Keep the Sabbath Holy, and Respect Your Father and Mother!

Today I went past this shop on the bus - I love the description of their opening hours - 9am-1pm Saturday, closed Saturday afternoon to prepare for church!

I then went to the cinema with housemate Helen to see Away We Go. It was a really sweet film all about a couple who are expecting a baby, have very little clue what they’re doing, and travel to different places in America to visit their friends and family, and with each one they experience a different type of family/different parenting style, in order to finally realise what they need to do to be the kind of parents they want their child to have. I really enjoyed it, funny, mostly lighthearted, but also quite thought provoking. (It also made me very grateful for my own quirky but wonderful parents!)

Work is so far a lot better this week, I’ve gotten a lot more involved in some projects that I can take ownership of. One of them is particularly interesting as it’s make up related! (obviously for client confidentiality I can’t be any more specific than that!)

Busy Weekend

Friday night was dinner with Liz and the new series of peep show. We had a lovely aubergine, tomato feta and lentil tart she’d made – inspired by a Higgidy Pie, along with a salad of quinoa and spinach. For pud we had a gooey rich and lovely M&S chocolate profiterole mousse dessert… yum! 

Whilst there I had other treats to collect – my new animal cookie cutters from ikea, some ikea pickles, and some really tasty cream cheese with pickles in, that liz had bought me from ollie’s – the amazing 24 hour turkish supermarket near her house.

Saturday was painting day – our house is mostly decorated in dull sludgy colours, which we were all a bit fed up with, so we decided to repaint – we now have a lovely  bright yellow kitchen, and a nice fresh clean green lounge. It all feels so much warmer and more inviting now! (the before and after shots are  just of the kitchen, I haven’t taken a photo of the finished lounge yet.

 

To relax from our day’s hard work, we had a few friends round in the evening for a poker night. I didn’t win, unsurprisingly, but it was a lot of fun, and we went out to a local bar/club after for a bit, which was good – it was nice to spend some time hanging out with Helen – she definitely fits in well in the house!

Sunday was a more relaxing day. After lunch I went for a swim – it’s not something I’m very good at so I want to try and improve a bit. I went to Sainsbury’s for groceries, then came home and made cookies with my new cutters – lots of hedgehogs, squirrels, snails, foxes, bears, and my obvious favourite – a moose!

Gradually conquering Conquest

Today was my second day in the new job, working as a Senior Research Executive at Conquest. Everyone seems really nice, and I’m working on some interesting accounts (mainly L’Oreal!)

There’s a few things to get used to though. The office is a lot quieter than TNS – not surprising when you go from being surrounded by 250 people to 15! Plus I have a computer with a very old version of windows, but hopefully that will soon be updated! They have a very strict clear desk policy, and they don’t allow eating at desks, which sort of gets in the way of my usual routine of eating porridge at my desk (an activity usually accompanied   by checking my Hotmail – also not allowed!) So this morning I had a poached egg on a piece of toast (with brown sauce) before I left the house, and packed a tuna spread and spinach sandwich and a yogurt  for lunch. By the time 1pm rolled around I was famished though, it’s strange eating breakfast so early and then not snacking! On the positive side, the hours are much nicer – they work 9-5, and people really do leave at 5, unlike the usual 6:30 finishes I was used to at TNS, which means that now I can go to the gym after work and still be home before 7:30! (I went yesterday and ran 7k, but after a 40 minute wait for a train in the rain today, I decided a cup of tea and the sofa was a better option)

I spent the evening watching TV with my housemate Adrian, and my new housemate Helen, who seems really nice, originally from the Wirral, she works for Network Rail as a planner, and is very easy to get on with. She also happens to be the daughter of a baptist minister… small world! I had  a tin of baked beans for tea, with some added spinach, then a slice of toast and a  satsuma for supper – not overly exciting, but on a cold rainy day, beans seem very comforting!

Tomorrow night it’s someone from the office’s leaving/birthday drinks, so I shall be out at that – my first proper socialising event with the team – fingers crossed it will go well!

Back from a lovely break

Croatia was amazing – exactly the holiday I needed. I won’t go through our full itinerary day by day, but there were some highlights… Split was ok, not overly exciting, but I enjoyed the art gallery, and we did see the statue of Gregory of Nin (recognised to be one of the fathers of the Croatian language) who apparently brings good luck if  you touch his big toe (not so sure about that!). There was also a hill which was also home to a zoo, with some cute bunnies and some rather sad looking bears

Hvar Island was beautiful, with amazing sea views, and the fort on top of the hill (and a lovely bar/restaurant part way up serving lovely homemade wine) From Hvar we hired a boat for the day, which was great fun, and Mark got to swim around looking at lots of fishes (whilst I lazed about reading a book and working on my tan!)

