2015 Retrospective

1. What did you do in 2015 that you’d never done before?

I had never done any trail running before and, not knowing where to start, I entered the short distance of the XTERRA series and really enjoyed it.   

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't think I made any specific goals other than to read 12 books in the year and I achieved that.  I plan to make a goal of reading 24 books next year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My sister-in-law had a little boy and our friends Sharon and Gerard had a little girl.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5. What places did you visit?

Kane and I went to Rotorua with Kane's parents and went to Te Puia.  We went to Puhoi when my parents came to visit.  We went to the Great Pumpkin Carnival in Hamilton and the Amazing Maze in Maise.  We also went to Whitianga and Cathedral Cove for Kane's birthday and we got to see some of the amazing forest parks and trails.

6. What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?

I don't feel like I lacked anything in 2015.  I would like to generate some side hustle ideas in 2016 though, they are being elusive.

7. What dates from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
My memory sucks, so no dates stand out but there have been lots of good times this year.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year

Performing with my Sing! choir and No Fella A cappella choir at our concert.  The a cappella songs were the hardest and most nerve-wracking but ultimately the most rewarding and I'm so pleased to have done it.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Oh dear, last year I said it was the garden and I'm ashamed to say it's the garden again.  Having a beautiful garden brings me joy, so this must be a priority for the coming year.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I fell off my bike at the start of January and then at the end of the month I got knocked off by a car!

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My fast slow cooker - it's a pressure cooker, steamer and slow cooker in one.  I use the pressure function mostly and it's awesome!  I've also made a few batches of this slow cooker marinara sauce from budget bytes.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Kane began the year moving into a contact role and then after 6 months landed a permanent role doing something he loves that is also challenging.  He worked really hard for it and I'm so pleased for him.

We also got to celebrate New Zealand winning the rugby world cup and we had met one of the players, Jerome Kaino,  at a special event at Kane's work the month before.



13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

With recent world events, there have been a lot of bigotry, racist comments, fear mongering and a general lack of empathy and of course there's Donald Trump.  Our PM John Key is always doing something appalling and that makes me unhappy :(

14. Where did most of your money go?

On flights to Scotland for next July (yay!)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Going to see Eddie Izzard!  He's a funny man and it was such an awesome show - I'm so glad we got the opportunity.  We went to a lot of good shows and concerts this year.

16. What songs will always remind you of 2015?

Pedro by Lily the Kid, The songs I sing with my choir, and songs from Taylor Swifts album 1989.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Same

b) thinner or fatter? Same

c) richer or poorer? Poorer (see no.14 haha)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Self care!  I was too focused on doing stuff that any down time I had I was too exhausted to enjoy it.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Nothing in particular, for the coming year I just need do a little less in order to create space for self care.

20. How did you spend Christmas in 2015?

It was a fairly chilled out day.  I got a colouring book and pencils and spent a fair portion of the afternoon doing that before making a Christmas feast.

21. Did you fall in love in 2015?

I love my little family unit of Kane and our two cats.

22. What was your favourite TV program?

Friday Night Lights, Community, Limitless, Sens8, Jessica Jones and Game of Thrones.

23. What did you do for your birthday in 2015?

I went to a Canadian deli for lunch and in the evening went to a pub quiz and drank lots of Guinness and rum.  We also won the quiz which was awesome!

24. What was the best book you read?

The Silver Bough by F. Marian McNeill.  It's a non-fiction book about Scottish traditions that I got from the library.  There are 3 or 4 volumes and I think I will buy them as they are full of useful references.

25. What did you want and get?

A dala horse.

26. What did you want and not get?

A kitten (but I don't know how my two cats would like that)

27. What was your favourite film of this year?

Star Wars!

28. Did you make some new friends this year?

Choir friends and Saturday SciFi meetup friends.

29.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I would have been great if we could have finished decorating the office.  We've worked really hard, especially these last 3 days, but there is still more to do before its finished.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015?

Comfortably casual with some active wear thrown in.

31. What kept you sane?

Comfort food and naps.

32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I'm not really one to get those sort of crushes.  I did like Taylor Kitsch in True Detective, that's close.

33. What political issue stirred you the most?

The biggest political issue we faced was the flag referendum - and it's still going.

34. Who did you miss?

My husband and cats - when I get busy for a few days in a row I really miss spending time with them!

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015.

My garden is teaching me a lesson or two about the perils of procrastination!

Currently In ... December

Ah December, how I love this month.  I've had lots of fun times these past few weeks and now I'm looking forward to having a nice quiet week leading to Christmas.  I don't have New Year plans yet, but I'm not concerned about that I'm just looking forward to nice break.

Reading: Nothing yet, I have Christmas themed mysteries to read and I'm looking forward to a quiet week where I can read them!

