I am a bad blogger..sorry all!

This week I have massively slacked off on my blog, I just got really busy and I am only now finding time to write this over due post.  This is now going to be a roundup of the weekend and the week…here goes!

So this weekend we decided to have a quiet Thursday night and tried a new Pizzeria which was great!  Now if only I could remember the name…sorry!!  Still I am sure we will order again and I will update you all then.  It was a lovely evening in and we finally started watching ‘Mad Men’ – I know I know we are WAY behind the times!  So far I am really enjoying it but I am waiting for it to really kick off.

On Friday we met up for a pool sesh which was lovely!  Then I even managed to fit in a gym session, I powered through and did an hour on the treadmill…I seem to have twinged my knee a tad so I took time off the C25K and took some advice from a gym buddy.  I upped the incline and reduced the speed and the calories seemed to MELT away.  I nailed through nearly 400 calories.  I stretched off afterwards and even felt fresh in spite of the fact I had pushed myself quite hard.  I figure if I do this a few more times I will lose some of the weight I have gained quick enough to make a difference to how my dresses fit…fingers crossed!

In the evening I undid my hard work by going for dinner with Bond at Nezesaussi at Souk al Manzil.  It’s a great South African Sports bar and if you like your meat then I can’t encourage you enough to go.  The food is EXCELLENT and super fresh.  The pork ribs were especially wonderful, the marinade was delicious.  We ordered some divine wine from Stellenbosch which was a definite highlight. I am so keen to go back and try the sausages as I bet they are excellent.  I definitely recommend it if you want a relaxed night out with excellent food!  I had most definitely overdressed for the occassion so to make up for it we decided to go for champagne cocktails at the Manzil courtyard hotel.  It was really great to toast Bond’s success with the marathon.  The manzil is really lovely, very laid back but chic and has a nice buzzy atmosphre.  also if you like Shisha then definitely check this out as they had lots of flavours!  All in all it was a really fun Friday night!

On Saturday we decided it was time to run some errands…so off we went to Mall of the Emirates.  First Bond needed new shirts (need is a stretch, he said need but I think it was more ‘want’) so off we went to Hackett and he got two new additions to the collection. From there it was time to get a vase and we lucked out as Marina Home was having a sale.  From there new flat shoes for me from H&M (which were an actual need!) and then on to the dreaded Carrefour…which I will not regale you with, one because I don’t want to bore you and also I don’t want to relive it!

Sadly the weekend had to end sometime and so on Sunday it was back to work.  I braved the gym again but it was really full of people which was a shame as I wanted to do some toning. I also did a yoga session so I felt really smug by the time I got home!  In fact I have begun to enjoy yoga this much I got up this morning and did two sessions to make up for the ones I missed while I was doing all the car madness.  Who knows I may soon be like Adriene…well a girl can dream!

On Monday it was the leaving do for one of my closest friends at work.  We have had lunch together practically every day since I got here so it is quite a wrench to say goodbye!  She is off back home to China and I miss her already – even though I know this is the right move for her.  Anyway we had cake during the day with everyone and my boss made a lovely speech which moved us both to tears!  Then in the evening a load of us met up to go for drinks at the Jetty Lounge at the One and Only.  The Jetty lounge is a really lovely spot where you can enjoy a luxury experience right on the ocean!  They do great food and cocktails and have a decent wine list too!  We all had a really good time hanging out together and reminiscing about old times.  It was an oddly sad but fun evening…

Tuesday night I said goodbye to Percy Peugeot…I had decided to buy my colleague’s car when she announced her emigration.  This meant it was time to return Percy to the owner all the way in motor city.  Anyway it was not the most emotional goodbye really as I was SO excited to have my own wheels the next day.

For those of you who have not bought a car in Dubai yesterday I learned the hard way that it is not the easiest process!!  One of the guys from work came too so he could say a last goodbye and also to save myself taking a taxi.  The three of us got to work…first you take your car to the ‘testing centre’ where they apparently check the car is safe.  Then you fill in some forms which turned out to be a major hassle as my insurance company had in fact registered me incorrectly!  Anyway two and a half hours later I had my car registered, insured and salik tagged (for the toll booths throughout Dubai)…if any of you are going to do this then for sure take the VIP service like we did, I can only imagine how many hours it all takes otherwise!

