Stretching is good

I ran on Friday.  I really enjoyed it.  It was through the forest at 6am.  It was peaceful.  It was glorious.  There were rabbits.  Lots of them.

When I got home I fluffed about and sort of ran out of time.  I only managed to get some of my usual routine of stretches done.

No harm I thought.

Saturday I jumped on the bike to do a quick hour’s ride before a 20min run at 4 different intensities.

Almost straight away I could feel the fatigue in my muscles.  I felt confident that as I warmed up it would disappear.  It did, but long after I was warm.  Not a good idea I told myself to slacken off the stretching.

The run off the bike was better than the past two weeks.  The average HR was a smidge lower and made me wonder if maybe I hadn’t gone as hard.  On the positive side, maybe I’m getting better.  What are the chances?

Again too much had to be done and my stretching didn’t happen, well not until I got home from Dave and Debbie’s, and then only the long and short calf stretches.  They were sore all day, I just couldn’t ignore them any more.

Another day of 1/2 hearted stretching.

Which brings me to today.  On the bike I went.  Just felt a little tired in the body.  Again I told myself off for not stretching.

Today was just a short 90min ride with short hills no more than 2-3 minutes.  Unless I take the car with the bike in it, there’s not too many hills I can reach in that time.  I used the ones in Heathcote.  They’re pretty gentle really, well Flinders isn’t so easy but I wasn’t too bad doing them.

As is common, I had a headwind on the way back.  I reckon that’s just mean.

Here I am, having had another really full-on day and so far no stretching.

On the positive side, I’ve managed to have a protein shake both days straight after I’ve arrived. 

See, I am looking after myself

Saturday was the day of Santa and Thanksgiving

So Santa doesn’t really make an appearance until the eve of Christmas Day, and Thanksgiving was Thursday just gone, but both happened yesterday.

To start with was the Family BBQ that we organised at the Groynes.

By all accounts it was a success.  We (being the committee in charge of the overall Christmas budget) provided drinks (cans of fizzy, orange juice, diet fizzy and water), salads, bread (rolls and sliced) and Sausages.  Of course a BBQ wouldn’t be a BBQ without tomato sauce.  Got that too!

We had a few games for the kids.  Somehow a number of older kids (otherwise identified at staff) thought they’d take a punt too.  There was egg and spoon races, three-legged races and sack races.  Everyone who got over the finish line got a stamp and a novelty bar.  No one went away empty handed.  Everyone was a winner – even the staff.

To round things off there was a lolly scramble.

Santa was there of course.  It was a really hot day and I’ve got sunburn to prove it, so I did feel sorry for Santa.  We asked that the parents provide a gift no more than $10 for their child so that Santa could hand it out.  We didn’t have enough in the budget to spring for presents, and I wouldn’t want the job of buying 33 presents for children aged from 8weeks to well I guess mid teens.

Those that attended thanked us and said it was an enjoyable afternoon.  Phew.  Now lets hope this coming Friday’s official Work Christmas “do” is also a hit.

We weren’t home long before heading out to Dave and Debbie’s for Thanksgiving dinner.  Mark thought it was a BBQ so we rocked up with our steak and a few desserts.

We had Turkey, Kumara done with maple syrup, parsnips (no I didn’t have any), mashed potato, devilled eggs, asparagus (no, none of those either) and a number of different salads that others had brought with them.

I quizzed Dave on what on the table represented a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  He said Thanksgiving is pretty much whatever the family says it is.  Some families have different foods that they serve each year that might not be the same as the next family.

And apparently people will travel all over America to be with family for Thanksgiving.  It’s a much more festive holiday than Christmas is for them.

The turkey was delicious and the company good.  We had plenty to eat and a great variety of desserts, including Pumpkin Pie (which I also did NOT have – I can only remember Mum make it once when we lived in Timaru.  It was a Weight Watchers recipe and had artificial sweetener).

A very full-on day. I was quite tired, though I suspect a lot of that came from the heat during the afternoon, and the sunburn which has left it’s mark.

Me to You

So we’re setting up the Christmas Tree.  Oh Joy to the World!  I find the whole business of setting up the tree and decorating it somewhat stressful.

I think it’s the OCD in me that needs, I mean NEEDS to see the tree all in proportion and decorations spaced at equal distances and in order.

You can imagine that it’s unlikely to happen like that.  Especially when Mark likes to just place them where ever his hearts desire without any real thought to it.

Oh to be so carefree.

As Mark says “here are my decorations, I’ll put them up and you’ll move them later”. And while we’re looking at Mark’s crown – no baldness happening there!

