Boxing Day

26 Dec 2012_Balance

We braved the Mall this morning to exchange a DVD and also to use some of the gift cards we received as presents. After a fortifying coffee at Kingston & Co (where other shoppers also had the same idea - it was really busy) and watching hordes of people heading in and out of Target (speakers seemed to be a popular item), we went our separate ways, agreeing to meet up in an hour.

First off the rank was a visit to Snowgum as I’ve had my eye on a singlet top there for quite a while and I was hoping that with the 40% discount I might be able to get it at a reasonable price. But on closer inspection I decided I wasn’t that keen on it and after trying it on it confirmed for me that I really didn’t want it. However I discovered another singlet top of a slightly different design that I liked and which I bought.

Next stop was Rebel Sport but on the way I wandered through some other stores but nothing really jumped out at me. Besides I’m going to Melbourne next week, aka shopping mecca. At Rebel Sport I managed to find the swim goggles I was after plus paddles and then I waited in the queue. And waited…..and waited……and waited. While a lot of things had been discounted, if you were a member there was a further discount so of course, almost everyone ahead of me in the queue were a) not members and b) wanted to become members.

And that was the extent of my Boxing Day sales shopping. By now I was over crowds and queues in a big way. Besides I had got what I needed so there was no point in hanging around.

This afternoon I did a 40 minute bike session which included 5 x 30sec efforts.

Tomorrow: I’ll run in the morning and do another bike session in the afternoon.

“Don’t be concerned with what you can’t do. Work on what you can do – then count your blessings.” – Alan Robinson, 56-year-old partially paralysed marathon runner

 

Christmas Day

After a much-needed and appreciated sleep in this morning, and much humming and haaaing while enjoying a coffee before getting out of bed, I decided to do my Christmas day 10km intervals run before breakfast. The reason for the humming and haaaing was that I was starving and then factoring in a 10km run, it was going to be close to 11am before I had breakfast. In the end I decided the wait would be worth it because I was sure that later in the day I really wouldn’t feel like doing the session…..and I was right!

Intervals are always hard and this morning was no exception – 3 x 1km (2 min RI); 3 x 400 (1 min RI); 3 x 200m (1 min RI); 4 x 100m (30s RI). It always looks so much simpler written down than actually doing it! I was the only one outside doing anything – funny that! I really appreciated the berry bircher muesli I had once I had finished – so healthy and delicious and it really does prove that healthy food needn’t be boring, bland and not tasty.

There were the phone calls to family back home in WA and to son #3 in Melbourne to wish them a merry Christmas. Its a shame that son #3 couldn’t be with us today but I am going down to Melbourne next week to spend a week with him. Sons #1 and #2 came for lunch – cold ham and chicken, homemade potato salad, coleslaw and a roasted vegetable and feta salad. Dessert was ice cream Christmas pudding topped with chocolate ganache and a fresh berry salad (blueberries, cherries, fresh currants, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and boysenberries). Champagne for moi and beers for the boys, and then later coffee from my brand spanking new Nespresso coffee machine.

I also received a pair of snazzy red Oakley sports sunnies (red makes you go faster!), Lululemon running shorts, Lorna Jane running shorts (seems to be a theme happening!), LJ sweat bands, Rebel Sports gift card, Sapphires DVD, a glass angel fish ornament (to add to my collection) and various other bits and bobs.

Now I feel stuffed, satisfied and sleepy but I’m planning on finishing the night by watching Bad Santa.

So, Merry Christmas to all and to all……

…a good night!”

T’was the day before Christmas…

…and I swam 1.9km early in the day before hitting the shops for the final time, still searching for that elusive present. What I ended up buying for The Fisherman is no showstopper but hopefully he’ll appreciate the gifts. Made the ice-cream christmas pudding and that’s sitting in the freezer waiting for its chocolate ganache topping which will happen tomorrow. I will prepare the potato salad, coleslaw and roasted vegie salad tonight, and that’s it. We’re having a cold lunch – ham and chicken with salads, followed by the ice-cream christmas pudding. The Moet (for me) and the crownies (the boys) are in the fridge. I’ll make the berry bircher muesli tonight so it will be ready for brekkie tomorrow, after I’ve done a 10km run.

