Thursday 26 April 2018

I'm starving! Don't know why I woke up feeling so hungry! Probably because I didn't eat a massive unhealthy take-out last night!

Weight loss is back up to 9.2lb this morning - was 7.5lb yesterday - so feel a bit better that it was a blip.  I knew running 10km would have a good effect.  If anybody reads this and thinks that I am obsessed (about diet and running).  Then you'd be correct.  I don't think I do anything that I don't get obsessed about! I feel sorry for the people around me - I bore them to death, and as much as I try - I can't help myself.  I think to myself - I am not going to tell Andy all about my run today because he won't find it interesting - but then....I tell him all about it!

So - asbestos bags turned up this morning and they are huge - which is what I was hoping for, as it is in big pieces on the wall and I don't want to have to break it up anymore than I have to.  So - I need to go out and buy a protective mask and get on with getting rid of it.  It is going to cost me £12.20 per bag - and that is for a normal rubble bag - and these are twice the size - so I'll probably have to pay x2 for each bag.  :-(

Somebody should be turning up today to fit a smart meter.  No idea if there will be a problem when they see that we have a 3 par thingy rather than 1 par.  I have no idea about the terminology - we just have a bigger feed of electricity coming into the house because we have such a big house. #mansionproblems.

The grass needs cutting again - and I have no idea if the mower is going to start, as it cut out last time and I couldn't get it going again.  If I do get it going, I'm going to have to make sure I do it all in one go and don't turn it off, mid-way around like last time.  That was interesting wasn't it.  Okay, I don't claim to be interesting!!

I found this route on walkjogrun.com - here is the link:

https://www.walkjogrun.net/functions/shareRouteBlog.cfm?rid=F9F53171-E355-1BCB-A758E4949B2E2B32&layout=false



It would be about 12.7km from our house.  I want to try it....although the advice is - only add 1km to your longest run every two weeks.  Actually it is about two weeks since I went up to 10km - but this is an extra 2.7km, so I might have to wait a while....it ends on a big hill too.....and I'd probably get quite a few rests whilst I check my map to see if I am going the right way.  something to aim for....

Wednesday 25th April 2018

Morning.

I woke up really early this morning - and Andy must have too because he left for work at 5.15am and I know he set his alarm for 6am.

Adam and Erika have left now - and I'm sat here feeling rather depressed after weighing myself.  At one point last week I had lost 11.5lb - and after a weekend with Helen and Paul and a few days with Adam and Erika - all involving eating and drinking - I am have now only lost 7.5lb.  How I can put that much on in less than a week is beyond me - especially as that takes weeks to lose!

Another reason that I am not feeling very happy is because of this:  We booked a holiday to Jamaica for next year.  So when we booked it we had over a year to wait.  It was expensive and involved an upgraded amazing room with a butler and premium flights.  However, I had to wait to April this year to attempt to use my air-miles to upgrade to first class.  I called them yesterday and could only upgrade the flight there as the return flight had sold out.  Okay - not bad - first class there would still be awesome!!  As we were coming to the end of the process of upgrading (after 43 minutes on the phone) the woman said - oh....you need to have paid the holiday off in full and have had your tickets issued, otherwise you cant use your points to upgrade.  Now the problem here is that we were going to cash in shares to pay for it - and when I spoke to Andy - we don't quite have enough.  The whole thing made us realise that this is a lot of money that we don't really have.  So instead of having a first class flight to an amazing holiday in Jamaica - it looks like we might just cancel the holiday.

Cancelling is probably the most sensible thing to do - especially if we want to finish the work on the house.  We could use that share money towards the work.

Anyway....was planning on a 10km run - try out my new trainers and burn off some of my fatty fatty blob blob self.  But it has started to throw it down outside - and I can't do 10km on the running machine it is too boring and it's too easy to quit.

Oh well.....decisions decisions.  I'm going to look on line for a part time job.....

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Well the search for a part time job was over quickly....so as Lissa and Andy both said to me - just go for the run in the rain -  I did! I ran 10.1km in 1hr 10m...in the rain for the first half - and wishing it was raining in the second half! Kept my old trainers on because I didn't want to risk them rubbing on a longer run - and I didn't want to get them muddy lol.

I felt much better after having been for a run - and I tidied up and did some washing etc. and went and had a bath.  Kitten May kept me company - making me nervous that she was going to fall in!!

May sticking her leg into the bubbles...

May for some reason seemed to want to bite the bath tub!