Anyway, this year we’ve not bought any new decorations in Christchurch, but a few did sneak back in the suitcase from Sydney.

Here’s my growing collection of Me to You Christmas bears.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This morning before heading out for my ride I’d put the white icing on the cake and threw on my usual arrangement of sparse decorations.  Simple, it does the job, and I think it’s nice.  And besides all that, it only looks this way for about 10 minutes when family is around.  It doesn’t take look before the knife is produced and the cake cut.

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly, here’s a couple of snaps of the decorated tree.

 

Along with one pussy cat who’s not sure what all the fuss is about. That’s Maranello.  Murcielago has already tried to climb the tree.  This after I ridiculed him earlier saying he had not tree climbing ability.  We were outside.  Seems in the comfort of his own home he’s more than capable of taking on a tree or two.

Actually, as we were assembling the tree – it comes in 3 parts – I said to Mark that the cats might be having an ‘ah-ha’ moment.  So that’s how you put those things together!

So the shoulder

Well, it’s significantly better than Wednesday night.  Thankfully I’ve been able to sleep through both Thursday and Friday night.

However, it’s worse than it was when I went.  I can’t lift my elbow to the side much but at least I can move it freely backward and forwards.  Which meant yesterday I ran.

And it was a nice run.  I went through the forest.  I haven’t been through there since before toppling down the Rapaki back in October.  So it was my first off-road run as well.  Flat of course

Finally I got my HR about where it really ought to be for a run.  Yet it didn’t feel particularly hard on the body.  Still my last run was Monday, and then it was only 15m on the treadmill.

Mark wouldn’t let me help with the vacuuming last night, and getting anything out of something that requires me to lift that elbow is proving somewhat difficult and painful.  Like getting groceries out of the green (just want to show I’m still doing my bit where I can) bag last night.

Talking of groceries.  Do you remember what you paid for a Turkey last year?  I’m positive the prices have skyrocketed.  I got my 5.5 size Turkey on special last night for $64 I think.  But I’m sure last year that it was cheaper than that.  I saw them at Pak ‘n Save Thursday night for $82.  I nearly died of fright.

Now that we’ve moved onto Christmas related things, the tree will go up on Sunday.  While Mark gets the tree up (prior to decorating) I’ll make Christmas Mince Pies I suppose.  I would normally do them on a Saturday but our day is busy between work’s family BBQ and then the BBQ Thanksgiving tonight.  I had hoped I might get the white icing on the Christmas Cake.  I guess we’ll see.

Sunday’s training has been dropped to just 90minutes so surely if I’m disciplined I’ll manage to fit it all.  Might even get a Christmas card or two written.

Right, well all this planning isn’t helping me today so I better brush my teeth and then get out the door so I can get home in time too pack up and get to the Groyns.  Poor Mark, having to cook for 66 people.  I hope someone else will lend a hand.  I’ve never really done a BBQ and I wouldn’t like to say it must be easy, cos I’m sure the men out there would correct me and say there’s an ART to it or something

Sorted for our 70’s/Disco night

I popped along to The Malthouse tonight after work to look for something suitable to wear for our work Christmas “do” next Friday.  Being on the committee it would be shameful if I didn’t come dressed for the occasion.

Although born in 1970 I really don’t know what people were wearing, after all I was in nappies.  Cloth ones at that I’d imagine.

I was shown the section to look in, but still I couldn’t have told you if what I was looking at was Disco or 70’s.

Anyway, here’s what I’m wearing.  I can’t believe I found exactly the same outfit, including boot, on the Internet, this is NOT from The Malthouse website.

Being the shorty that I am, the dress does come further down my little legs.  Right to the point where my tan lines are.  In fact I shrieked when I saw this picture at just how short the dress is.

But worse still, I thought I better look up the Internet more about Go Go Dancers.  Cripes, this is what I’ve read:

"Go Go Dancing" later became synonymous with the art of striptease, although being a paid dancer on a stage is kind of similar, they’re not necessarily the same thing.

Double shriek!

I’m going to have to find something more to wear under the dress.  I don’t think I want to be bending over wearing a g-string in this short pathetic excuse for a garment.

Oh, the boots cost $20 to hire, that’s pretty steep when the dress (pathetic excuse for a garment) cost $25.

It would also seem that Go Go dancing was in it’s prime in the 1960, jumped the 1970’s and was hot again in the 1980’s.  Sure, that’s going to make me a hit for a 70’s/Disco night.  Maybe I wont be alone, perhaps there will be other Go Go Dancers, more likely ones with the right sized legs to pull off a dress like that!