Muddy

On Sunday, Arthur went out for a bike ride and I went out for a run as I noticed it was muddy I decided to stay off the canal and stick to the sidewalk. It is a good thing I did! Arthur rode for about two hours on the canal, he even stopped off at a friends house to say hi before coming home looking like this (see picture below). He even had mud in his eyes and nose.

Helvellyn

This past weekend Arthur and I spend the weekend in the Lake District with 3 other couples celebrating James’ 30th Birthday. It was a brilliant weekend filled with drinking, playing on the Wii, fake moustaches, hiking, running in the rain, good food and best of all good friends. Friday night we arrived at the cabin had pizza and hung out with a few drinks. Since it is the end of Movember and Paul had been growing a moustache, he brought fake moustaches for everyone to wear. I have to say I am not a fan as it made my nose itch!

Emma and Arthur showing off their stylish moustaches.

Saturday morning we relaxed before setting off for a small hike, the weather was perfect, cool but not raining. We were going to do a short loop, but when we reached the point where the hike up Red Tarn / Helvellyn starts a few of us felt the mountain calling for us to at least go up to Red Tarn. I am so glad we did as we got to play around in about 4 -5 inches of snow! Unfortunately we did start our hike earlier or we probably would have hiked up to the top of Helvellyn. I am sure the view from the top would have been beautiful! Below are several pictures from the hike.

Stream at the start of the trail.

The Crew (James, Emma, Dave, Sam, Arthur, Danielle, Katrina, Paul)

Started seeing frost on the tops of the hills


The mountain calling to us to keep climbing!


We have reached the snow!
Maybe I should have had boots.
We reached Red Tarn.

The snowman at Red Tarn.
Arthur at Red Tarn
Arthur and I
Emma leading the way back down as the sun had already started to set.

Saturday night we had a curry, a few drinks and played on the Wii. I am a better skier in real life than on the Wii.

Sunday morning we woke up and several of us went running (Emma, Arthur and James for a long run and I for a short run). It was absolutely chucking it down and the wind was very strong! After coming back looking like a drowned rat, a warm shower and big breakfast warmed us up. Then it we had to drive back home.

DC

Married...

I promise to blog again soon! Here are a few pics though...

Arthur before the wedding

Danielle before the wedding

Just a fun after wedding shot!

Burn after reading

Tonight Arthur and I watched Burn After Reading. The best part is when Brad Pitt gets hit in the face. It is the only part worth watching. Enough said. I don't recommend watching this movie.

As Arthur has been working on his training plan for Pikes Peak, he has been creating a training schedule for me to get back into running. My last 10k was 8:40 minute miles and my last 5k was not much faster. I would really enjoy running races at a faster pace. I am not expecting to PB, as I used to be able to run 6 something miles. For my next goal I would like to run around 8 minute miles for a 10K which would be a 49:36 and around 7:40 mile for a 5k (23:48). Also, to help this endeavor we have converted our basement to a workout room, put a bid on a weight bench on Ebay. This means I will be getting in shape. Wish me luck!

IOM

For those of you who don’t know what IOM is it is the Isle of Man. It is an island between Britain and Ireland. This is part of the United Kingdom and is a tax haven. We went to the IOM for Easter for a running festival. There are three races, a pub crawl and a few beer races. The first race is a 10K on Friday, after that is the first beer trials, there are two rounds. Saturday there is hill race, and a 10 mile pub crawl. Sunday is a 5k and then a party where teams compete in beer races. This is the IOM running festival web site.

Friday, Arthur ran the 10k this was the only race I didn’t run. Then we went back to the Bed and Breakfast and had the beer races. There are two rounds each round you drink one pint as quickly as possible. The first round is randomly assigned and Arthur and I were up against each other. It was a close race but Arthur won. The second round they have you race the person with the closest time to yours… I had a race against two others and beat both my competitors. ☺ After the beer race I was off to bed.




Saturday we hung out then headed for the hill race. The guys raced first, so I hiked up the hill to cheer them on. Then I ran the race, this was very challenging as it is a very very steep hill. As I think the picture accurately displays. Then we dressed as bees for Emma’s hen do (Bachelorette party). Another fun picture of all the girls dress like bees. Then we started on the pub crawl. This is a 10 mile pub crawl, between bars there can be up to a 2.5 mile run. This ended up being a very late night.

