Travelling Again Woop woop!!

Well our trip to Vietnam has been and gone and I am now at that stage were it feels like we never left, I know, boo hoo poor me eh.

Vietnam was awesome, it wasn't a chilled out relaxing holiday, as there was so much to see but it certainly ticked all the boxes in the way of: a different culture, lovely people and amazing food. We hate to admit it but we were happy to get home and we did appreciate all of our Western comforts that we often take for granted.....well for a wee while anyway.

I didn't think I would sleep the night before we were due to fly but forget that I am getting old (ok more mature) now, so I understand the need for sleep before an exciting day; it didn't feel like I got a lot of sleep but I guess I did.

After a very long journey we got to Ho Chi Minh international airport at 2230 hrs, we had already sorted out an authorization for visa letter online so didn't think we would take to long. We waited for ages and it didn't seem to make a difference if you had done the online bit or not, though I cannot say for sure, so if you are travelling and require a visa, it might still be a good to do it.

We finally got out at just after midnight and was totally amazed that our driver from the hostel was still waiting for us, though I guess they are used to waiting for visitors getting their visas.

The moment we stepped out of the airport and that lovely warm air hit us, it was like we had never stopped travelling and our real adult lives back in Edmonton were nothing but a distant memory! The driver dropped us off near an alley that looked straight out of a horror film that we had to walk down to our guesthouse, winner! We got to our guest house and it seemed like the whole family were sleeping in the communal living room area awaiting our arrival, they were great in that they didn't expect us to piss about giving them our passports, payment etc, they just gave us the key to our room and the wifi password!!

I will do separate posts for each place we visited as I will let you all know about our trip and also out in some tips and recommendations :)

Don't Run On Spicy Food!

Well the weekend was lovely but left Nath with an injury and me sat at my desk sitting up straight pretending a string was pulling me up!

We ran the Hypothermic half marathon on Sunday and though the weather was delightful and not really suited to the name of the event, it was a wee bit emotional.  The start time was at 1000 hrs, which was awesome and meant that for the first time ever before a race, I was able to have breakfast and coffee.

I felt great setting off and was looking forward to the run but then I started letting out these little farts, oh no I thought, why did I have that very spicy Chicken Satay Pho yesterday. I figured that most people would have headphones on so would not hear the offending noises coming from my body and prayed that they were my lady farts (that we all know smell of Roses); then those people overtook me and to my horror, I noticed that no, they did not have headphones on! Damn those runners who like to take in the beauty of what's around them and pace themselves on their perfect breathing technique, whilst I have my music as loud as possible to hide the ridiculous sound of my breathing out of my arse (no pun intended).

So what else was going through my head that maybe most runners also think whilst racing; well I did question whether having a bottle of red wine the night before a race was a great idea, though justified this by the fact that I did have it with a massive bowl of nutritious carb filled pasta.  I also tried working out my end time if I kept to the pace that I was going but Maths is isn't my strongest point so trying to do it whilst running is near impossible. When I got to the half way point I also tried telling myself that it wasn't a half marathon but two 6.5 mile runs, I had read about this working for long distances but yeah it didn't work for me, my body was screaming at me to stop putting us through this!

It was so hot towards the end that people were staring to strip off, some people had initially dressed like they were in a queue on the Hilary Step.  It was a great turn out though so kudos to everyone who ran and there were people of all shapes and sizes either running or walking, just doing what they can to complete the race. I used to always be comparing myself to others during races and would berate myself if I wasn't running as fast as other people but you know what, everyone is running their own race and battling the negativity in their own minds; so whether your racing the clock or getting in the miles, it doesn't matter just focus on you. Though I must admit I was berating some bird that was in front of me who had her hair down like she was on a night out, to be fair she kept a really good pace.....though I did beat her ;)

Nath took some very unflattering pictures of me finishing and I noticed that I run like I am the hunch back of Notre Dam, hence me working on my posture today!

Oh and before I forget Nath injured himself! Foolishly he also ran even though his achilles were a bit tender and guess what, he could hardly walk at the end. A trip to a Chinese doctor yesterday that involved some draining and acupuncture fixed it up nicely but he still now has an elephant foot. No running for him till after Vietnam....in case I haven't mentioned it, we are off to Vietnam soon woop woop!

I am a runner......honest!

As I was sat in my hot tub yesterday, I was wondering how my 4 o'clock running habit had turned into a 4 o'clock G&T in the hot tub habit. This totally goes against my quest to become a smug responsible adult, though to be fair, I was feeling v smug. I was also wondering, if it would be funny or not to flash my tits at whoever bought the newly built monstrosity of a house a couple doors down, whose raised patio looks directly into my garden!

I love running when I'm running but not until that point, dragging my arse into running gear and getting out there at times....ok a lot of times, is just not appealing! For example, in January I ran loads but that was because I was in a challenge group and if I ran the distance I said I would, I would get bonus points yay. My running habit came back very quickly and it became routine to put my gear on and run but then I stopped; the challenge had ended and I had no need to run. I say I had no need to run, though I guess signing up for a 50km in June is probably a very good reason to be out there running!