Anyway now I have a new car, it’s another Peugeot 308, silver this time and with a much nicer interior.  So far it’s driving really well and I like the feeling of responsibility of car ownership!

All in all a hectic but fun week really!

This weekend we are off to brunch at the Westin to celebrate Bond completing the marathon madness!!

C25K – the one where the app went mad

…and decided I was ready for week 3 day 1 even though I was SURE I was still on week 2 day 3! Anyway the app was having none of my complaints so I decided I better bite the bullet.  I had done my ten minutes on the bike and stretched and so there was no more procrastinating to be done…

I fired up the treadmill and thought, gosh this is FINE, what a lot of fuss over nothing!  I did my 90 seconds of running and then my 90 seconds of walking like a champ and then Sarah Millican says ‘well done Pet now for 3 minutes of running’ and I nearly hit the roof! THREE MINUTES???  Is she mad I thought as I started my running…and then I kept running and running and it felt like a LIFETIME, honestly I thought she was never going to pipe back up and say walk!  When she finally did I felt like a champ for making it through, and then I got to walk for 3 minutes which was great.  Then it was back to running for 90 seconds and I was so relieved, I thought I was over the worst of it but I was WRONG!  Sarah pipes up again and says ‘off you go for another 3 minutes – you can do it’ and I am sure she meant to be inspiring but it failed and instead I found myself hating her for three minutes, only to love her again when she said I could walk.  My relationship with Sarah is a bit of a rollercoaster I have to say.  I walked my three minutes and then thanked my luck that it was just 90 seconds from then on!!

This session was a wake up call that I really needed to do this to get fit!  It shouldn’t be so difficult for me to run 3 minutes and I certainly shouldn’t feel the need to curse my favourite comedian during it!  Today is my rest day and then tomorrow I am back to it…hopefully having done it once I will find it easier to do it again!?  Fingers crossed anyway!

In happier work out news the yoga is still going well so hopefully I will keep both up and soon be a fitness guru!  Well at least a person who can run for a few minutes without wanting to cry?!

Busy bee!

With Bond away I made a few plans to keep myself busy!  On Thursday I indulged my love of Sushi and ordered in from Sushi art and then made skype calls – thanks to modern technology I actually had dinner with friends from the comfort of my sofa!

On Friday morning (post yoga of course) I went to meet the legal eagle for a breakfast at Leopold’s which was yummy.  My poor friend is going through a rough break up so I was glad to be able to see her and offer her a friendly ear and some advice.  I am hoping that soon she will be back in good spirits! Until then though I will be here for her whenever she needs.  It’s tough enough to go through a break up but when you’re far away from your parents it’s even harder.  Luckily her mother is going to come out for a visit which is usually a great tonic.

After lunch we may have gone for some shopping…there was a HUGE sale at Essential Antwerp which is a store I love.  We went in and of course I left with new trousers and a bag!  The Legal eagle got a really fun t-shirt too.  All in all a big success and a lot of fun having a mini fashion show.  That said it was a wake up call to really stick with my new regime as I have gone up two sizes!  Now is the time to crack the whip before it gets any harder.

We then went for a walk but it got rather too hot as we had both dressed for the rain in the morning and so we ducked in to ‘Pots, Pans and Boards’ for a restorative beverage.  Yet more chatting and enjoying the view and then it was time to head home to see Bond cross the finish line of MdS which was an amazing moment, I felt so proud of him for managing it!  Luckily I had plans with another friend so I was able to celebrate a bit – though of course the real celebration will be when Bond gets home!

For the evening I met an old friend from London who is visiting at the moment with a view to moving here eventually, I can’t wait till she does.  We agreed to meet at Sho Cho in Dubai Marine Beach resort so that we could have yet more sushi.  Music to my ears of course as I love it!  I would THOROUGHLY recommend Sho Cho, the atmosphere is relaxed and fun, not at all pretentious which is always a bonus for me.  The food is really excellent, very fresh and there are lots of great choices too.  They even have a happy hour so it’s not too expensive.  All in all a fantastic evening had by us both and we are keen to go back one day.  Dubai Marine Resort is lovely, you sit right on the water which is fabulous and the whole place is just really well done – it’s low key but chic, just my kind of place!

