Mother's Day

For once, Mother's Day was a success.  The family didn't forget!  I got breakfast in bed consisting of a large cup of tea, a toasted cheese English muffin with cream cheese and berry sauce (interesting... ), and a fresh fruit salad with yoghurt and more berry sauce.  Of course, Deane and I had discussed the previous evening how the morning would proceed, as I had planned on going for a run.  I was informed that the children were looking forward to bringing me breakfast in bed and would be most upset if I was up before them.  So at 6.30am I snuck quietly down to the kitchen to turn on the oven for Deane so he could bake the loaf of bread for the morning, then slipped back into bed and waited patiently for everyone to wake up, go downstairs to make my breakfast and bring it up to me.  I got bored and pulled out my kindle once they'd gone down, but put it away again when I heard them coming up the stairs.  X had made me a card, and T had made some neat little paper puzzles at school in a wee parcel.  Very cute! 

After breakfast I headed out to Cornwall Park for a bit of an 'off-road' run.  I had been around the sheep track there a couple of weeks ago with a friend and thought I knew where to go.  Turns out I didn't, and I got rather lost!

I was supposed to run 11.25km, and ended up running 12.5km - oops.  But it was an excellent run and I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite getting stuck briefly in a paddock full of cows surrounded by an electric fence.  Don't ask me how I managed it, I'm not entirely sure myself!  The second lap around the park included a run up One Tree Hill, where I snapped a few pics of the stunning view.  It was a beautiful day:

I enjoyed the run so much, I think I might do it again next weekend.  In a slightly less meandering fashion of course ;-)

When I got home, I had time to squeeze in my ab challenge for the day before a quick shower, then dashed off to knitting for the afternoon, where I had a lunch of fresh fruit salad and yoghurt, sans berry sauce ;-)  Nothing else on the menu appealed, particularly as most involved some form of bread, or the portion size was too large.  To be honest the fruit salad was ridiculously huge, but it's fruit so who cares?  Between knitting that afternoon and when I got home that evening (Deane had cooked dinner - Moroccan chicken, woohoo!), I managed to finish the wee shrug cardigan I was knitting for my niece's birthday:

 Night pic

Day pic, with ribbon - snapped quickly at NZ Post before wrapping and sending

I couldn't decide on a ribbon colour, so got two colours and wrapped the rolls in with the cardi.  That way the ribbon can be changed to suit, or when it gets all frayed at the ends as ribbon often does.  I hope she likes it, and I hope it fits!  The pattern is Saffron by Elena Nodel, knit with Knitsch Delft DK (from Holland Road Yarn Company) in 'Rose', from the Bigger on the Inside yarn club.  I knit the shrug length, with 1/2-3/4 length sleeves.  It was a relatively quick knit, only taking me six days.  What took the longest was the ruffle edging around the body of the cardigan - by the time I cast off, there was somewhere between 500 and 600 stitches.  I kept losing count and gave up after a while.  Still, it was fun to knit and the pattern was very easy to follow.  And I got it finished in plenty of time, hurrah!  Next, I think I'll go back to the Cassidy cardigan and finish that off before casting on Deane's winter sweater that I have finally decided on a pattern for.  And no, it's not because it is a 'Twilight' pattern, it is because the sweater is fairly plain (I'm probably going to omit the seed-stitch textured patterning at the top), is V-neck, and knit in the round.  And there's a size that will fit Deane's... larger proportions ;-)

Round four of Sock Madness is upon us, and I cast on the sock on Saturday.  I knit the toe and part of the foot before deciding that a) I didn't really like it; b) there was a mistake I'd made that I couldn't be bothered fixing; and c) I have more important things to be doing at the moment, like writing a 2,000 word assignment that's due at the end of the month!  So, after some deliberation, I decided to frog the sock and gracefully bow out of the competition for this year.  I don't think anyone on my team is complaining ;-)

Ooh, now I promised to tell you how the Foodbox went that we got last week.  Well!  Delivery was right on time for that evening's dinner, so once I'd unpacked the box I quickly pillaged some of the broccolini and a carrot:

I love the minimal packaging that goes into it:

Only the things that need to be packaged, are (spinach, mung bean sprouts, cherry tomatoes, lettuce and broccolini) - everything else is just put straight in the box.  They also ask that you leave the box out for them to collect when they next deliver, so they can re-use it.  Awesome :-)

