Had a good session in the gym today. Feeling much more positive. Finding if you work out despite of what you feel like in the end you feel great afterwards!!

Met up with Vicky there had a good chat and she was doing some pretty impressive resistance exercises.

I set to work doing more of the exercise plan Wil set me.

30 mins cross trainer

15 mins row

3 x 12 leg curls

3 x 12 leg extensions.

Bicep curls on ball

Calf Lifts

Have to catch up a little due to lazy whingyness.

Beginning to enjoy weights more now. I am using the gym for weights work rather than trying to do it at home because I was intimidated by the big boys..(my fault not theirs because most of them are quite friendly really).

Got myself a 'wicking' shirt today. The fabric they're made from helps to take the glowiness (sweat!!) away from the body. I have brought a few so caled ''leisure' shirts which seem to be inappropriate for gym wear, especially if they have loads of lycra in them

The Eating

Well bit embarrassed really, have eaten too much not going to make the goal I set myself for when Wil gets back, I WILL get there just taking the scenic route at the moment. Got a big book about the GI diet today. Going to be a bit more structured in my eating and pay more attention to portion size and follow some of the recommended recipes and meal plans.

I also, for the first time, looked at the first few posts on this blog and that has reminded me of a few things. It's all good. Lessons learnt and learning.

Went for an early session in the gym today. Having a real slump in motivation on diet and exercise. I think I set myself to higher goals. Just need to calm down and live the healthy life and let it all happen naturally.

On the way in to town I met two celebrated poets. Micheal O'Siadhail , who very excitingly is going to be at Greenbelt and David Scott, local minister. poet and author of 5 books. Both great characters. Micheal has the most gorgeous Dublin accent. Our shop did a book promotion with him last year and I loved his poetry. David's parish church is just round the corner from the shop and he pops in quite a lot. He takes a freat pastoral interest in us and chacks we're all ok in these stressy times.

Had a lovely lunch with Gorgeous Stu. We sat and watched the yellowy waggy tits (or something similar in name, ok I'm not Bill Oddie), no, not old ladies walking by but some very prett little feathered birds.

Stars in her eyes shame about the hair!!

Today we (Christine on the right, fellow groopie, me on the other side) met Paul Martin, presenter of 'Flog It' on BBC2. He was so lovely and very patient as I was trying to take a photo and kept turning my camera off by mistake.

He was outside our shop with a film crew doing a trailer for the show.

BUT...Looking at this picture I am not sure what has happened to my hair but I think it is time to take it to be put down!!! and a reminder I maybe thinner but I ain't there yet!!! Better get to it!!

Today I am just about able to move my arms again. LOL. Had a rigorous work out on Thursday featuring my arm and shoulder muscles!! Well....I had a great time really enjoyed it but I forgot to do any stretching exercises afterwards and, as a result, combined with finding muscles that don't seem to be mentioned in any anatomy books, I have been suffering a bit this weekend.

But this morning I decided to get off my backside and go for an early morning swim. I managed to do 800 metres. Stopping to catch breath a few times. Nice bunch of people in this morning we had fun, all very polite. When you wait at one end and someone else comes along..... it's...'you go first' and they say 'no you go first'....but really you want to say 'JUST GO!!!I need air in my lungs'.

It's great every time I go to the gym I walk through Hyde Gardens on the site of the ancient Hyde Abbey and there is an etched glass panel (above) which shows how the Abbey used to look. King Alfred was supposed to have been buried there. I took a picture of it last week with the sunsetting behind and it makes quite an eerie photo.

After a rest at home for an hour I set off for a 10k walk which was lovely, weather really good. This is my effort to get back on track. Lost the plot a bit as I got down with things at work and worrying about the future

This afternoon Harry (Great Nephew) and mum, niece Jenny came to visit. Harry is getting used to the world on the outside. A few digestive problems to work on but he is ssoooooooo cute.

I did a Harry workout he is a good Personal Trainer. As he was crying it seemed to help to lift him up so his legs could bounce up and down on my lap and then raise him up and down, (something about gravity and poo I think!!) . He is about 5 kilos at the moment so I was working the biceps and when I stopped he cried so I kept going. Will look like Popeye soon!!!

