believe

Taking a holiday from real life over Christmas and New Year meant that my usual goal-setting, word-choosing, intention-setting routines for the first week of January didn't happen in the way they usually do.  It was a longer process for me this time, a slower burning.  Over the past few years, I've enjoyed picking a word for the year - I've often found that it has spurred me on.  My word for 2010 was action and boy oh boy did I get off my arse that year.  2011 was all about building on what 2010 had delivered, so I think my word last year was "expand" (I don't have a blog post or journal entry to confirm this, I'm just going off memory).  But what was my word for 2012 going to be?  At first I wasn't sure.

Being back in Australia for six weeks was amazing; everything I hoped it would be.  Wanting to make the most of this precious time with my family and friends, I found myself living far more in the present moment than I had been recently.  Being present made me realise that some of the things I was sad about, or worrying about, were actually really, really good things.  Things that would help me grow and move forward.  Being removed from my life in the UK and everything that was causing stress or sorrow for a solid period of time, my mind was forced into a reflective quietness where I could think about the future and the coming year from a calmer and more balanced place.

There is a lot of hard work ahead of me this year.  Sometimes, in awful, nail-biting 3am moments, I wonder if I'm really ready for it, or capable of it.  So many wonderful people believe in me, and I wish I could extract the essence of their faith into a bottle that I could sniff, like eucalyptus oil, to unclog my blockages and propel me onwards to where I need to go.  Deep down, I know.  I do know.  I just need reminders sometimes.

And so, without further ado, here is my word for 2012:

I had been thinking about my word, and what do I most need right now, for a few weeks, while I was in Hobart, in between lattes with my inspiring friends; after a tearful hug with my sister who, in one of my wobbly moments, told me how much faith she has in me; and a taxing but ultimately exhilarating and inspiring business meeting with a kick arse coach; and in my quieter moments, listening to an old Bee Gees album as I drove by myself in my mum's car, tears rolling down my face, wishing with all my heart I could stay just a bit longer.

And then, in Melbourne, in a shop I'd been to a million times, there it was.  Glittering from the rack, the one word I needed to hear.  I know what I need to do.  The belief of others is amazing, and bolstering, and such a tonic for your weaker moments, but at the end of the day you must believe in yourself too.  It's the only way you'll ever get where you want to be.

I've worn that bracelet every day since.  Every day, I am reminded to believe.

What's your word for 2012?

monday mantra

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a cheese called tom: 24 hours on bruny island

If you've ever been to Tasmania, perhaps you've been to Bruny Island, or heard of it.  For me it had always been the location of school camps, waiting on a dark beach for the penguins to emerge from the ocean, long walks on the beaches and cliff faces.  You need to take a ferry from the "mainland" of Tasmania to get there.  It sometimes feels like the Antipodes of the Antipodes.  But, overwhelmingly, it is a peaceful, serene paradise that seems to sum up the phrase "get away from it all".   

One of my dearest friends, Anne (who long time blog readers might remember!) has a shack there and so when Tom and I were offered the chance to have a night there with her, we jumped at the chance!  I really wanted to show Tom some more of Tassie while we were there - we had done the East Coast beaches last time and so I thought going south was a good plan this time around!

We headed over on the ferry, which was great fun - and I ran into someone I used to work with about ten years ago on there (only in Tassie!) - and then we gang-planked and headed to the north of the island.  Bruny is a really interesting place, it has a distinct north and south island and the two are joined together by a narrow stretch of beach and road called "The Neck", or the isthmus.  I had never really seen much of the south island, but history buff Tom was keen to see Adventure Bay, so after depositing our bags at the shack, we headed off on a whirlwind tour of Bruny Island!  Which included:

A trip to the Bruny Island Cheese Company!  Heaven!  We were most amused that there was a cheese called Tom :)

The cheese company was a lovely place to visit: not only was there a lot of cheese on offer to buy and sample, but you could see the cheese being made, the storage facilities, and there was also a cafe and general store where you could buy all sorts of yummy gourmet stuff.  A must visit for any foodie!