As my buddy drove we decided to go back to her hotel for a night cap, a decision we both regretted rapidly.  She is staying at Vida Hotel and the service at their pool bar is actually non existent…we waited for AGES to get our drinks (bailey’s on ice, so hardly complicated!!) and then having drunk said drinks at a table shoved out of the way we waited a ridiculous amount of time for our bill.  It was really a shame because the hotel otherwise is lovely.  Beautifully decorated and the restaurants are all terrific (I LOVE La Serre) and the other staff are all charming and helpful. My friend requested to move rooms and was moved within half an hour.  It’s just a shame the pool bar let it down!

The next morning I woke up and had a great skype with another old friend, she was on fab form and it was so lovely to hear all her news.  As I was in such a good mood I decided to keep up the high and did my yoga session.  This was the hardest yet but I got through it – even if I did question why a dog would choose any of these positions, as for the cobra he really needs to be told what the word comfort means!!!!  Still I finished it off and then got ready for the rest of my day.

 

I had agreed to go and be a mystery shopper for NARS so off I headed to Mall of the Emirates. I would THOROUGHLY recommend going there for a make over or even just some tips.  Their products are fabulous anyway and the make up artists are super helpful and don’t blind you with science.  She talked me through the process of what she did and even advised me against certain products she thought it was unlikely I would actually get much use out of. I really liked that she wasn’t pushy at all, it made me want to go back.  The final tick in the box – my friend thought I looked GREAT!

Having met said friend at her hotel we pulled on our gym kit and headed to Kite Beach for a nice walk.  It is absolutely beautiful there, and we watched the sunset which was perfect.  We would have walked further but hunger defeated us…off we headed back to her hotel to change and then head to PF Changs for dinner.  We walked over to Dubai Mall and managed to catch the fountains which were playing to my grandmother’s favourite song ‘La Vie en Rose’, it was really beautiful and moving for me.  If you haven’t seen the film then definitely do…but make sure you have tissues!  She really had a tragic life and your heart will break for her.  Once the fountains had done their thing we grabbed a table and got to grips with our ordering…we went for the lettuce chicken wraps, prawn dumplings, schezuan beef and VIP duck.  All of it was delicious, though possibly we had eyes bigger than our stomachs as I couldn’t even begin to finish the duck.  Clearly I am not quite the VIP I think I am…

I couldn’t resist this as it seemed so apt and comical!

Post dinner we headed back to the hotel for a cup of tea and a chat and suddenly it was 11.30 so I high tailed it home with a bid to being fresh for work this morning…that was somewhat foiled by Bond who finally got his phone back and called me for a chat!  I was so happy to hear from him I kept him on the phone for AGES, sleep be damned!  I can’t wait to see him now…it feels like a lifetime since we were together.

All in all I have to say I had a really lovely weekend and I am so lucky to have good friends to keep me company while Bond is away!

 

C25K and a whole heap of working out!

I am sorry I got rather behind in my C25K updates because I got a TAD obsessed with stalking Bond during the MDS.  He has however finished it now so I can get back to my blog!

Before the C25K update though a quick MDS chat…Bond managed to come in the top third which is incredible!!  I spoke to him last night and he sounded very relieved that it was over and very excited to come home!  It was lovely to hear his voice, I couldn’t believe how much I had missed his dulcet tones.  Now I am counting down till he gets back so he can tell me all about it over a glass of champagne.  Also I am going to try to persuade him to write a guest post so you can see what it was like from the horses mouth…apparently he took photos and videos too so that might be worth a look!

Now back to the C25K!!  I completed week 2 day 2 and although I found it a challenge I did get through it.  I was alone again as Nat was still with her parents.  However my colleagues were on full motivational form which was great.  I pumped up my tunes and just got down to it.  I am really enjoying it now, even when it gets tough I love the sense of achievement when it’s done. Now the error I made was getting chatting to a colleague and not doing my stretch off…something I REALLY regretted when it came to yoga the next day…it was BRUTAL as my muscles felt really tight.  Still I stuck with Adriene and got through it and felt great afterwards.

Having found a new liking of yoga and an instructor who makes it doable I have decided to do her ’30 days of yoga’ and I am on day 4 so far and it’s going well.  Some of it is really hard but Adriene shows ‘alternative’ moves for beginners which is great.  I can feel my muscles working which motivates me to keep going even when it’s tough and I am not sore afterwards so I am able to get back to it every day.

