Tag: saturday

Messing Around in the Water

Messing Around in the Water

by TartanJogger ♥ 2 Comments

Today, @ TheWelshWookie and I tried something completely different: we went paddle boarding!

Dave, who runs the fantastic water sports business Kayak Majik in Tarbert has some fantastic new paddle boards, and we couldn’t resist giving them a try.

So, at 9 o’clock this morning (usually known as PJ time for me on a Saturday), we were at the West Loch with some fellow intrepid adventurers: Dave, his wife Alison, Mark, Janet from Pure West Media, her hubby Gordon and son Struan.

Dave got us kitted out with wetsuits and buoyancy aids, and then took us through a briefing about basic balance and techniques while we were still on dry land. That turned out to be really important! We then carried the boards to the waters edge, and climbed on.

I’ll be totally honest: I did not think for one minute that I’d be able to stand, but the boards were great, and I went for it….. And stood up! Woop Woop!

Next, Dave took us through some basic techniques while we were in shallow water, and before I knew it, I was moving: miracles do happen! I kept trying to work on my slice, and by the end of the lesson it was beginning to get there. We had a wonderful paddle around the side of the loch.

I’ll admit that, when trying to push my balance on one leg during one of the exercises, I took a dunk 😮 . But TheWookie took a few dunks (one was pretty spectacular) – he said that it was because he was really going for it. Yeah, well…. 😉

Towards the end of the lesson I found myself at a standstill, battling against the wind (and my weak arms) so I had an extra leg workout wading through the water, pulling my board towards everyone else. But I loved it! Some of the others moved onto some more technique work like the hybrid stance. Me? I was happy with mastering standing up!

Look! I’m standing! ©Pure West Media

Thanks to Janet for this pic, which sums up my experience today 😀

We’re busy with the Kintyre Way Ultra next Saturday, with Julia from Girl Runs Wild but will be back out on the boards the following week if we can!

When we got home, we kicked off Hot Tub Season 2015 😀

What’s your favourite water sport? Ever been stand up paddle boarding?

Great British Menu

Great British Menu

by TartanJogger ♥ 8 Comments

Are any of my fellow UK-based bloggers (or BBCWorldwide watchers)  fans of the Great British Menu?

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You all know how much I love to eat. I love to watch programmes about delish food too! I watch loads: Masterchef in all its forms, Hells’ Kitchen. The Great British Bake Off, Saturday Kitchen…. I could go on and on……

Well, this week is the Scottish heat of GBM, and I’m fully supporting Jacqueline O’Donnell 🙂

I LOVE her pink apron:

source: jacquelineodonnell.co.uk
source: jacquelineodonnell.co.uk

You may remember that back in January I wrote this post about The Sisters Restaurant? I had the sea bass in a lobster cream sauce:

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It was absolutely delish!

Well, Jacqueline runs The Sisters along side her sister, Pauline. I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed for Jacqueline, and all will be revealed tonight in some areas, and tomorrow in Scotland.

What’s your favourite foodie show?

Back Outside!

Back Outside!

by TartanJogger ♥ 25 Comments

Welcome to the weekend! What are your plans?

At the moment, @TheWelshWookie and I are chilling out, watching rugby (OK, I’m watching and blogging- gotta love multi tasking!) and drinking coffee. It’s bliss!

This morning, I ran outside for the first time in a couple of weeks. And it felt G-R-E-A-T! The dreadmill has been hammered lately. Well, I say hammered. I really mean that it has been used for some pretty slow runs while watching Winter Olympic action from Sochi. Having the various sports to watch has made my treadmill running much more tolerable than it would have been otherwise: what am I going to do when the Games finish?  😦

Today’s Hal Higdon training plan called for a 6 mile run. It’s Week 3, Day 6 already. How did that happen?

@TheWookie and I had decided last night that we’d run the Big Glen: a loop that takes us out from the north of the village along the main road for about two miles, and then follows a single track road for a mile before reaching West Loch Tarbert. It then leads back into the south of the village, and is about 5 miles long. To increase the mileage, we decided to run along the Kilberry Road, past the village golf course, before  heading back into the village.

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And it was dry outside: no rain! It’s a miracle! 😉

We decided to stick to a long, slow run pace, and so I used my Audio Fuel track to keep me on target for this. Although I start off really slowly, sometimes I can pick up the pace at around mile 3 or so, and I didn’t want to lose steam at the end! Turns out, this was a great plan. I had a fantastic run, I really enjoyed it! At the end, I could have easily tagged on an extra couple of miles. I didn’t, though: best stick to the training plan 😉

As I ran, I was excited, thinking about the forthcoming Around the World Running Blog Relay: it’s going to be a great couple of months for us runners and bloggers out there! 🙂

We’ve refuelled on some soup and home made bread; and I have the new edition of Women’s Running to enjoy!

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Have a great weekend, all. How long is your long run this weekend? How’s the weather looking?

Cleanin’, Eatin’, Readin’

Cleanin’, Eatin’, Readin’

by TartanJogger ♥ 26 Comments

That just about sums up my Saturday!

@TheWelshWookie and I got stuck in to domestic duties this morning, with a spring clean of the living room and bathroom. I’m pleased to report that I have sparking surfaces, and TheWookie managed, at long last, to rid the carpet of the large wax stain caused by a slight candle meltdown incident a while back 😉

We were finished in time to enjoy some lunch before the beginning of the Six Nations rugby. I had some vegetable biryani: delish!

