I'm Only Half Crazy...

Thanks to Heather at Diary Of A Running Mom I've signed up to another challenge!

To be honest I really wanted to do something like 12 half marathons in 2012 but I never signed up because I wanted to go without any pressure to run for a bit after doing the 2011 in 2011 challenge. (It's a good job I didn't as between my ITBand injury and (unrelated) surgeries I wouldn't have been able to do it).

However it's a New Year and I'm feeling pretty good again. There are two reasons that I didn't announce that I'd run 13 races on the 1st January...

1. I wasn't sure that I could afford 13 half marathons in a year. 
2. I don't know if I could sign up for 13 races because I don't know when I'm going to be in England or Texas so making plans and signing up for races is difficult

This challenge sounds great to me as Heather is keeping it pretty informal and more achievable. The only deal is that you must run 13 half marathons in the year. Here are her rules:

• You must run 13 half marathons in the year 2013. They don't all have to be official races. These could be training runs too (that can be an run 13.1 or over). We know that races get expensive
• Keep track of your races/runs and times. Email Heather them at the 1st of each month (heather.m.winkler@gmail.com). She'll post them along and link to your blog/race recap. If you don't have a blog that's fine too!
• Post a link to her blog on your blog. She'll post links to bloggers who are participating
• Have fun and at the end of the year you'll get some type of award - or at least bragging rights!

How do you enter?

Leave a comment on Heather's post with a link to your blog. That's it! Happy halves everyone!!

Liebster Award

I am pleased to say that I've been nominated by Nicola from Only On A Sunday for a Liebster Award! 

This is an award for upcoming bloggers with less than 200 followers to help raise interest in their blogs and help them connect with other bloggers too. 

(I have to apologise for the delay in me getting around to this but you know what it's like at Christmas then I went on holiday so this is the first night I've had to sit down and focus! tsk excuses, excuses eh?!)

So here's the deal:

• Each person must post 11 things about themselves
• Answer the questions that the nominator set for you, plus create 11 questions for the people that you've nominated to answer
• Nominate 11 people and link them to your post
• Go to their page and tell them
• No tag backs!

11 Random Facts About Me...

1. I've never been camping
2. I LOVE Simon Pegg films, especially Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead
3. If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life it would be Tom Yum Soup (*drools*)
4. I love the beach but am scared of the ocean
5. I have THE most terrible memory
6. I have 32 stitches in my face from an accident but only 2 are visible
7. I can't draw for shit
8. I don't know my blood type 
9. I would love to be more organised but can never quite sort everything
10. I'm a tea monster 
11. My favourite band is Blind Pilot

Here are my questions from Nicola....

What made you first start blogging?

I first started blogging when I ran the 2011 in 2011 challenge as a way for me and my family /friends to track my progress. I started this blog when the challenge finished as I realised I missed the process of writing and being creative.

Your must-have beauty product?

Eyeliner is my best friend, plus I can fix my brows with it if pushed ;)

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I think Switzerland would be awesome. All those beautiful mountains and lakes plus proper seasons (you know... snow in winter, sun in summer type thing rather than the constant drizzle that we have here)! 

What's your dream job?

If only I knew! I've never known and don't think I'm going to figure it out any time soon. The basic criteria would be that it's something active or on my feet (desk jobs don't suit me) and preferably somewhere sunny.

And your favourite chocolate?

Oh my word I love Dairy Milk. I have to take supplies of it to Texas with me when I go because their chocolate just isn't the same. 

Biggest phobia?

Eek! heights!! I never used to have a  problem when I was younger but I'm getting really bad with them!

Cats or dogs?

Definitely dogs! I have 5 beautiful black labradors... Holly, Millie and Chloe in England and Paughco and Kiki in Texas <3

Your worst habit?

Tidying everything. Mess stresses me out so I'm constantly organising or cleaning. 

The most expensive thing you have ever bought?

My convertible... a Peugeot 307cc. I've had it for years now and we've been on some great adventures together ;) 

What is currently top of your wish-list?

My visa to marry Paul! 

The last music album you bought?

The Lumineers Album. I'm really into that sound right now, similar to bands like Blind Pilot and The Head And The Heart. 

The questions I'd like my nominees to answer?... 

• What is your biggest goal for 2013?
• What are you proudest of in your life?
• Do you have a nickname? And how did you get it??
• What is the most played song on your ipod?
• What 3 words best describe you?
• What is the most unusual thing you have ever eaten?
• What is your favourite quote?
• If you could choose an age to stay forever, what age would that be?
• Tell me something that you've learned in the last week
• If you could have one superpower what would it be?
• Do you believe in ghosts?

And last but not least, these are the 11 bloggers that I'm going to tag.... (in no particular order of course!)

Kyra @ A Foodie Gets Fit

Bang @ Run Bang, Run

Sian @ Big Dreams and Little Things

Melissa @ In Her Boots

Michelle @ The Adventures Of Runner Girl

SugarMagnolia @ SugarMagnolia

Heather @ Diary Of A Running Mom

Lyndsay @ Fizzy Peaches

Katie @ When Life Gives You Lemons

Louise @ Louise Rose Clarke
Ruby @ A Few Of the Little Things

Please link your Liebster post back to my comments so that I make sure to have a look!

