Countdown

This is the final week before May. Before I start my OutRun challenge.

In case you didn't know, throughout the month of May I have pledged to run 26.2 miles to raise at least £100 for Macmillan Cancer support.

I have never been a runner. I've never been in top physical condition. But I am pushing myself to complete this. I am determined to do it, to get myself fit and to help such an amazing charity. Signing up for OutRun May was a way of giving myself a reason to run. Otherwise I would have never have got off my fat arse to do something. 

I've worked out that I need to run 2.2 miles, 3 times a week in order to meet my target. It's a daunting thought for a complete beginner, but I'm also excited to do it, to challenge myself.

I've been training and preparing myself over the last few weeks, fitting in as many runs as possible in between travelling to and from Fort William for work.

I will try and keep you up to date on a weekly basis with distances run, distances left and my ups and downs along the way.

Please help keep me motivated, and help Macmillan continue offering their fantastic help, care and support to cancer sufferers all over the UK.

Visit www.justgiving.com/charlotte-smith-outrun to find out more and to donate.

Thank you 💗

Running

Running. I used to laugh whenever anyone suggested running. But then I started thinking about it. I even bought a sports bra and some running shoes and downloaded a couch to 5k app with every intention of going running. That was about 6 months ago.
But one night I was scrolling through Facebook and I saw a post about Macmillan's OutRun May. And I decided that is what I needed to metaphorically kick myself up the arse to get moving. So I signed up. Me, who has never even run a bus! So it was decided, I had signed up to run 26.2 miles during May. May seem easy to a lot of you, but like I said, I am not a runner.
So on Sunday 2nd April, I donned my running gear, had a stretch, turned up my music and started my running app. And I went for a run. This app is wonderful, it breaks down the run into segments of running and walking and builds up to a 5k run over 8 weeks.
I have started. I will be sharing my progress on social media to keep me motivated. If you get fed up with seeing my running posts, I apologise now, but if I feel like other people are watching my progress I am much more likely to continue!
For more information or to sign up to OutRun May, visit www.out-run.org.UK
Or, to sponsor me (keeping me motivated and raising money for an excellent cause), visit www.justgiving.com/charlotte-smith-outrun

Thank you ❤

Early morning ponderings

Good morning all!

I have been awake for too long for a day where I don't have to go to work (I'm on holiday for the week). I was woken up just before 6am by pain in my back...Damn sciatica flaring up. I tried and tried to get comfortable; I switched positions umpteen times, took my super painkillers and still no joy. So I gave up and have moved into the living room to watch Gilmore Girls and drink hot chocolate. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to fill you in in my life.

So...January 2017, turning out to be pretty good. Me and Anthony have been looking for for a new flat for months and months. And we finally have one! Saw an advert on Facebook, arranged a viewing, went to see it and fell in love. We told the landlady that we loved it and wanted to move in and she gave us the keys there and then. So so happy. The flat is gorgeous, it has a patio and central heating and a beautiful Range Master cooker (ridiculously excited about that). So my week off work is all about moving house and cleaning the old flat ready to give back to the landlord.

Food wise, January has been about vegetables. Lots and lots of vegetables. I have perfected the art of cramming multiple vegetables into any given meal. My favourite is my hidden veg Bolognese. Last time I made it I managed to get tomatoes, spinach, celery, carrot, swede, parsnip and courgette into it. Winning. January has also been about soup. I've been buying cheap chicken thighs and boiling them to make stock. As with everything else, I then cut up lots and lots of veg, chopped up the chicken and threw it all back in to make broth. So tasty!
Now I have a nice big kitchen and a fancy new cooker I will be cooking much more, and maybe baking more. And making pies (as I now have space for pastry work)!

So here's to 2017, may it be beautiful and bountiful for you all!

December

I have become lax again, I apologise. But here I am. It is 2am and I am on the sofa on my own whilst Anthony sleeps. I got home from work just over an hour ago and I'm winding down. I should probably go to bed soon. But instead I am sat here contemplating life and eating ice cream.
It's December. The end if the year is nearly upon us. Everyone is starting to look back on the year, and I'm no different. It's been one hell of a year. Some times have been fantastic, some have been gut wrenchingly awful...but I guess it's all about balance, right? All that crap about the bitter making the sweet all the sweeter.
This year has taken people from my life. People I thought would be part of my life for a long time. But looking back it was right. They were negative forces in my life and I don't need that. Losing them made me a stronger person, and much more appreciative of all the wonderful people I have around.
Some relationships have gone from strength to strength. It has been nice to see that there are a lot of people that love and support me. I am so thankful for the ones who have been there to pick me up when I've been at my lowest and make me smile again. You know who you are, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Some parts of my life have been shaken to the very core. But they have been rebuilt even more beautiful than before. Onwards and upwards into the New Year!

Jeez, that was deep and a bit serious. That will teach me to stay up late and think! So, to lighten the mood, let's talk food.
About 3 weeks ago I lived of soup. I made pan after pan of soup and it was wonderful. Yesterday I made mini banana muffins. They are super tasty and moist and fluffy. And I am surprised Anthony hasn't eaten them all yet!