On top of all the yoga and C25King I also went for a long walk on the beach with my friend who is visiting.  It was really lovely to get out and enjoy the beach although the wind was a bit tough.  Still we caught the sunset which was gorgeous and had a really good chat.  There is something about being in nature that just makes you relax somehow.  I haven’t been to Kite beach before and it’s gorgeous.  I will have to go back more often for a walk.

All in all my new health kick is going well – if only I could really stick to a good diet I would be a new woman…curse my love of cake and all things naughty!!

 

 

C25K – Week two day one

Now before we get to the C25K a quick Bond update.  The MDS tracker is now up and running and thanks to this great piece of kit I was able to work out when he was going to cross the finishing line.  It was so lovely to catch a glimpse of him as he finished and he was even smiling!!  I am very proud of him for making it this far because already 18 people have dropped out.  I feel so sorry for them because if they trained as hard as Bond it must really be hard not to complete the course, I hope that they get to do it again and finish it. So far Bond is in the top 500 so fingers crossed he can stay there.  Though really just finishing it is impressive enough!!!

ANYWAY while his running is obviously impressive I also ran yesterday and that’s what really matters…right?

This week Nat has abandoned me because her parents are over but I figured I could try to go it alone and that way we wouldn’t quit.  So off I trotted only to find the gym totally empty and baking hot.  I felt this was not the most auspicious start but I stuck with it and hit the bike.  I did my ten minutes and even managed to burn a few more calories than usual.  Then I was on to the running, this time as I was alone I plugged in my music with the app so I could then hear Sarah in full glory.  I also decided not to watch the screen as this stage moves you up to running for two minutes and I didn’t want to pysch myself out watching the time pass.  I also moved up to running at 8 and walking at 5.5.  I did find it more challenging and I was certainly glad to get to the last run and then get to do the cool down walk, but I got through it and I think I have it in me again to do it twice more this week!

Tonight I am going to try HIIT Max, it seems to have worked wonders for a friend of mine so let’s see what it does…I think interval training should work for me as it seems more interesting and that’s the premise of the C25K as well.  The HIIT Max should fit in with the C25K and the two will benefit each other as well.  I will report back on it tomorrow!

If I am honest I never though I would see the day I was seeking out workout plans but I guess this is the new me?!  I am even craving my bedtime yoga…it may be time to check I haven’t been a victim of body snatching!?

 

Namaste!

So this was my first weekend without Bond because he is of course in the desert!  We managed to text a bit so I know that he is safe and has nice tent mates and seems in pretty good spirits.  As of yesterday the actual running began and hopefully soon the tracking will actually work so I can watch his progress.  So far it’s stuck in French and doesn’t want to show me anything remotely helpful…I looked on facebook though and it seems I am not alone in this and that the team are working on it.  He was able to get a message through to me last night though saying that all is well but it’s hard work which I find unsurprising to be honest!  Hopefully the tracker will work today and then I can stalk him to my hearts content!

In his absence on Thursday Nat and I decided not to do the gym but instead go for a walk and have a proper catch up.  It was really nice to enjoy the fresh air and the beach, we also saw something called ‘football snooker’ which was bizarre but entertaining.  I was able to show Nat some fun places to take her parents who are visiting this week so not only did we have fun but it was productive too!

Once we had racked up some steps we headed home for dinner, I made chilli con carne which tasted really good surprisingly!  It was thanks to Bond leaving his recipe for me to be honest that it turned out alright.  We watched ‘The Secret in their Eyes’ which I honestly thought was dreadful!  We both found it dragged out rather and that the leaps between past and present weren’t clear at all.  I spoke to another friend though who loved it so it might just have been that we were a bit tired and not really in the mood for that sort of film?  If you have seen it I would love your opinion!  The premise of the film is that an FBI agents daughter was murdered and now 13 years on there are clues as to where the suspect may be.  I am sorry I wish I could make it sound more exciting but it just left me totally cold unfortunately.

Friday came around and I had a properly girly day of pampering, from the top of my head to the tip of my toes.  It was actually pretty fun and I felt really good afterwards, just what I needed! After a while though there was nothing left to preen so I got ready to go to my friends who had invited me round for dinner.  The lovely N&H who are my fave couple in Dubai said they would adopt me…little did the husband know that his wife and I were plotting a surprise with some other friends and at ten they turned up with cake and we all sang!  He was so chuffed it was really sweet!  In order to make a night of it we decided to go to Cantine du Faubourg which I hadn’t been to before but is a regular haunt for them.  It’s got a really fun vibe and they play good music and we even managed some dancing which was great.  I am looking forward to taking Bond when he is back!