I hope you can take a minute to check out these guys' blogs (and don't forget Nicola's too) and follow them if they're your kind of thing. 

Thanks again Nicola for nominating me!

No Excuses...

I really enjoyed my run this afternoon as the temperatures started to drop. As long as it's not too icy underfoot, I plan to run this weekend too. A conversation with a twitter friend about it reminded me of this picture I saw last year...

Get up and get out this weekend. Embrace the cold and enjoy it!

Focussing On Positives

Today has been an incredibly sad and emotional day as my gorgeous fiancé has flown back to Texas as his visit to England for the holidays has come to an end.

My instinct is to just sit. Alone. In silence. And feel sad. I feel incredibly empty when we're apart and I'm finding it hard to motivate. However I have a lot to be thankful for as we have so much to look forward to in the year ahead. I have to be strong through the next few weeks (and months) as we wait for my visa to be processed.
With that in mind I feel the need to focus my energy. I can't let sadness overwhelm me when in reality our futures look very bright. I am going to work hard on the things I enjoy and am committing myself by telling you, the blog fairies, what I plan to do!

Firstly I plan to blog regularly as well as reading other's people's blogs as I find I learn a lot in the process of both writing and reading them

source www.blogussion.com

I love to crochet... I think I need to pick something challenging like a top to wear over vests in the summer which I'm sure will challenge my abilities and improve my pattern reading skills.... Something like this is what I'm fancying...

I have SO many cookery books it's redonkulous but I'm not going to be able to take them to America with me as they're not the best way to spend my baggage allowance. I have promised myself that I'll try to add as many recipes to my ipad as possible so that I have plenty of inspiration when I get there.

Reading is always important to me so I'll continue to try and read as much as possible. I'm determined to get though the backlog of books I appear to have collected on my kindle!

I need to take the time to focus on Yoga again. It was really helping my flexibility when I was doing it regularly and it helps me stay positive and balanced.

And last but not least... the runner in me is going crackers and can't wait to get going again. I've had a good rest and am raring to go!!

Self-Confidence

 



 

Great Times

Finally there was a (slight) break forecast in the horrible weather yesterday so Paul and I decided to take advantage of it and took two of our black labs to the beach (I only have a 4 seater car and not boot so taking all three was out of the question!).

The forecast was for a slight chance of rain all day but I did start to wonder if we'd been a bit ambitious when it rained the whole way to Filey. However we timed it perfectly. We got there at low tide and the sun even came out!

Millie and Holly absolutely loved it and tore around after the toy, each other and plenty of other dogs too. We walked the full length of Filey brigg and then had a Paul adventure with a bit of rock climbing. The pups surprised me with how agile they were navigating boulders, especially as Holly is a short arse and Millie is commonly referred to as 'fat bum' in our house.

After thoroughly wearing out the hounds (and ourselves) we headed back towards home, stopping of course for a traditional fish n chips in the car just as it started pouring again.

Altogether, a wonderful day!

 

Happy Christmas

I think this one picture sums up today...

Now where's that cheese board?



 

 

Cranberry and Ginger Relish

Today I made one of my favourite Christmas recipes. Now I'm not one for copying recipes to my blog as I prefer to link back to the original recipe online, however despite my best efforts I can not find this one anywhere on the web. It's a recipe I cut from a newspaper about 5 years ago so I'm not even able to credit the original writer (sorry). However it's simple and delicious and I really recommend it. You can make it a few days in advance and chill it in a sealed jar.

I adjust the below recipe to make about double and make sure to have a cinnamon stick in each jar for the flavour to infuse over the next couple of days before we eat it with our turkey dinner (yum)!

Ingredients:

300 g Fresh Cranberries

100 ml Water

100 g caster sugar

4 Pieces stem ginger in syrup finely cut into matchsticks

1/2 tsp Ground ginger

1 Cinnamon stick

Directions:

Put the cranberries and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the cranberries begin to pop.

Add the sugar, ginger and cinnamon. Give the mixture a stir to help the sugar dissolve. Cook over a high heat for another 4-5 minutes until the liquid has reduced to a sticky glaze

Transfer the relish to a bowl and allow to cool. If making ahead, spoon into a sterilised jar while still warm and seal tightly

So what are you waiting for? Go and stock up on some cranberries and get cooking ... you won't regret it!



 

Granny Square Blanket

I'm very pleased to announce that after several months I've finally finished my granny square blanket! I'd never crocheted before starting but I'd been wanting to do something like this for some time and took the opportunity to get a good start on it when I had some unexpected surgery at the end of July. I wrote about my progress at the start of October but since then I seemed to have been stalling a bit with the final stage.

The border, whilst being one of the easiest elements, was also one of the most tedious in that I could crochet for ages and hardly see any change. However I kept at it, not really knowing how much border to add until I finally got to the point where I felt that more would actually be less.

