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 ;)

 

Merry late Xmas everyone!

A tad bit late but as per usual, I'm pretty much late for everything. So ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!!

My christmas was good this year - plenty of food :) definitely most important! I wore my dinosaur onesie christmas day and boxing day - very cold in the house so I had something to warm me up. Family have come and gone so it feels like christmas this year didn't last very long. I'm very disappointed with the lack of a white christmas. One day it will happen (or so I say.....to myself.......every year........)

I won't be setting up an alarm in the morning. Feels like ages since I've slept in and I deserve a massive lie-in. No more half four in the morning wakes!

Turkey leftovers for tomorrow. So many leftovers. Though I'm quite happy knowing I won't have to cook for awhile. Won't last long!

Chocolate sticks

So...I tried those little chocolate sticks I got from Brussels. OMG - it was delicious!! It's so fun twirling the little stick in hot milk and watching all the chocolate melt from it. I really have to go and buy more of these. I heard they stock these in shops around here but I haven't seen any yet.

These really are lovely and great to have in time for winter. Mmmmm....melt in the mouth...

October wins!

I've slowed down a bit on my comping lately - mainly due to work. So any win is really a bonus :) and a nice surprise!

Here are my October wins:

 

I'm rather intrigued by the steamcream I received. It uses natural ingredients fused together by a shot of steam. It's very lightweight and excellent for hydration. It smells typical of cream but not in a bad way, and the consistency is not very thick with a nice creamy texture. I'm pretty happy with my little wins!