I’ve had a busy weekend that included last minute wedding stuff – can you believe that I can now say that I’m getting married NEXT WEEK? 😮
I’ve also spent time gardening and getting the inside and outside of the house ready for spring.
AND, as if that’s not enough, I’ve kicked off that 5×50 challenge, and continued with #ATWRBR2014 with a long run yesterday!
I’ll give you a more detailed post about my weekend antics tomorrow. In the mean time, here’s something that might just help if you’ve eaten well so far today, but are tempted by the lure of the kitchen:
Did you have a busy weekend? Any running in there?
Oh, how I love you, Pinterest. I can easily while way hours, scrolling through workouts, fashion, motivation, home interiors and books.
But, how often do I find myself scrolling through tasty treats? All. The. Time.
Sometimes, it’s healthy stuff that I pin and save for later. I’ve tried out lots: some are more successful than others. Disasters include cinnamon quinoa breakfast bars (far too dense) and black bean brownies (dry, dry, dry).
Other times, I can’t resist the naughty stuff. And that’s where I’ve been drawn to recently.
And I’ve found a recipe that not only works, but gives me a warm, tasty, chocolate hit whenever I want it, as all of the ingredients are store cupboard staples. And it’s pretty naughty.
It’s a chocolate mug cake. Dreeeeaaamy! Have you ever tried it?
It takes about twenty seconds to throw together:
Grab a mug. Add in:
1/4 cup of plain flour
1/4 cup of sugar
a pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of cocoa (I use Green & Blacks)
Give the dry ingredients a quick mix together.
Then add in:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 tablespoons of water
Mix it all up. If it’s a little dry, add a little more water.
Pop it in the microwave for 1 minute, 40 seconds.
Oh, my. It comes out with just that slight gooiness that is heaven!
If you’ve read my posts over the past few weeks, you’ll have seen that I’ve been a very lucky blogger indeed.
First, in the first instalment of the great playlist swap, I told you how Girl Runs Wild had sent me a wonderful gift box packed with some post run goodies.
Well, the best things come in threes. And that’s also true about gifts! Yesterday, I received a parcel from Amazon. Now, as someone who shops on Amazon A LOT, I was racking my brains, trying to figure out what I had ordered. So, I opened the package to find a lovely, scented candle!
My friend, Margaret, had sent me a wonderful ‘tranquillity’ candle, which is gorgeous: it’s scented with  lavender, ylang ylang and orange. It smells great!
So, I was able to relax after my run, with the gorgeous candle, and the latest copy of Women’s Running magazine.
I’m one very lucky girl! I’ve been so touched by kindness recently.
Have you been counting your blessings? And gifts? 😉
This morning, @TheWelshWookie and I planned a 9 mile route. So, we had a breakfast smoothie, and got changed to head out for a run. Then, I made the mistake of looking out of the window, and seeing the icy, driving rain outside.
Ooops.
So, I made an alternative suggestion: why not check our running ‘outfits’ for Madrid by running our nine miler on the treadmill?
That’s what we did!
As I mentioned yesterday, @TheWookie has had a dodgy knee, so rather than running nine miles straight, we tag-teamed it by running three miles and swapping over. I’m pleased to say that the running gear performed well, as did @TheWookie’s knee 🙂 We were also able to watch a couple of films as we ran, so we’ve now caught up with the excellent American Hustle and  the not-quite-so-good The Delivery Man. It certainly passed the time!
The plan for this evening is to chill out with a glass of vino and The Voice. What are your plans?
I thought I’d catch you up on my half marathon training: some people have been surprised to hear that @TheWelshWookie and I are going on runeymoon, but after I’ve explained that we’re able to combine a love of running with some sightseeing and relaxation, it makes more sense to them. I’m still following my Hal Higdon plan really closely, and the training is still going well. I missed one run last Saturday, but that’s really the first missed run and I’m already at the end of week 7’s training plan.
Unfortunately, @TheWelshWookie slipped on some grass when playing football with the nephews on Sunday and has re-injured his knee, so he’s not run this week. Yet. Hopefully he’ll be back to it soon enough!