On Saturday I did very little indeed although clearly my flat sensed my boredom and so the sink decided to back up so I had to fix that!  Honestly it was beyond gross, the drain cleaner I used stank to high heaven and then all this stuff came up from the plug…anyway I won’t tell you more and I wouldn’t have mentioned it at all but I was home alone and I really wanted to share with someone my plumbing success!  The sink is working perfectly now thanks to my new found skill set.  Now if unlike me you don’t ramdomly have ‘drainex’ lying around (seriously it’s a mystery!) then google tells me that hot water works a treat…I wish I had googled BEFORE I threw the TOXIC smelling Drainex down my sink…don’t do it people – it works but at what cost I ask you?!?!?!

In the evening I watched ‘The Big Short’ all about the financial crash in the US and subsequently across the world.  It was really interesting but quite intense.  Still I am glad I watched it as I felt I learned a lot about an important subject.  I would definitely recommend it although it’s a bit hard going at times.  There are some great cameo moments including Selena Gomez and Margot Robbie which are random but work.  The acting is really very impressive as is the story line.

Now on to the reason for the title of my post…’Namaste’.  Believe it or not I have gotten into Yoga.  This is all thanks to my friend Boo who said with great confidence that she had found a yoga instructor online that I would like.  Now I am a TOTAL cynic about such things.  I have been to a couple of classes in the past and really hated it, I do not find it easy to ‘relax’ when I am ordered to and I am not that bendy either so the whole thing just never worked for me.  Anyway I do trust Boo usually and she’s good at healthy living so I thought that I would give this instructor a go.  Adriene has a yoga channel called ‘Yoga with Adriene’ full of videos for all different levels and skill sets.  So I decided on ‘Yoga for complete beginners’ because that seemed to be right for me. It takes twenty minutes and I have to give Boo a virtual high five…Adriene is indeed GREAT!  She’s not remotely patronising, she wears normal clothing so you don’t get distracted thinking you’ll never look like her but instead you can focus on the moves.  I found myself really enjoying it…so much so I have now done three more sessions.  The next step up from beginners, the sleepy one and the weight loss for hammies.  I would say my favourite has to be the sleepy one, I found myself tucked up in bed feeling very zen and I slept really well.  If you’ve never tried yoga and you’re interested or you’re a cynic like I was then give Adriene a go – it’s free so there’s nothing to lose!

Tonight it’s back to C25K…wish me luck please!

Bye Bye Bond!

Today Bond headed off to London so he can join up with the other mad runners to fly to Morocco to do the Marathon De Sables that some of you may have read about in ‘Bond’s last Hurrah’.  Tomorrow he flies to Morocco for some acclimitasation before the run begins.  Honestly I can’t believe the time has come, we have been talking about this for so long and he has trained so hard so I just hope it turns out to be the once in a lifetime event everyone says it is.  Also I hope he gets a good time because I know how important that is to him!

Last night we had our last dinner together so that I could be sure Bond had a good meal in him for his journey.  It was his choice and he opted for Butcha, which was a bold shout as we hadn’t been there before!  It’s a relatively new steak house that we have heard good things about though so we figured we couldn’t go too far wrong.  We sat outside so I can’t tell you too much about the decoration but the tables outside were very comfortable and had very chic table lamps that sadly did not choose to photograph well!

Now to the main factors…service and food!  They scored on both fronts!!  The staff are lovely, efficient and knowledgeable about their menu.  They were able to advise on sides and sauces without being pushy about anything.  We started with mocktails and Bond said that his was without question the best he has had in Dubai.  It was ginger ale with mint leaves and I have to agree it really was good for something so simple!  My kiwi and apple cooler was equally good and I figure it’s a green juice so it must be good for me…it certainly tasted it anyway!

 

For food we decided to have a starter to share and went with the Butcha meat plate which is made up of a sujuk burger, a kofta and a meguez sausage.  All were absolutely delicious with the sujuk being the star.  It’s a good size to share  but is also manageable alone.

