Merry Christmas!

Bolton Parkrun had a spot of a Christmas fancy dress theme going on this morning. This still does not give James any excuse at all for turning up dressed like this.

Thank the lord for shorts

Now, I will admit that, back in the day, James and I may have had his n hers Spandex. I know, I know. The difference between us is I threw mine away about twenty years ago. 

As you can see, I have much better taste in clothes these days. 

This is probably the last picture ever taken of James. I know what he's giving his girlfriend for Christmas, and she will definitely hit him over the head with it. Deservedly so.


I've eaten nothing but mince pies and brandy butter absolute crap for days and days, so I took it extremely easy running this morning. Partway through I spotted another member of the Run England group Jog Bolton, and I knew he wanted to get a time of less than 25 minutes, so I thought I'd run with him and encourage him along the way. Great plan. Not only did neither of us get under 25 minutes, but he overtook me on the track at the end.

And now I am so completely in the festive mood I treated myself to a swift glass of alcohol free mulled punch while wrapping the presents. It isn't quite as bad as it sounds.


Cheers


Kath

that horrible moment you realise you got fat again

So, I did my first run in months on Sunday. It was warm when I last ran so it must have been beards ago. The run was a direct result of a self imposed intervention as a result of this photo.

How the f$%k did this happen? I know I am not massive but I am swinging a rather large bingo wing in this photo. What you cant see in this picture is the pile of  people I knocked to the floor with the fecker.

This is my intervention picture

oh and yes, that it a bottle of blue WKD in my hand. I know, I was feeling nostalgic and I am from Warrington. I was actually using it to get rid of the taste of the sambuca I had just necked.

I know how I got fat -  I have been eating Iceland buffets, mice pies, sausage and egg butties and 6 plates of food at a all inclusive buffet. Yesterday, I had had a bumper size bag of salt and vinegar twirls, a sausage and egg butty, a massive yorkshire pudding and a mince pie.

I just can't help it, I like putting bad stuff in my mouth***no jokes please***.

And of course I've not been running. This whole fat business has kind of snook up on me. So I ran 3km with Lego man in the freezing manc weather with a hangover on Sunday. It it was kind of nice cause there was all these crispy ice sheets that made snapping sounds when you ran over them.

I felt a like turd after, I could'nt seem to clean sambuca off my teeth, I had a red ring round my diaphragm from the size 14 dress I poured myself into.I had a bad case off 'the fear'. I didn't think about allowing eating room before I put that dress on and after 7 pints of vodka, a whole baby lamb and chocolate pot I was busting at the seams.

And worst of all I spent most of the night trying and failing to do the running dance.

So I here by pledge to lose a stone in the New Year, yep I just made a stupid resolution. I hate NY resolutions, they are pointless but if don't stop eating soon I'm going to have to get driven into work on a forklift truck and I'll need a part time nurse to come and clean and dress my bed sores.

On a lighter note, check this out.....months of fun. Every house should have one. I think he looks a little like a melting wax work in this photo.

Laters

Sam x

Cake

OK, so it's a year today since I stopped drinking, and if I was any kind of a proper blogger I'd be full of wise and inspirational words for you.

As it is I am full of sugar. I went out to celebrate, and look at these puddings!

Heaven does exist, and it is in Astley. Who'd have thought it?

Internet Shopping

So it's coming up for a year since I stopped drinking. I thought I'd like to do something to celebrate, so inevitably turned to the web for inspiration. Does anyone remember what we did before the Internet?


Marvellous - there are entire websites dedicated to 'recovery' gifts. It seems when you give up drinking you are also supposed to lose all aesthetics and sense of humour, and become hugely sentimental. Getting God also appears to be a spot of a given.


I can't have done it right. 

On the whole I've decided I don't need a poster with "Live the Miracle" on it. Neither my dog nor my baby (not that I have either but if I did) need a T shirt with "I'd rather be sober" on it. And my life will continue to be complete without the Serenity prayer on any piece of merchandise you care to mention, particularly a baseball cap.

Sexy, huh?

Who wouldn't want this on a mousemat?