I finally managed to catch up with my very good friend this afternoon when I delivered some Christmas gifts. Friends are very important to me but unfortunately sometimes life gets in the way and before you know it, weeks and months have gone by and you’ve not been able to catch up. So it was really nice to at least get together briefly this afternoon to chat and just enjoy each other’s company.

Sometimes it sucks to be me  We had dinner with friends at a relatively new  restaurant in Bruce last night – a steak and seafood restaurant. Its been open for about a year apparently but it was the first time we’d been there. The food was lovely – I had crispy skin grilled salmon with a side of potato and cherry tomatoes, and hazelnut meringue torte for dessert. Just one glass of wine. But unfortunately today I’m suffering with a gluten contamination attack which started  last night about 2am and I’m still feeling crap. Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow.

“I think we like to complicate things when it is really quite simple; find what it is that makes you happy and who it is that makes you happy and make them a huge part of your life.”

Two sleeps to go

I can see a light at the end of the tunnel – this pre-Christmas mayhem will soon be over! But in the meantime it’s a case of navigate the car parks and then brave the crowds at shopping centres to find that elusive present. In my case, its been very bloody elusive! And thank god for gift wrapping services at the centres! They have been my saviour today!

This morning I went for an early morning bike ride. It hadn’t cooled down a great deal overnight but it made for pleasant riding and the traffic was practically non-existent. However I also decided that I didn’t want to have to deal with traffic this morning so I headed off along the cycle path to Lake Burley Griffin. I haven’t been this way in a very, very long time but I used to cycle it regularly years ago, when I used to work in Woden. The thing is, its a great cycle to Woden because it’s mostly downhill but what goes down must go up, and that’s what it’s like on the return trip!

A woman out walking 4 young labradors off leashes this morning had me slowing right down (and I wasn’t going particularly fast to begin with) and eventually stopping, as she wasn’t making any effort to call them back and they had absolutely no road (or cycle path) sense. I’m all for people out walking their dogs but please maintain some sort of control, especially when bikes are around!

On the return trip I was cycling along minding my own business when I looked up, refocused and looked again – almost coming face to face with a big roo on the side of the path. Again I slowed right down, preparing to stop, but he just looked at me and then bounded off in the other direction.

Tomorrow: the plan is to swim early and then face the shops for the final time. I’m also hoping to get down south to drop off some pressies to a good friend who I haven’t seen in ages. And tomorrow night, as tradition dictates in my household, I will watch the Christmas carols on TV, with a side of  GF fruit mince pies and Baileys to help them go down!  :)

“TTFN Ta Ta For Now!” ― A.A. Milne

A case of the bah, humbugs

The tree is up. It’s partly decorated – we’re doing it in stages, when we’re inspired. We, in this case, really means The Fisherman because I’m still waiting for inspiration and motivation to move me. Blame it on the gastro virus still lingering. The last thing I feel is Christmas cheer. Yes, I’m feeling a bit ‘bah humbug’, or a case of the bah, humbugs, which is tantamount to treason at this time of year in some people’s eyes. In my defence, I have to say that I’m not normally like this so I’m a little nonplussed at the way I’m feeling.

So today I tried to instill some of that “deck-the-halls, jingle bells, santa is coming, fa-la-la” festive feeling by writing out the Christmas cards (the fact that some of the recipients may not receive them until after the big event is neither here not there, it’s the thought that counts!) The radio station has obliged by playing christmas-themed songs throughout the day. We went to the Kingston markets this mornings and bought fudge (as gifts) and tried to soak up the christmassy atmosphere (and then of course later today we just had to sample one of the fudge blocks to ensure that it was of high quality and worthy to give as presents! – Grand Marnier chocolate fudge anyone?!).

So the countdown is on – the last week of shopping this week. I have made my list after consulting with recipients. Everyone has obliged except The Fisherman (aka he-who-is-impossible-to-buy-for) so I have no excuses. Interstate presents have already been ordered and sent.

There was no exercise today.Yesterday’s little run took more out of me than I expected and I’m still not 100%.

Frustrating, yes. The worse thing that could happen, no.

After yesterday’s events in the US, my problems pale into insignificance. My heart goes out to the grieving parents – never in your wildest dreams do you ever think you’ll never see your child alive again when you send them off to school in the morning.

“When late morning rolls around and you’re feeling a bit out of sorts, don’t worry; you’re probably just a little eleven o’clockish.” – Winnie the Pooh