When your nipples could cut glass...

Hmm if only I was covered in fur and resembled a Polar Bear - maybe then this blasted cold weather wouldn't make it so incredibly difficult to stay on track with my PT sessions.

You know you agree with me: it's hard to be motivated to go out first thing in the morning and get your exercise on when it feels like the ends of your lady lumps could be used by career criminals to break into jewellery store display cases without leaving a mess.

It also doesn't help when, once the alarm goes off, hubby rolls over sticks his arm out and asks innocently: "cuddles?" Especially when he's body temperature is always at a toasty 37 degrees.

Still, I tried to persevere though admittedly last week I spent more time jogging / power walking than focusing my efforts on targeted PT bits and pieces. So this morning I thought I'd get back in to it , and after a brisk 5 minute walk around the block, wandered out into my front yard with my little purple weights, and bright green toning band ready to wave bye bye to the banana wings.

At this point I should note I have no fence around my house and as many of you know my house is actually a unit so my efforts are being broadcast to anyone else stupid enough to be out in an almost-winters morning at 6am.

I lasted about 15 minutes by the standing still pumping my arms and lunging to the ground wasn't really holding my interest (honestly, does it hold anyone's?) so finished with a jog around the block.

Still wanting to get into the PT habit,  I've decided to actually start using a PT 'game' (for want of a better word) I brought for the PS3 sometime last year. Called "My Fitness Coach Club" it promises to be "THE perfect place to create tailor-made training sessions," and I will have my own personal coach with me every step of the way.

I don't care if it is essentially make-believe, if my coach is some bobby, blonde with pert boobs, no waist and a butt to die for, I may throw the controller through the TV.

Though isn't that what I'm essentially striving for?

Catering for the Masses

Happy Easter everyone!!

In an attempt to truly live up to my "avoiding jars and packets" pledge this Easter, I wanted to make home-made Easter eggs for the seven people we have visiting us this year, and have a bit of a decorating day on Good Friday: hubby nixed that idea immediately.

Instead, I turned my sights to catering for a day-long picnic or 'grazing' session as I like to call it, whipping up some turkish-inspired dips to take along to the park with us, however it seemed sensible to buy the french sticks to cut up to go with them as opposed to trying to bake one myself!

So the Thursday before the troops arrived I had the day off work and spent the better part of four or so hours turning my kitchen into a cooking-inspired construction site as I roasted, grated, sliced, diced and pureed my way through eggplants, carrots & beetroot for the three beautiful looking dips you see below: Beetroot Dip, Baba Ganoush & Carrot Dip

I should also mention 1 actually making the Tahini paste for my Baba Ganoush from scratch too, so there were sesame seeds everywhere at one point.

Not only were the dips a hit with the adults - the kids really just preferred butter on their bits of bread - they've lasted for three days and taste just as good as they did on day one!

I think I may be on to a winner here :-)

Working out from Scratch

This month is all about getting back to basics and starting things from scratch, however neither activity actually appears on my list of vices and experiences: they both came to me during the last month and like most people, when I find out about something new, I'm impatient to try it.

Giving-Up:  Cooking from jars and packets
This is all about embracing my inner Masterchef. I'm never been particularly enamoured with cooking, but over time I've found myself pushing my boundaries and trying things a little bit more: it helps when hubby is a willing guinea pig.

In doing so though, I've always felt a little guilty that when the recipe calls for thinly sliced vegetables, julienne carrots or similar, instead of preparing the vegies myself, I always reach for the frozen already-prepared variety. True, I'm a relatively busy woman who doesn't always have time to prepare things properly, plus frozen vegies are proven to have just as much nutritional value as fresh ones, but there's still that niggling voice in the back of mind that says "you cheated."

So, this month my mission is to abandon the jars of sauces, packets of vegies and cartons of stock when cooking and make them all myself. Yes, it has been mentioned to me I could avoid this all by just having meat and three veg every night but that seems a tad boring.

I started out straight away, making a red wine jus to go with a (admittedly slightly over-cooked) rib eye fillet for Sunday night dinner, the results of which are below: not a bad first go if you ask me!

Taking-Up: Personal Training
Now, I'm not going to be going to a personal trainer, but I've seen so many Facebook posts from friends who are undertaking their own PT sessions that I felt inclined to give it a go, taking inspiration from the circuits I used to do when I DID see a trainer a few years ago.

Plus, I start netball in three weeks and I'm not feeling as fit as I'd like.

I started bright and early Monday morning with the following circuit:

• Brisk 5-minute walk around the block to warm up
• 60 jumps with a skipping rope
• 10 standing push-ups
• 10 lunges per leg
• 30 arm pumps with weights per arm
• 10 sit ups

I did four lots of each before finishing with 10 minutes of stretching.

I felt good once I'd finished, ready and willing to start the day though hubby has suggested that next time I skip I do it away from our bedroom window.

I didn't feel so good the next day though!