I guess in the end I will eat cake, and plenty of it, to celebrate.You can't go wrong with cake.

And yesterday I put up the Christmas tree with the kids (overflowing with Chrismas spirit, me), who are very good about it all being very pink. We had a fab time, and ended up all wrapped in tinsel having a living room dance to Mariah Carey of all things. The thing is I'm not sure if this is a family tradition I've forgotten about because I've always been drunk before, and I can't really ask.

Stylish, understated and classy.

Ah well, I suppose I'll remember that we did it this year this time next year. Good.

Motown Monday

****rough weekend***Cough***cough***

Enjoy this weeks offering x

Sam

Things I shouldn't have done yesterday....

• Set the alarm to get up flipping early. I desperately needed a ie in.

• Set foot outside the front door well before 8am. It was fricking cold, and icy underfoot.

• Walked 2.5 miles instead of profligately spending £4 on getting a taxi. Where it wasn't icy, it was very, very muddy. In places it was both. I slipped and fell full length, and my feet were very wet and icy cold by the time I'd finished.  

• Taken a much more sensible than me thirteen year old boy with me on said walk. He told me throughout that there was no point, and Parkrun would be cancelled. He was of course right. It was far too icy to run the Parkrun course. It's always embarrassing when he's right and I'm wrong, and it's happening far too much at the moment.

But then, we wouldn't have seen a deer. In Moses Gate. Yes, that's right, Moses Gate, Bolton. For the record I've seen more deer in Moses Gate than in Tatton Park (where I saw precisely none at all). We also saw a hare, or at the very least an extremely large rabbit. Huge. Wildlife - it's all going on in Bolton.

It wasn't actually this deer, but it was equally as cute

I wouldn't have got to go on a jog across the fields with 20 odd Parkrunners and a dog. It was freezing, it had started to rain/sleet by this point, and my trainers filled up with icy water about one in every five steps. And it was absolutely lovely. We took it easy, there was no question of competitiveness, we weren't being timed (though it should be noted, just between us, that I was very definitely first woman this week, what with almost all the others having the sense they were born with and being tucked up in bed). There were great views of Winter Hill covered in snow along the way, and plenty of the Parkrun community spirit flowing. It was one of the Parkrunners' 50th birthday, and he led the run. If there's a better way of starting your 50th I would love to know what it is.

20 odd Parkrunners and a dog

Still, next week I'm getting a taxi.

Cheers

Kath

Tatton Yule Yomp

Well, a miracle happened. James and I got to Tatton Park, on time, I might even go so far as to say early, even though it was Sunday morning.

With it being a Yule Yomp, people had gone for a Christmassy theme, with many running in Santa suits or elf costumes with bloody bells on. Even though it was a full two weeks before Christmas so FAR too early for all that kind of stuff, I tied my hair back with very stylish Rudolph hair bands.

Practically bubbling over with Christmas spirit, me. I realise you can't see them in this close-up picture, but I'm sure on the day people from miles around were bowled over by the joviality of my hair.

James went for the more traditional seasonal "I'm really hungover after my works do" look, so really we had all the Christmas bases covered.


We had a swift warm-up dance to James' rendition of "Last Christmas", which is actually only slightly worse than his version of "Doh a deer" (I honestly am nearly tempted to buy him an MP3 player to stop him singing as he runs) and we were off. It was chucking it down, cold and flipping muddy.

These are not my legs

It was not quite the Christmas card scene that I'd imagined in Tatton Park, but it was good to be out there, running. And even better to finish (in 53 mins 32 if you're interested) and drive home past the enormous queues for the Trafford Centre (who does that two weeks before Christmas? Really? There's the Internet you know) and go home to the fire, very strong coffee and Christmas cake.

Cheers


Kath

Best ever Xmas films

Last Sunday was a special day, the two greatest (as far as I am concerned) Christmas movies were on.

Scrooged

If you like Kath are a littlle grinchy and struggled to get into the Christmas spirit then watch these bad boys, you'll soon be in the mood.

Elf

Rocking.

Sam x

Motown Monday

The best way to start the week.....