I would love to be able to tell you more detail about the amount of yarn and where I got the pattern but I can't find the YouTube video that got me going, plus I used so many balls of yarn that I stopped counting (mainly so I wouldn't know how much it cost in the end). The yarn I was using has now been discontinued but I have some left so I'm working on a couple of cushion covers based on that pattern to go with the blanket.

I never imagined when I started that it would end up this huge or that I would make quite such a good job of it (even if I do say so myself!). I'm really proud of how it has turned out and it's lovely and warm, just ready in time for these cold winter nights.



 

A Perfect Moment

This week has been simply amazing. I've seen some great entertainment, travelled to London for a few days and spent some wonderful time with friends. So many great memories, but one in particular that will stay in my mind forever....

On Tuesday at the very spot where Paul and I first met, he knelt down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was so excited and completely taken by surprise but didn't hesitate to say 'yes!!' It was such a perfect moment ....I don't think either of us have stopped smiling since!

Lost my way again!

Just as I get into a great rhythm of regular blogging I managed to completely fall out of it again and lose my way. Between a couple of rubbish head colds and a ridiculous amount of work I just haven't got back into it. But today I hope to turn the corner again and make sure I make time to write. I have an amazing weekend ahead of me... firstly I started today with a gorgeous but very icy run with a friend, then this evening I'm going to go and see Jimmy Carr live at the Grand Opera House followed by a curry and some drinks.

Finally tomorrow I'm at a charity dinner at lunchtime at an amazing venue then in the evening we're hoping to go and see the Buffalo Skinners - an awesome folk band in town before their singer goes back to America for Christmas with his family.

I hope to take some photos through the weekend and hopefully will take some time to write about it along with some of the other stuff that goes on in my head ;) Fingers crossed this will be the start of me writing regularly again.

Banana Cake

I guess you've all realised by now that I seem to be getting a bit carried away with baking! Still nothing complex or worthy of the Great British Bake Off, but definitely more than I've attempted before.

This week I thought I'd make my brother's favourite cake as he has been working really hard recently and totally deserved a treat. I found this simple banana cake recipe on Allrecipes and gave it a go.

It's such a simple recipe I couldn't really believe it. I made it in a 2lb silicone loaf mould and as with the lemon drizzle cake that I made last week it needed longer in the oven (almost 15 minutes more than recommended). I don't know if this is because of my oven or how much it has to do with the mould. My verdict... I don't think I've ever even tried a piece of banana cake before but this one was awesome (even if I do say so myself!). I'll definitely make it again!

What's your favourite recipe or cake? Please comment and post a link to your recipe if you've shared it online :)

Wishlist Wednesday #3

Welcome to my third Wishlist Wednesday post for the awesome blog hop hosted by Dani at Pen to Paper

This week my wishlist book is Dualed by Elsie Chapman. This book hasn't been released yet and is totally different to my usual genre choice

Two of you exist.

Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate - a twin raised by another family - and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage - life.

Fifteen year old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic missstep shakes West's confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she's no longer certain that she's the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love... though both have the power to destroy her.


As I said this is totally different to my usual but it does sound like it has a good storyline. I'll keep it on my kindle wishlist and let you know if I venture off to buy it when it's released :)

Want to join in??

• Follow Pen to Paper as the host
• Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get your hands on and read
• Wrote a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist
• Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of her post
• Put a link back to Pen to Paper somewhere on your post with a note about the host
• Visit the other blogs, follow and enjoy :)

Do you read this genre... if so what would you recommend that has already been released for me to start on? Please comment below and also share what's on your wishlist this week!

A Yummy Discovery

Last week I was lucky enough to go to Castle Howard for the preview of their Christmas Fair that raises money for the NSPCC

Photo from Castle Howard website

Castle Howard is a beautiful place to visit and this year the Christmas trees lining the drive are gorgeous. I enjoyed having a look around the stalls and was quite impressed that I managed to find several Christmas presents for my family.

Among the presents for other people was, of course, a little present-to-self (I was working very hard carrying around a large granite chopping board that my mum wanted for her Christmas present... I'd totally earned this).

These two cordials are made by a company called Country Cordials. These guys are based in Hovingham (North Yorkshire) and specialise in 'handmade cordial drinks made from the fruits and flowers of nature with nothing artificial added'. Their website says that their cordials are made by hand using traditional methods in small batches to finely tuned recipes. They use natural ingredients sourced locally and seasonally with just a little British sugar added.

The Winter Warmer is a lovely treat as these cold winter days are setting in. It's made of Apple, orange, lemon, lime, ginger and honey and is gorgeous as a hot drink (which is very welcome this week as we have no heating in the house while the builders are building). The other one I bought was Apple and Elderflower and is really refreshing when diluted with sparkling water.

These two cordials are really lovely and I'm happy to be supporting a local company. They have a lot of different juices to chose from and I'd really recommend treating yourself to some if you come across it

Awww puppy!!!

I just couldn't resist a quick post to introduce you to Betsy... my friend's 9 week old black labrador puppy

She is so beautiful and cheeky. She's gained her confidence even since I first saw her on Monday and is now into absolutely everything! 

So that's my puppy fix for today, I'll definitely be sure to post more pics as she grows into an awesome gundog! ♥