Last night I stayed at my friend's house in Crewe. On the way over I dropped my youngest son's friend (O) back home on the way - they had had a sleepover. On the journey little O explained to me that he liked baking and when I deposited him back with his folks he came running back out of his house clutching a cake wrapped in silver foil, which he had baked especially for my son's birthday. "Lovely" I exclaimed - "I'll give that to C tomorrow"
Well I dutifully looked after that cake as it came with me on my travels and when I returned home this afternoon C was delighted to open his little cakey parcel. Wow! What a sight for saw eyes! A perfect rainbow Swiss roll cake to rival Joseph's Technicolour Dream Coat!
C ate the red end (see picky below) and can now be located hovering approximately 3 inches from the living room ceiling!
Last night whilst staying in Crewe my friend and I found a fab little Indian restaurant. Really good value once I had had the menu translated. Now, I do know my Korma from my Jalfrezi but I had trouble distinguishing between:
- Tandoori Mixed Grill
- Mixed Tandoori Platter
- Tandoori Mix
- Tandoori Mixamatosis (OK so it wasn't that but you get the picture)!
I can't remember which I had but is was really great nonetheless and it came with Pilau rice and a vegetable curry sauce. Rounded off nicely with a lovely little Chilean Merlot :-)
I've already mentioned in a previous post that I can't eat all this and maintain my non Miss Piggy proportions without some sort of exercise to mitigate it so today I have been for both a walk and a run (halo shining). The walk was around Queen's Park in Crewe, whereas the run (5.5 miles) was upon my return to Stafford. Queen's Park has these adult "Gym-Style" equipment in it so friend dutifully watched like a proud parent, whilst I tested everything out. I tried really hard not to let the outrage show on my face as a little boy occupied the running machine, taking away all the fun from the adults! OK - it was just me!
Having not slept too well the night before (friend snores - loudly) I wasn't much in the mood for a run so I took it nice and gently, averaging just over 10 minute miles, chewing a few dextrose sweets along the way to try and prevent myself from lying down on the kerbside and dozing off! Result! Over 500 calories burnt :-D Go me! Go me!
Time to scape C off the ceiling now and try and get him into the swing of earlier bed times in readiness for the start of term....
TTFN
Good evening!
Now, I'm no Thatcherite but you can't beat a bottle of Thatcher's cider.
You may have guessed from the blog's name that my name is Katrina. Most people who know me well call me Trina but another variant that some people use is Katy. So it's Thatcher's Katy cider for me! I know I'm biased but it tastes reeeeeaal gooooood! :-)
My "ex", G, is here this weekend. Although he can be considered "the guilty party" in the breakdown of our marriage, I do try to be as reasonable as I possibly can. It's the best thing for my children and for that reason we do our best to get along. He stops over (in the spare room) about once a fortnight, which means I can get out and about if I want. I'm stopping with my friend tonight so I've left G and the boys at home trying to sort out the tip that is my eldest son's bedroom.
It's going to be plastered on Tuesday and the plasterer wants me to take off the radiator. Hello! I'm a girl! I don't do things like that (I nearly said can't but I'm sure I could if I really wanted to)! Anyway, G has taken it off and when I left the house the pipe was spewing water all over the house! Aaagh - so G was hot footing it off to B and Q (a Do it Yourself store), whilst I quietly and deftly took myself out of the situation! Heaven knows what I will come back to tomorrow! Wish me luck!
This morning I went for a cycle ride. This is the first time I have been on a bike, apart from the short ride to work, for three weeks. Three weeks I rode further than I have ever done before on a 35 mile sportive. My butt needed the three weeks reprieve.
I know! I know! I can hear all you hardened cyclists out there saying "That's nothing - I do that before breakfast" but you have to take into account that I'm a lady of a certain age and I have only been riding for about 4 months.
For about 8 years I have been a runner and whilst training for my first marathon I sustained an injury (plantar fasciitis) once I'd got to 17 miles in my training. Oddly, there was no warning, it just went and I could hardly walk for a few months let alone run.