Over the course of the week, I have made marinated kale and chickpea salad (yum!!), mung bean sprout stir fry (also yum!), vegetable soup (a winter staple - soooooo good!!!), and some spinach and feta mini muffins, which were not so flash.  I followed the recipe in the latest Real magazine and there's either a typo or somebody has some weird tastes.  The recipe called for 3/4 cup of brown sugar, which made the muffins both sweet and savoury.  Very odd, and I couldn't decide if I liked it or not.  Deane was a little on the fence, then decided that he fell in the 'don't like' category, so I ended up giving half away, and chucking the rest.  Oh well, perhaps I'll have better luck next time.  I'm going to make fried cabbage (minus the bacon) to go with some smoked fish cakes for dinner tonight (hopefully the smoked fish cakes recipe in the same issue of Real is better - fingers crossed!), and since the persimmon wasn't quite ripe enough when it arrived, it's still sitting in the fruit bowl.  I'm going to make a persimmon, feijoa and apple crumble for dessert.  Should be good!

Tomorrow's delivery will have new season potatoes, carrots, brown onions, broccoli, butternut pumpkin, parsnips, brussels sprouts, Oyster mushrooms, spring onion, shanghai cabbage, cherry tomatoes, leek, fancy lettuce, rose apples, granny smith apples, packham pears, gold kiwifruit, mandarins, bananas and a lemon.  Plus I've ordered two dozen free range eggs, which will get devoured over the week.  We like our eggs ;-)  With the increased amount of fruit I'm currently eating, I ended up getting some extra apples, kiwifruit and mandarins at the supermarket the other day just to top up the fruit bowl, but otherwise I think the amount of fruit and veg contained in the box is about right for us.  And I really am enjoying trying new things to use up the different vegetables!

Right, must dash.  I have 240 squats and a BodyRock workout that needs doing, before I get stuck into this assignment.  Have a fabulous week, and I hope your Mother's Day was as awesome as mine was!

Several random things

1. I had a scary encounter this morning on my run.  I was heading through Bouzaid Way from Viaduct Harbour Avenue to Fanshawe Street when I saw a man walking towards me.  I smiled and kept going.  He tried to step in my way but I managed to dodge him, then he waved his arms in my face and started yelling abuse at me.  It was a little daunting, and I was very glad it was later in the morning and not my usual running time of around 6.30am.  I was also glad that it was at the end of my run and I was heading home.  Time for a relaxing cup of tea I think!

2. My fruit and vegetable box gets delivered this afternoon, yay!  I'm looking forward to trying a persimmon - I've never eaten one that wasn't dried or baked into a cake.

3. I have sewn together all the body pieces of my Cassidy cardigan, and I'm not sure I like the sizing.  One of the downsides of knitting a garment in pieces - you never really know for sure how it's going to look until you've put it together.  Also, the sleeve shoulder seams are not to my liking.  I don't quite know what to do about that right now, so it's going to sit in a corner while I think about it.

4. We're having apple cider pork and potatoes for dinner this evening, I can't wait!  Fingers crossed it turns out as good as the last time I made it.

5. My new blender works fabulously well.  I played the role of short-order cook this morning, making stir-fried cauli-rice and spring onions for myself, waffles for T, and a banana berry smoothie for X.  I wonder what Deane would've had for breakfast if he was here...?

6. I've found a company based in Palmerston North that delivers free range chicken and pork, and organic beef and lamb.  I'll stick with the Green Meadows beef (because it is amazing!) but will order our chicken, pork and lamb from Moreish when we next need meat.  I'm so happy to have found reliable New Zealand sources for all our meat, eggs, fruit and vegetables.  Fresh local product, healthy, happy, well looked after animals - what could be better?

7. I got an A+ for my first Information Industry assignment, yaaaaaaay!!!  Now, on to the second assignment.

That is all.  Carry on.

So much stuff to tell you, expect a crazy mish-mash post. This is a week in bits.