Watching: Star Wars!  Kane and I had a lovely date night and saw the movie in Imax.



Feeling: Relieved to have completed all my Christmas shopping and nervous as I hope everyone likes their gifts.

Anticipating: Christmas and all the food!  I love preparing and eating Christmas food.

Listening to: Serial podcast!  Season 2 has just started :)

Planning: Ok, this might be shocking, but I still don't have my decorations up despite planning on having it done last weekend!  I can't complain because I have been busy with fun things and social engagements.  My new plan is to simply having them up for Christmas even if this means doing it on Christmas Eve.

Wanting: To watch Christmas movies and I hope to get to do that all of Christmas week :)

Needing: Nothing, I feel quite contented but I wouldn't turn down a glass of wine and a bubble bath :)

Grateful: For all the fun times of late.  Sometimes when I'm in the thick of it I forget to enjoy it, so I'm taking a moment just to be grateful for good friends, the opportunities to attend rock concerts, participate in choirs, and Kane with whom I get to share it all.

// Me and the ladies of NFA (No Fella A cappella)

//At the AC/DC concert

Wishing: My in-laws had sent more Orkney oat cakes, they were delicious and I can't wait until we go to Orkney next year.

Your turn, what are you currently reading, watching and listening to?

Hello December!

I am so pleased to have met the posting deadline so now I can relax a little and enjoy the festive season!  It's our first month of summer and it's starting to warm up.  There are lots of lovely things on my calendar for this month so I'd thought I'd share some of the things I'm planning and looking forward to.

Starbucks Red Cups

I like to kick off the season with one of the festive Starbucks lattes in their famous red cups.  This year I had the panettone latte and it was lovely.

//Starbucks Panettone Latte

Barbeques

I went to my first Christmas BBQ of the season last night and it was so fun.  We took with us some vegetarian quarter pounders and a tub of Swedish ginger thins and we enjoyed some potato salad, tabouleh and ice cream Christmas pudding.  I loved the ice cream pudding and will need to try that at home, its vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, fruit mince, nuts and red and green candied cherries, all mixed and shaped into a pudding bowl.  And there are more BBQs to come!

Reading and Relaxing

Now that I'm finished with the physical shops and only have online shopping left to do I'm looking forward to lying out on my lounger and reading the two Christmas themed books I got from the library.  Both are easy read murder mysteries.

//Image from Goodreads

Music Concert

Kane and I are going to see AC/DC this month, it's going to rock!

// Image from acdc.com

Star Wars & Christmas Lights

Last year we went to see the Hobbit on Christmas Eve and then we went to Franklin Road which is famed for all the houses having very elaborate light decorations.  This year we are going to see Star Wars on opening night and then taking the trip to see the lights, it's such a great way to get in the holiday spirit.

Beach Trips and Ice Cream Cones

One of the best things about living at the coast is access to the beach!  Ours is a pebbly cove but there is a lovely sandy beach a short bike ride away that receives regular visits from an ice cream van.

Sherbet dip + flake = yum!

There's also a newly created foreshore recreation area a little further away that I'm keen to explore.

Community Choir Concert

My community choir is putting on a little concert for friends and family and I'll also be performing a couple of songs with my a cappella group too - it's going to be so much fun!  Of course, I'm crazy nervous too, especially of the a cappella songs because there are only 6 of us and we all have our own individual parts, there's nowhere to hide!

We also have to wear a white t shirt and jeans.  I'm liking these 3 styles but I haven't decided which one to buy yet.

//Images from Portmans

Midsummer and Christmas

We celebrate with food!  Most of our traditions revolve around food in some way and this is no exception.  We've tried our traditional Christmas dinner which was just too heavy and too hot for summer and we've tried a lighter summer seasonal meal which didn't feel very Christmassy at all, so now we try to incorporate the best elements of them both into our Christmas day celebrations.  However, we save all the best traditional winter stuff for our midwinter Christmas which has become really popular here and it's one of our new traditions that we love - we get to have two Christmases :D

Putting up the Tree and Decorating

I haven't got around to putting up the tree or decorating yet but I plan to do that at the weekend.  I like to put on some Christmas music and have some Christmas mince pies or stollen or panettone or some other festive treat and just have fun.



Happy festive season!  Do you have a favourite festive food or drink?

November: Meal Miles Books and Looks

It has been a stressful month as I waited to find out what was happening with my financial future.  Thankfully today I have received some clarity around that but now I'm woefully behind with Christmas planning and the last posting date to family is on Friday eep!

 

Meals

I'm a little light on meal photos this month and I wished I had taken a picture of the delicious pizza that Kane made last week topped with lots of peppery roquette - yum.

