4 more sleeps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I warn you now, this is going to be a super Christmassy post, so look away now if you are in any way a bah humbug!!

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I am now on school Christmas holidays! Yay! I totally lost my voice though for 5 days, boo 😦 I was so ill last week with a viral cold/flu thing and got a lovely cough, snotty nose and no voice. It is pretty much all gone now and it is almost Christmas so I am happy 🙂

Saturday was amazing, the first day of the hols and I promised myself I would not leave the flat at all, stay in my PJs all day, listen to Christmas songs and watch Christmas movies. I had Christmas tea, Christmas coffee and was blissfully happy!

Rob and I did however TOTALLY blitz the flat. It is now super squeaky clean. Not that it was dirty before, but you know when you want to make it squeaky?! And also to de-germ the place as I have been holed up ill all week.

The tree has been up for a couple of weeks now. It is tradition to decorate it with my Disney figures which we collected as children. Totally adorable. I LOVE Disney! Just look at the figures!!

We also have Christmas mugs 😀

Stockings up on the fireplace 😀 including one for Alan the cat, she even has her own advent calendar!!

Totally gone mad on the candles in the evenings, it’s been bliss.

This is me and Rob on the Santa Dash!!! Totally awesome. He ran with me and we did it in 27 minutes. So pleased as haven’t really run since the half marathon…. oooops! We had so much fun though.

My last day at school was lovely and I got some lovely cards and gifts, bless them!

I have been making gingerbread cookies which are gluten and dairy free! I’ve had some friends round and made some more cookies and some mince pies, using some amazing DARK CHOCOLATE mince pie filling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I now have Christmas slippers. I have several pairs of Christmas pyjamas. I have Christmas socks and Christmas knickers!!!!

We have also had a delicious Christmas dinner because it will be different to what we will have in Sweden. This was truly lush 😀

In short- I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Strictly Come Dancing final- just too much!!! It was just so close between Harry and Chelsee. Both were superb. I am sad that it is over now for another year.

This week I have been to see a dietician after my recent diagnoses of lactose intolerance and non-coeliac gluten sensitivity. It was really interesting and helpful. The main areas that she is concerned about are making sure I get enough calcium in my diet, and enough iron. I am going to be given an appointment in the new year to have a bone scan as well. I had totally forgotten that it was 10 years ago that I was diagnosed with IBS, TEN years ago! And have just been taken seriously now, which is good because lactose intolerance is something I will always have. She is convinced that I have got coeliac disease, but to be honest having a label on it is rather irrelevant as I eat a gluten free diet now. Having said that, some gluten had crept back into the diet- mostly from being lazy and not reading labels properly, and boy have I suffered. I have had incredibly painful sores all down my throat and really itchy eyes. If anything, this little flare-up and seeing the dietician have made me more focused on looking after my health.

Tomorrow we are off to Sweden to spend Christmas there. There are 6 of us going! We are going to spend it with Rob’s brother and his wife, and their new arrival baby Elliot, who is just adorable. We will be back next week!

In the meantime, have a wonderful Christmas and I hope it brings lots of happiness to you.

23 1/2 hours

This is an inspiring video which I thought I’d like to share with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo

Secret Santa

Laura over at Keeping Healthy Getting Stylish organised a fab bloggers Secret Santa! I was so so lucky and I received this amazing, thoughtful parcel from Jess at Almost Over Now.

See here for what I got Eleanor at Eating Like a Horse 🙂 I love Crimbo.

Can you believe it?!

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Gingerbread latte anyone?!

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Feeling Christmassy!

Hiya bloggies! I have been feeling rather Christmassy 🙂 I think it is due to the fact that bonfire night is out of the way, Rob’s birthday is out of the way, and that we have started singing/rehearsing Christmas songs at school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That does mean that this weekend I have been listening to Christmas songs as I’ve been doing school work and writing the blog.

I am glad to report that I feel much better about getting back on track with my eats and exercise. I have had a good week including yummy porridges for breakfast, salads for lunches, and a selection of dinners such as omelettes, bolognaise with courgette spaghetti, Thai green prawn curry, and some yummy 97% pork sausages.

Already with getting my eating back on track I am feeling much better. Much more alert, less fatigued, less sick and much less of a stuffy nose and bunged up feeling.

