I'm in the middle of an eating fest. It's year end at the end of the month, and we've got about £2k of marketing budget to use before then, so we've lined up a load of clients to take out to spend some of it. Today it was pizza express (a starter AND a pizza, although the starter was a salad and I've just had another salad for my tea), and tomorrow it's a curry. I'm not drinking at that though (and driving to make sure I don't) because I've then got the interview on Thursday and it wouldn't look good to do it hungover!

i'm quite impressed with my planning though, last night I packed tomorrow's clothes and food to take into work and leave there so that I can run in in the morning, to make up for missing running club because of the curry. Hopefully I'll get up early enough to do the long 12 mile route rather than the direct 5 miler. It's strange that I almost think that's normal behaviour now - I'm so used to the marathon training, that 12 miles doesn't sound that far.

I'm going to have to find a reason to say snagerous now.

I'm in pain. Sunday's run was really hilly and yesterday my quads were killing. I took boot camp last night and we had an insane amount of squats to do, as a result I can't sit down without wincing, one of my students asked me if I had gotten jumped since I was visibly in pain

I have to tutor my neighbor today then I'm off for a nice run on the river, it's beautiful here today, I'm hoping to do about 6 or 7 we'll see. Have to figure out when to increase that so I'm ready for a half in the Fall. My friend and I are thinking of having shirts made that say "40 and fabulous."

Michelle I never thought I could be a runner...the trick is to just keep doing it even when you feel like you're never going to enjoy it. Suddenly you'll realize, that you don't hate it, probably won't die, and could maybe go a little further, eventuallly you will start to like it. I think I could totally not be a runner if the IPOD was never invented, that saves me every time. I just keep thinking run for one more song.

Frus glad you got rescued today, was the saver a handsome guy????? I may just pretend to be stuck under a barbell tomorrow and see who comes to the rescue.

Evening, Ladies.

I'm glad these last two days are over - I've been 'in charge' at work and alternately bored to death and busy as ****. I've come home with yet another three dozen eggs and three bulging carrier bags of veg. I had to phone up DH tonight to come and collect me because I couldn't carry it all. Thank goodness George is on a diet - its the only way I'm managing to get through it all - although I'm sure the old boys giving it to me would be upset to find out that a dog is eating their prize cabbages.

Running.... sometimes I think I'd like to try it and then I put it out of my mind because I think I'd make a hash out of it because I'm too old to start doing that kind of thing and I've got dodgy joints. I'm thinking about getting another rebounder though - easier on the joints.

OMG, Frus, you could have killed yourself!

Pizza........MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Snagerous - what a great word - and if it isn't a word then it should be a word. Snagerous sounds like it means a dangerous time for wanting snacks... bit like I am most of the time!

Well, DH spent part of yesterday and all of today starting to get the allotment in shape. The greens section has been turned over and fed and I'm going to sew some seeds tomorrow. We're trying to create a doggy area by dividing off part of the shed and creating a run area so E, F & G don't have to stay home on their own but can come with us and have a nap or watch us without 'helping'.

Poor DH, he's doing all this digging with a dreadful cold - we're trying hard to find someone to rotavate the rest of it but I have a sneaky feeling that we're going to have to turn the whole thing over by hand. Its one of my days off tomorrow so I'm going to make a start on preparing my asparagus bed and also plant up some fruit bushes that I bought.

Snagerous - is that with a soft g in the middle, I suppose so other wise it would be snaggerous

I have just had delish scrambly eggs for brekky. I put Gruyere cheese in them and butter and milk - I don't like micro'ed eggs but these were fabby

The guy who rescued me wasn't that handsome and you could see he was clearly thinking "Stupid GIRL shouldn't be in the weights area." But he was out numbered 3 to 1 at that current time. I was obviously working too hard for him

My strawberry plants are doing well. So far they are still in their pots, we're going to plant them into bigger squash bottles (our recycled garden!!!) possibly at the weekend. Then I suppose we'd better plant the rest of the stuff. I can't remember what we've got... Nothing that needed propogating, I vaguely remember that we have lettuce seeds and pea seeds, also I think we got pumpkins and courgette seeds... Green thumbs for me at the weekend.

Tonight I'm off out with the BOYS To see that silly martial arts movie - Curse of the Golden Flower and Pizza, it's for helping with the grading about 10 weeks ago! I'm going to have to figure out how to get there first!