So - now I am waiting for Andy to come home - I'm cooking chicken with chorizo baked potatoes.  Looking forward to eating quite well tonight and chilling out, and not drinking alcohol (even though some red wine would go down nicely!)

Tuesday 24th April 2018

Hi,

So Adam and Erika were here today...we started off with bacon butties...and eventually got ourselves into Taunton. I took my trainers back and exchanged them for other Nike trainers.  Then Erika bought Adam a Barbour coat...he gets spoilt off Erika - and Luckily for him she has good taste...expensive good taste!

We came back home and decided that we would not go out - we'd get take-out.  We played pool and waited for Andy to emerge from the basement where he was working.  That didn't happen until gone 7pm - which us usual lately with his new role.  He works so hard and such long hours...

So then me and Andy beat them at pool 6-0 or did they win one? Cant remember now!  We ordered really unhealthy kebab and chips...which I didn't enjoy very much...and then Adam and Erika beat us both at cards! lol

Andy had to get up about 6am....and we were all quite tired so I think we went off to bed at 11pm!!  I never go to bed that early! 

Monday 23 April 2018

Good Mawnin!

I'm a bit tired today, although I got 8 hours sleep last night which is unusual!  Think it is just taking me some time to wake up properly!

Yesterday at Helen and Pauls we watched the London marathon...me and Helen seemed to enjoy it the most - I really enjoyed watching it.  I do not dream of doing it one day - seems way too hard to me! One day I'd like to do a half marathon (20 km)...I joked to Helen that we could do the Taunton half marathon next year...you never know though - depends how our training goes, and if we stick to it and not get injured.  I was debating putting myself in for a 10km run next Sunday in Bridgwater, but then realised that it is full!  Helen is still not admitting that she will do the Taunton 10km with me in September this year...but I think she will.

After the weekend and all the food and drink - I am back down to an 8lb loss (since jan) and it had got up to 11.5lb so that is a bit crap.  On the up-side according to my fitbit I am now in the "very good" range for cardio fitness!

I have a fairly busy day ahead as Adam and his gf Erika are coming to stay for a couple of days and it is Erika's 30th Birthday today - so I need to go out and buy a cake and some balloons and that kinda stuff.  I also need to get the house clean and tidy, change the bed, empty cat litter, get bins out...etc. I also wanted to go out and do a 10km run - but I'll have to play that by ear!

We are going out for a meal with Adam and Erika later - so more food and drink tonight!  This is why my diet fails - and I would not dream of eating a salad and being alcohol free!  So....really need to do that run today....

Right, better finish my coffee and get going then or I won't have enough time in the day....

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So - I went into taunton - and bought myself a new pair of trainers, 2 new running tops, a pair of ankle boots....then I get the stuff for Erika! Got a card, banners, helium 30th balloon, normal balloons, a birthday cake hat a birthday cake and 30th candles!  Got home and me and Andy put these things up at the windows so she would see it as she came in.  I then changed the bed and got tidy etc. and just about got 4km run in before they got here. 

Let me just mention though  - my new Nike Zoom Pegasus trainers - were very disappointing - not enough cushioning so I could feel the tread through the bottom of the trainer.  Gutted.  They were £80 too....so might try taking them back.

So Adam and Erika got here - hope she enjoyed all the things that we did.  We hung around for a but and they then played pool while I got a shower and got ready - then we all had a few drinks and got a taxi into Taunton.  Had a few more drinks and then headed to bare grills restaurant.  Had amazing food...went for another drink and then got a taxi back.  We played pool for a while but all basically crashed before midnight!!

Andy being silly taking a group pic...

~

Then the proper one...

Saturday - park run day!

Morning all,

I woke up this morning at 7.30...before my alarm went off. I wanted to do the park run today and beat my time.  I've only done it twice before and my times were 35:51 the first time and 36:22 the 2nd time.  On both occasions there was a long section of really awful mud and on the second occasion the puddles were more like long long rivers!  Today was dry and so much better!  I was determined to beat my time and I've done a lot of running lately.  My time today was 33:22!! So beat it by quite a bit!

I am aiming for less than 30 minutes but that's quite a lot to knock off, so don't expect to do than any time soon!

I was really pleased with my time, although it was a little disheartening to see I was so far down on the list of the results - I came 294th out of 357.   This is an incentive to do better!

Hehe...I was obviously happy to finish! Think this is me saying YAY!