Yes, there's been a bit going on in the last week or so.  I finished the body parts of my Cassidy cardigan, and blocked them so I could sew them together.  Unfortunately, the dye ran quite spectacularly (which was apparently to be expected, and I should have guessed it would happen since I ended up with blue hands every time I knit with the yarn, but still.  I have never had dye run THIS MUCH):

Thankfully, there's still some left in the garment ;-)  Aside from this little inconvenience, I absolutely love the yarn.  It is squishy and soft, and lovely to work with.  I am very much looking forward to wearing the finished cardigan!  (But will be very sure to avoid wearing it next to light-coloured clothing!)  So at some point in the next couple of days I'll sit down and sew all the pieces together, ready to pick up the stitches for the hood and button bands.  Sewing is not my favourite part, but one must endure... ;-)

As soon as I'd cast off the sleeves last Saturday night and set the pieces to dry, I happily cast on Deane's Doctor Who scarf.  I had ordered the yarn in early February, and it finally arrived last Friday (bloody Canada Post.  Slowest postal service on the planet).  I've been wanting to knit one of these for a long time, and the opportunity had arisen when I discovered (through the Yarn Harlot) that a yarn store (Little Red Mitten in Ontario) was selling a kit with the season 12 scarf recipe and accompanying yarn with the closest to canon colours.  I didn't get much done the first night, since I'd started so late in the evening:

Day 1

I also managed to drop a stitch in the light brown (otherwise known as 'Saddle Tan') block, and didn't realise until after I'd finished the red section.  So I had pick it up through the dark brown ('Choco Kisses'), yellow ('Goldenrod') and red ('Red Fox') blocks. As you may know, picking up a dropped stitch through that many rows of garter stitch is quite a challenge, especially when it wasn't dropped from the top row.  I had to steal yarn from the adjacent stitches on each row, which is why there's a weird, tighter-knit rectangle.  I fixed that the following day, and managed to get a bit more knit.  Five hours was spent driving from Auckland to Napier, so I didn't knit as much as I'd have liked:

Day 2

But I made up for that the next day:

Day 3

And the next day:

Day 4

It was around this time it occurred to me that I may be able to finish the scarf in a week, and have it done before we left to go home.  The race was on!

Day 5

Day 6 - 10 year old added for scale ;)

The knitting was done, but there were all those ends to weave in!  Another one of my not-so-favourite jobs.  Still, I got stuck in - nobody was going to do it for me, right?  About three hours later, I had finished the ends:

Not much to show for all that time really, is it?  Then, it was onto the fringe.

11.30pm, and the scarf was complete.  Time for bed!!  Long drive home tomorrow...

Rewind

So we arrived in Napier Sunday evening, and spent Monday fluffing around going shopping and getting my broken food processor replaced with a swanky new one (yay!!!), plus I did a BodyRock workout and 140 squats.  Mum cooked an amazing roast lamb dinner (my favourite meal).  Tuesday morning I headed out for a 6.5km run along the riverbank near my parents' house, using the Rotary pathway, then did BodyRock.

Wednesday was more shopping and hanging out with the family, and I got to go try out kick boxing with my BFF.  It was a lot of fun!  And that covered the 'cross-training' part of my run training schedule too :)  Not to mention BodyRock and the 150 squats I did that morning...

On Thursday I had a rather lovely 8.5km run through the hills of Taradale - Puketapu Road (twice) and Cumberland Rise, plus BodyRock and 155 squats.

Hey Napier, you're pretty when you wake up in the morning

The boys stayed at their nana's for the night, and I spent the evening with my BFF eating Chinese takeaway and waaaaaay too much chocolate while watching Thor and The Avengers movies.  Awesome evening.  On Friday I squeezed in a quick 3.8km run, my BodyRock workout and 160 squats before heading around to my sister's for the day to look after the four kids (her two and my two) while she went to work.  It was a surprisingly stress-free day.  I guess when there's enough kids, they manage to occupy themselves quite well.

Conveniently, Saturday was a rest day for the squat challenge, BodyRock 30 Day Challenge and my run training, so we packed up and got on the road at 8am to head home, and arrived in time for a late lunch.  We lucked out with the weather too - it didn't rain until after we got home.  I was lucky with the weather again this morning, managing a 9.5km run before the rain arrived - I was finishing up my 180 squats when it started.  And just so you know, doing 180 squats right after a 9.5km run is REALLY HARD WORK!   Having said that, they're helping a lot with my knees - the muscles in and around my knees are really strong now, which is helping me run longer distances.  My knees still hurt after about 5km, but I think that's just something I'm going to be dealing with long-term anyway.  It's not bad, and they only get sore to a certain point then don't get any worse, so I'm going to keep going.  I'm not giving up on my goal to run a marathon that easily!

