Bridget: a mixed review and a well overdue weekend

I finished the new Bridget Jones book 'Mad About the Boy' and even though it was a good, easy read I wasn't 'Mad About the Plot' and didn't come away from it thinking 'I'm Mad About the Book'. I quickly slipped back into Fielding's informal writing style for this line of books and I liked all of the reality drops i.e. Starbucks tax avoidance (can't remember any more which shows I was not really into this book) that makes Bridget easily relatable to the every day woman. I think the main problem I found was that it was hard for me to adapt to an older Bridget, and she never really had any goals throughout the book other than having sex with her toy boy. Gone was the passion for her job (she was texting her toy boy throughout every single meeting) and even though she was widowed and mentioned a few times of her guilt for leaving her children to her nanny, I didn't find that her children were a main central point of her life either. 

The name 'Roxster' grated on me. It was so stereotypically 'toy boy' I just didn't like it. I also didn't take at all to Mr Wallaker. I guess I'm hung up on the way there was just something so likeable and lovely and lush about Mr Darcy and the whole whirlwind love story that there was just nothing to compare to it from this book. Yes I wanted Bridget to be happy but all of a sudden 10 pages from the end she was in love with Mr Wallaker and that was it, happy ever after. I didn't like seeing Bridget settle. The man I fell completely in love with was Daniel but that's a no brainer as he is just Daniel. 

I didn't like the unbelievable event near the end, it turned me off in the same way the second film did with the whole prison thing. It just dragged out and didn't seem real enough to me. 

I really, really wanted to like this book. 

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My weekend in Manchester was amazing. And chilled. It felt so good to catch up with my friend JT. We're not big for texting in between meetings but it's not a bad thing as we have a million things to talk about when we see each other. 

The first thing we did when he met me at the station was go for lunch. JT had already picked out where we were going to go, and it was best. food. ever. We went to Oklahoma, a half-shop half-vegetarian cafe and both ordered the chick pea curry with sweet potato and mango chutney, along with Moroccan mint tea. 

I was tempted to ask for the recipe but I don't think they would have given it to me. I definitely need to learn to cook this. 

We walked around the shops for a while and talked about his latest hill race and how my running was going. JT, my best friend of 18 years, never ever thought he would have an afternoon's worth of conversation with me about running. He was surprised when I started out last February and even more surprised that I'm still at it. His favourite sport related hobby is climbing (he lives for it) but he did swimming a lot growing up and he's an all round good athlete. He ran 15 miles last week just because he felt like it, in 1hr 47. Amazing. 

The highlight of my afternoon other than this hot spiced apple drink and sharing carrot cake was when JT promised to pace me when I grow some balls and run my first half marathon. I'm really looking forward to this, so watch this space. 

We went out for Thai food with 2 out of 5 of his housemates, who are all completely lovely and took the time to chill out with us all weekend. They all have the same interests (climbing) and even though they're all full time working and not students any more they still get on great and have their own bachelor pad thing going on (read: messiest house I've ever seen (there was absolutely no way I was going to shower in either one of their bathrooms)). We bought some beers from a supermarket and went back to relax and watch the XFactor. We had planned to go out for a drink but the weather was terrible and we were happy enough staying in watching films. 

Sunday we all went to a bar / cafe down the road for some pulled pork ciabattas before going to Aldi to stock up on ingredients for baking. 

JT is not the biggest lover of photographs, not sure if you get that impression. 

We all demolished our chocolate brownies ASAP while they were still warm and it got to this point before I remembered to take a photo. They were pretty good brownies seems as we were lacking every single utensil you can imagine you might need to make any form of cake. 

An hour before I was due to train it back, we cracked open the monopoly. 

You wouldn't believe from this pic that it was the guys' idea to play this game. 

I have never even seen an electronic version of this game before let alone played it but it was really fun. Instead of paper money you all get a debit card that you pop in the electronic meter and it deducts and adds all the money you need.

I didn't get very far in the short time we had but I'm planning in sourcing this game for our family in time for Christmas. 

The last thing I did before I left was steal this from JT's bookshelf:

He recommended it so I can't wait to start reading. 

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Although I was inspired by all of our running talk over the weekend, I skipped my run today in favour of making my favourite chilli. I feel a bit demotivated by the darkness and rain and even though I was running last winter, my distance was low and one lap of my village was enough to complete my training plans. Now that both the trail and next village are out of bounds due to the dark, I would have to run over two laps of the village and this is just not inspiring me at the moment. But I will get out, I am just not sure when. 