I came home and had a lovely soak in the bath...then we eventually got ready and went to Helen and Pauls.  Saw their amazing new kitchen, had a few drinkies and went out into Paignton, and to our usual haunt - The Spinning Wheel - AKA The Spinney.  They always have a band on and Andy and Paul said tonight's was rubbish - to be honest me and Helen were chatting so much I didn't hear them.  We chatted loads - lots about running as we have now both got into it.  It is brilliant having somebody to talk to about running - who is about the same standard as me.  We spoke about running shoes, running bra's, routes that we do, hill runs...etc.  SO boring for anybody not into running - I was worried I would bore Helen, but I really think she is just as enthusiastic as me!

Anyway - we also had a really good laugh too - it wasn't ALL about running!!

So, a good time was had by all!  We went home via the kebab shop and I had chips and curry sauce - god it was good!!!  Think I went to bed about 2am,,,,thinking...not too sure about running tomorrow....

Friday!

Morning!

I had a really bad nights sleep last night - decided to leave my door open so the cats could come in - not doing that again! Periodically one of them would jump on the bed and wake me up by walking over me and at 5am mercky decided to come and sit on my head and purr so loudly! She then decided to paddy-paw on my face and lick my eyelids and my lip!!

My eyes are stinging today, I guess because I didn't get much sleep! I am sat here with a dilemma about what to do today.  I should really be getting the tiles out of the bathroom as I now know that they are not asbestos...or continue to strip the wall paper in the bedroom.  However, I am also wondering if I should go for a run before it gets too hot but its already 10.22....I could also spend the day getting the house clean and tidy ready for the weekend....oohhh what to do.....

I could go and get ready for a run....do a shortish one....then get some work done in the house - and finish early enough to get the house tidy ready for Andy coming home.  That sounds like a plan.....

six hours later

So, I went for a run - 7.4km so not so short...here it is:

So my average time was 6.58 min/km which is quite good for me.   Just before I went for a run Mercky decided to try and climb up my leg...as soon as I looked down, my leg was bleeding! I have little cuts all over my legs as their claws are like little razor blades!!

Anyway, I got back home, and got the quote back from the plumbing/electrics for the annex - I had put £3,500 in the budget, hoping it would be less and it has come back as £6,200.  We don't have £6,200...so that was bad news.  Then I got a call about the asbestos testing we got done the other day on the tiles in bathroom.  He just wanted to check that I'd understood the results.  As it happens, I hadn't because I thought that it said it was not asbestos - but it was!! So - that was bad news too....got to figure out how to get rid of it now!

So, rather than work on the house, I decided to dye my hair and then go out into the garden for a bit. Its so gorgeous, we are so fortunate to have such an amazing house and garden.  Big cat Itsy joined me in the garden...

Underneath the Indian Bean Tree (which incidentally, doesn't grow beans and is not from India)

  

Big Cat (as opposed to one of the kittens) Itsy:

View of the garden (big tree is the Indian Bean tree)

Me messing about sending snapchats to Lissa:

So...now I await Andy's return.  He's caught in traffic so he will probably be a bit stressed and tired.  Hopefully getting back to our awesome house and having the weekend ahead will make him feel better! I am going to go and sit in the garden and give him a call....

xx

The sun has got his hat on...

The hottest April day since 1949! So...decided to do more stuff in the garden.  Actually the gardeners were here this morning...Chloe and Neil.  They used to look after the garden before we moved in - so we asked them to carry on.  This was supposed to be until we got the time to do it - but we'll never be ble to do what they do! They know what they are doing and we don't! The garden is very big - probably 3/4 acre and there are all sort of things growing in it - its amazing in the summer.

Chloe usually nips in to use the loo - and this morning I was still in bed! It was about 9.15am and I felt really guilty about being in bed at that time.  I was awake and on my phone...but still ended up answering the door in my dressing gown!

I had cut the grass yesterday - so today I raked the dead grass up - took forever - I then decided to mow again and go a little shorter, I got about half way through and then the STUPID mower wouldn't start again!! I really wanted to hit it with something...or set it alight....

Let the kittens out in the garden for a bit and they loved it! bit too ambitious though and I thought I would lose them - so had to get them back in and I felt so guilty!

So now...I am not sure what to do with myself.  Andy isn't here and he is not back until tomorrow. It is almost 5pm...so I suppose I can get a shower...then errrrr.  Or, I could rest my legs a bit then maybe go on the running machine for a little bit.

Anyway...not feeling in a great mood now.  Don't like it when Andy is not here and still annoyed about the mower lol.  Here are some pics of the kittens in the garden that will cheer me up...

Mercky (above) and May (below)

below is Itsy stalking May