Rewind

I came across a company during the week via Facebook that looked interesting - Foodbox.  I ordered The Big Bang box for this week, which will be delivered on Tuesday.  I'm really looking forward to it!  This week's collection of fruits and vegetables are new season potatoes, carrots, red onion, broccolini, baby white cabbage, swede, baby spinach, kale, lebanese cucumber, cherry tomatoes, 'fancy' lettuce, spring onions, mung beans, mandarins, persimmons, feijoas, ambrosia apples, bananas, kiwifruit and lemonade apples.  Yum yum yum!!! I think it'll be great fun to have this delivered every week, and will enjoy the challenge of trying to incorporate the fruits and vegetables into the weekly meal plan.  I have registered to have the Big Bang box ordered weekly at this stage, and will assess how that goes over the next couple of weeks.  If we need more, I can get a bigger box.  Less, get a smaller box.  Or we can change the frequency of the delivery.  This is such a fantastic idea!  And it means less trips to the supermarket, as the main reason for weekly shops was to get fresh fruit and vegetables.  Now, I can stock up on staples and shop less frequently.  Might have to add eggs to the fruit and veg delivery though.  I love that you have this option too.  Awesome stuff!!  I'll let you know how it goes.

In the mean time, anybody got any good ideas for persimmons?  I know how to bake them into a cake, but would love some different options aside from adding them to a fruit salad or eating them on their own.

Fast Forward

Tomorrow is back-to-school day (HURRAH!), and the boys will have fresh bread and a butterscotch cake to go in their lunch boxes (gotta love routine).  I will be getting stuck into an assignment, and possibly looking at that calculus workbook I have to get through so I can study Statistical Analysis next trimester (urgh...).  The house needs a good clean so I'll be getting back into the cleaning calendar too.  It will be the fourth and final week of the BodyRock 30 Day Challenge, and I'll be nearing the 200 mark for the squat challenge.  Next weekend, I'll have cracked the 10km mark for run training.  Yes!!

I hope you have a good week!

School holidays

Yes, it's that time again.  School holidays are not my favourite time of year, but they seem to be getting a little easier.  Whether that's just my way of looking at them, or if it's that the boys are getting older and easier to handle (ie: they amuse themselves and just need to be fed and watered occasionally), I couldn't really say.  It would be fun to go out and do stuff, but past experience has taught me that 95% of the time, they're not interested.  Even when you do get them enthusiastic enough to go somewhere, within half an hour they're asking if it's time to go home yet.  So I won't complain, and take the time this week to work on my Cassidy cardigan (onto the sleeves!) - here's a pic of the three body pieces:

And maybe knit some other stuff.  Perhaps get a start on Deane's sweater, or one for the kids.  It is now well known in Sock Madness circles that the next pattern out is going to be the optional round, so I'm not overly concerned about knitting that one.  It depends on whether I like the socks or not, which I won't know until they release the pattern.  Having said that, sweaters are higher on the priority list at the moment so I might just give this year's optional round a miss.

I will also have time to watch a few TV programs I've been wanting to catch up on.  The tough decision is figuring out which ones to watch, I have such a long list!  Maybe New Girl and Revenge, or Once Upon a Time... 

My 30 day squat challenge is going well.  Today is a rest day, but yesterday was 80 squats.  It's still not very challenging, but I'm sure that will change soon.  In the next few days we're getting into triple figures!  The 30 day BodyRock challenge is also going well - the weekends are 'active rest' days, so no workouts to do.  Saturday was a lazy day - I just did the 75 squats and that was it.  Yesterday I fit in a 7km run (which was supposed to be 6.5km but I over-shot so figured I'd just keep going to round out the number) as part of the 10km training program for the week, which is also going well, in case you were wondering ;-)  That made me feel a little better about eating the breakfast I'd made.  We invited a couple of friends over for coffee and artery-clogging breakfasty goodness - I made peaches and cream french toast.  Dude.  It was awesome.  I only made a half batch and that was more than enough for four adults.  Actually, it was probably too much.  But oh, it was goooooooood.

In fact, there was a lot of good food to be had over the weekend.  On Saturday morning we had pancakes, then I made scones with jam and whipped cream for lunch.  Dinner was lentil sloppy joes (store bought buns, I got lazy) and dessert was self-saucing chocolate pudding made in the crock pot (although I made the standard version, not the gluten/dairy free one).  So yum!  Sunday morning's breakfast, as already stated, was fantastic.  Lunch was fruit salad at Mecca Chancery while I was at knitting group (and half a bowl of Kate's fries that she didn't want), then dinner wasn't anything special - sausages and baked potatoes.  But what I did like about dinner was the garlic roasted brussels sprouts.  I added in some cherry tomatoes for a bit of colour and variation, and they were rather delicious.