Dans x

Ps sorry for whatever is going on with my font, hopefully get that sorted soon. 

A roundup of running and injuries

Yesterday I had a fight with the wind, and the wind won. I was getting into my car when a gust of wind blew the door shut, hitting me on the right side of my head and knocking me sideways, hitting my left temple really hard on the car frame. It REALLY hurt and I had to hold back from crying because my neighbour was out and I was hoping he hadn't seen. It really dazed me for about an hour and I had to go back inside and sit down for an hour before I went out. 

I probably shouldn't have both driven and had any alcohol because it was throbbing all night and kind of threw me completely off for a good few hours. My head is bruised and still hurting today and I'm not quite feeling right, so I need to keep an eye on it. I didn't want to tell DC as he's away and I didn't want to worry him but I texted him this morning and he rang me straight away to check I was ok.

Yesterday's run was a really nice slow one on the trail and I enjoyed it. 

I probably should have stopped to take a photo but I didn't want it to affect my time so this blurry one will have to do. 

The shin that was niggling me yesterday, I felt it go about half way through the run and it has  been bothering me ever since. I think I've definitely overdone it and I know today should be a rest day but I really think I might fancy a run later so we will see. 

Week 2 - 25 minutes 

1/4 Tuesday: 3.79km, 6:36min/km av pace

2/4 Wednesday: 3.95km, 6:20min/km av pace

3/4 Friday: 4.08km, 6:08min/km av pace

4/4 Saturday: 3.89km, 6:25min/km av pace

I'm glad I completed my goal this week. Yesterday's time looks worse than it actually was, because there was some congestion on the trail where I was overtaken by two bicycles but then we all had to stop for a dog walker coming the opposite way, so I was walking for at least 20 seconds and I think it had an effect on my time. 

I love it when my easy runs end up being faster than the runs where I try really hard. 4/4 was faster than 1/4 and this definitely shows that I'm improving! Sometimes I run a lot faster than I think I do and it's always a good surprise at the end when I look at the numbers. 

This week's goal from now until the end of Saturday is 4x 30 min runs. I'm not sure how well they'll go but hopefully if I do a couple of easy runs my leg will calm down. 

Today I definitely needed something nice to eat as I was feeling sorry for myself, and I knew that J would probably really want to get out of the house so I picked her up and we went for lunch. 

I had a vegetarian butternut squash and walnut tart which was AMAZING and so tasty (I'm not big on beef / lamb / turkey) and J had a lamb Sunday roast. The veg left a lot to be desired but it definitely did the job.

It was a bit naughty ordering dessert after lunch but I couldn't resist this egg custard tart. 

This afternoon whilst I'm waiting for DC to come home will consist of catching up on blogs and watching girly TV. I'm already in my jamas and I'm not planning on getting out of them until tomorrow morning!

Here's a photo of the new grey jeans I bought yesterday. 

They're sooo comfy and even with all the lounging around I did at cocktail night last night they havent shown any trace of bagging around the knees so they're definitely money well spent. 

Dans x

Today in a nutshell

Last night was full of m&s pizza, spicy chips, wine and chat. I kind of started the wine early by myself while I blogged and watched Nine Months with Hugh Grant, I had never actually seen before and it's cringey but it made me laugh. 

This is today in a nutshell as I have a half hour run, a shower and get ready and a half hour trip to my friend's house where I have to be by 6pm. Doable? Not sure.

Today started with dropping my lovely friends off at the airport. I was so scared of the motorway not so long ago but I'm getting used to it and I kind of like it now. 

I went straight to do the food shop and DC called me to update me on the stag do shenanigans - he's away for the weekend and I dread to think what they are getting up to. 

I spotted this lovely blouse in Sainsburys from Gok Wan's collection, I would have bought it but it was £25 so if it's still on my mind by the time next week's food shop comes around then I might get it. Then I ran away quick with my shopping trolley because a Sainsburys lady told me off for taking a photo. Apparently you're not allowed unless you are staff??? Cue blush and run away. 

I did a bit of jeans shopping although I hate buying them because I hate the shape of my legs. I loved these Leigh jeans from Topshop but have wanted a grey pair for a while so I bought some from Miss Selfridge and I love them.

I popped to m&s to grab a few bits for my fortnightly food parcel for both my grandparents and great uncle.  