 

1.  Halloumi fajitas

 

2.  Pfeffernüsse cookies - I'm ashamed to admit that I had 1.5 of these for breakfast, but I regret nothing!

 

3.  Sardines on toast make a tasty lunch

 

4.  Cappuccino that I made myself - I've not totally got the hang of the milk steamer so some come out better than others.

 

 

 

Miles: 45.8km

I've just started working with a coach to help me build consistency around training and to prevent me getting injured which is something that happens to me too often.

 

My new schedule is to run 3 times a week for set distances (3k, 6k and 11k), to do some fun activity 3 times a week, and to build the habit of a 5 minute morning walk every day.

 

I bike commuted one day last week when it was such a beautiful morning and I think I'll be doing more of that.

 

//Me on the Grafton Bike Path

 

Books

I read two books this month one fiction and one non-fiction.

 

Brooklyn is the story of an Irish girl who emigrates from her small village to New York in the 1950's.  It's an interesting look, not only at life in those two very different places at this time but also at the challenges of growing up.

 

//Image from Goodreads

This was interesting book about introversion but it mostly applies to American life.

//Image from Goodreads

Looks

I got these blue tights from Lululemon last month when I was dressing up as a super hero to run a race.  I love them and I love the colour so I've added them to my yoga outfit rotation but I found myself slightly self conscious walking to the studio in them because they are so eye catching!

 

// At the studio

 

It was Scottish night at our Lions club in the middle of the month.  Kane wore his Orkney rugby shirt and I wore my blue dress with tartan tights and Scottish jewellery.

// Janelle, Kane & Me

What was your meals, miles, books and looks of November?

Currently In ... November

 

Reading: Right now I'm reading Rosemary Conley's Amazing Inch Loss Plan.  I also got an Isaac Asimov book from the library too but I haven't started it yet.

Watching: I watched hockey on the NHL app for my phone whilst on the bus yesterday - I love living in future!  Lately I've watched the first episode of Man in the High Castle and the first few episodes of Super Girl.

Feeling: I've been burning the candle at both ends so I'm feeling tired.  I get a night off tonight and even though there are a million-and-one things I could and should do, I think I just need a quiet night.

Thinking: It's time to try and lose some weight.  I love food and I eat far too much of it.  It's going to be a hard task but it's important.  That's why I've got the Rosemary Conley book, it's a low fat calorie controlled diet and with my family history of cardiovascular disease and gall bladder issues this heart healthy approach should be just what I need.

Anticipating:  The start of the Christmas festive season!  I'll be putting on some festive music and writing out my cards then soon it'll be time to dig out the decorations.



//Santa and Reindeer above Farmers Dept Store



//Doves and Baubles across Vulcan Lane

Listening to: Not a whole lot.  For some reason my podcast app is playing up.  My whole phone is playing up, it's like it knows a new model is out and it's almost Christmas.  It's an Apple conspiracy.

Planning: My black Friday shopping list.  It's not a thing here but I noticed last year how it's much cheaper to buy stuff from the US in the sales and have it shipped to me :)  We don't have Gap here and I love their jeans so that's something that's definitely on the list!

Working: Last week I started with a running/fitness coach who's focus is on helping women get into running and build healthy habits.  Right now we are working on the consistency habit.  I'm also working on redecorating my home office.

//Image from Moxiee Running

Wanting: I read the books and I've seen the other movies in the cinema so I'm keen to go see the last Hunger Games movie: Mockingjay part 2.  Maybe I'll take Kane for a Friday cinema date night.

Needing: My morning routine really needs a shake up.  I've gotten into a bad habit lately of just staying in bed after I wake up checking out social media on my phone and before I know it I've wasted huge amounts of time!  I also need a new phone :(

Loving: I'm loving yoga and my yoga studio.  I managed crow pose for the first time recently so I think I'm getting a tiny bit stronger yay :)  I celebrated by buying a new pair of Wunderunder leggings today.



//Lululemon Britomart

Grateful: for Earl Grey tea.  I drink a ton of this stuff every day and it helps me get some incidental exercise as I walk back and forth the kitchen and - I hope this isn't TMI - also the ladies room.  It's reported to lower cholesterol as well as fight anxiety, depression and stress but I started drinking it because that's what Cpt Jean-Luc Picard drinks in Star Trek:TNG and I really love the taste.

Wishing: If wishes were horses poor men would ride.  I was thinking about this yesterday and imagining what a world overtaken by horses would look like.

//The friendly neighbourhood horses

Are you going to see Mockingjay Part 2?  What is your favourite beverage?

Auckland Traverse 12k

Race Website: Traverse 12k Event Info

On Sunday 1st November I ran the Auckland Traverse 12k, which was the event that the Run Walk series had been leading to.



Official Stats:

Distance: 12 km
Time: 1:39:30
Pace: 08:17 min/km

Pre-Race

The day before was fairly low key and I'd almost forgot it was Hallowe'en.  We don't get many trick-or-treaters where we live and even though I had bought decorations, I totally forgot to decorate and hadn't bought any lollies so it was just as well no kids came around.

