... quite a few are revolting - like the gross Boots chocolate and strawberry protein bar that I was unlucky enough to purchase recently and be unable to finish!
This is why I only ordered one of these bars instead of a whole box!
I needn't have worried though. After all, I really enjoyed their chocolate and orange protein bar which I got free earlier this year when ZipVit were giving away their 'Formulated For Success' free sample boxes packed full of superb energy and recovery products to celebrate their affiliation with the Cevelo cycle team (in fact I think you can *still* get these boxes for free if you visit the success site: http://www.zipvit.com/success/!!).
This bar is really nice and I had nearly wolfed down the lot before I thought I remembered that I should probably a) tell you all about it and b) take a picture before I forget!!:
.
Very tasty and as you can see it has real blueberries in it! :-)
Be warned though, if you *don't* have a sweet tooth you won't like this very much but I'm quite impressed, especially as it reminds me of my favourite sweet low cal (although low protein too!) snack which is a Boots Shapers Blueberry and Yoghurt Nougat Bar. It's just under 90 cals so a great sweet-tooth-placater. This bar however is banana flavour (perhaps not to everyone's liking but I've grown to love it thanks to Maximuscle Promax Diet in Banana flavour!!), has more cals (246) but also has 20.2g of protein! Obviously there's more in the way of carbohydrates for any of you low-carbers out there but then it's a bar, so it has to have bulk! But great in the way of PWO protein if you don't have a shaker or RTD like Maxi-milk handy!!
I do hope you can detect the sarcasm emanating from my every keystroke...
Instead of going to my usual ever-other-monday haunt, The Castle Climbing Centre, I suffered a severe case of buddy-bail-out and was left having to come home - which meant supervising the extreme online shop I purchased last night from Tesco.
oh joy of joys, I could hardly contain my excitement as I made my way home via the stinking victoria line and nearly chocked on the sickly incense-fumes wafting down the stairs into the station from the irritating man positioned directly outside... still, makes a nice change from the offers of "skunk....SKUNK... weed... SKUNK WEED" you usually are met with when stepping out into sarf laaandan town.
owing to a particularly complicated day of coding, which didn't end until after 7pm, my brain had well and truly turned to mush and it was probably a good idea I wasn't faced with the challenge of working out climbing routes... I'd have never gotten past a 4A!!
So anyway, get home and thank goodness my adorable other half has purchased a takeaway because cooking would have been faaaar beyond my capabilities.
I had half a tandoori chicken, some spinach and chickpeas and a little rice. I *did* try to eat some garlic naan but it just tasted like I was eating a bath sponge so I abandoned that and munched down on my chicken - delish! I would have taken a picture but I was too hungry to even think of that!
After that the boys played on the new PS3 for a bit, marvelling at the cinema sound created by the brand spanking new amp and metre high speakers... extravagant? yup, but I didn't pay for them so I couldn't care less!
arghh, just noticed the dryyyyyyyyyyy skin on the back of my knuckles, I really hate what this season does to my skin, does anyone else suffer seasonal dermatitis? It sucks, big time :-(
So yeah, the shopping was delivered by a lovely fella from Tesco - SHIT did I order that much?! I know I should really shop at Waitrose for obvious reasons but I haven't worked out how to get my staff discount online, or from the delivery partner, I just don't think it's possible (shame as I get 15%!!) and we don't have a car either so cheapo Tesco shop it is!
Joe's working on a promotion panel at work so was able to cry the shopping unpacking (probably just as well as he'd have not been too impressed at all the food I bought and the questionable tactics employed to squeeze it all into fridge/freezer/cupboards etc!!
Then as I'm sorting out the zillion shopping bags, Bella (girl moggie) decides to come in deposit a nice juicy turd in the cat litter tray - it's in the breakfast room, there's no escape!
Then I manage to pour flour all over my top while hopping around with my hands full of shopping trying to scratch my left shin with my right ankle as it's bloody itchy owing to the flea bites from our adorable felines (we do de-flea them on a regular basis but some had taken up lodgings in my wooly slipper socks. bastards, gonna boil the feckers)
So yes dear reader, not only do I have all the dexterity of a drunken giraffe, I also have fleas and my kitchen smells like shit!