Then I treated myself to a Starbucks skinny caramel coffee frapp and as always found it extremely difficult to say no when the barista (sp?) double checked that I didn't want their delicious whipped cream. 

I headed off to visit my grandparents / great uncle and now here I am trying to gear myself up for a run, knowing that if I go then I will not only complete my running goal for the week but also feel much better when demolishing the wine and goodies with my friends later. 

Happy weekend! 

Dans x

The pros and cons of a weekend alone

So last weekend DC was away doing this...

...trekking up three mountains in 24 hours.

No thanks.

Here are the pros and cons of DC being away for the WHOLE weekend.

CONS

I miss him a little bit

I have the sleep with the lamp on all night because I'm a wuss and I've not slept alone in the new house for more than one night

I had to go food shopping by myself... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Um I think that's it!

PROS

I can throw my clothes on the bed when I get home from work and not have to put them away

I can watch as many girlie programmes on the TV as I like without have to watch Game of Thrones on repeat!

I can say 'yes DC I cleaned the house whilst you were away' and he'll never know that I only hoovered the lounge rug and dragged an antibacterial wipe around the bathrooms

I can have the girls over and we can chat girlie chat without any male eavesdropping from the corner of the room

I can do my holiday shop and bring the clothes home without having to hide them quickly in the wardrobe or knock a tenner off of the price tag

CONCLUSION

DC can go away more often!

Dans x

How to make the best fish finger sandwich ever...

...don't make it and go to the pub instead to buy it!

DC and I are lucky in that we have a pub in the village within walking distance, which just happens to serve the best. food. ever. We've never had a bad meal there, the food is always delicious, and I think we've also converted all of our family and friends.

I may have had a bit of a moan to DC at the weekend that we haven't had the chance to do a lot together recently, we are always so busy with family and friends and work and more work and even more work that we couldn't remember the last time we spent an hour together alone that wasn't to do the food shopping.

So on Saturday for lunch DC took me to our pub for lunch to reward ourselves for painting all morning.

And I ordered this.

And it was amazing.

There are no more words.

Dans x

My lazy Sunday (and my failed Zatchel purchase)

Today has been bliss. I'm the kind of person who likes to feel as though I've had a rest on the weekend. And what counts as a 'rest' to me is two hours on the sofa on a Sunday doing absolutely nothing strenuous at all. I read a book, watch a film, sometimes blog, or catch up on the pile of magazines that are still waiting to be read.

DC is not this kind of person. He likes to keep on his feet. And keep going. And going. And going. Whereas I can happily wash the dishes and let them drain before putting them away two hours later, DC has to do the whole lot in one go. If he has a spare twenty minutes on a Sunday, he will mow the lawn. He just seems to absolutely hate sitting down!

I haven't exactly been doing nothing at all today. But DC has been out since 7.30am on a training walk for a three peaks challenge he is doing in June, and he's not due back until late tonight. So I've had the whole day to myself to do whatever I please. Well, apart from spending two hours cleaning the house top of bottom, which was not exactly top on my to-do list today, but it needed doing.

This morning I got up at 09:00am - I like to get up early on Saturday mornings, around 7.30am to get out early and run, and then I make up for it on Sundays by not getting up sometimes until about 9.30am (the man who does not rest is obviously up and about by this point). I had some breakfast before spending almost four hours sitting on my bum watching the London Marathon.

 (BBC)

 

I've never known anything so inspiring and motivating! It makes me feel so proud of my country and proud of the 37,000+ people who have trained hard for the event and have something to run for. I've always seen snippets of the marathon and thought 'hmm, mad people' but now that I am a runner myself, this is the first year I've watched it from a completely different point of view. Instead of looking at the endless people running and thinking they are all crackers, this year the thoughts running through my mind were different:

• Could I ever run a marathon?
• Could I ever run a marathon in four hours?
• How are these people still smiling at mile 18? I'm grumbling at mile 3!
• No one seems to have any belts holding gels etc - how do they keep their energy?
• I wonder what they are feeling as they cross the finish line?
• Will I ever get to experience that marathon crossing the finish line feeling?
• Will I ever be good enough to do this?

I absolutely loved watching it this year, and am completely in awe of all of the people who finished it, no matter how long it took them. The runners who completed the race in 3 hours are just so inspirational, and the elite athletes are unbelievable!