Last week

Tuesday

I got into the Dail Echo. Best part is I got yelled at from a building sire 'hey Darlin', well done. Wierd thing that happened had some anonymous letters , which were nice but a bit freaky!!

Saturday

Mayfest in Winchester. Some strange customers in the shop, stranger than normal that is!! I had to resist so hard in not putting a caption with this!!!!

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I have started reading Lance Armstrong's Book 'Every Second Counts'. This man is amazing coming through a horrible on-slaught of cancer and the brink of death to win the Tour de France and take on the American government campaigning for more research and funding for cancer sufferers. He is truly inspiring. Every page, it's as if you have to take a sharp intake of breath because he has so much energy.

I am really glad I startedit as I had to go to the Orthopaedic consultant (who, by the way is very good looking, which always helps!!)today for my MRI results. I was really hoping for.....'it's OK every thing's fine..' but instead I got 'I am really glad I sent you for a MRI because you have quite a lot wrong with your knee...' I think he saw my face visibly drop and then quickly went into detail. I have three tears on the tendon lateral and medial meniscus and have 2 cysts as well. I could live with it but it will not get better and would hinder any advancement in exercise. So we don't want that.

He said the surgeon would go in and do some trimming and cutting and draining. Key hole surgery day patient with crutches for a week then 6 week building up to normal activity. He said when it was done I would feel like I'd just had a new engine fitted.

Just had talks with Christine, whose son is a Podiatrist and with Wil and the general opinion is that is a routine operation and have put my mind to rest. So I'm not too worried. And it's not going to be for a while anyway

Sunshine on a Rainy day

The great thing about a member of a gym is that when it rains you can go and play in the gym!!

I'm not sure if this a wise descion or not but I have just signed up for the Winchester Race For Life as well as boing one a week later in Bournemouth. So it's all go for training. Got the MRI scan results tomorrow so it'll be good to know what's going on with the knees.

I did WOW 3/5 (Workout by Wil no.3) As you can see by the picture I was moving and became all fuzzy.

I brought Natasha Bedingfield's new cd and the words of the song 'Unwritten' seem quite relevant at the moment

Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten Lyrics

I am unwritten, can't read my mind,

I'm undefinedI'm just beginning,

the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you

Open up the dirty window

Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance

So close you can almost taste it

Release your innovations

Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else

Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwrittenOh, oh, oh

I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines

We've been conditioned to not make mistakes,

but I can't live that way

Staring at the blank page before you

Open up the dirty window

Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance

So close you can almost taste it

Release your inner vision

Feel the rain on your skin.....

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else

Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten

Staring at the blank page before you

Open up the dirty window

Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance

So close you can almost taste it

Release your inner visions

Feel the rain on your skin.....

I Love Watercress

I love watercress and living quite near to watercress beds, it's great to go and get fresh watercress...so this is a plug for the Watercress Festival held in Alresford about 9 miles from Winchester next Sunday 14th May.

It's an annual event and great fun well worth a visit have a look here and there is some great info of what you can do with watercress too.