I have managed to fit in a spin class, go swimming and complete a Pilates workout at home this week. Not too bad!

This weekend has been a real catch up weekend. I have only left the flat twice, once which was oh so brief! I have been doing uni work, paperwork for school files, planning and marking. Hours and hours spent at my desk!!! Crazy crazy but will be so worth it in the long run.

I had my 3 QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) skills tests yesterday. Literacy, numeracy and ICT. And I am chuffed to say that I passed them all!!!! First time! Another step closer to becoming a teacher 😀 I have got my first official university observation this week as well, so I have been getting ready for that. Eeek!

I have had lots of yummy foods like smoothies and homemade soups as well. This smoothie was super duper and was made from banana, Kara coconut milk, coconut oil, maca powder, spinach, cacao nibs, coconut, chopped nuts, chopped dates and manuka honey!

This was a delicious butternut squash and apple soup. I put a swirl of Marmite in at the end!

Finally, I have been nominated by the lovely Laura for this Tell Me About Yourself blog award!

Nominees, in order to accept this award you must:
-Thank and link back to the person who awarded you – Yep, thank you Laura!
-Write seven random things about yourself – See below.
-Award seven other awesome and inspiring bloggers: Alice@ Bake n Beebz, Maria@ Running Cupcake, Ffion@ Chocolate & Raspberries, Jessica@ Gym, Run, Work, Fun , Sabine@ The Fruit Pursuit, Tam@ Salad and Sequins and Lucy@ Porridge and Parsnips

1. I have got 4 tattoos!! I would definitely get more as well 🙂

2. My favourite song of all time is ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ by Cyndi Lauper.

3. I once went through a stage where I ate crispy chilli beef from the Chinese takeaway nearly every day!

4. I once never owned an item of clothing in anything but black and white. I now own lots of different colours of clothing!

5. I always cry at Strictly Come Dancing- totally random but it makes me so emotional!!!

6. I don’t like baked beans on toast. I love baked beans with toast, but not on toast. Makes it soggy!

7. I have met Guy Garvey, lead singer of Elbow. He was awesome!! I also hadn’t had a shower in days as it was at a festival, but it was awesome!!

So there you have it, some extremely random stuff about me!

Happy November!

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I know, I know, I’m a little late!

Life is going pretty well at the moment, am loving school and managing to keep on top of the mountainous uni paperwork that is required of me, so that’s a bonus!

Sadly though I have lost my healthy eating and exercise mojo 😦 I just find that where I am committing 100% of my energy to making my placement as successful as possible, I have very little left for anything else. I am getting to school by 8am, staying until gone 6pm and then working on school stuff in the evenings before crashing out!

If anyone has got any tips or suggestions for me, then they would be gratefully received! I did manage to force myself out for a run at the weekend though and was glad I did as I really enjoyed it.

In order to try and help with the resurrection of my mojo I have drawn up a table, with a box for every day from now until I go away in December. Each day I am going to try and aim to drink plenty of water and eat healthily (no processed). And I’m going to try and exercise a couple of times a week.

Blue tick for water, green tick for healthy eats and a purple tick for exercise. I am hoping this will appeal to the visual side of my nature and that all the ticks will help to spur me on, and if there are a couple of crosses then hopefully I will still be spurred on by the visual element of seeing more ticks than crosses! Although, I quite like the look of this one!!

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I am also going to use my blog to help keep a record of my successes!! Especially as I have got a couple of runs next month and the Brighton Marathon coming up in April.

I hope you will all still stick around while this teacher has a few lapses!

Massive Happy Birthday wishes to my lovely, lovely Rob!!! 😀

Checking in!

Hullo hullo and Happy Sunday!!

I have been a busy student teacher bee these last few days and I’m loving it. I love getting back into school for placement and cannot wait until I graduate and I get my own class! What I am not loving though is the germs 😦 I have got the stinkiest cold right now. Any tips on staying germ free would be amazing!

I have had lots of yummy eats. And isn’t it getting chilly?! Cor! Been wearing my mittens, the sun is lovely but that wind has been really bitter. How dark is it now though 😦 it got dark at around 4.30pm today.

Got so much to catch up on, even right back to my anniversary!