We did have a nice pasta dinner of spaghetti and vege sausages in a spicy tomato sauce.

In the morning we were up early to watch the Rugby Wold Cup final between New Zealand and our neighbours Australia.  It was quite exciting lots of stand out moments and an emotional win for NZ as lots of these players are retiring now.

Once the game was finished it was time to head into town.  The race starts and ends at different locations so we parked in town and then our friend Carmy, who was also racing the 12k, drove us to the start area.

We all waited in a nice big grassy area for a while before it was time to put our drop bags in the cages and head down to the start line.  I wished Kane luck and he headed further up the crowd while Carmy and I stayed to the back of the runners but in front of the walkers we had a little while to chat and get our tech sorted out before the gun went off and then it was an easy walk to the start line before we could start running.

 

On The Course

I already wasn't feeling my best so had devised a race strategy that I would be happy with, which was running for 3 minutes and walking for 2 minutes. 

 

The first 2km went by really quickly to reach Akoranga bus station which was where the race started last year (when it was the Quarter Marathon, 10.55km) most of the rest of the course was very familiar to me having raced on it last year.

 

Around the 5km mark was where I reached the bridge.  The bridge is an evil steep hill.  I tried to keep with my run 3 walk 2 but started to struggle with it towards the top of the hill.  I saw Alex Asher of Moxiee Running going in the opposite direction giving encouragement along the way.  There are cut off times for participants in the marathon, half marathon and 12k to make it over the bridge otherwise the sweeper bus, known as the loser cruiser, will have to take you across to the other side and Alex was making sure his clients beat the bus!

 

I did a couple of run 2 walk 3 on the bridge so I made up for it on the way down by running for 8 minutes.  Then there is another long uphill stretch with a short steep downhill.  I had done around 8km at this point and could tell that I had reached the edge of my training.  It was also really hot and sunny now and there was no shade as we ran by the marina.  I had been sweating lots, drinking a lot of water and had clicked over the hour so I found myself worrying I was going to die of hyponatremia.

 

The course pleasantly deviated from last years around the Wynyard Quarter and the last 2 km was around this well populated area before heading along the straight towards Victoria Park and the finish line.  I must have gone too easy on myself out there because I had loads left in the tank for a sprint finish, I should have kicked it up a notch a kilometre or two earlier.

 

Kane got me at the finish line and we headed to meet Kelly, who had been doing the half, at her fund raising tent where we got egg rolls and lollies.

 

Post Race

Once Carmy arrived we all headed back to my office where some of us showered and changed and then we drove Kelly home and Carmy to her car.  Kane and I headed out for the Scandinavian Christmas Market.

 

The market was extremely popular and we picked up some goodies. 

 

I got lots of cute tree ornaments, a little tray and a Yule Goat.  We also got some other grocery items, pepparkakor and a chocolate yule log cake.

 

We got home about 4.30 where I made us some dinner and then we spent the rest of the evening relaxing.  It was a really great day.

 

There is a German Christmas market at the end of the month too!  Do you have festive markets near you?

October: Meals, Miles, Books and Looks

October was a good month; we kicked off the NHL hockey season, and the rugby world cup was under way, Kane and I went on a date night to the cinema to see The Martian in 3D, I got in some great hot yoga workouts, went on away for the weekend with my friends to run in a relay race, all good things!

Meals

I ate out way too often this month and mostly it was lunches but I'm pleased with the evening meals I made.

 

1. Baked potato with lentil chili, corn chips and home made guacamole.

2. Baked potato with lemon garlic prawns - It was Hallowe'en so I made the prawns into a 666 on the potato hahaha!

3. Honey & sriracha prawns & vege kebabs.

4.  Corn and capsicum stuffed mushrooms topped with mozzerella cheese.

 

1.  Pumpkin ravioli with tuna steak and asparagus.

2.  Quorn mince chili with corn chips, salsa and homemade guacamole.

3.  Baked potato with coronation style mushrooms.

4.  Boiled potatoes tossed with butter and oats, fish balls in dill sauce and asparagus.

 

Miles: 30.3km

I had two races this month, one was 8km and the other 8.27km.  For my other workouts I went to a barre class and I did a couple of hot yoga classes.

 

Books

I thought I'd try something different and read two graphic novels based on fictional novels by the fictional author Richard Castle who is played by Nathan Fillion on TV's Castle.  I quite enjoyed reading these as they were light entertain and just what I needed this month.

 

I also read The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag after reading Amber's review and it was certainly a quick and fun read.

 

//Image from Goodreads

 

 

Looks

And I have no looks to share with you this month.  I need new clothes!!

 

Hope you've had a great October, what did you eat and read?