Then we headed down to the isthmus, which was quite stunning (but windy!).  The freshness of the air was incredible:

Then we crossed the isthmus into South Bruny, where we headed down to Adventure Bay.  Tom really wanted to see it as it's where the ship HMS Bounty stopped on the way to Tahiti, just before the mutiny!  We had a picnic on the beach, just before the rains came:

We drove back up to the North Island stopping at a few other beaches on the way:

And Anne and I delighted in spotting some wildlife and pointing it out to Tom - we saw echidnas and a bandicoot! I actually thought it looked more like a bilby, but you don't get those in Tassie ;)

We then settled in to the shack for some fine wine and dining!  I was in charge of dinner and made a delicious pasta, featuring the Tom cheese we'd bought from the cheese company:

  

"Bruny" pasta - or zucchini, chilli and kale pasta

Serves 4

Olive oil

1 shallot or small onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 large red chilli, finely diced

2 large zucchini (courgette), sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler

6-8 large leaves of kale, stalks removed and shredded

1/2 glass white wine (optional)

250g dried linguine or fettucine (or any long pasta)

Salt and pepper

A few handfuls of finely grated gourmet cheese

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.

While it's cooking, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat (I was using a combustion stove and didn't have much control over the heat!) and add the shallot/onion, garlic and chilli.  Saute until soft.  Add the zucchini and kale, saute until soft and cooked through.  Add the white wine.  Take off the heat.

Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water.  Toss with the zucchini and chilli mixture, with a little of the cooking water if it needs lubrication.  Taste for seasoning, stir through some of the cheese, and then serve with a little more cheese sprinkled over.

Scrumptious!  I originally thought we would get the One Day Old cheese, which is a fresh soft cheese, for this dish, but Tom was all they had, so Tom was what we got ;)  And you don't end up needing as much pasta because the zucchini/courgette strips become a bit like noodles, so it's actually a very light dish.

We washed it down with a superb Tassie cab sav:

There might have been dessert:

You've got to enjoy yourself on holiday, right? ;)

We stayed up long into the night chatting, drinking and playing LPs on the old stereo, which was great fun!  The next morning we had a light breakfast and then Tom and I went for a long walk on the beach:

Then it was time to head off to the ferry!  Our 24 hours in Bruny was up!

Isn't it funny how something can be on your doorstep for years and years, and it takes you moving to the other side of the world to appreciate how special it is?  Many things on our Oz trip fell into that category for me.  I felt very reconnected to the places and people this time, unlike previous trips which had been very brief and where perhaps, looking back, I hadn't been ready to return.  I savoured every moment that I had my friends and family in front of me rather than seeing them as blurry faces on Skype; every gust of fresher-than-fresh air; every hour in the sun (when I remembered to put on sunscreen!); every chance to make a new memory rather than keep older redundant ones alive.

To be honest, I still don't know exactly what "home" is for me - people often ask me do I feel English or do I feel Australian, and the answer is neither, most of the time - but on this trip, Australia felt more like home to me than it has for a very long time.  It was wonderful, and it was hard to leave.

To be continued..............

phil bites

Heh heh ;)

I embraced my inner Nigella a few weeks ago and made two cooking videos for Weight Watchers UK using recipes from their new cooking compendium The Complete Kitchen.  It's crammed with heaps of yummy healthy recipes and ideas.  It was a struggle to just pick two recipes to do, let me tell you!

The two videos are now live on the WW YouTube channel, so here they are for your viewing pleasure!  Enjoy!

Halloumi with warm lemony bean salad





Marbled meringues with chocolate mousse




Let me know if you give them a try!  I'm keen to give that lemony bean salad another go :)

Happy Saturday folks xx

retro friday: where it all began

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Do you ever feel sometimes that you're right back where you started....even though you aren't? :)

We've been back in the UK for about 48 hours, I am sipping a hot lemon and ginger as we speak to fight off a cold/jet lag, and eagerly awaiting the arrival of my first organic veggie box since forever (!), and I'm wondering when would be the best time to go for a run, even though it's been an effort to put my dressing gown on this morning, let alone anything else!!

While we were in Oz, I got word that I'd won a place in the upcoming Rock and Roll Half Marathon, thanks to Women's Running - I'd entered the comp sometime before Christmas and completely forgotten about it, as you do!  It was a lovely surprise and has certainly given me the impetus to get back out there, pounding the pavements where I belong.  Six weeks of travelling has left my routine thrown somewhat out of whack, to say the least!