Sunday we woke up early for the 5k race, which I was convinced would be a wonderful present for my mothers birthday, which happened on Friday. I ran the 5K, very slowly as I was sore from the hill race and 10mile pub crawl. That afternoon we watched a football game, then went to the final party of the festival, and enjoyed some team beer racing… again here are a few pictures.

Weekend part #1

This past weekend Arthur and I went on an adventure. We have decided that we need to take a small weekend trip about once a month. This past weekend a friend named Katherine had her 30th birthday party in Norwich. Since it is so close to Arthur parents, we left Friday and drove to Blakeney. We did arrive till about 9 had dinner and fell asleep. The next morning we woke up and went out for a run. We did some wedding planning and finalized our reading and reduced the list of hymns. Then we made lunch and got to eat it on the back garden. I love blue skys!

Saturday night we drove to out for the party in Norwich. It was a blast getting to hang out with Steve and Anthea and they have the most beautiful home. Unfortunately i didn't take any picutres of their house. Saturday night was filled with a few drinks, a bit of dancing, and a great time!

Here are two pictures, one of Arthur and me. The other is Arthur with his childhood friends. I think that they might get in to some trouble.

Speeches at the wedding

While reading about toast at a wedding I came across the following guide of wedding speeches for the UK.


The Toasts

Once the champagne or chosen drink has been served the Toastmaster will introduce the speakers who will be proposing the traditional toasts, of which there are usually three:
- This first toast is to the Bride & Groom and will normally be proposed by the father of the bride or an old friend of the family.
- The second toast is proposed by the groom who, after thanking the bride's father and making his speech, will conclude by proposing the health of the bridesmaids.
- The third toast is proposed by the best man who will respond on behalf of the bridesmaids and conclude by proposing the health of the parents of the bride and groom.

I'm not sure wedding toasts follow this format as much in the current day. In previous generation the man was the head of the house, but I have to say the UK tradition baffled me. The grooms thanks the brides father then toasts to the health of the bridesmaids then the best man responds for them. One, I would think the groom thanks everyone, not just the brides dad... then toasts to the bridesmaid. Two, I love my bridesmaids, but feel the groomsmen /ushers are getting a bit of a short stick why do we not toast to their health as well. Third, after toasting to the bridesmaids the best man responds for them... not sure that would fly with some of the woman's rights groups. I did find this very interesting and thought I would share it with all of you!

P.S. As I am not a huge fan of making speeches I have no problem following tradition and giving Arthur the opportunity to give a wonderful speech :).

Mountain Biking in Langsett

This past weekend the weather was finally nice enough to mountain biking again. It quickly became one of our favorite weekend activities, last fall. I have been looking forward to the weather getting nice enough for us to enjoy this activity again. In anticipation for nice weather we bought a new book showing rides in the Dark Peak region, near Sheffield.

The ride we selected in near a town of Langsett. There was a beautiful reservoir on the ride. We stared on a easy road work that lead to a path with a gentle slops. We were supposed to turn off the main path and add an additional loop. This section was SUPER muddy. After not being able to get any traction I told Arthur to go ahead and I would take the short cut on a path with a LOT let mud and I would bike toward him on the other side of the short cut. This was the best decision! Arthur had to basically walk 1k, because the mud was so bad. The path I took was perfect… the ground was a little tacky but not really muddy and it was a very well maintained trail. I then met up with him and we road back on the best past. After the first loop, Arthur went out for a second loop cutting out the muddy section… I went for a walk around the reservoir, so he wouldn’t have to wait for me to keep up.

The first picture is Arthur coming down towards the reservoir.

This is the reservoir.

Another (this was from my walk)

And Arthur riding away while I am still taking photos...

Because we both have bright yellow biking jackets I could spot him a mile a way and took several pictures him biking up the hill towards me.

He is cranking it up the hill! I am sure I make it look a lot more difficult!

Pancakes

America, WAKE UP and heat up that frying pan, for today is Pancake day!

As is tradition in the UK, the day before Lent starts (Shrove tuesday, fat-tuesday, mardi-gras, or whatever you wish to call it), we make a point of using up all the butter, eggs, etc that are all banned during this period of fasting, and what better way to use all these up than by making pancakes. Well, if you are going to do this properly like me, then I don't simply use up any left-overs, I go out and buy more ingredients, lots more ingredients to be exact. And then I cook.

