Back to the routine

On Sunday we took our Christmas tree down and then it was time to get back to work and a routine.

Last week went like this:

Monday- 4 mile run after work  in wind and rain. I did a yoga cool down video after (tick).

Tuesday- I had to pop to St Albans town on my way home to get half a prescription (when I went before they only had half)- when I got home Andy had been using the Instant Pot to make a chilli.

Whilst in town I had popped into Pret and as they had a really nice sounding special (carrot falafels with gherkins and beetroot) I decided to get a nice lunch to help with the first week back.

Sweets for the cinema/ my new candle/ back to work lunch and not pretty dinner

On Wednesday I didn’t have yoga, so went out on a run- 4 miles including some lamp post intervals. It wasn’t easy finding somewhere to run fast though-  the roads around here are all bumpy and cracked from the tree  roots, and often it’s hard to see because the trees make huge shadows (even with the chest torch).

On Thursday we were off to the cinema to see JoJo Rabbit (which I really enjoyed- the tone was similar to Death of Stalin, with some emotion thrown in too) so it was a quick dinner of a wrap filled with vegan cheese, apple and chutney, heated in a pan so it all melted together- not pretty but very tasty.

On Friday when I left work the moon was so pink and just above the horizon. As I drove home it seemed to get even bigger and more orange- very impressive. We had a walk when I got home, and then I spent the evening watching TV, catching up on my magazine reading and eating Christmas cake.

Saturday’s parkrun was Jersey Farm so I drove to my parents and then walked there with Dad. The mud  is slowly drying and most places it’s fairly good going. It drizzled a bit on the first lap, but dried up by the end. Dad ran ahead and was there to cheer me through the finish. We did a good deed of picking up some litter on our  way home (we’d seen this pile of polystyrene last week, and this week Dad had a bag with him so we collected it all).

I took some clothes to change into- top and jumper, and socks (new for Christmas) and then we had pancakes. Once home and showered we had a few bits to get in town (including my free Starbucks) so we walked in before it got dark. I had some work to do, so no excuse needed to light my new candle- it’s peppermint cream and smells amazing.

We’ve been watching Wisting (about a Norwegian detective) and it looks so cold so we had a hot chocolate to warm up- Hotel Chocolat did a gingerbread one which is really good- spiced and not too sweet.

Sunday morning was time for a long run- I realised that Brighton half is a couple of weeks closer than I thought (end of Feb).  Thumb holes and stretchy pockets for the win in any running clothes. It was sunny when I left, then about a mile in it poured with rain so hard that I sheltered under a tree for a bit. Then it cleared and was cold but sunny.

Once home I did some yoga including legs up the wall, showered and had breakfast and then had to get ready to head out again quickly.

I was off for afternoon tea for a baby shower.

There was mountains of food (we took so much home to take to work the next day) and we played a few games. We were there for so long it was dark by the time I got home!

What is your favourite part of afternoon tea? Usually I  like scones the best, but this one had really good cakes- so fluffy and with really light icing. I had a lemon one which also had lemon curd inside.