She runs, she runs!

That's right people, I have been running no less than three times this week! And I feel great! Even in such a short space of time I've noticed an improvement in that I'm running further and further each time and I'm not feeling like I will die when I get to the end - meaning that I'm slowly working my way up to push myself harder each time. This morning I even included a sprint at the end just to expend all the extra energy!

I was lucky enough a few months ago to win some She Active vouchers and last week had a day out in Brighton where I was able to spend them. I was thinking about getting some new trainers but seeing as they didn't do proper testing of your running style I decided to not take the risk and so bought some new running gear. So now, I can run at least looking like a pro!

Ronhill Aspiration Gilet SS09, £31.99.

Nike Women Dri Fit Tech Capri 09.

Nike Women Sleeveless Half Zip Top, £22.99.

Today, I also bought this DVD.

I figure I can't run everyday day, and as much as it will improve my fitness it probably won't change my bodyshape a huge amount seeing as I don't have that much fat to lose :0) But, I do need to tone up and I really enjoyed Pilates last year when I tried it as part of Sweat in the City, and these 10minute workouts will fit easily into my day! I'll let you know how I get on!

Gormet Cooking

Well, as you can see I've been busy in the kitchen again! And guess what, I cooked this one totally from scratch! (that's why I'm showing it to you, there's no skill involved in pouring sauce from a jar!).

I made this, sweet and sour pork, last week after buying BBC Good Food magazine on a whim. I've never followed a recipe before for a main course - baking recipes yes, but not dinner. Dinner comes from jars right?!

And it was surprisingly easy to do. The only slight hiccup was me walking around the supermarket thinking "What the hec does soy look like and where will I find it?". I came to the conclusion that seeing as Morrisons doesn't have a health food section and tofu isn't easy to find either, they must not stock soy. I figured that seeing as the recipe only required a teaspoon of the stuff that it can't be that important anyway.

The finished result was indeed delicious - tasted just like the shop bought stuff only less orange, which equals less MSG so I'm told.

The recipe can be found here. And now that I've seen their website I think it's safe to say that I won't be buying the mag again, as there's so many recipes online!

And just thought you might like to see the flowers I bought last week in a moment of crazy domesticity. They're still looking pretty good over a week later so turned out to be a good buy!

The rise of the domestic Goddess!

On Saturday I had the most domestic of days. I spent the whole morning cleaning the house in preparation for our first proper house-guest. (We have Jon's brother satying with us for a week or so). I even mopped the floors and polished all the window sills. This took most of the day, except for an hour when I was trapped in the living room waiting for the floors to dry... don't worry I had a magazine.

Then at 3pm I had the sudden urge to bake so I dug out the cook books that are normally just for display purposes only. Tana Ramsay came up trumps with a recipe for brownies. I dashed out to the supermarket so that I'd be back in time for Steve's arrival.

Ok, so I did have to call my mum twice whilst I was there - first to check that cream cheese was the same as soft cheese, second to check whether it mattered if you used normal chocolate instead of cooking chocolate (does it matter?! It's all chocolate!). I even grabbed a bunch of fresh flowers on the way out because they were so bright and beautiful! I don't have pictures of that though, sorry.

So I made the brownies - the swirlyness is as a result of a layer of white chocolate that you swirl around. Yummy yummy yummy! Part of me wishes that I had styled up the photograph with a freshly cut piece and some melting ice cream in a pretty bowl, but unfortunately I didn't think of that and now they're all gone (they didn't stick around for long, I can tell you!).


So yes, the most domesticated of days...

Next time I will fill you in on some new fitness gear that I've bought! (Just need to use it now!).