I usually walked to work and back but even this 1.5mile trip proved difficult so I decided to cycle instead. I live on a hill so getting to work in the town centre was dead easy but coming back home was always a good work out and I hated it. Suspecting that this was something to do with my bike as well as me, I borrowed a bike from work and bliss - it was so much better. So much so that I purchased one on the work cycle scheme - I didn't have to pay as much tax on it and it comes out of my monthly salary.
Shortly after I purchased my bike some colleagues entered themselves into a 35 mile sportive and I thought I could do this too - I had about 12 weeks to get up to speed. And length. Each weekend I would extend my mileage, and hurt my butt that little bit more!
Being a runner I already had lycra shorts so when I came across some padded knickers for female cyclists I thought that was all I needed. Not Sexy! No - it looked like I was wearing the world's largest sanitary towel :-( Not a good look. What's more they were useless at stopping my butt pain so eventually I got some proper cycling shorts. These are better! Phew! Even so, getting off my bike after 35 miles was achingly painful.
So it's been three weeks since my last ride and today I went 14 miles or so - and I was really made up to note that I did it at over 1.5 minutes per mile faster than the first time I did it! Yay! :-D Please note that if I ever compare my achievements to the likes of Victoria Pendleton then I would have given up a long time ago. I have found that the only way to measure achievement is to just beat yourself - there's no way I can compete with a leggy 30 year-old!
That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!
TTFN
T
Eek! Well this is a first! Something I have always wanted to do!
This will be about some of the things I do because I'm interested in them and also about things I do because I have no choice!
This is what I do because it interests me:
1. Run - I have done this for eight years. I hated this at first but loved the impact that it had - it wasn't long before my calf muscles were thin enough for the first time in 30 years to fit into some long boots. Yay! and the rest is history! It's great to be able to eat cake and not look like Miss Piggy (much).
2. Cycle - I have done this for about 4 months, ever since I had to take a break from running. I rode my first sportive recently and even found my photo in the paper - why oh why don't I look like the professionals - all long and lithe? No, I have to settle for looking like a little gnome :-S. So be it - one of Trina's Trials shall we say?
3. Baking and cooking - I love the tried and trusted recipes but also trying out new stuff. My friends and I have been known to "pimp my snack" I.e. take a small item that can be purchased in the shops and make a giant version - my giant party rings made on a pizza baking tray are fab!
4. Walking - well this is more like baby steps. I love walking but for one reason and another (small children, no one to go with, blah, blah, blah), I have not done much in recent years but aim to do something about it.
5. Small bits of knitting and crocheting - a cushion cover is in the offering at the moment - watch this space!
Ok - there will be other stuff that becomes apparent but this is the stuff I do that is not through choice:
1. Single mother to two boys - one is considerably bigger than me and the other is just about to start high school (another Eek- surely my baby is too young for this)! I did want to be a mother but never intended to do it on my own.
2. Internet dating - this is worth a book in it's own right - watch this space and I'll give you a summary of the last 18 months experience! Well not every detail - I like to keep some things private!
3. Work - groan - we have to do it don't we? If you don't, please don't tell me cos I'll only stick my fingers in my ears and start singing loud. I have had years doing the most boring thing ever but things have recently got interesting and for the first time in a very long time I love it!
4. Mowing the lawn
5. Shopping
6. Ironing - zzzzzzzzzz
I'll try not to talk too much about 4, 5 and 6 unless 5 is about clothes shopping and those items that just sing out to me when I least expect it. That happened to me recently in TK Max when I was there minding my own business when a certain fine knit red cashmere dress (Ralph Lauren) started calling out to me, begging me to try it on. Hey! I saved £190 by buying it - not a bad outlay for £49.
Tomorrow I'll be driving for about 4 hours from South Wales, back home (somewhere in the Midlands) but hopefully I shall have some time to spare to tell you how it went. Oh - please wish me luck - I have left big son home alone for a couple of days - I do trust him but it will be reassuring to see my house in one piece. Please God, also tell me that he has fed the fish, chickens, guinea pig and bad bunny Richard!
TTFN