We had these yummy pancakes for breakfast.

We had a lovely day in Brighton and hit up lots of lovely foody shops. We went to an Oriental store in the Laines and wandered over to the Turkish supermarket. I love this place! We got some lush olives and veggies.

We went to Food for Friends in Brighton for our dinner. This is a vegetarian restaurant and it really was delicious!! I would really recommend this restaurant for its food whether you’re veggie or not. The menu is also clearly labelled with all options and the staff are really knowledgeable.

Our starter was crispy salt and chilli tofu.

 

Rob had  a Savoury Parmesan and Sun-dried Tomato Beignet. He said it was really crispy and the sauce was delicious and creamy.

Savoury choux pastry fritters filled with ‘parmesan’, smoked Sussex cheese, basil and sundried tomato served over wilted spinach and  broccoli with garlic herbed crushed new potatoes and a creamy truffled Marsala wine and pink peppercorn sauce   

I had Tandoori Haloumi Masala. This curry was one of the nicest I’ve had.

Accompanied by Aloo Gobi, Biryani-style rice with toasted almonds, mango chutney and poppadom.

Rob also bought me these gorgeous flowers.

 

School is really good, but I am finding that my time is a little scarcer than previous! So apologies if I don’t post as much, but I won’t forget you!

We also marshalled at the Beachy Head Marathon, and the weather than better than anyone could have asked for. Here is a picture of a rhino running the marathon!

A really rapid catch up on a few things that have been happening! I will return with some more catch ups on food and training this week.

Back to school tomorrow after a half term languishing in my pit with a stinker of a cold 😀 ready and raring to go!

Tea Giveaway Winner!

Good evening! We have a winner of this bunch of tea! 😀 There were lots of great comments about what makes a tea.

And the winner is…

Linda!!

Please can you email me with your address at knittingrunningeating@gmail.com and I will get your parcel sent out to you ASAP!

Well done 😀

Lovely Autumnal Sunshine

Has it really been nearly a week since I last posted?! Very neglectful!

I have been swimming, going to school, finishing assignments and going to a very cool Malibu party!!

Here’s what I’ve been up to this week…

Tuesday night- Beachy Head Marathon marshall briefing. We are volunteering to help with the Beachy Head Marathon which is happening next Saturday, 22nd October 2011. We will be starting wtih registration at 7am, and then after registration we will be approx 8 miles in helping with a road crossing.

Wednesday night- I went to swim training and swam 50 lengths. This was broken down as such-

Warm up- 4 front crawl, 4 back stroke

4 back stroke arms with a pull-buoy, 4 backstroke.

4 front crawl arms with a pull-buoy, 4 front crawl legs, 4 front crawl

2 breast stroke arms, 2 breast stroke legs, 2 breast stroke

Front crawl pacing- in 1 minute 30 secs, swim 2 lengths and rest for the remainder of the time. Twice.

Front crawl pacing- in 1 minute, swim 2 lengths and rest for any remainder. Twice.

Warm down- 8 lengths of front crawl.

Thursday night- Malibu Pamper Party!

My friend won a competition run by Malibu to have a Pamper Party thrown by them at her house! They set up and there was a makeshift bar in her dining room, a spray tan tent in the spare room and the beauty bits in the lounge. There was a make-up artist, a nail technician, a spray-tan lady and a mixologist! (A mixologist is a cocktail maker!) He gave us lessons on how to make cocktails using Malibu. We made a Malibu Mojito and a Malibu Cosmopolitan.

He also ran a little competition and whoever made the best cocktails would win a prize! The prize was a Malibu ice bucket, Malibu glasses, Malibu shaker and Malibu stirrers. And I won!!!! 😀

We had so much fun, and I had a spray tan, my eye make-up done and my nails done. They also brought these amazing cupcakes with them.

 

I now have a gorgeous tan! I have never been this brown in my life, but it’s an expensive habit to keep up, so will make the most of having it this weekend. Here’s a pic of me and my friend who won the party. She is my bestest bestest friend!

Wednesday and Thursday were my first two days in the school I will be doing my final teaching practice in. I love it! I start full time properly from Monday. Scary scary!

