Smoggy London

London was covered with smog drifted in from the Sahara desert.

I had planned for it to be my running day but I was warned not to because of the high risk of pollution. It won't clear until Friday so I had to do an indoor workout instead. I haven't stepped foot outdoors but I did open a window to test the air. It did smell a little funny but I wasn't sure if it was because a neighbour was burning something but better to be safe indoors than anything affecting my health outdoors. I'm sure it isn't as bad in my area but it was rated at Level 10 in North-West London. Other reports say it's at Level 7 in Greater London. But no matter how you look at it, it's still pretty high and best avoided.

Creep away smog, creep away!

Naked in the rain? Absolutely not!

I went to the gym yesterday - got to keep up with those goals you know! Spent a good hour and a half working out and I was in no rush like I usually am. Hopped into the shower and just when I was finishing off, one of the staff members was yelling out that there will be a fire drill any time soon and we all had to get out now. Whaaaat?!

She carried on - "Ladies!! I have dressing gowns out here for you to put on. Don't get changed! Don't get changed!" She probably saw my feet frantically trying to get into some jeans.

Hell no was I going to out without getting dressed. Was she nuts? She had managed to get some warning beforehand which I was grateful for. Imagine if there was no warning. Though I would still attempt to look somewhat decent before I would be urged out. Fire or no fire, I refuse to run out naked!

A gold medal would have been given to me for the time it took for me to get out of there. When I came out, I saw they were rushing out the poor women from the swimming pool. It was raining outside when I left the building.

So imagine standing outside in the cold, in the pouring rain, completely naked with all but a dressing gown on. It was definately a close call!

Lions and tigers in Kenya!

Very often I like to look at travel destinations - this is more than likely wishful thinking on my part. It would be a dream for me to travel the world. Who wouldn't?

So here I go searching safaris and I stumbled across this very very catchy tune. Lions and tigers in -------------> KENYA!

I played it very briefly yesterday evening and now it won't get out of my head. Woke up in the morning hearing it too. It's like someone pressed the replay button! So hypnotic watching the animals dance! For your enjoyment too :)

Running better in morning or evening?

I know. It's been a while since I've blogged about anything. No excuses.

It's a lovely sunny day here in London. I've been staying indoors waiting for my brother's parcel to arrive so while I've been doing that, I've been lazing about.

I haven't been to the gym since.....probably the end of last year. And when I say the end, it means most likely before October. Though I had my excuses with working full-time here and there and the huge fact that the gym was too far away. I feel I've been lacking.

So today - I've been influenced by the good weather and have decided to put myself back on schedule to get fit before my holiday in about three weeks. I'm a bit unsure about travelling into central to use the gym there so I may just do daily jogs outside in the early mornings or late evenings.

Just did a little googling search to try to find out if it's better to run in the early morning or in the evening. Nice little debate there. I found an article on Running Times which suggests running in the evening is easier and our lungs work better around this time. Morning not so much - but wouldn't that mean that you put your body to work harder in the mornings? Looking at everyone's preferences in the comments below of the article, evening or nighttime runs are most popular.

I used to run in the mornings and had no problems with it. Though I was never a morning person. I've never tried running in the evening. Perhaps I might try today and see how I feel. Better start getting fit or I'll never get myself into it!

Birchbox and Itsu's Miso Soup!

I received my Birchbox beauty box today - my last final one ever! I've decided not to re-subscribe because the products I get seem tinier every time AND they decided to get rid of the cute little Birchbox bags they usually have the products in. How sad. It's their first anniversary so good for them! But with these beauty boxes I've been subscribing to, I now have a mountainful of beauty stuff left, right and center! I was suppose to sort all my beauty products today but have been somewhat occupied elsewhere. I'll do it in a while - promise!

The thing I love about Birchbox is that it really isn't all about beauty products. They always have a bonus little thing going on - which always tend to be food stuff. I do like food stuff. Food stuff pleases me! So for January's Birchbox, I received Itsu's miso soup in a sachet.

I thought I'd enjoy it right this minute as I'm writing this. There was an Itsu by the University I used to go to and I remember one time I got a miso soup from there - I was very very thirsty. I got there just before closing time so took my miso soup away to enjoy. Think it might have been one of the very first times I'd tried miso soup. I had it and it was so so salty. I was sure it wasn't suppose to taste like that but I consumed the lot of it anyway. I was thirsty afterall. All the other miso soups I've tried since were never that salty!

So......after my experience with Itsu - which I never visited again since - I thought I'll give this one a try now. It wasn't salty and was just the way miso soup is suppose to taste. It's cloudy in the cup and I'm loving the amount of seaweed in it. Best part is always the seaweed. Itsu - you haven't disappointed!

December wins!

I got a bit lucky this December :) [sorry the sizing and the positioning of the images come out funny - I can't figure out a way to make them the way I want them to be]

 

Japanese yums and Peter Pan

I managed to bag free tickets to see Peter Pan: The Never Ending Story at Wembley Arena yesterday. Was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. Got the tickets early in the morning and the event was for the evening. My sister and I had planned to visit Winter Wonderland down in Hyde Park but that had to be postponed. I wonder if I'll ever find the time to go down there as plans have a way of changing!

We did a little shopping and browsing down Oxford Street. I was good - hardly spent a penny! Later on, I dragged my sister to this little Japanese bakery called Yaki Restaurant tucked away on a side road from Oxford Street. We wandered down Goodge Street and found my little gem I've been dying to meet for ages. Straightaway I ordered what I've been after: Taco-yaki!!

Taco-yaki are little soft dough balls with a piece of octopus inside. They were to die for! Delicious!! One of the best things I've ever sunk my teeth into! It came with brown sauce (wasn't too keen on it but could hardly taste it when you're too busy enjoying the deliciousness of the taco-yaki) and mayo sauce. Beautifully done and I'm definitely going back for more!

I finished it off with some salad and a yaki aloe drink. Bliss! One of my new year's resolutions must be to try new food all the time!

Fast forward our evening. We found our way to Wembley Arena for our dose of Peter Pan. I don't think I was expecting as many children as there were! Far too many for comfort (constant kicking of a small child behind where I was seated!)

I have to admit it was a good show and there were many parts of the show that I wasn't expecting - like the crazy dog on stage. A lot of dancing, singing, acrobatics and stunts. I particularly liked the crocodile (who wouldn't?!) But I think overall, theatre really isn't my kind of ideal enjoyment but well done to all the hard work they put towards a brilliant show for the kids - I know they loved it!

I've taken a few pictures for your pleasure ;)