Some Interesting Things About Watercress
The ancient Greeks called watercress kardamon; they believed it could brighten their intellect, hence their proverb “Eat watercress and get wit.”
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, is thought to have decided on the location for his first hospital because of its proximity to a stream so he could use only the freshest watercress to treat his patients.
Philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon (1561-1626) claimed it could restore a youthful bloom to women.
Romans and Anglo Saxons ate it to prevent baldness.
The Egyptian Pharoahs served freshly squeezed watercress juice to their slaves each morning and afternoon in order to increase their productivity.
Watercress is believed by many to be an aphrodisiac. In Crete, islanders swear by its powers and ancient recipes are handed down from one generation to the next. In the 1970s, an Arab prince was reputed to have had special consignments flown out from the UK, presumably to help him satisfy his harem! And in Hampshire its special powers are part of folklore.
Eating a bag of watercress is said to be a good cure for a hang-over.
According to Cretan legend watercress grew in the springs of the Dikton Cave on Crete where the god Zeus is said to have eaten the plant to fortify himself against his murderous father Cronos.
Roman emperors ate it to help them make ‘bold decisions.’
Anglo-Saxons swore by watercress potage to ‘spring clean’ the blood.
Irish monks were said to survive for long periods eating only bread and watercress and referred to watercress as ‘pure food for sages.’
The juice pressed from watercress was used for gravies to accompany roast meats in medieval France.
The herbalist John Gerard extolled watercress as an anti-scorbutic (remedy for scurvy) as early as 1636. No doubt in those days it was far easier to come by than oranges – a foreign extravagance.
One of Britain’s best known dishes, watercress soup, became very popular in the 17th century when it was claimed to cleanse the blood.
Victorians thought the plant was a cure for toothache, hiccups and even freckles!
Watercress was often eaten in-between courses to cleanse the palate.
Watercress was promoted during the First World War as an important health giving home grown food.
In the 1960s, the strongest demand for watercress came from the north, where whatever the family income, high tea reigned supreme.
It is a well-known fact that Liz Hurley was a follower of the watercress diet, but more recently Sex Pistol star John Lydon was seen to enthuse about watercress soup recipes with fellow participants of ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’
Watercress is mentioned so often as an ingredient in detox vegetable juice recipes and as a cure for a variety of ills, that it could virtually be viewed as a staple part of the regime for those wishing to juice their way to health.

Yesterday did 10 k walk the usual one. It's getting easier, so maybe it's time to up the K.

On the way home I called in at Mum's and we went to the Anne Frank Exhibition in the Great Hall Winchester. The Exhibition was based around the diaries and life of Anne Frank with some harrowing pictures and stories from Holocaust. It's so hard to understand how people can do that to each other. The images have stayed with me. There were some other muliti-media displays on racial abuse too. It was effective looking at the horrors of the Holocaust with children talking about racism.

On our walk we passed a swan sitting on her eggs. No sign of the male thought he must be off doing things.. but no...he was down stream, out of sight of the Mrs, fast asleep on the river bank!!! Quite an up-market nest as you can see!!

Sunday

Decided to do first practice run for The Race For Life . Bournemouth to Boscombe and back about 5K. Tried to walk really fast, which may have looked a little odd to passers by but I am past caring what people think!!! It was very windy down on the beach going to Boscombe the wind was behind me, it was great but on the way back, now that was hard work.

Had a bit of a race with a man on the way back we kept over taking each other really worked hard and my quads and glutes can really tell the tale.

Managed my best time so far 46 minutes

As you can see by the hair it was very windy!!

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Thursday

The Forest is looking particularly beautiful today. Sunlight streaming through the trees on to acres of carpets of Blue Bells. I could get used to Brockenhurst it's such a gorgeous place. I look forward to the walk to the spa each week.

Had a good motivational chat with Wil and it looks like there could be exciting things on the horizon. Scary but life changing!!!!

Managed to do a bit of CV work between the excitement

Another thing about Brockenhurst that doesn't happen in many places, is that horses and cows wander around the streets freely. On the way back to the station I caught this amazing sight. A line of big cows and bulls ambling down the road. They were crossing at quite a busy crossroads. One of the biggest bulls was fearless crossing the road, he knew his green cross code though. He looked both ways and then nearly walked straight into a car. Although you can see in the picture the woman driver was not going to argue. 9these mini digi cameras are great for catching moments......thank you Stu). Knowing my past experience with animals of the Forest, I kept well out of the way!!

Pain in the tooth had now, mostly subsided so I need to re-gain a bit of ground

The root of all evil

Another sleepless night and an aching tooth. Really tired I got up early and went to sit in the now familiar dentists waiting room. The staff there are lovely and very sympathetic. With half an hour I was back in the dentist chair. He could see I was not good by the bags and worry lines appearing on my face. I was slightly out of it with the pain killers which I now will wean myself off as they have had a real detremental affect on the stomach.
Through the night I tried to take my mind of things by doing some Human Movement Science and Anatomy reading. Learnt all sorts of new words!!!!!!
The dentist decided to go back into the tooth, taking out the filling and the nerve, cleaning deep into the jaw and packing it with antibiotics and then putting a temporary filling over it until the next appointment.
It's so good to be out of pain hope to catch up on sleep, exercise and eating properly. It's amazing that something that is 1/2 cm long can cause so much upset!!!!