What was I thinking, 50km am I setting myself up for a piss take or what! Yes I do have a lot of running experience, I have doing shed loads of 10 kms and half marathons, some I have even turned up still drunk from the previous night! On one occasion I dragged my best mate to Edinburgh to run the Rock n Roll half marathon, on the way up we were full of good intentions to only have a few drinks but seriously as soon as we got there and dumped our bags, we made our way to the pub! The next morning was horrendous and though we survived the race and was happy with our time, our fabulous wigs we had bought drunk the day before from good old Primark lasted all of ten minutes!

Well I have a half marathon this Sunday and no doubt it will be a good kick up the ass to get out training, as I doubt I can just cuff a 50km run, I'm not even sure I could complete one!

My name is Michelle and I am a Pin Addict!

I admit it, I am a Pinterest addict, nothing gives me great pleasure than pinning links onto my boards that I will mostly never look at again but hey you just never know! You know what gives me even more pleasure, when I get a notification saying someone has repinned my pin; I don't care that I wasn't the original pinner, it still gives me that feeling of being a smug cool person who pins interesting shit! When I get a notification saying so and so has followed your board....I feel like a ROCK STAR woop woop, check me the fuck out!

My recent pins have been mostly about quilt making; in my attempt at being a smug responsible adult, I have only gone and got a sewing machine!! Now you would think that being a complete beginner and having no idea how to thread a machine, never mind even use it, I would start with something simple but no, not this smug bitch, I am making a quilt!

I now have a new love for just buying bits of material that attracts me and I think ooh (I just spent a good 5 minutes googling to get the right spelling of ooh) I will use that to make something; what that something is heaven knows but it's just so pretty. Last time I went to Earthly Goods (great fabric shop in Edmonton with lovely helpful staff; I went into another and some older bird literally looked me up and down and eye rolled when I announced I was making a quilt, even though I had never used a sewing machine before) I spent $90 on bits of material but they really are lush and my quilt will look amazing.

So all of my material is cut, my blocks are all sorted and now I just need to put them together eek! Luckily, I have a friend who who knows what she is doing and is coming round later to start me off (it totally amazes me that I have a friend who knows this stuff). I am so excited and though I do have someone earmarked to receive this quilt, well I might just keep it!

I did something else crazy yesterday......I made dinner, without following a recipe! I am a recipe hoarder and literally follow one, even for making the most basic of things but yesterday, that all changed. I had some leftover Beef (from the weekend before, I did wonder if it was ok to eat and so far so good), some leftover Beets and loads of veg but I just couldn't find a recipe that I liked the sound of and I didn't want to be disappointed. Anyway, I convinced myself I could simply make my own recipe up, opened a bottle of wine (don't judge I needed it for dutch courage) and cracked on with what we'll call Shelly's Beef & Beet stew. Only thing is, that I didn't really measure anything and I didn't take pics! I will try to replicate it and post pics next time. It was so good, at first the earthiness in the beets were to strong but I did what any good chef would do and added wine, which proper sorted it right out.

Well it's Family day here and it's just me and the boy so I think we'll pop down the ravine and chill out. Basically it just means us having another Sunday, which also means (glimpses at the clock for a time check)......get your wine on woop woop!

My Controlling Male

My life is controlled by a male, who if he doesn't get his own way will make my life a misery until he does; he controls my stress levels and even how much sleep I have, when he wakes, I wake, when he is sleeping, I can completely relax (well almost).  Just to be clear, I'm not talking about my husband Nath, I am talking about my 13 month old (I totally acknowledge that I just did that irritating Mum thing, were I say my baby's age in months and not years) dog Eric.  Eric is a Boxer, a breed renown for being stubborn, the class clown and with one of the longest puppy stages in the dog world (research suggests he'll be an adult when he turns 2).

As I write this I am on the dog couch (yes it's Eric's own couch) with him snoozing away contently on me, the radio is at a level to not disturb him and I am absolutely busting for a pee, due to his head resting on my bladder. Will I move, no of course not, I could end up disturbing him and he's all snuggy.

Nath came home from working away last night, which meant that Eric didn't have his normal amount of space in the bed; I woke up this morning with Eric in the middle of us, his back to Nath and his legs stretched right out. Nath didn't get much sleep, as he was precariously balancing on the edge of the bed, it would seem Eric had his back to Nath in the attempt to shove him out of the bed completely! Of course Nath could have moved Eric, or even made him go sleep on his own bed but no he didn't want to disturb him!!