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As I’m sure you can tell by his twitter handle, @TheWelshWookie feels rather strongly about Welsh rugby 😉 So, while he was glued to the TV, I half watched, and spent the afternoon catching up on the past couple of month’s Women’s Running and Women’s Health magazines. I had already had a quick scan through these, but it’s lovely to have time to sit, mug of tea in hand, and really read them.

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I also had a slice of my grandma’s Jock’s Loaf:

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It is amazing!

There’s a couple of interesting articles in them, I thought I’d share:

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Tonight, we’re having some lovely salmon for dinner, and perhaps a glass of vino. Well, a girl’s got to fortify herself to finish the spring cleaning: tomorrow, it’s the turn of the bedrooms 😉

When was the last time you had some quiet reading time? What did you read?

The Sisters

The Sisters

by TartanJogger ♥ 9 Comments

No, not MY sisters. THE sisters!

It’s the restaurant we visited for my mum’s birthday on Saturday night.

Jacqueline and Pauline O’Donnell are the sisters behind these two Glasgow restaurants, and we visited their Glasgow Kelvingrove restaurant.

The venue is quite small, but very comfortable, and it was very busy when we arrived. The menu was amazing: all freshly prepared, locally sourced ingredients, and it was cooked so well. I’d love to make a return visit!

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To start, I had brioche topped with mushrooms and a port and red onion chutney. The portion was very generous. I then had the fish of the day, which was a fillet of sea bass in a lobster cream sauce, with some chive mash and queenie scallops. Wow. It was amazing.

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While everyone else tucked into dessert, I had a coffee, as I couldn’t fit one in!

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The service from our waitress, Kirsty, was fantastic.

I also found out that Jacqueline, who is head chef, will be one of the chefs representing Scotland on the 2014 Great British Menu, which is great! It’s the first time that a chef from Glasgow will be competing, and the first Scottish woman to compete. She will be following in the footsteps of other Scottish competitors, like Tom Kitchin, Alan Murchison and Tony Singh.

I’m looking forward to seeing how she does!

For more information, visit The Sisters Website.

Did you eat well this weekend?

Movie Marathon Part Deux

Movie Marathon Part Deux

by TartanJogger ♥ 4 Comments

Are you all having a fun weekend?

I’ve got a cold, and I’m feeling pretty sorry for myself, so we’re repeating the movie marathon from a fortnight ago. OK, when I say repeating, I don’t mean the same movies…. I’m sure you know what I mean!

Since we have the Great Scottish Run in two week’s time;  Cowalfest 5K trail run in three weeks, and the Zombie Night Run in four weeks, so this is really our last chance to chill out for some time.

Today, it’s been about:

Grown Ups 2

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Elysium

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A Good Day to Die Hard

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Pacific Rim

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Cider and Jaffa Cakes. That’s not a movie; that’s the accompaniments… 😉

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So, no running today. We’ll definitely be out there tomorrow, though… even with a cold. Have a lovely Saturday night, folks!

Saturday Shopping!

Saturday Shopping!

by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Today, we’re shop, shop, shopping!

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I’m sure i’m not alone with this one: when I’m excitedly anticipating a shopping trip, I picture myself gliding in and out the boutiques, looking effortlessly glamorous, purchasing everything I want and more, with ease:

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Instead, I can’t find what I want, and end up running about buying random things I don’t need, spending a fortune…

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But, secretly, I always have fun. And all that walking about burns calories, right?

Movie Marathon

Movie Marathon

by TartanJogger ♥ 8 Comments

It’s a wild, wet and windy day out there. Autumn is definitely on its way!

We’ve had a busy few weekends recently, and we also have several busy weekends coming up. So, what to do today?

Well, really, we have loads of domestic stuff needing done- but life’s too short, right? Hmmm?

So, we’re having a movie day here. @TheWelshWookie and I have a whole stack of films we want to watch, but haven’t gotten round to. Well, today’s the day.

We kicked off with Baz Luhrman’s version of The Great Gatsby.

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What’s not to love? I think Mr Luhrman’s movies are fantastic, and The Great Gatsby is amongst my top three books, ever. I know it inside and out. I was a little worried that it wouldn’t meet my expectations, but it was a joy: a visual feast, with musical greatness and artistic beauty. Very well done. And I bored @TheWelshWookie by quoting throughout the film.

Next up, was OZ: The Great and Powerful, which was great fun.

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As I watched, something rather momentous dawned. I already have my outfit for The Wedding of The Year. Now, the wedding isn’t until 28th December, but I have been so excited that I’ve been working on my outfit for months. And it is almost entirely ready. But, as I watched this movie, I realised that everyone is going to think that I have based my look on Evanora, the really evil witch. Oops. I swear, it is entirely coincidental!

We then had a pause in the movies for the Strictly Come Dancing launch show: glitter and sequins at the ready!

Finally, as darkness set in outside and we drew the blinds, it was time for World War Z.

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All in the name of research, of course, in preparation for the Zombie Night Run UK, of course! For those who don’t know, the scenes meant to be Philadelphia were filmed in Glasgow. It was amazing, seeing the city, especially George Square, being taken over by Zombies! Wow!

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This picture from the movie is taken from the exact start line of the Great Scottish Run, which is in four week’s time: the hill you can see is the first challenge at the very start of the run… I’m sure I’ll be telling you all about that start in just over four weeks! I’m hoping that there won’t be any zombies at that race, though! 😉

So, no running today. We’ll definitely be out there tomorrow, though… have a lovely Saturday night, folks!