My, what a charmed existence I lead!
All this takes place while the mad moggie prances round the kitchen (having happily emptied her bowels and clearly feeling rather more sprightly as a result) vying for my attention:
No... she's not gone insane and lost it at me... this is one of the top methods employed to attract my attention... it's called "Stand on hind legs and waggle paws wildly around until owner notices my frenetic waving and constant chirruping and strokes my head"
Bless, she's so cute, could almost forgive the smell (why can't she poo in our neighbour's garden like her brother does!!)
This is the other moggy, giving Joe a cuddle, he's a lot more laid back than she is, although just as demanding for tummy tickles and bloody annoying when prowling round the house at 3am howling for attention before he realises that you're upstairs in bed AS YOU USUALLY ARE AT 3AM - every single bloody day!!
Wish I wasn't such a light sleeper.
Anyway, I digress, can you tell I'm killing time and I've calmed my post-programming stress with a nice glass of vin rouge?
Well, the cupboards are stacked, kitty poo cleaned and all's well as I sit typing on Joe's laptop as he's commandeered the PC for his promotion stuff
A few highs of my shopping 'trip' include:
stocking up on the BEST peanut butter in the world:
This stuff is what dreams are made of.
I know it's not as healthy as the Merdian one, there's more fat and salt, but a) it doesn't go dry when the oil runs out... as it doesn't (maybe something to do with its short lifespan in this household?) and b) it's the best tasting crunchy wholenut on the market, it's all natural baby and I LOVE it!
believe me, I have tried a LOT of peanut butters... I should probably hold a poll to see how long people reckon these 3 pots will last me us! :-D
Also bought some seed mixes to put into my bread.
Into each loaf goes:
* 550g wholemeal seeded flour (currently using Allinson's country grain but just bought some mixed seed to try out) * 2 x tbsp golden linseeds * 2 x tbsp hemp seeds * 2 x tbsp sunflower seeeds * 2 x tbsp mixed nuts * 2 x tbsp extra virgin olive oil (though not sure if it's worth using the expensive kind... you know if you heat extra virgin olive oil too much it loses all it's extra health giving properties!) * 2 x tbsp honey * 2 x tbsp pumpkin seeds * 1 1/2 tsp salt * 1 1/4 tsp yeast
quite a loaf huh?
*modest*
I should really take a picture of a cross section (i.e. slice!) of my loaf! Have taken plenty of pics of the finished article:
But none of what each slice looks like - it doesn't last long enough in this house!
So I'd ordered these new seeds:
basically just so I didn't have to separate them all out (getting lazier in my old age) - plus some 3 seed mix... which was unavailable so my 'Tesco Shopper' in their wisdom decided to substitute ONE bag of '3 seed mix' with THREE bags of mixed fruit and nut... whole cashews, sultanas, cranberries etc... very nice... but no good in a fucking loaf of bread!!
Why oh why didn't I tick the box that said "don't substitute any items" or "if you will substitute items at least use your "£$%^*(& head and subtsitute like for like!
However, am a bit torn between the girlie feeling of "oooh, a bargain" as they 'price matched' my original choice with their three extra bags and I got refunded a whopping £6.27 - BARGAIN!
hang on, still can't make bread with it... ahh well, Joe and my son can have it on their morning muesli, all's not lost, I'm really just whinging for nothing because it's late, it's Monday, and I really have nothing better to do with my time!
Oh yeah, in my never-ending quest for alcohol-free utopia (why can't they make alcohol free wine that actually *tastes* like wine, they can do it with beer!!) I purchased some of my favourite lager (Bavaria - alcohol free lager that actually tastes of lager and comes in at under 80 cals - I'm addicted to the stuff!)'s new apple-based cousin:
Hmm, I can taste the malty goodness from Bavaria's signature 0% alcohol lager but this fruity contender to the throne doesn't really float my boat. I could have just bought a can of apple tango, there's no real novelty factor, I don't feel like I'm cheating the old booze wagon!!