 

There was a rather unpleasant 5 hour coach journey to get to Dubrovnik, in a very hot bus with no air conditioning, but we were entertained by listening in to the conversation between the American couple, and the Japanese woman travelling with her daughter who lives in London – they were fascinating people, and we learnt all sorts of things about them, about living in Oregon, and about the history of Croatia and what happened to the former Yugoslavia!

Dubrovnik was also lovely, although exhausting – there were a lot of steps to climb up and down! The ‘old town’ is all contained within the city walls,  and it was great walking around the tops of the walls – there were some fantastic views.

We looked round a number of the assorted churches, and some of them had some beautiful artwork – there was a particularly beautiful series of textured paintings in the Cathedral, but unfortunately I couldn’t get a photo of them.

We went on a half day kayak excursion to one of the islands, which is home to an old monastery, and a beautiful olive grove where we had a mini picnic of wine, bread and olives.

The food was very Italian, with a lot of pizza and ice cream (burnt off by all the stairs and the kayaking, obviously!) and also a lot of sea food. My top discoveries of the trip were  peanut butter flavour wotsits called Kroki Kroket and Rio Mare tuna spread (which I had the last time I came to Croatia with Mum, so had to bring some back!) We ate well, but all in all, the scenery, and also being able to spend time together just the two of us were the highlights of the trip, rather than the food.

Since returning, a lot has already happened – I have a new housemate, Helen, and a new job, which I started today, but I’ll post about those things later!

One more day until Holiday!

This morning I had another nice relaxing lie in, reading some more Murakami, then got up and made myself poached eggs on toast – definitely one of my favourite breakfasts!

I then sat down with the cooking channel (I love Rachel Allen!) and finished off a painting I started a few weeks back, based on a photo from last year’s holiday to Sweden. I wasn’t too sure how it was going to turn out, particularly as I seemed completely unable to mix the correct shade of blue, but I’m actually pretty happy with it.

I then had the rest of my homemade soup from the other day, then went to the gym. I got there feeling lazy and thinking I wouldn’t do much, but I still managed a 25 minute run, 10 minutes on the bike, and some weights! It’s great what you can achieve if you just keep going! (my legs are aching now though, they’ll appreciate a couple of days off!)

From the gym, I walked to Sainsbury’s, and was very excited to discover a new frozen yoghurt place called Milk In It that’s just opened, and was offering plain cones for 99p. I had to treat myself, and it was pretty good, sweetened with Agave Nectar, and not too tart.

When I got home I made some dip, as I’d got an aubergine to use up – this is one of my favourite ways to use aubergine, and it’s really simple (and adaptable)

First you prick the aubergine all over with a knife, then bake in the oven for at least 40 minutes. Once it seems well cooked and squishy, take it out and let it cool for a few minutes, then  peel off the skin. Roughly chop the gooey flesh, then stick it in the blender with a couple of tbsp of olive oil, a tbsp of lemon juice, and ideally some tahini (I didn’t have any unfortunately). You can also add some garlic paste if you have any. Blitz it until it’s creamy, then season to  taste, you can add a little chilli powder if you like. This is great served with crudites or pitta, as you would with hummus.

Journey to the centre of hell…

well, almost… I went to Oxford Street yesterday! I started the day with a long lie in (til 11am!) a yogurt for breakfast, followed by a trip to the gym, where I did a relatively speedy four mile run, and a few weights.

I then made my trip into town. I did the nice bits first – I had my free Subway (free because I was there in a ‘Mystery Shopper’ capacity). I chose a 6” turkey sub on white bread, with lots of salad, extra gherkins, and some mustard, washed down with a big diet coke. Nice! I then went to John Lewis to spend a voucher that I’d won at work for my efforts on a particular  project. I bought a teflon reusable baking sheet, which is something I’ve been meaning to get for a while – it’s easier to keep clean than a metal tray, it’s non stick, and it goes in the dishwasher! I also bought a box of the Dorset Cereal Fruit and Fibre. I confess that I only bought this because it has a ‘love it or your money back guarantee’, so unless I love it, I’ll be claiming my money back! (I am usually a big fan of fruit and fibre, so there is actually a good chance I will love it)