This morning's breakfast was chia pudding, made with coconut milk.  I served it with sliced banana and agave syrup.  It was really nice, but I've discovered that coconut milk is one of those things that causes havoc with my IBS.  I had a sneaking suspicion that it didn't agree with me and this morning confirmed it.  Oh well, guess I'll just have to be careful about how much coconut milk is in things from now on.  I find it weird that I have almost no problem with dairy, yet coconut milk is an issue... hmm... everyone's different I guess.  I made Deane some pickled ginger and salmon onigiri for lunch today, and sent him off to work with that and some edamame.  And here's what we're having for dinners this week:

How do you like my blackboard menu?  Cool, huh?  Got it at Typo for $25.  Not sure if you can read it very well, but tonight is beef bourguignon.  I've only ever made it using one of those Maggi packets but it was always a favourite when we were flatting.  I haven't made it for years so hopefully tonight's batch works out well.  Just need to hunt out some red wine...  I'm looking forward to Thursday's experiment - whisky and marmalade chicken!  I've already asked Deane which whisky I can use out of his ridiculously expensive, good quality collection.  Might need to feed the kids something else for dinner that evening though, as I doubt they'll enjoy it.  Chicken nuggets to the rescue again ;-)

Some other recipes we've tried over the last week or two (yay Pinterest!) are spiced apple sauce cookies (yum!  They're like little mini cakes):

And sun-dried tomato breakfast couscous (also yum).  Next on the list of things to try are Brazilian cheese breads (although I'll use wheat flour, hope it works okay!) and coconut pecan quinoa granola.  I love trying new things!

My 'cleaning calendar' and daily routine is starting to slip a bit.  Last week I spent a lot more time in the kitchen (see evidence above), and more time on exercise and study with less time doing housework.  Starting to get a little slack.  I'm pleased to announce though, that we have finally used up the crappy 'home made' dishwasher powder, and are now back to the store-bought stuff.  Wow, it's amazing how much cleaner my dishes are!!  Lesson learned there! One thing I'm not letting slack this holidays is the kids and their chores.  We've managed to get a pretty good system in place and they're getting things done with only a little bit of complaining (maybe it's the pocket money incentive).  Rather than wasting paper printing out a list for them to tick off each week, I've set up a different type of 'chores chart':

Each stick has a task written on it - some for the morning, and some for the afternoon/evening.  When they've completed a task, they move the stick to the 'Done' jar.  Once all their sticks are moved, they put a bead in the tube.  At the end of the week (we don't count weekends) if there's ten beads in the tube for each kid, they get their pocket money.  Today was the first day for this new system (last week was still paper checklists) and they completed all their morning jobs and got a bead.  This afternoon's jobs are now in the 'To Do' jar ready for later on today (the jar to the left is all the other chores to choose from for the morning or for school days).  The good thing about this system is that I can take it with us to Napier next week when we go visit family.  Haha, no escaping!!

Right, enough waffling.  Time to get stuck into other stuff for the day.  I've cleaned up a section of the laundry, throwing out a bunch of random stuff we don't need (Deane has no complaining rights - he's had plenty of warning!!) - now I can get to the freezer and the laundry sink without having to climb over stuff.  Win!  Next up, BodyRock workout, the vacuuming, and lunch.  Then a spot of knitting while contemplating what to make Deane for his birthday breakfast in bed tomorrow morning.  Decisions, decisions...

Juxtaposition

It was a sad thing to wake up to the other day - news of the bombing at the finish line of the Boston marathon.  Clearly designed to target innocent spectators, when the majority of the marathon runners would be crossing the finish line.  What was supposed to be a happy day for thousands turned out to be a horror day.  I will never understand what kind of person could possibly conceive of doing something so inherently evil - something they had thought about and planned at great length, to injure and kill people they have never met - men, women and children alike, for what?  Notoriety?  Yet they haven't come forward to lay claim to their deed.  It saddens me a great deal, particularly when young children are involved.  I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed yesterday and was confronted with the image of that sweet little eight year old boy that was killed in the bombing, whose sister lost both her legs, and whose mother is in critical condition with severe head injuries.  What else could I do but sit and cry, thinking of how unjust it was, and feeling so much hurt for the father and husband that has to deal with the aftermath of this event.