Think I will stick to the *ahem* real(ish) stuff, my son will gladly take these sickly sweet tinnies off my hand no doubt!
Other news... I located the source of the fishy smell that has penetrated into every fibre in this bloody house and resulted in me wondering what the hell that smell was when I put my scarf on before leaving work... oh yes, that's my house smell - eww!
You see, I cooked fresh cod in the steamer the other day for us all and served it with wild rice and mixed veg (from freezer individual microwave steam bags - LOVE those things!) - very tasty it was too
but I forgot to clean the bloody steamer, as did our cleaner... hence the pong. Lesson learnt, if you've got an electric steamer, CLEAN THE WHOLE BLOODY LOT AFTER COOKING!!
God I'm rubbish at this domestic stuff. It's a good job we DO have a cleaner, not least because she's fantastic, but also because she irons too! I don't think I've ironed a shirt since I was a teenager (bad huh?!).
I feel bad that she cleans the house but then we both work full time, Joe had a cleaner before we met and I have a teenager - getting him to clean his body and teeth, let alone his bedroom, is difficult enough!! He would gladly fester in his own filth, sitting around in his boxer shorts playing computer games, if I let him - men are a different species!!
Oh and I bought these to try out too:
I reckon we'll have some tomorrow night with our dinner, which will mostly involve cold stuff like salad and cottage cheese - I over-ordered, thought I'd bought 2 small pots of the stuff and had in fact bought two mahoosive 650g tubs. If anyone has any cottage cheese recipes feel free to send them my way, I haven't a bloody clue!
Right, off to bed, I am now well into Tuesday and have to go sleep as that thinking thing needs to take place tomorrow, ughh
hopefully I'll have my PC back tomorrow so I can post pics of last week's workplace cycle challenge... oh and I'll hopefully update you on an adventure race I'm thinking of taking part in at the end of January next year - VERY excited at the thought of that!
This is the health and fitness blog of Tara Stevens. I’m 30 years old and work and live in London with my partner and teenage son.
I’m a sports, health, diet and nutrition enthusiast, plus a bit of a communication junkie, fitness fanatic and information addict to boot!
Earlier this year I embarked on a mission to overhaul my diet, exercise and general lifestyle, inspired by the prospect of entering the Women's Maximuscle Body of 2009.
I did so in September, and was thrilled to learn that I'd been selected as a finalist!!
I didn’t win the competition but am already in training for 2010 and will be keeping track of my progress via this blog.
In amongst all the waffle I write, there is usually some details about my food and training routine. I do try and post as often as possible but please be patient as I have quite a busy life and it’s hard to fit everything in!
I love to hear from people so if you'd like to leave comments on my blog, please feel free to do so. You can also email me at supersonicsenses[at]gmail[dot]com.
Hope you'll join me on my journey :-)
Machine & cable weights Double leg press - 90kg - 3 x 10 reps Single leg press - 40kg - 3 x 10 reps Adductor - 55kg - 3 x 10 reps Abductor - 55kg - 3 x 10 reps Leg curl - 40kg - 3 x 10 reps Leg extension - 40kg - 3 x 10 reps
Free Weights (dumbbells) Bench step-ups - 12.5kg - 3 x 10 reps Forward lunge - 12.5kg - 3 x 10 reps (each leg) Squat - 12.5kg - 3 x 10 reps 1 leg calf raise - 12.5kg - 3 x 10 reps (each leg) 1 leg split squat - 12.5kg - 3 x 10 reps (each leg) Dead lift - 12.5kg - 3 x 10 reps Rear lunge - 12.5kg - 3 x 10 reps (each leg)
CORE AND BACK
Plank - hold for 60 secs Side plank/raise - 10 each side Hip thrust - x 20 Alternate leg extensions - 10 each leg Reverse crunch - x 20 Back extension - x 20 Dorsal raise - x 20
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