But I'm not too worried about my lack of activity for the past few weeks, because I know from experience what a good memory my body has: a few weeks of all-out effort will have me in good shape again.  I just found running while in Oz a bit of a strain, and I'm not sure why.  Perhaps it was the heat, perhaps it was the fact I wasn't fuelling myself very well, but I found doing even just 5k a bit taxing.  I recall gritting my teeth as I ran along the bike track with Tom, my sister and brother-in-law, thinking "how the hell did you ever run a marathon?!" But I told myself then, as I often tell others, that not every run will be a good one.  Some of them will be a struggle from the first step, some will be crap-tacular.  But if you can see it through to the end and not give up, then you're still miles ahead of where you'd be if you'd just stayed on the couch :)  I'm always kind of relieved when I have a bad run, because I know the next one will be better.

Being back in Melbourne over the last week reminded me of my humble origins in my sport of choice.  Melbourne is not only where I became a triathlete, but also where I did my first ever run, by the creek near the house I was living in at the time in the western suburbs.  It was October 2005 and I had reached a frustrating plateau where the scales had not budged for a month, and no amount of yoga or power walking seemed to be helping.  I knew deep down I needed to start upping my game a bit, and that running was probably the answer.  I had always yearned to be a runner.  But the truth?  I was scared.

Prior to the move to Melbourne, I had been a champion of The Easy Life.  Hence, Blind Freddy could see why my life had moved in the directions it had, and why my dreams had stalled or died slow deaths.  It had never sunk in for me that change requires getting uncomfortable, and that successful change means being ok with it.  I wasn't ok with being uncomfortable and did everything to avoid it.  I avoided difficult conversations, swallowed long-held resentments and guilt, and preferred the sofa to the bike track any day of the week.  Finally, the fog lifted and I could see why things were the way they were - and that I could change them.  In fact, only I could change them.

And so I was sitting with similar thoughts on the morning of Monday, October 24th 2005 - knowing that running would be hard at first, but I had no choice if I wanted to get to where I wanted to be.

I knew where I wanted to be.......but I had no idea where I would actually go :)  2005 Phil wrote "right now, the possibility of me running for 20 minutes continuously is about zero!"  Oh, she had no idea what was coming, did she?!!  Can you imagine if I'd thrown in the towel there and then, just because it was hard?  Where would I be?  Who would I be?  That's something I need to remind myself of now too.  Don't walk away just because it's hard.

Getting started is often the hardest part, of anything, but once you get started, there is no telling where you might end up and that's part of the fun!

So, do read today's retro post about my first ever run!

If you're a runner, do you remember your first run? 

*****
I've got about 10 posts in draft stage about the trip to Oz, things learned, things bought (including a very wonderful dress!), things cooked and eaten.....there is a lot to tell you, and a lot brewing in the Skinny Latte machine.  I hope what comes out of it will be very delicious coffee indeed :)

More very soon! So stay tuned my friends, and have yourselves a fantastic weekend xx

monday mantra

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retro friday: return to melbourne

It's time again for Retro Friday, and I'm in Melbourne!!

Tom browsing in the Brunswick St bookstore

Melbourne street art - I love it! 

My first latte in Melbourne - bliss!

Shanghai Dumpling House.  Need I say more? :)

Journal

Mango granita on a hot afternoon at Journal

Laughed very hard at this :) 

So, seeing that I'm in Melbourne at the moment, I thought it might be nice to revisit one of my earliest posts, when I first moved here seven years ago.  As you all know, there has been a lot of change and upheaval in my life since then, all of it good (thought it didn't always feel that way at the time!), and the move to Melbourne in 2005 was just the beginning of all that change.  It was the stone that started the ripple effect.  But moving to Melbourne was a hard decision to make - branching out and breaking away from everything that I'd ever known up to that point was a huge thing to do.  I remember having coffee with my friend Kris in Hobart about a month before the move, terrified that it would be a big mistake and how would I cope in a new state, in a big city, where I knew about two people!

Change is hard.  Even when you know it's for the best, and that you will grow because of it, it's hard.  But once you go through it, and you're on the other side, you wonder what you were ever afraid of.