I handed in my Science assignment on Friday and went off to Nando’s with some friends. I was due half a free chicken 😀 it was immense and nearly beat me. Note I said nearly!

Last night (Friday) was spent really chilling out. I watched Gardner’s World, Autumn Watch and Autumn Watch Unsprung. I did feel a little old beyond my years! It was so interesting though, and they’ve set up a webcam to watch some badgers. Check it out here. Sooo cool.

Tonight we had these luscious beef fajitas (without tortillas) with homemade salsa and guacamole. Recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver, and with beef rather than chicken.

 

We have had some really lovely dinners this week. Rob cooked this dish of balsamic pork over a grilled pear and rocket salad. Mmmmm!

Tomorrow is mine and Rob’s 7 year anniversary 🙂 so we’re off out for lunch somewhere, we haven’t decided between Lewes or Brighton yet, so will see how we feel tomorrow.

Hope you’ve all had a great week! Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Don’t forget my tea giveaway, there is still time to enter.

Pukka Tea Review and mini giveaway!

A little while ago I was sent some Pukka teas to sample and review. I am a huge fan of tea generally and I drink a lot of the Pukka tea brand, so I was excited to try these out!

Here is a little bit of background info on the Pukka brand, all information can be found on their website http://www.pukkaherbs.com/

Pukka was started by Tim Westwell and Sebastian Pole who were brought together by their mutual interest in promoting wellbeing. They started off the business in Tim’s spare bedroom in Bristol, and now 9 years later they are a very well known brand.

The name Pukka translates from Hindi to mean ‘authentic’, ‘genuine’ or, more colloquially, ‘top-quality’, which they say epitomises all that they represent – their ethos, ambition and everything they create.  

Started with little finance, but plenty of passion, they grew Pukka on their beliefs in Ayurveda – the ancient Indian art of living wisely – and the incredible health benefits of organic herbs. 

They are proud to say that all their herbs and products are certified organic by the Soil Association and the USDA* and can all be traced back to the field in which they were grown.  They make regular visits to the farmers we work with to learn from as well as educate them. Like all relationships, it’s a two-way thing.

With all of this in mind, Pukka was a perfect brand for me to review as it is in keeping with my beliefs. They not only sell tea but a whole host of other goodies based upon Ayurveda. Well worth checking out.

I was sent licorice and cinnamon; three mint; and revitalise teas.

The licorice and cinnamon tea is labelled as ‘deliciously rich and mellow’

I love licorice tea and have several brands of different flavours and mixes, and this is a real sweet treat, especially with the cinnamon. Perfect for after dinner cosying in front of the telly, or on a cosy night in. You can taste the licorice first off and then the sweet aftertaste of the cinnamon. Yum!

The three mint tea is lovely.

We took this on holiday it was so nice! The three mints- peppermint, spearmint and fieldmint- really complement each other to give a really light, lovely minty brew.

The revitalise tea is labelled as ‘to warm and invigorate’ and it certainly does that!

It’s a blend of cinnamon, cardamon and ginger. All the flavours work really well together and not one overpowers another. I quite liked this as a morning tea.

In addition to the samples I was sent I want to add my own reviews of the Three Tulsi tea and the Love tea by Pukka.

Tulsi tea is often referred to as The Sacred Herb or Holy Basil due to its ability to lift your spirits. It is also very calming and is said to reduce your cortisol levels and help with times of stress. Aside from these obvious benefits, the tea is very tasty! It’s caffeine free and can be drunk at any time of the day. It’s got quite a strong taste and there is a mild background of fruitiness. There are many benefits to Tulsi tea.

Love tea is one of my favourites, which is why I wanted to share it with you here. It’s a real calming tea, with a mix of camomile flowers, lavender flowers among others such as elderflower and rose flower. A really lovely tea, that despite what you may be thinking, does not taste flowery!

I have 5 teabags of each tea, so 25 teabags in total, to give away!!

There are 4 ways to enter:

• Leave me a comment on here telling me what you think makes a good tea
• Follow me on Twitter
• Tweet about my giveaway
• Link back to this giveaway on your blog

Please leave a comment here for each entry, I’d hate to miss any. I will draw a winner next Monday. Entries must be in by midnight GMT on Sunday 16th October 2011. This is also open to international readers so please do enter!