So many horrible things happening in the world.  Just now scanning MSN, there is a story of 60-70 people killed in an explosion at a fertiliser plant in Texas, and another of a bomb explosion in Southern India.  Accidental or intentional, such loss of life is upsetting.  I try not to dwell, and focus instead on the amazing men and women with the strength and fortitude to help others in these situations - people employed in the profession, and complete strangers who just happened to be nearby.  Emergency response workers are the best people in the world, don't you think?  Everyday heroes, all of them.  It's certainly not a job I could do, I'd be a nervous wreck!

These events make me appreciate all the more the recent news in New Zealand.  Many of you (likely everyone reading this) will know that the marriage equality bill was passed in Parliament yesterday.  If that was not cause for celebration enough, I woke up this morning to posts all through my Twitter feed from people all around the world congratulating New Zealand on such a fantastic result.  It was simply wonderful to see, and it warmed my heart.  The footage of the spectators in the gallery above the MPs in the House of Parliament breaking into song (one of my favourite New Zealand songs) brought tears of happiness to me this morning, a ridiculously big grin, and pride in our nation and its people.  Plus, National MP Maurice Williamson's speech was just priceless :-)

Onward with life in general then - an assignment is being worked on at the moment, after getting a disappointing B for the last one.  I thought I'd done better than that.  Oh well...

Knitting is going okay.  I was surprised to find that there were still a large number of spots left on my Sock Madness team for round three last weekend, and decided I might as well finish the rather-challenging-yet-easy-to-knit socks:

Greenhouse socks by Anita Grahn, knit with PennyRose sock yarn (Penny) in the aptly named colourway, Orange.  They were fairly straightforward in that the pattern itself was knits and purls, with yarn overs and decreases.  Fairly standard knitting stuff. The challenging part was keeping track of the pattern with its bias stitches.  I knit the cuff about a half inch too long on the first sock which was entirely my own fault for not reading the pattern properly, then I ended up knitting an extra pattern repeat in the leg, again my own fault.  Too hard to frog back, so just knit the second sock to match.  Everything else went perfectly fine until I got to the second toe and couldn't for the life of me figure out where I needed to start it.  Comparing the two socks didn't really help me, nor did measuring the foot.  You'd think it would, but no.  I ended up having to guestimate where I had to start the toe, and was out by four rows.  However at that stage I was past the point of caring.  This kind of pattern is rather fiddly to tink back and I wouldn't even consider trying to frog.  Plus, it had one of the most unusual bind offs I've seen for a sock thus far, and I wasn't keen on trying to attempt undoing that, so I'm just going to leave it as it is.  They're going to the kids' school librarian, and to be honest I don't think she'll notice.  It's going to niggle at me that they're just that little bit wrong, but I just have to move on and stop sweating the little things.

Speaking of sweating (haha), I've been doing a bit of that lately.  Not only is my running back on track (hurrah!!  More on this shortly), I've set myself a couple of little extra challenges on the side.  I stumbled across a site that has daily workouts that you can do at home, and on it (from last year) is a 30 day workout challenge.  I started on Monday and so far it's going well.  They're only 12 minutes long, but they're hard work and definitely make you sweat.  Good stuff!  (Note to friends and family: no, I have absolutely no intention of trying to look like the freakishly skinny woman who is demonstrating the workouts that has not a single ounce of fat on her.  She's scary-looking and clearly very image-conscious.  I just like the workouts.  That is all.  Mmmkay?  Right then, let's move on.)  I'm also doing a 30 day squat challenge.  You start the first day with 50 squats, and on the last day you're up to 250.  Challenge accepted!  Mwaahahahahaha!!!  Squats are good for strengthening my quads, which is what I need to keep my knees run-ready.  Just so you know.  A good-looking butt is just a side benefit ;-)

So with my running, I've had to back-track quite a bit due to the drop in fitness level after having a month off.  I got Paula Radcliffe's 'How to Run' book out from the library and at the moment I'm following the 5km to 10km training programme.  After that I'll move on to the 10km to half marathon training, then the half to full marathon training.  Because I still intend on running a full marathon before I'm 36.  I'm 34 this year, and if you know me, you'll know I like to have plenty of time up my sleeve - for anything from arriving at an appointment on time to finishing an assignment to achieving a set goal.  I prefer not to have to work under pressure ;-)  Training is a little slow-going at the moment compared to the beginning of the year.  Running 5km is challenge enough!  And to think that three months ago I could run 25... But I want to keep running, and that means pacing myself and my training, and not over-doing it.  So slow-going it is!  I was actually a little dubious about this morning's run, which was to be a 6.5km run with hills.  I hate hills!  Having found Tuesday's 5km flat run tiring, I wasn't sure I would be able to pull it off.  But, with nothing but my own thoughts going through my head up those hills (just to the next corner, next corner, next corner) I managed to run the full 6.5km, hills and all, without stopping.  I was pretty proud of that effort I must admit.  Then after a wee sit-down and a glass of water I did today's 30 day challenge workout (no squats today, it was a rest day) so it was a pretty good workout this morning.  Right now I'm more than happy to blob on the couch with a very full tummy from dinner and some knitting to do.  Tomorrow is cross-training day, so I'll be on my bike.  It's still really boring, so I'm thinking of getting a bike computer so I can track my progress in terms of distance and speed (on a stationary bike, haha!).  That'll help the time go a little faster I think.  I've figured out a way of balancing my kindle on the handlebars on top of a wee towel draped over the middle, so at least I can read while I ride :-)