My  Around the World Running Blog Relay mileage is about on target: I’ve already gotten in 57.96 kilometres so far, and with a 9 miler planned for tomorrow I should be adding more to that this week.
Also, it’s almost time for The 5×50 Challenge 2014. We signed up for this back in mid-December, and time has flown in, as it now kicks off in eight days: next Sunday! I’m really looking forward to it, as I know it combined with #ATWRBR2014 will definitely keep me on track!
In wedding news, everything is in a bit of a lull: everything is organised, and I’m now just waiting to carry out the last minute things that can’t be done in advance. It’s three weeks today: I can’t wait!
As you’ve probably heard, today is The United Nation’s International Day of Happiness. And so, I did something that makes me happy: I ran. I tried out the running gear that I plan on wearing in Madrid, and all seemed OK with it. The vest is probably a little more snug than I’d like 😉 but all in all, I had a slow-but-solid five miler. So, that’s a total of 12.93k this week so far for #ARTWRBR2014, and 57.96 kilometres for March.
And, I also received some surprise mail today that really made me happy: a large, overseas envelope was waiting for me on the doorstep. Puzzled, I picked it up, and carried it into the house, wondering what on earth this could be!
I opened it up, and out came three gorgeous bars of organic, fair trade chocolate in fantastic flavours, and a card! The wonderful Kyla from Motivation had sent me a tasty treat, and a gorgeous card for my wedding! It was such a wonderful surprise, and couldn’t have arrived on a better day! She knows me so well, and my love of fancy chocolate bars 😀 The chocolate is made locally to Kyla in Vancouver, so I have a little bit of local goodness to look forward to!
It was a reminder that not only are you fellow bloggers, but you are also friends – and you’re so generous with your support, your comments and even your lovely gifts! 🙂
After temporarily disappearing from Blogland over the weekend, I thought I’d explain why.
Friday night, @TheWelshWookie and I had the Hue and Cry gig that I was telling you about last week, and it was brilliant! The Kane brothers were entertaining as ever, and the play through of their ‘Bitter Suite’ album remained true to the original, with a few of the tracks updated a little. It was amazing!
We had a couple of drinks at the venue, along with a couple more later, including an apple & guava cider, and a nice GnT. Perfect.
On Saturday morning, we had a 5K planned. But, although I certainly felt fresh enough for a run, I decided to sleep in instead. It was bliss! We then hit the shops, as I had a few more bits to pick up for the wedding. @TheWookie got a new long sleeved running top from Run4It, which is lovely.
And, on Saturday afternoon, we had a great time: my nephew, Kieran, was a mascot at the SPL football match between Partick Thistle and Hibernian! He’s only five, but he was so great, and had a brilliant day. Kieran is a huge football fan, and Partick Thistle are his team: he goes to the games with his dad and granda.
Kieran went along early on Saturday with his dad and his granda, where they met the players and had a tour of the stadium. Next, he (along with the other two mascots) had a kick about on the pitch while the players warmed up. And just before kick off, Â they led the teams onto the pitch, and were there for the referee’s coin toss.
He must have been a lucky mascot, as Thistle won 3-1!
@TheWelshWookie and I went along to support him, along with his mum (my sis) and his brother, Aidan who – at three – was going to his first ever football match. He loved it too! My other nephews Ryan and Liam also came along, as did my other sis Angie, her BF Ryan and Kieran’s auntie and uncle Alison and Chris. It was a fab family day out!
I even, erm, ‘enjoyed’ a pie and bovril at half time 😉
After the game, we were all invited to the hospitality suite where Kieran was presented with a signed football by the Man of the Match, Kallum Higgenbotham. Lucky boy!
We then had a fab night back at my sis’ house, with a few vinos and a Chinese takeaway.
Sunday was grocery shopping, and driving home, tired after a busy-but-fun couple of days!
A taste + rate / debate of gluten free dining in Glasgow Scotland. By newlyweds team The Murphy’s. Want the latest on her fashion updates too ? Join writer/ blogger @cityslickerinthestix.com
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