Well I should be heading to sleep now, I'm getting sleepy. I will try and blog again before the end of the year. But I promise I will do better come January. I will try my hardest to write much more regularly (and most posts will be much more upbeat than this)!

Good evening you beautiful lot, thanks for reading!

❤

I have received several messages recently, asking me to put a love heart as my status. It is apparently to raise awareness of breast cancer. The messages also instruct you to not tell anyone who asks what it means. I fail to understand how this raises any awareness.
I am all for breast cancer awareness. I have witnessed breast cancer. I have seen what it does to a person and I would not wish it on anyone.
But the awareness, prevention and survival of any form of cancer does not lie in cryptic Facebook statuses. It lies in sharing knowledge. It depends on frank and open discussions about signs, symptoms and treatments. It requires us to know our bodies, to check for changes and to seek medical advice on things that do not seem right. It is about reminding your mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews to know how to spot cancer in its early stages. It depends on funding research to find treatments, cures and preventions for this horrible disease.
If you want to raise breast cancer awareness through a Facebook status, that status only need read "CHECK YOUR TITS".

Good evening, good night, good health to you all.

Stressed is desserts spelt backwards

Evening all, welcome to another of my ramblings. Have a brew, maybe even a biscuit or two, take a seat and I'll begin.
I am currently a little bag of stress. It's that time of the year again...summer! The tourists are out in force and they all desend on our pub at the same time and order their food within the same five minutes...then proceed to complain when it isn't at their table with the next seven minutes, claiming they have waited to long now and they have a ferry to catch (be real, who orders food when they have to be in a ferry so soon?! Bat shit crazy people, that's who).
I am finding some therapy in an adult colouring book, which is of course Harry Potter themed. People may as colouring is for children, but it soothes me and gives me something else to focus on. It helps.
I've been very lazy food wise this week. Anthony has been I'll and has therefore spent most of his time asleep, and I have been very tired and stressed from work so I've been choosing simple easy meals (bad Charlotte, I know...I'm working in fixing it). I'm been feeling a bit low, but today I felt much better in myself. I cooked properly today for the first time since Thursday (Thursday was mince 'n' fatties, good comfort food for when Anthonts was came up for dinner). Tonight I made Bolognese. A sneakily healthy Bolognese, full of veg, here's the base I made:

I fried off onions and garlic, browned the mince, threw in a tin of chopped tomatoes and chopped up corgette, celery and a proper and grated in a carrot. So much colourful veggy goodness. Then added salt, pepper, oregano, basil and a carton of passata.

Anthony's birthday is on Wednesday, so naturally I will be making a cake. He has requested a few velvet cake with cream cheese icing. Watch this space, I will update on Wednesday with pictures of said cake.
Wednesday is also the way I am booking my flights to go and see the parents at the end of September...I am so excited, cannot wait to get this summer over and done with!

I hope you are all well this evening, and hope you have a lovely week filled with nice people and positivity. And if you don't have that, I hope you have cake. Goodnight x

Welcome back

Good evening all, it's been too long. It's been over a year since my first blog post, and I'm ashamed to say I soon neglected it. I'm sorry, I am back, please forgive me. Thank you, now grab a snack and let's be getting on.

So, food. It's all about comfort food lately. The weather is grim; dull and wet (it's July for crying out loud, it should not feel like November!) So with the weather being so rubbish I turn to food to make things feel better. Thursday evening me and Anthony went out for dinner with our lovely friend Jemma. We went to Bar Rio, a lovely cocktail bar/restaraunt in Oban. We enjoyed some beautiful Italian food and some rather tasty cocktails (lychee martinis are the future!)
Yesterday saw homemade mince and tatties, one of the greatest comfort foods to ever exist. I cooked mince in a thick rice gravy, with carrots swede and peas, and teamed it with fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes...perfection on a miserable evening.
Tonight was frozen pizzas. It doesn't sound fancy it exciting (because it isn't), but sometimes you don't want fancy it exciting. Pizza makes me happy.

Look at it, it's beautiful. Crispy base, stuffed crust and delicious melted cheese.

That's the food bit out of the way, now it's time to catch up on life.
Life is life, plodding along same as usual. Me and Anthony have settled into our new flat. But we've been having issues with condensation. There's very little venttilation in the flat and the build up of condensation is causing mould to grow on the walls. Not what you want. We've cleaned it all up and a builder is coming out on Monday to fit new anti-condesation vents, so that should hopefully fix it.
Had a proper clear out on Thursday and threw away a lot of stuff. Completely decluttered the living room and bedroom and took two MASSIVE boxes full of stuff to the charity shop. Felt a lot better after getting rid of so much.
Work is work. Same stress, different day. But busier now...the summer season has offically started and we're getting a lot more customers in. Summer is far from my favourite time of year work wise, but I've got trips planned for the end of the summer, so at least I have something to look forward to (going to see mum and dad at and of September, and Anthony is taking me to the Harry Potter studio tour for my birthday!)
That is pretty much everything that has been happening in my life. I don't do much, I'm quite a boring little thing really. Tonight I willmostly be colouring my Harry Potter colouring book and having cuddles for this crackpot cat

Good night all, enjoy what's left of your weekend!