Being back in Melbourne this time feels wonderful, not tinged with sadness or too fleeting and brief like the last few times I've been here.  We've still been pretty busy but there's been some lovely snatches of downtime with people I haven't seen properly for years and reconnecting with this place that became so much a part of me and my identity when I lived in it.  It is a magical city.  I still love it with a passion, and it still surprises me.  But I'm not the same person I was when I lived here, but nor is Melbourne the same city I lived in at the time; it has changed, albeit subtly.  But it's been nice, and gratifying, to realise that and to make some new memories here when I return.  I love making new memories.  That's what life's all about!

And it's fitting that yesterday I met up with my old friend Ash, as today's retro post describes our first meeting!  She was not only the first friend I made in Melbourne, but also the first person I ever met "off the internet" and I remember being so nervous when I finally met her in person after being a reader/lurker!!  Remember this was 2005 and, to me at least, having online friends was still a really new thing!  I mentioned this to Ash over our mango granita (me) and skim latte (her) yesterday and she agreed, remembering explaining to her somewhat sceptical husband who I was.  "I don't know her, but I know her!" she recalled saying!  We were both very careful about making sure we met in a public place (South Melbourne market) and both of us having our mobiles in case the other turned out to be a psycho - our natural wariness turned out to be completely unfounded of course!

As with all my old friends, whenever we meet up again after a few years it feels like no time has passed at all.  It felt as if she lives nearby but we just hadn't caught up for a while.  I love that about my friends here :)  And while a lot has changed in both our lives since that first meeting nearly seven years ago, a lot hasn't - I love being around her, and find her such easy company, as I did that very first day :)

*******

30th October 2005

I've had a wonderful day today. I met up with fellow blogger Ash in person at the South Melbourne Market, and we had the best time!

We had a delicious lunch at a cafe called Bunyip, then walked around the markets for a while. I have a thing about markets. I love everything about them - the atmosphere, the sights, the smells, the sounds. I go weak at the knees at the sight of glistening pyramids of polished apples, bunches of feathery coriander and parsley, just picked crispy lettuces beady with dew. I love the smell of coffee beans, fresh lillies and sandalwood soaps. I even love that musty, market smell of the clothes stalls - it reminds me of uni (for some weird reason). After being a bit disappointed at not being able to afford the luxury art supplies I saw in Fitzroy last week, I was delighted to see watercolour paint sets and canvases at this market at very reasonable prices. I also loved the scented candle and soap stalls. Some of the soaps smelled good enough to eat - the chocolate one, for example! I couldn't resist the scented candles - I got two little votives in Vanilla and French Pear.

Then, we had a steamed South Melbourne market dim sim. I had heard so much about these dim sims. My friend Mark had assured me that they would be the best I'd ever eaten. We took our place in the queue and watched as the stallholders doled out dim sims and spring rolls to the eager market-goers. Very brisk, very methodical. Ash made me laugh when she compared it to the Soup Nazi character in Seinfeld.  "No dim sim for you! You come back, one year!"

We got our dim sims and found a little table to sit down at. "This is heaven in a paper bag," said Ash.  She was right. It was, without a doubt, the best dim sim ever! It wasn't mushy, like some I've had, it was firm and fresh and delicious. I could have eaten a hundred of them. But at 3 points each, I savoured every mouthful of my sole indulgence. If there's one thing I've learned on this journey (and I've learned a great deal!), it's that I don't need to eat enough for an army to feel satisfied.

We bought fruit and vegetables as well - I was amazed at the quality and freshness of the produce, and also at the incredibly low prices. I bought some lovely spring vegetables - a huge bundle of asparagus, a bunch of bok choy and some yellow squash - and some fragrant, ripe strawberries. I also couldn't resist the beautiful lillies, and bought myself a $5 bunch of them. They are on my dining room table now. By tomorrow, my home will smell like a flower shop!

We ended up going to Richmond for the afternoon and then on to the London Tavern for dinner. Ashley's husband John came along too, and we all chatted like old friends - you'd never think we'd only met that day! While in Richmond, I bought a yoga DVD for $6.95 at booktalk, a new and preloved book store and cafe. It's called Yoga Tv - the dvd for switched on living. It's got over two and a half hours of yoga, with six different classes . I'm looking forward to trying it tomorrow. I figured for $6.95 I had nothing to lose, and after finding a link to it on the web I've noticed it retails for $26 elsewhere, so I'm stoked!!