This is one of my all time favourite songs.

and for an alternative version by The Zombies...that old trick of artists re-recording Motown songs. We will let the Zombies off though cause they are fricking ace.........time of the season makes my top 10.



Rod Stewart recorded it as well and of course the superfantatastic Tammi Terrell. It was a massive loss to music when she died of a brain tumour just shy of her 25th birthday.



Enjoy and have a shit hot week - Sam x

Happy 68th Birthday Jim Morrison

Happy fecking birthday Jim!

image from BBC

He would have been 68 years young today, same age as my papa. Sadly papa ward wasn't anywhere near as cool back in the sixties, he was playing a lot of golf in chino shorts in New Zealand and generally missing out on the coolest music in the world. But he was a mental health nurse so we of course approve of this gallantry.

image from google images

He was such a sexpot.

Sleep well James, I will come and visit you in Paris in January..again.

Sam x

Egypt in Instagram Pictures

All taken on my ipod with the Instagram app.

As a result of  this tasty Caribbean fish dish legoman and I got some rather nasty food poisoning. The good news is I have lost 5 lbs in weight - brilliant. The bad news is I cant eat solids without them making a sharp and violent exit from my body and so I have being having to eat this shite for the last few days.........

I don't know what that fecking star on the can is winking about, I want to punch him in his little smiley starry face.

Other than that we had a lovely relaxing time and I am so glad to be back at work on a liquid diet  sat next to the Grinch who stole Christmas Kath.

Sammy x

Splashing Time

It's the Tatton Park Yule Yomp next week.

When I signed up for this I thought it would be crisp, bright  and cold, frost glimmering on the branches of the trees, deer artistically placed around the park with maybe just a spot of glitter on their antlers. I thought I'd find 10K really easy (I'd just done a half marathon at the time) and would romp the yomp, and treat myself to whatever the equivalent of a mince pie and sherry is for someone who doesn't drink at the end. (It's a mince pie and a bloody cup of tea isn't it? I am sooooo sick of tea).


It is not currently living up to my expectations. I've just run paddled waded the best part of 9K in the rain, and it felt anything but festive. In fact it felt flipping damp and I think I've got trenchfoot.


I did have fish and chips when I got in though. I hardly ever have this anymore because to me it is hangover food, but God it was good.

My son marshalled at Parkrun for the first time yesterday, and did very well at shouting encouragement at everyone (except his Mum, who should have been going faster apparently. He's not eaten since). He was taking a well-earned break from running after completing 10 Parkruns for sponsorship for Wigan Shopmobility, so well done to him. I don't normally blog about my kids because I embarrass them enough in real life without doing it online as well, but I sort of have his permission  to say I'm very proud of him.  

Runners World Recipe - One-pot penne with turkey meatballs

Reet

I am still on my jollies so guess what, this is another stolen scheduled post for you. This time I have nicked a recipe from the clever folks at Runners World.

I can't say I have cooked it so I can't tell you how good it is but I am definitely going to give it a go when I get back.

• 8 garlic cloves (3 whole, 5 crushed)
• 600g minced turkey
• 115g feta cheese, crumbled
• 110g dry crackers, crumbled
• 1⁄2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 60ml olive oil
• 4 slices prosciutto, chopped
• 240ml red wine
• 1.6kg tinned tomatoes
• 450g penne pasta

 1 Heat a frying pan on medium-high. Add the whole garlic cloves and toast for five minutes. Remove, then crush.

2 In a bowl, mix the turkey, feta, crackers, oregano and a teaspoon of salt. Now combine the egg, the toasted garlic and the tomato puree, then mix into the meat. Form into 24 meatballs.

3 Heat the oil over medium in a large pan. Add the meatballs and brown all over, then transfer to a plate.

4 Add the crushed garlic and prosciutto to the pan and saute. Add the wine, reduce by half, then throw in the tomatoes and a splash of water. Simmer. Add the meatballs, cover and then cook for 15 minutes. Add 1.5 litres of water plus the remaining salt, then bring to a simmer.

5 Add the penne and cook for 10 minutes. Serve sprinkled with feta.

The Skinny
Calories 713
Fat 23g
Carbs 81g
Protein 43g

Sam x