 

For our main course Bond predictably went for a HUGE burger with pepper sauce and garlic mash with green beans.  I decided to be healthy and had the skewered chicken.  Now usually I would end up with steak envy but I have to say the chicken was DIVINE!  It was very tender and tasty.  I would recommend it to everyone.  Bond loved his steak and it did look perfectly cooked.  He rated the pepper sauce but as that’s not my favourite I have to say I didn’t enjoy it, but if you do like pepper sauce I am sure it’s great!  The mash was lovely and presented very nicely too and the green beans were well cooked but I can only get so excited about a green bean really…

All in all a fantastic meal and a great experience.  On the way out they gave us 20% off so we are even more motivated to go for a return experience!

We decided to be saintly and not have dessert and just go for a walk around…that only lasted until we saw Morelli’s gelato store where we somehow ended up sitting down having ice cream which Bond said wasn’t really dessert as it wasn’t cake!  I have to say I love the way he thinks.  Morelli’s is fabulous, I loved it in London and it’s just as good here in Dubai.  If you fancy a naughty treat do check them out!  They do some epic sundaes too depending on just how decadent you’re feeling…

We had a lovely evening and I hope that these nice memories will sustain Bond on his adventure.  I got quite emotional saying goodbye at the airport at 6.30 this morning because we won’t be able to talk much while he is away as apparently the desert doesn’t have great networks…come on du now is your moment to dominate a new market!!

Now that he is gone I will be keeping my fingers crossed that it all goes well and he comes back a happy camper!

 

C25K – Foiled

Those of you who read C25K – part 3 will know that Nat and I had great intentions to hit the gym again last night to commence C25K week 2.  In fact we were both quite looking forward to it!  HOWEVER it was not to be as Nat was roped in to work late in Abu Dhabi and by the time she got back the thought of hitting the gym was not appealing.  So we shirked it off and in true commitment to getting fit I stayed in and watched Broadchurch and ate a chocolate brownie and Ice cream sundae I made myself, it had raspberries but that doesn’t really make up for it.  While it tasted really good it does feel like a step backwards not going to the gym and stuffing myself with Haagen Dazs instead…

I was going to put a brownie picture here…but then I got hungry and had to stop looking at them!!  I hope the above inspires you to try running…if I can, you can!

I am trying to be positive about this failure though because for the first time in my life I wanted to go to the gym and I wanted to run and I was disappointed not to be able to do so. I never thought the day would come that I felt like that…till now the idea of working out has been quite repugnant.  In London I was happy to walk MILES in godawful weather sometimes to keep in shape but the idea of a gym just never worked for me.  Last night I was so keen I was almost tempted to go alone but then I thought I would end up ahead of Nat and that would be a bit unfair.  Plus Bond proposed the sundaes and as he is off on his mad run I feel bad denying him anything!  Note that while I may not be a fantastic gym goer my excuse making remains top notch…

Anyway to make up for our naughtiness (although Nat had some sort of healthy smoothie the traitor!!) we are going to the gym on Thursday night instead of going out and partying it up.  Not only will we gym but we plan to go for a long walk too while the weather is still bearable.  Then we will go to my place and eat a healthy meal and maybe just maybe have a glass of red wine, which as we all know is good for our hearts!

At the moment  this is the gym bunny I most closely resemble!

Turns out it takes more than a week and a half to kick bad habits…still onwards and upwards, tomorrow is a new day!  I will be a gym bunny yet!

 

C25K – part 3!

Seems rather apt for C25K!

Honestly the fact that we made it to stage three came as a bit of a shock, I sort of thought we would go twice feel smug and then never darken the doors of the gym again!  However we both enjoyed it rather a lot last week and so off we trotted last night to do week 1 part 3.  Not only did we go back though, we upped our game!  So much so other gym goers were applauding (not really, but they should have been!!) one guy did say he had noticed improvement though…soon he will clap I am sure!

Anyway we commenced with our 10 minutes on the bike, which is basically gossiping while we bike to warm up.  Then we moved to the treadmill…where we walked at 5 as we had done previously but we ran at 7.5 instead of 7 – because we are MACHINES I tell you.  I certainly told Nat that a few times to amuse us!  We really nailed it this week, even with the new speed.  When the five minute walk circuit started we were surprised and were ready to run some more.  This programme definitely seems to work, because we find it doable we are able to push ourselves harder.

My body does not bend this way at all…but it will by hook or by crook I tell you!!!