NB from 2012 Phil: I found that DVD while in Hobart and am planning to give it a go once I get home, for old times sake! ;) 

Today made me realise how much I love living in Melbourne. The sun was out, the streets were bustling and alive, there were people everywhere, smiling and having a good time (including me!). Every time I venture out in this city, I discover something new and magical. Yes, there is a small part of me that sometimes longs for the familiarity of Hobart, but those moments are few and far between. To be honest, life there had got very stale (I didn't realise that until we moved). I never really had to think in Hobart - I did things on auto pilot. I went to the same places, did the same things. Here in Melbourne, everything is new, everything is exciting. I am never bored. I'm feeling more and more at home every day.

I made sure I had my camera with me, so Ash and I could show all our Blogland friends some evidence of our fun day together. She is such a beautiful girl, so kind and friendly. We hit it off so well - it's astonishing that we only met today. Maybe I knew her in a past life, or something! So, here we are, after dinner, in the beer garden of the London Tavern:  

NB from 2012 Phil: huge difference in the two pics!  We look so different now!!  In those seven years I've learned how to apply make up, for a start! ;) 


I had a beautiful Sri Lankan chicken curry for dinner, which Ash and I thought was around 8 points. Including my dim sim at the market, I've finished the day on 20 points! Not too shabby.

Thanks again, Ash, for such a fantastic day!

********

Who was the first person you met "off the internet"? :) 

how to make a skinny latte

One of the fun things about having a blog is seeing your audience grow, and also finding out how they discovered you.  How it normally goes is "oh I was on this blog, and then I clicked on one link, and then another, and then somehow I landed on yours....and the rest is history!"

Sometimes I have a look at the key word searches and see what people have typed into search engines and have somehow ended up here at Skinny Latte Strikes Back.  Some have been rather interesting ("back to the future cap" and, after Friday's post, pole dancing!) but one that kept recurring recently was how to make a skinny latte.

It dawned on me.....I didn't actually know!  So I thought why not give people what they came here for, and learn something myself at the same time? :)

So, I present to you.....the first episode of Skinny Latte TV, how to make a skinny latte!




This is my friend Bill Lark, the Godfather of Australian whisky and trained barista, giving me the low down on the finer points of latte making.  I hope you enjoy having a watch, it was lots of fun to shoot, and I learned a lot!

I am yet to upgrade to a coffee machine for my home coffee drinking (I still use a french press) but now I have the know-how to do it cafe style, who knows!!

Do you have a coffee machine at home?  Do you make your lattes cafe style?  :) 

monday mantra

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retro friday: dancing with a pole

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I was around at my sister's house yesterday afternoon and somehow pole dancing came up in the conversation.

"Did you ever do pole dancing again?" she asked. The answer is no, the only time I've been pole dancing was about six years ago now...but it made me think of the blog post I did about it, so I've dug that one out for this week's Retro Friday!

At the time I wrote this post I had reached my goal weight about three days earlier, so I was high as a kite and on top of the world.  I remember that time in my life being bathed in a golden kind of glow, which is funny because at the same time some major rust in my first marriage had set in and it was only a matter of weeks before something terrible, irreversible, would happen and it would all be over.

It was the new found confidence, the joy and delight in a world that had suddenly opened up to me, and my new belief that life was an adventure that got me through that time.  I said yes to everything.  Invites I would have turned down twelve months previously, activities that the old me would have cringed at the thought of doing....I dived head first into it all.  I felt invincible.  I steam rolled over every obstacle in my way.  For the first time in my life I did not doubt that I deserved to be happy.  I had my low moments, but overall I don't look back at that time and remember pain.  I remember sheer exhilaration, that my life was finally mine again.

Of course, you can only ride a wave for so long.  A few things happened the following year that chipped away at my confidence and before I knew it I was in a bit of a heap.  After all the monumental upheaval I'd been through, it took some surprisingly insignificant events to bring me crashing down.  It took a year of counselling to get back on the straight and narrow, well as near to it as I wish to be ;)

While I wouldn't want to relive the year I had when I realised I wasn't as invincible as I thought I was, and that life at goal still required mindfulness, effort and hard work, I'm glad it happened.  Because I struck back, as the title of this blog suggests.  I clawed my way out of the hole and the old ways of thinking that I'd gone back to and reclaimed the happiness I had fought so hard for.  I struck a far better balance between making myself happy and doing what I thought others expected or wanted.  I developed a somewhat thicker skin, and became much better at recognising false friends when they crossed my path.  My tolerance for other people's negativity went down to zero.  Life regained its glow.