What else is going on...?  Ah, knitting.  Since I'm between SM rounds, I've been working on my Cassidy cardigan and have nearly finished the front right panel - should have it done tonight.  So that's the body complete, which leaves the sleeves, the hood, and the button bands.  Hmm, there's definitely something to be said for one-piece garments.  I'm very tempted to cast on the tea leaves cardigan with the Cascade yarn I bought in Vancouver (same colour as the wedding afghan I knit).  But I should probably knit that sweater I promised Deane last winter first...  Maybe I should just cast on ALL THE THINGS!!!


Nah...


The boys will have their last day of school for the term tomorrow, which means they'll be home with me for the next couple of weeks.  That means that a) I'd better get my assignment finished tomorrow so I can submit it and not have to worry about it, and b) I'll have even more time in the kitchen to cook and bake yummy food!  My latest experiments have been varied - I made some oatcakes, which I've been meaning to try for ages.  They're delicious with brie and roasted vegetable chutney.  Yesterday's lunch was carrot and edamame salad.  It was okay, but nothing extraordinary.  I actually kind of prefer edamame just on its own with a little salt, so maybe I'll stick with that.  Although this edamame scramble is pretty awesome.  What is also awesome is this apple cider pork and potatoes.  That's twice now that I've cooked pork and actually enjoyed it.  This recipe was the easiest to make and sooooooo delicious!!  The potatoes... OMG.  Have I already told you about this?  I probably have.  But it was so good, perhaps it's worth telling you again ;-)  And breakfast this morning and yesterday was a little out of the ordinary for Deane and I.  The boys had pancakes yesterday and chocolate chip waffles this morning, but we had chia pudding.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was rather good.  I was low on almond milk and coconut milk unfortunately, and didn't want to use coconut cream, so just used normal lite milk.  It worked perfectly well, although I can imagine making it with soy or coconut milk would be pretty yummy.  Yesterday we had it with sliced banana and maple syrup, and this morning we had pears and maple syrup.  I've run out of chia seeds now, but next time I'll try it with coconut milk, and maybe have some blueberries and agave syrup or something.  Yum!!!  I also got T to eat carrots the other day, by making these carrot chips.  I didn't leave mine to cool, and they didn't go crispy, but they were still delicious.

I've been trying out different vegetable recipes in the hopes that the kids will enjoy some.  Over the weekend we had carrot and zucchini bars.  They were great, but the kids didn't like them.  Veges were too visible would be my guess.  I did have them eating almond meal muffins without being any the wiser, but I wouldn't count that as much of a victory.  Deane has fallen in love with these cauliflower pancakes but the kids won't eat these either.  I'd love to make more of these German chocolate fudge bites because they were yummy, but I have to get a new food processor first.  Wonder if I can whizz them up enough that the boys won't notice the nuts and dates...?  We tried these broccoli bites but weren't overly impressed.  Even X, who loves broccoli, would only eat one.  Mine possibly needed more egg and a little less cooking. 

Well in any case, you can see I've been having fun experimenting in the kitchen, and intend to carry on trying out all manner of new recipes.  It can be a bit hit-and-miss, but sometimes you find something really good, worth making again.  I'm building up a bit of a collection ;-)  Got any awesome recipes you want to share?  Let me know!  Right, that's me.  I have a cardigan front to knit, then on to the sleeves (two at a time, I think).  Enjoy your weekend!

