Hello!

So I know it’s Thursday- I meant to post this yesterday evening but I was pretty tired so just read my Kindle and went to bed. Here’s a quick recap of the last couple of days:

Tuesday
Exercise– Rest day
Food- Mark made this beautiful tart for dinner which was cooking when I got home from work- sweet potato, red onion and goats cheese, mmmm… 🙂

Wednesday
Exercise- Run at lunchtime.

Time- 26:30
Distance- 3:04km
Average pace- 8:43min/km

It was cold, windy and drizzling a little bit but I was feeling bad for skipping the gym last night and then not getting up for Express Spin this morning so I made myself go. I made a point of planning a route on my computer before hand, putting it into MapMyRun to see how long it would be, so I could just run it and not think about where the hell I was going! It was actually pretty fun- I ran down to a nearby Recreation Ground and ran around the field between some really cool tree avenues. The only issue was that being an open field it was pretty exposed and my ears were freezing and achey by the time I got back! I’m totally glad I did it though, it made me feel very satisfied with myself and that I’d achieved something with my day (besides work) and could go home and enjoy my evening guilt-free.

As I said, I didn’t get up for Express Spin at 7am- I’ve realised that for all my enthusiasm I need to take it slowly and set myself goals I can achieve, otherwise I’m going to get discouraged and give up too quickly. Going from holiday lay-ins till 10am to getting up at 6:30am was too much of a shock to my system! So for the first week or so I’m going to stick with getting up at 7:30am for work and trying to make better use of my lunch hour to get outside, do a workout and get some fresh air. Then I can enjoy my evenings with friends and Mark, who is going to Australia for 2 months in a week or so 🙁 Boo… On the plus side, I get to go out and join him at the end of the 2months so I’m determined to stick with my fitness plan so he can see the difference, and I will have the self-confidence to wear one of the many bikinis I own 🙂

(I spent a year abroad studying in Australia as part of my undergrad degree in 2007-8 and can’t wait to go back! This was taken on Rottnest Island in WA.)

Food
Breakfast- Crushed Weetabix with yoghurt and defrosted berries. Mug of tea
Mid-morning snack- Cereal bar and a banana.
Lunch- Leftover tart with celery sticks.
Afternoon snack- Handful of Tyrells veg chips
Dinner with my friend Jo- salmon and leek parcels, and a lovely glass of wine. Lots of chatting and catching up- a great relaxing evening.

Wednesday’s Movie Madness
This weeks movie is…. RANGO!

“Rango is a sheltered chameleon living as an ordinary family pet, while facing a major identity crisis. He accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt – a lawless outpost populated by the desert’s most wily and whimsical creatures – the less-than-courageous lizard suddenly finds he stands out. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt.” Source

This animated Western starring Johnny Depp is hilarious, with so many random characters and scenes you can’t help laughing out loud at the bizarreness of it all! It definitely has a strong Johnny Depp influence with some strange psychedelic sequences and brilliant parodies of the other movies he’s been in, such as a scene where Rango is carried across the desert by bugs in a dream, as Jack Sparrow’s ship is carried by the crabs in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

There are in fact so many references to classic Westerns and other well-known films that whole articles and lists have been written citing them! I didn’t manage to spot them all, but the “Spirit of the West” character Rango meets is undoubtedly meant to be Clint Eastwood, and several attack scenes liken to “Apocalypse Now” with Ride of the Valkyries being played, and the Star Wars assault on the Death Star.

This extra layer of hidden cinematic trivia, along with the more mature themes, gun violence and stronger language doesn’t makes this film your typical kids movie and several reviewers have said it’s wholly inappropriate. However, the animation is beautifully done, with huge attention to detail- and (thank goodness) not even in 3D. Underneath it all the message of the story is simple enough for children to understand, and with a PG certificate the target audience encompasses families. However, with such complex dialogue and witty references I probably enjoyed it a lot more than your average 8 year old would!

Rango- 4/5

Enjoy your Thursday!

Beki x