I then visited the big Primark. I always thought the flagship branch of topshop was bad when it came to screeching teenage girls, but Primark is horrid! I bought socks for Mark, pyjama shorts for myself, then escaped, as quickly as I could! I bought myself a snack to keep me going (a Boots Shapers chocolate bar and lemonade) then went to M&S, which always has a calming effect. I picked up our travel money for the holiday, then made my way home. After a bowl of my new cereal (nice, but I’m not sure if I love it, the flakes aren’t crispy enough) I went to our lovely local pub, the Bread and Roses, for the monthly quiz. It’s quite a house tradition. Maybe because it was pouring with rain, or because everyone’s on holiday, the pub was really quiet, and it was only us and one other team taking part, but we still achieved one of our highest scores ever, and we beat the other team, to win 6 beers and two bottles of wine! I had one small glass when we got home, and it’s very nice wine!

Room reshuffle

The room re-shuffle is almost complete (a picture will come tomorrow, once it looks tidy!) I spent about an hour and a half sorting through things, and throwing stuff out; realising I’ve got more shoes than I thought, and that I take after  Mum when it comes to hoarding stuff that *might* be useful (who knows when you’ll need a random metre of lace?!) I then stopped for lunch, which was half an oven bake baguette, with some salad and cream cheese, and a diet cherry coke (a favourite mid afternoon treat!)

Then I moved on to stage two of the reshuffle, which involved turning the bed round 90degrees to that it’s facing a different way – no particular reason, I just wanted a change! Tomorrow will be that last bit of tidying and sorting, maybe involving a trip to the charity shop to donate some things.

The evening was nice and relaxed, I had a sainsbury’s basics cottage pie for dinner (admittedly it doesn’t look too appetising, but it was only 45p, and it’s only 220 calories!) with which I cooked up some extra carrots. The housemates and I sat and watched Mean Girls, which is (surprisingly for Lindsay Lohan) a really good movie. Finally, I snuggled up in bed with my book and a couple of squares of Sainsbury’s basics dark chocolate – yes, I am a bit hooked on the basics range, but it’s so good! According to Mark, this chocolate is nicer than Green and Blacks.

Superfood?

This is my first proper day off in ages, which is nice, but a strange feeling. I had a lazy morning doing nothing, had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, watched the cooking channel,  then eventually decided to get up and go to join the gym (I had to quit my old one when I left my job) I am now a member of the swanky Virgin Active round the corner from my house. I had a nice 35 minute run whilst watching Murder She Wrote, then did about 15 minutes of weights and crunches. On my return home, I tried out a new purchase – a Fruitein protein shake. I chose the Acai berry (inspired by yesterday’s fruit research) and mixed it with water. It was nice, quite refreshing, and thicker than I expected. It has only 110 calories and 10g of protein per sachet, plus heaps of vitamins and antioxidants and things. I liked it, but I’m not sure whether I’d buy it again, £1.69’s quite a lot, considering I’d probably get the same health benefits from a poached egg and some salad!
Now I plan to spend the next couple of hours tidying, sorting and rearranging my bedroom!

I finally did it (sort of!)

I rode a bicycle! This is something I’ve not done for about 14 years, since breaking my leg really badly as a youngster (yes, I realise I should have tried much sooner!) Yesterday Mark and I went to Battersea Park and I hired a bike. It was VERY stressful, involved a great deal of me pouting and sulking like a 4 year old and refusing to move, but eventually I sort of got there. I’m not great yet, and I haven’t really done much turning, but I could go in a straight line, and also avoid cycling into oncoming pedestrians without squealing and screeching to a halt! I feel quite proud of myself now!
We then went to Whole Foods, partly on ‘business matters’ as Mark is researching what’s cool and trendy in the world of fruit, but also because I like trying all the free samples. This time I splashed out and bought  myself a salad from the salad bar. I was really hungry so forgot to take a pic, but it had spinach, butternut squash, aubergine, mushrooms, carrot, broccoli, some beans, and tomatoes – very tasty! We also got lots of interesting fruit things – it seems that everything is all about blueberry, pomegranate and acai at the moment. We bought some ice lollies, which, in the name of research we had to test!
In the evening, we made big simple salads, with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, peppers, tuna and sweetcorn, served with some oven baked baguette, which was a great dinner on a hot day. We then watched the Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which was a really good film – sometimes I lose  concentration when films have subtitles, but this kept me interested throughout! Halfway through I decided I was still a little hungry, so we stopped to make cups of tea and bowls of Start for supper – yum!