It actually made me want to go out and run (which I hoped was the effect it would have on me because I was in a really lazy mood) so I changed into my running gear, did my stretches and then hit the pavement for a 5k. It felt as though I was running it as fast as I possibly could, but I only made 31:24, which I need to remember is still a good time!

After my run I sat down and brainstormed a few blog posts before spending a couple of hours cleaning the house, putting two loads of washing in, stripping the bed, taking the meter reading (it took me 20 minutes to open the box outside, before then realising the British Gas app is down for maintenance until 10pm tonight, so no gas readings submitted today!), trying to order a Zatchel, washing the dishes, half making the bed before realising the duvet cover was still damp in places (back to the dryer I went) before FINALLY sitting down and trying once again to order this:

Yes, it's beautiful isn't it? Well, don't talk to me about it, because Zatchel were having a 50% flash sale today to celebrate their birthday, and I spent probably an hour or more, over five different occasions, hitting 'place order' to try and order this bag that was only £22.50 in the sale. Would it let me buy it? No. I understand the website was probably busy with everyone catching onto the sale but the pages were loading just fine, my basket was fine, I entered my billing details, delivery details, card details - but it just wouldn't let me complete the transaction. Argh!

But then I thought, well I've spent a LOT of money in the past couple of weeks, digging into my car savings fund, and I still need to be J another birthday present plus pay for petrol and food for our spa day away on Tuesday (more on that later). I also still love my Cambridge Satchel Co. satchel that DC bought me for Christmas, and use it every day. (Can you tell I am simply using all of these excuses to cover my disappointment at not getting my hands on this beautiful bag!)

Never mind.

So now it's gone 6pm and DC should be home in an hour or so. I'm going to do a bit of online browsing for J's present, before making a yummy fish pie that has become my favourite most easiest meal to make ever.

Happy Sunday!

Dans

Garden time...

DC and I were stuck on how to spend our Sunday this weekend. DC came up with a choice - "we either go for a long walk to Bradgate park to try out my walking boots, or we do the garden". Well I really didn't want to go on a long hike because I was pretty tired from my weekend running, so the garden it was!

This is our garden. It may look lovely from afar, but all of the plants and bushes are so overgrown that they're becoming a nuisance, and they make our garden look quite closed in and smaller than it actually is. We agreed when we first moved in that DC and I both wanted all of the plants out, so that we would have a plainer garden that was less upkeep. To be honest, I am definitely not a garden person. Yes I will happily mow the lawn through the nice weather, but I'm not someone who would like to spend one Saturday a month cutting back plants in the garden.

As you can see on the photo we don't actually get a lot of sun in our garden - we didn't realise this until we moved in. We have our garage on the left, next door's conservatory on the right, and our house plus a high fence so we're quite closed in and in the shade a lot of the time.

When DC and I started on the first bush there was a funny moment when he exclaimed "Dani what are you doing!" when I started to chop down at the root. I told him I thought we were digging the bushes out, and DC in return told me that he thought we were only trimming them back. Oops! I might of a communication error there! But we knew we wanted them out so we just agreed to go ahead and do it.

 

This is DC working hard! I guess I got the fun part of chopping all of the bushes down where DC got the hard part of digging all of the roots out. But he seemed to enjoy it, and got through it quite quickly.

   

 

This is after. Yes it looks plain but we need to concentrate on the bigger picture! The verge where the plants were is about a metre long so we want a strip of turf to go cover half of the width, before filling the rest of the space with slate chip. The back will also be slate chip and also around the trees on the left (which are the only trees that will survive our garden massacre - I love them). I'm pretty certain it'll look fab once it's finished.

 

We also need a new fence because with all of the bad weather we've had lately, the wind eventually snapped our fence in half smack bang down the middle, so for the minute we've tied it to the trees behind as a temporary measure until we can afford to get a new fence.

 

We also have the slight problem of all of the rubbish in the middle of the lawn which now needs to somehow get to the tip! We were considering ordering a skip but I don't particularly think it's worth the price. We filled both ours and our neighbour's garden waste bins which are emptied tomorrow, and we'll fill them again ready for the next fortnight, before reassessing what's left over and trying to figure out how to get rid of it.

 

I can't believe how much I am aching now after only three hours in the garden! I feel as though I've done three hundred million chest presses! But it feels good to finally make a start on it, and to have done so much. Hopefully we can get the rest of it done pretty quickly (and cheaply) so that we can have a lovely garden in time for all of those summer BBQs!

 

Dans