As Nath is one of those irritating cheery morning people, who can just jump out of bed at daft o'clock and be happy (I have tried this but then look in the mirror and tell myself to fuck off being so cheery first thing), he gets up when Eric does to let him out and give him breakfast but with me it's another story. When it's just Eric and I and it's around 0600 hrs Eric will start staring and I will be on full alert, my whole body tenses mentally begging him to go back to sleep for another hour....ok hour and a half. Sometimes Eric will go back to sleep but a lot of time he jumps off the bed, which I still ignore, willing him to go on his bed but then I hear the click clack of his paws on the tiles in the kitchen, throw a bed tantrum (you know the type) then get up and make sure he has what he wants!

Eric is cool though and is a great protector, he makes sure that the postman and everyone (including small children) know to not even think about coming into our house by barking mentally at them through the living room all day......yep all friggin day.

Despite the lack of sleep and Eric not getting weekends, I wouldn't be without the big handsome lump, who makes me laugh daily!

Is that a Squirrel?!

Snowboarding Tantrums

Nath and I went snowboarding last weekend to Marmot in Jasper National Park, we figured it would be nice to get away from Edmonton for a couple of days and take in some mountain air. All was well until I threw a tantrum.....

Now I am absolutely rubbish at boarding and because I'm bad at it, I don't enjoy it but because I know Nath enjoys it so much, I agreed to go. So I squeezed my feet into my boots, which seriously felt like I was going to break my foot, why on earth are they so uncomfortable! As we walked towards the slope, I could feel the dread building up in me but put on a brave face and plastered on a smile continuing to be one of those irritating positive types. The first few runs were actually pretty good and I was v pleased that I didn't just heal edge down the mountain but actual pointed my board downwards, I was equally impressed with myself for getting off the lift without making a twat out of myself and piling in!

Feeling full of confidence I agreed to go to the top of the mountain, it has green runs all the way down so I was happy enough..........So on the lower slopes, I had been practising my turns and doing quite well at it but on top of the mountain, god knows why (seriously why??) I just wasn't as good and actually had to unclip at one point (most embarrassing thing to do on the mountain). I was practising my turns, which I was getting good at but as soon as I tried to link turns, I piled in and smashed my head on the ground (luckily I had a helmet on); the second time I piled in literally broke the very thin thread, that was holding onto my positivity and reasoning.

The second fall knocked the wind out of me and again I took a very bad hit to my head and I lost it!! Why can't I just be good at it, it looks so fuckin simple!! I was giving myself a proper hard time and then something awful happened.....I felt tears welling up, yes me, a fully grown woman was crying because I was shit at boarding, wtf! I was then berating myself for crying and telling myself to get a grip. Nath kept asking if I was ok and I just managed to say yes without my voice cracking as tears kept flowing behind my goggles!

We carried on down the mountain with small children passing me without a care in the world, switching from their toe to heal edges like little experts (show offs). Thankfully there was a bar, which pleased me, until I remembered I was doing a challenge, which meant I can only drink once a week (bore off January) so ordered a Coke. I tried to cheer up but the silly little girl in me wouldn't fuck off. I could feel myself getting upset, Nath looked at me all distraught and had no idea why my face was doing that weird thing when you're trying your best to hold it together; it was that bad, I had to excuse myself and go to the washroom to pull myself together.

It got worse, as soon as I got in the car I broke down and had a good old full on sobbing feeling sorry for myself cry, it was pathetic. I was like a child with Nath consoling me, that it's ok that I'm shit at snowboarding! We got back to our hotel, watched Border Security for an hour until I got a grip of my emotions then went out for a lovely dinner and to check out the planetarium (the planetarium in Jasper National Park is well worth a visit).

Will I go boarding again, probably, I have to justify all the kit I got when we started!

Responsible Adult Stuff!

So it's January and we're full of good intentions and have made some new year resolutions that we will try to stick to. So here's the first one.....I am actually going to blog and not just have an empty blog space! The second, is to be more productive with my time (it's Shell writing btw), which also includes tidying up after myself (you would think this to be basic thing to do but I often have to spend hours tidying up). The final one, is to get back into running, I always forget how much I enjoy running and how much I eat which makes running a necessity!

As we head into our forties we should probably start doing responsible adult stuff, you know those smug adult types who are just so organized and on top of everything, well we're going to attempt that! Which takes me nicely into our smug adult jobs we have done today.

Eric got a bath, as he didn't smell very well after spending two nights at his fave doggy camp, whilst we were away hitting the slopes in Jasper. He now smells lovely and won't get picked on by the other dogs for stinking. We've also pickled garlic, I know how adult like is that right; we had a load of garlic doomed for wastage at the bottom of the pantry, so instead of throwing it out, we pickled it and now have three jars of garlic cloves that will last us a life time. That was one of those smug responsible adult things that I just have to tweet about! If you want to be a smug adult and pickle some garlic then here's the link to a helpful post on how to do so: http://www.barefeetinthekitchen.com/2012/09/preserving-garlic-for-winter.html

Afternote:

So the garlic has now turned Blue, I've asked Google who assures me this is safe and it does brighten up dishes!