And I think my confidence and zest for life is far more concrete now, and means so much more, than it did six years ago.  I had some wonderful times six years ago, when I desperately needed it, but it was all built on very shaky foundations.  Sure, I was at goal, and exploring Melbourne and having a wonderful time, but what would happen when things, inevitably, hit a downward turn?  Now, it takes a lot to throw me off course these days.  I've learned a lot of life lessons these past few years and am so much better at seeing the bigger picture.  I have my bad days, like everyone else does, but I manage them so much better.  I don't try to press the pause button on my life any more, nor do I tell myself "I'll be happy when....".  Every day, I wake up and just decide to be as happy as possible, in that moment.

So, 2006 Phil, newly at goal, had this to say:  "before I used to feel like I was always a dollar short and a day late when it came to opportunities in life. Now I feel like there is nothing I can't do."

I smile at that, thinking of everything that she's going to learn in the next five years or so.  But she's ready for it all.  And no, there's nothing she can't do.  I wish 2008 Phil had remembered that :)

28th April 2006

Last night, I did something I've never done before and never thought I'd do in a million years. Well, something Old Philippa would never have done in a million years. Let me give you a clue.....

(this is a scene from Da Kath and Kim Code)

Kim: It's sexy dancing with a pole!
Sharon: Well, that sounds a bit stupid, Kim!
Kim: Oh, stupid, is it?! So are the people on Big Brother stupid, Sharon? Because they all do pole dancing!

That's right, I did pole dancing!!

Check out my outfit! Both pieces are from Supre, both size M!! (including the hot pants!!) Classy, eh?! Admittedly they aren't the most flattering clothes I own - I can't really bend over in the pants! - but I had to look the part! A girl I work with teaches pole dancing on the side, with this company, and she asked me if I'd like to come along to one of her classes - I thought, "why not?". Apparently she's asked most of the girls from work to come along, and I was the first to take her up on the offer!

It was really fun! It was a bit different to what I imagined - I thought it would be just a lot of pelvic thrusts, wiggling the hips and acting like a stripper! It was actually very acrobatic - which I am not. Yes, I do yoga, but I'm not a gymnast, or a dancer, far from it! While my upper body strength has improved out of sight since this time last year, it wasn't up to scratch for a two hour pole dancing class! Supporting your body weight on a pole is a lot harder than it sounds.

I had a very large vodka and Diet Coke before the class, to try and loosen up a bit! Hence the silly look on my face in the above photo! What do you reckon - should this be my new profile photo?! LOL

There were quite a few ladies in the class, and they were all real pros!! I was quite in awe of how graceful they were. I learned some basic steps, and then I learned how to climb the pole and slide down it in a sexy way - didn't quite succeed!! I was really pleased that I could climb the pole though - I didn't think I could. We also learned moves called "the carousel", "the maypole" and "wonderwoman"!!!, none of which I mastered, but I had a go! And some moves didn't require a lot of flexibility and grace (luckily), some were just standing poses. I learned some really good moves with those! I had my hair out for some of the class, because it's supposed to be sexier! But I eventually had to put it back because it was getting in the way!

Ladies, if you ever get a chance to do a pole dancing class, give it a go! It was really fun, and a fantastic workout. It was a two hour class, and I was sweating madly only half an hour into it. My arms and legs felt like they'd really done something! I was warned that I would be incredibly sore, but I wasn't really.

This morning I woke up feeling very toned and tight, like there wasn't an ounce of fat on me, which is always a good way to feel!! I looked in the mirror and saw a few more ripples (of muscle, that is!) After a day at work I was rather achy though, and didn't feel up to a run tonight, so did some yoga instead. I would never have had the confidence to do something like this a year ago. Or even six months ago, when I was only half way to goal.

While pole dancing was fun, I don't think I'd do it as a regular thing, but it's something that I can say I've tried. I see everything as an opportunity to experience more out of life. I don't watch other people have fun any more - I get in there and have fun too! Before I used to feel like I was always a dollar short and a day late when it came to opportunities in life. Now I feel like there is nothing I can't do.