After the run we hit the mat and did our stretches so we don’t feel stiff.  This session we also added some pilates.  Now let me tell you that is not an easy thing to do at all!!!   I am in awe of people who really go for it with Pilates!!  Maybe one day I will be one of those girls…but for now the five minutes we did were fairly tough…We think for now we we will stick with some light yoga and then work up to Pilates because there is no point doing it when we are doing it wrong!

Tonight we are going again because on Wednesday we have commitments and we really don’t want to lose momentum.  So wish us luck for Week two day one please!

Also for those of you who are working out or are looking for a reason to I heard about this app Charity Miles.  Apparently for every mile you move (walking, running or biking) they will give 25 cents to the charity of your choosing.  It seems like a win/win to me.  If you know of any other good apps that sponsor Charities please do let me know!

 

 

Bond’s last hurrah!

This week Bond flies off for the Marathon De Sables run that he is taking part in.  If you haven’t heard of the event it’s called the ‘Toughest foot race on Earth’ and honestly that doesn’t seem like an exaggeration.  Basically every day this mad man (along with a few hundred others – be aware they walk among us!!) will wake up and run a marathon throughout the Moroccan desert.  Over the course of a week he will have run/walked 250KM in the heat carrying all the food and provisions he will need to survive.  My little foodie will survive on only energy bars and freeze dried food that he will have to cook himself on a little stove.  On Friday we got all of his stuff ready, this involved decanting the freeze-dried food into smaller bags and organising all his meals by days and calories.  The MDS people are very serious about the calories the competitors have with them.  They must have at least 2000 Kcals but preferably closer to 3000 Kcals and each bag must be labelled with the contents and calorie count.  Then somehow you have to pack all of the food and other bits and bobs into an improbably small bag!  Anyway with some effort and clever packing we managed to get it all in and so he is good to go. The bag is so heavy I can’t lift it!!!  I have to admit that I am in awe of him doing this whilst also questioning his sanity.

In order to make up for this hideous endurance test we decided to have a relaxed couple of days finishing off with a lovely dinner last night.

We headed to Poco Loco on the walk as I had heard good things and it’s always fun to try new places.  On the way over we stopped to watch the Beach BMX competition, which seemed to be a few men throwing themselves around on bikes/scooters while extremely loud music was played.  Bond thought it was cool but I have to say it wasn’t really my thing.  Once Bond had his fill we walked on to the restaurant.

Poco Loco is a Latin American restaurant with a great terrace overlooking the beach.  There was also live music when we went, I don’t know if that’s just for the weekend though.  The interior decoration is very nice and the atmosphere is also lovely.  Initially we sat outside but it got a bit chilly so we moved inside (we both failed to bring jumpers!).  Having read the menu we decided to get a few things to share.  Soon melted cheese sticks, tacos, chicken skewers, king fish skewers and beef skewers and corn on the cob were delivered to us.  The food all looked very appetising but sadly it wasn’t very warm which let it down a bit.  The melted cheese sticks were definitely the highlight for us, and I would be keen to have them again.  The rest of the food was yummy but nothing to massively rave about.  My friend tells me that the main courses are the highlight so if we go back we will have to try that.  The other let down was the service, the people who served were very nice but they were almost impossible to find.  In order to get the bill we had to ask the cleaner if he wouldn’t mind finding us a waiter in the back as we couldn’t find anyone.  Our guacomole never turned up which was a shame but they did remove it from our bill with no fuss.  All in all we had a good time but it won’t be top of the list of places to go.

From Poco Loco it was cake o’clock according to Bond and so we headed to Vintage which is the home of decadence. His highness decided to go all out for his last big treat and ordered a pecan and chocolate fondant cake with an Aztec hot chocolate on the side.  The fondant cake was delicious, Bond enjoyed his Aztec hot chocolate but I found the chilli a bit much!  I went for ‘chocolate delight’ cake and an Almond joy to drink.  The cake was pretty good but I had to concede Bond had won the ordering.  The almond joy drink was FANTASTIC,  they say it’s a milkshake with almonds and coconuts but there has to be more to it than that because it’s soooo delicious!!!

Having stuffed our faces full of chocolate we went to the market on JBR to check out the wares.  Bond was VERY determined to get me a gift and so he treated me to the lovely dress you see in the picture!  I am a lucky girl indeed!

All in all it was a lovely day and I hope that Bond felt it was a suitably fun send off before this tough race!

These signs at the market made us giggle…sorry for the poor photo quality though!!