Dunno whats up with me today - I've got the biggest ever tummy ache... feels like the worst kind of pre TOM pain but, of course, is nothing of the sort. I'm glad it wasn't a work day but even so we had to make the most of DH's day off and went on a search to find asparagus plants but only managed to find six instead of the 30 we were hoping for. We did get some nice fruit plants though: blueberries, thornless blackberries and figs. We then went back to the allotment to plant them and I got stuck in to shed clearing and raking for a couple of hours and I'm left feeling like I've done a weights workout - my biceps and shoulders are feel hot and achey - pretty much matches the rest of me. I did some weeding along the side border and found another rhubarb plant and some blackcurrant bushes (just goes to show how high the weeds were!)

So funny.... the Chavs' older girl (I think she's 14) has got herself her first boyfriend. She's not allowed to leave our road after dinner so last evening she sat on our garden wall with him talking (quietly) for three solid hours. So sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

Glad you liked my (ahem) deliberate typo - ok it is official - snagerous is what we are when we are desperate for a little snack - a dangerous time!

SarahAnn - why is chavette sitting on your wall, haven't they got one of their own (mind you this used to happen to us - people never use their own wall!)

2frus - congrats on the green thumbs!

I'm sulking.... DH didn't get the shift change he was after. It would have been much, much nicer because he wouldn't have had to do weekends all the time. (His current shift pattern is one he agreed to as a 'temporary measure' two years ago.) He was told that someone from another depot outside is being seconded in to do the vacant shift and the reason they gave DH for him not getting the shift change is that he is 'too useful' on his current shift pattern because he is 'multi faceted' (is there such a job related phrase????) - and they can't find anyone to replace him on the weekend shifts (which is a much more likely reason).

And the blummin pigeons have been munching my cauliflower seedlings....

Where is everybody???

Peacock - I haven't asked her why she sits on my wall but I think its because they don't want to sit right in front of her house and if her Mum looks out and can't see her she opens the window and screams for her. Its getting a bit on our nerves so I decided to be a bit clever about it.... I mulched the flower bed just at the base of the wall where they sit with some nice strong, very pongy, farmyard manure. I doubt they'll want to sit there tonight.

I spent a happy hour making foil strips which I attached to short bamboo poles and stuck in the ground all around my remaining cauliflowers - apparently the sparkly fluttering scares the pigeons. It certainly didn't do much for Fred - he hasn't got many wits but the sparkling combined with the weird hissing noise they make scared him out of the few that he's got.

I just used Gmap to work out how far the walk is to the allotment (just over one mile) which means that, including my early doggy walk, I've done 10 and a half miles so far today.

Those blasted pigeons are a pest aren't they?

Clever thinking on the manure.

Poor old Fred! Hopefully the pigeons will think - "well if it is scarey to a dog".....

I've been to Worcester....

At least I think it was there! I'm really glad I took my sandwich! I was starving!!!!! We didn't get back till quarter past 2.

I'm really pooped now and have a stupid headache and have to teach the ladies class tonight I might just do an ordinary "no think" class, and have them run through the usual cwap so I can just watch, or I might pair people up with pads and stuff. Whatever we do, I won't be doing too much since I got in at half 12 last night from the film.

puff pant!

Just rolled back to work from a Thai lunch - gorgeous! One of our lot is leaving. I shared a veggie mixed starter which included some tempura and those gorgeous sweetcorn fritters. I then had a massamun curry with potoatoes and peanuts and bean curd. Then of course the custard and sticky rice. Unfortunatley I had already stuffed two mushroom puffs down my gullet for breakfast as I was hungry. I was not expecting this lunch - they had only just asked me. They have also provided cake in the afternoon (not had it yet) and I had already bought some Victoria sponge cake when I got the puffs - I love Victoria sponge cake. It is in the fridge calling out to me but I am stuffed.

Oh... I think I could find a small corner for a medium-ish chunk of Victoria sponge cake, no matter how full up I am. (My favourite!) Your lunch sounds yummy - I had a boring tuna & cucumber sandwich

Mushroom puffs sound nice... what are they?

I'd rather have an ordinary sponge than victoria sponge.

TBH, I just fancy something sweet at the moment... but I'm fighting it.

Good luck with your class tonight - must be miserable doing something like that when you don't feel like it.

How about a nice fruit salad? Or something small and sweet - I often think if you're craving something, then a small bit of that something will set it right.

I had a Magnum for my afternoon snack It was a new Equador Dark one, and boy are they deilsh!

I'll be ok once I get into the swing of things, I just go into auto-pilot. I'll be able to auto-pilot through the advanced class too since it's not our usual instructor and I won't be pushed very hard, and it'll just be sparring so I can take it fairly easy.