Smile

Some days just go a little bit... not quite how you want them.  Sometimes you're just in a not-so-good mood.  Today is one of those days for me.  So to cheer myself up, I think it's time I posted a few things that make me happy:

1. Remembering the other day that I had a $20 credit on my Mojo coffee card, which allowed me to order a large flat white for 'free'.
2. Seeing the leaves on the trees change more each day.  I love autumn, it's my favourite season.
3. Being able to run again.  Just the thought of it makes me smile.
4. Reflecting on how far I've come since I first started running back in August 2009 - here's my first post on it (quite fun to read, must check my progress in later posts for the entertainment value).
5. Mumford & Sons.  Those boys are made of win.
6. Being able to get into the kitchen and cook or bake something amazing.  I guess we take for granted the skills we learn over a lifetime.  There are so many people out there that wouldn't know the first thing about cooking and I feel a little bit bad for them.  They don't know the joy of sitting down to eat an amazing meal they have prepared themselves from a bunch of fresh, healthy ingredients.
7. The realisation that these skills I've learned since childhood are thanks to my parents (mostly my mother), who always made good, healthy meals for the family when I was growing up, despite working full time.  Such a small time window between her arrival home from work and dad's, yet there was always a meal on the table for him when he walked in the door.  Lucky man.
8. My children.  Dear lord they drive me crazy, but oh, how they make me laugh.  I couldn't imagine a world that they didn't exist in.
9. That infuriating, stubborn, gross (because all male creatures are), ridiculous, absent-minded, determined, clever, loving, resourceful, funny man that is my husband.  At times I am sure his sole purpose is to make my life just that little bit more challenging, but where would I be without him?  He is my pest controller, waiter, masseuse, life-long companion, tech-head, encyclopaedia, and food compactor ;-)
10. Knitting!  Oh my, yes.  I do very much like knitting.  In fact, I may just go and knit something now.  Round three of Sock Madness is still in progress, and I have most of a sock left to knit.  Not sure I'll make it to round four this year, but I've made peace with that.  Study is more important at the moment.  Which brings me to...
11. Submitting assignments.  It's such a relief to get one finished off and sent away.  The only down side is having to wait two or three weeks to get your mark.  ::deep breaths::
12. Sleep.  I love my bed.  I remember as a child always wanting to stay up later.  Now I can't wait to get into bed every night and snuggle in,comfy and warm.

This is just a small list, but it's done as I'd intended it to and cheered me up.  Time for me to go cook some dinner and knit that sock.

I hope you're having a good day and have plans for a happy weekend.  And, if you don't mind my asking, what makes you smile?

And another thing...

Or two, or three, or four...

I made broccoli salad last night for dinner, to go with our fish.  Dude.  It was awesome.  Chop up a head of broccoli into bite-sized pieces and blanch it for a couple of minutes.  Drain well and throw into a bowl with a large handful of coarsely chopped cashews and a large handful of dried cranberries.  Finely chop half a red onion and add that.  Fry (or bake, or grill) 2-4 rashers of bacon (depending on how much you like your bacon, or how much you have in your fridge) chop it up and add to the bowl as well.  Then mix together 1/8 cup mayonnaise, 1/8 cup yoghurt, one tablespoon apple cider vinegar and half a tablespoon sugar, pour over broccoli mix and stir well until combined.  Refrigerate until needed.  Yum!!

What's also yum is this banana and coconut milk bread.  Which, as the blogger that posted this recipe says, is really just a cake masquerading as bread in the shape of a loaf.  Although it is good sliced up while still warm and slathered in butter.  Mmmmmm...

And since we're on the subject of yum, dinner tonight kinda rocked.  Deane had bought some chicken legs a little while ago.  This is not my favourite cut of chicken, but I decided to do something a little different with them.  We had 'hobo dinners' (idea filched off Pinterest) - Deane and I had a chicken leg, potato, half a corn cob, half a beetroot, half a carrot and a few cherry tomatoes wrapped up in a foil parcel each with some butter, salt and pepper, paprika and turmeric.  The boys just had chicken and potato (boring!).  I baked these for an hour at 180, then turned the oven up to 220 for 20 minutes before taking them out.  It was a bit like an oven-hangi ;)

Moving from eats to feets, I have blue toenails:

And short legs, as evidenced by the picture at the top.  But we already knew that.  Also, my left big toenail is still mangled-looking under the nail polish.  That's why I keep painting my toenails :)  Wonder what colour I'll do next...?

Last but not least, the round three pattern specs for Sock Madness are up.  Pattern release any time now!  Exciting!

Okay, so that turned out to be more than four things.  It's Sunday.  My brain doesn't work on Sundays.  I'm gonna go knit now.  See ya!