Now listen up, Pancakes in the UK are somewhat different from the US variety...

US pancakes are exactly what it the describes itself to be, a cake in a pan, thick and fluffy.

UK pancakes would be better described as a paper thin sheet of batter, cooked for no more than a few seconds each side; it is not thick and definitely not fluffy. Basically, a french crepe or a thinner version of a flour tortilla.

Sounds tasty doesn't it. That's because they are.

The beauty of these pancakes is in their versatility. They can be made sweet or savory depending on taste, ice-cream, salsa, chicken, roast veg, take your pick. And if you are still hungry after all that, then your next pancake is only about a minute away.

As for me, I get very excited about Pancake day. I will eat it which ever way you prepare it: hot, cold, sweet, savory, flat, rolled. I'm easy.

Tonight, we are going to a friends house for a Pancake party. Plenty of fillings are on offer apparently. I must admit though, all this talk of Pancakes has my sweet tooth come to the fore and therefore I cannot wait to sample the delights of a Pancake filled with a healthy helping of Ben & Jerry's ice cream! Mmmmmmmmm! Pancakes!

Many people (myself included) think that Pancake day should be a national holiday; for some reason the powers that be disagree!!

Incidentally, this time last year, when Danielle and myself had just started dating, she refused my offer of Pancakes on Pancake day as she failed to understand its significance. Wow, that was almost a dealbreaker for me...! After much explaining about Pancakes Danielle came round to the idea (albeit about a week later), lucky for us otherwise our relationship might have turned out little crepe.

More info about Pancakes can be found here

AC

Pub lunches

One big cultural difference is the pub lunch. In America you say you want to go for a pub lunch, most people would think "Awesome greasy bar food". You would get served such things as hamburgers, french fries, onion rings, and chicken wings. Some bars have great food. But in England most serve a Sunday roast, which could be a roast turkey, beef, pork, or lamb. This is served with a Yorkshire pudding, veggies (carrots, broccli,) Roasted potatoes and gravy.

This past Sunday Arthur and I went to a Pub Lunch with several friend (there were 10 of us in total). We ventured out to the country to a Pub called Dick Hudsons

This was a very cute pub with little saying all over the place.

There are no strangers at Dick Hudsons... only friends who are yet to meet.

Niall enjoying a beer and Sunday roast.

Everyone digging in to there meal.

Then after a great meal, most of us enjoyed a dessert. I even got Arthur to share a dessert with me... Warm Chocolate Brownie with Ice cream... YUMMY!



Then upon leaving the boys thought it would be fun to start a snow ball fight... Which is always a great time


Last here is a few pic of a snowy Yorkshire country on our drive back to Leeds.

People sledding down the hill in the snow.

The new pad

Arthur and I moved officially moved in together on Feb 1st. And have spent the past week making the new place a home. This would include our trip to Ikea yesterday… in which we spent over two hours walking through the store. Our house was already furnished with all Ikea furniture. So we purchased a few things to make the place feel more like home and to make it more organized.

The first picture is our new place 22 Norman Mount. It is a back to back terrace.



We live on a very steep hill, and I have to parallel park, which I am not a fan. It was my only draw back for the house. On the positive side, it was the most reasonable in price for what the house was. In other houses we saw it seems the owner would upgrade the kitchen, but then only put in a tiny fridge with an ice-box for a freezer.


As you can see our kitchen is nice, but doesn’t have much space, which is typical for UK houses. We do have a full fridge and freezer.




From the kitchen you can walk down in to our basement / cellar. Right now this just a big empty room, where we are going to store our luggage and bikes.



The laundry room is also down here… through the doorway.

If you go back up stair to the main floor then through the kitchen you enter the living room.



This is where we added the area rug, throws, pillows, DVD bookcase, wine rack, but most importantly our Colorado poster and Colorado Map.











Then you go upstairs to the first floor, we have our master bedroom and bathroom on this floor. We still need to get pictures for this room, and getting one more end table but it is almost complete.


Then there is our lime green bathroom… it is very bright, but helps wake me up in the morning.

On the top floor or second floor we have the office and second bedroom.

We are getting a duvet for this room, but have purchased pillows for the bed.



The view from upstairs is great, but hard to tell because of the snow....

That is the new pad. Hope you enjoyed the tour… oh and please come visit!