******
Have you ever tried pole dancing?

Do you remember a time in your life where you felt like there was nothing you couldn't do?  Hopefully it's right now!  :) 

monday mantra

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the latte files: foodie/tassie edition!

Happy Sunday my friends!  I hope you're enjoying your first full 2012 weekend!  Hard to believe that this time last week it was only New Year's Day and the year had only just begun.  I hope you've all had happy and healthy starts to your year.

Originally Tom and I were meant to go back home last Thursday, if we had stuck to our original itinerary!  I'm so glad we extended the trip, it feels like we only just got here!  It's wonderful to know we have a few more weeks of sunshine and time with the people we love.  I am dreading having to leave Tassie.  I'm trying not to think about it.  Being back has made me realise how much we do miss out on being so far away :(

Awww :) 

Yesterday we made our way to Salamanca Market with my sister and niece. It's one of my favourite places in Hobart and has not really changed all that much since I was a child. While we were wandering around there was a man at one of the fruit stalls calling out "Cherries!  Eight dollars a kilo!" over and over, and I remembered hearing the same voice calling out pretty much the same thing about twenty five years ago!  Salamanca Market  is definitely a must see when you go to Hobart - I always recommend visitors to the city go if you happen to be there on a Saturday.I don't know whether it's the beautiful old buildings and cobblestones, the smell of coffee, bratwursts, donuts frying, fresh flowers, huon pine and beeswax candles, music from live bands and buskers, the freshness in the air from the nearby wharf, the crowds of chattering people.... it's just magical. I never get tired of going there. It was a must on our itinerary at least once while we were back!

We got there early to have breakfast first, and to beat the crowds (I feel like that should be in inverted commas, although yesterday's crowds did have an Oxford Street quality about them!) Breakfast was at Tricycle, which is in the building where the Peacock Theatre is.  I've been there for coffee a few times now, and the breakfasts always looked delicious.  I had scrambled eggs on sourdough:

And my usual coffee order:

On Friday I helped one of my other sisters, who is about halfway through her second pregnancy, stock her freezer with healthy meals!  We managed to make a huge batch of best ever vegetable soup, which we put cannellini beans in instead of pasta, and a huge loaf of multigrain bread.  Tonight I'm going to help her make a huge pot of carrot and spinach dhal.  Not that it's the sort of weather for it - in fact, I am questioning my sanity slaving over a hot stove making curry when it's 28 degrees out there!!  But I'm happy I can help out in a practical way while I'm here - something that I can't really do once I'm back on the other side of the world. My sister has a job and a toddler to run around after as well -  by the time baby #2 comes, she'll have two under two!  I have nothing but admiration for her, I don't know how she does it :)

I took advantage of having a nice kitchen to work on in and so on Friday I also did another Weight Watchers recipe video - this time it was dessert!  Check it out:

Marbled meringues with chocolate mousse!  It didn't taste like diet food to me :)  Tom is editing as we speak, and I will let you know when you can view the videos.  Hopefully they aren't too embarrassing!

And, on that note (!), if you're in the UK, go and grab yourself a copy of the latest Running Fitness magazine. They have a new columnist......yours truly!  I was approached late last year to write a regular column for them, and the first one is in the latest issue.  My column is called "The Latte Files", where I talk about how I got started in running and the adventures I've had (and continue to have) as I've got well and truly sucked in to the wonderful and addictive world of running!  If you want to feel pumped up to get out there and train for an event, or to get started on your own running journey,  I do recommend checking Running Fitness out - whether you're a beginner or an experienced runner, it's impossible not to feel motivated after reading it! Everyone who writes for the magazine loves running, and I think that really shows (and I'm not just saying that!).  I'm excited about seeing it properly once I get home (I don't think I'll be able to find it in Hobart somehow!).  Let me know if you check it out, I'd love to hear what you think :)

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Well, the rest of this week is going to be making the most of the time I have left on the island.  Taking Tom to a few places he hasn't seen and I haven't been for years; squeezing in every possible moment I can with my parents, sisters, friends, nephews and niece; soaking up all this glorious sunshine.  I can't remember the last time Tassie had such a great summer!

What are you up to this week?  Hope you have a great one! :) xx