Project 366 2016 #51 & #52

It's a double collection of photos to round up this year's Project 366. It has been an interesting year for many but I've reached a lot of personal goals and I'm glad I stuck at capturing each day to look back on.

Day 353
My final day of yoga training so we all went out to lunch to a lovely cafe tucked away in Haggler's Corner, Sheffield.
Day 354
Back home and this afternoon I went for a wander with the kiddos around the neighbouring roads to check out some of the Christmas lights.
Day 355
A lovely day for a walk to town to carry out some errands including a trip to the library and the sorting office to get some final Christmas presents.
Day 356
Winter Solstice so an extra session of yoga to welcome back the light and the longer days to come. After our practice we had a lovely Vegetarian and Vegan feast - I contributed the unhealthy choice in the form of cinnamon rolls!
Day 357
I feel like we're ticking down the time to the big day now. The husband is still at work so I took the kiddos out for a walk around the neighbouring fields to fill our lungs with some fresh air. All the sun salutations last night worked as we had sunshine to brighten the sky.
Day 358
A much deserved day off for the husband and the arrival of the brother-in-law, and his crazy dog, who were staying nearby for a couple of nights. The weather remained bright so we took ourselves off on a big walk across fields and through plenty of mud before heading back home to warm up.
Day 359
Christmas Eve and I found some time today to put my feet up and get my head into my library book - an easy Christmas chick-lit read which has to be done.
Day 360
Christmas Day! The kiddos slept in until past 8.00 then it was stocking time followed by a morning of a lazy pastry laden breakfast and present opening. A late lunch and I made my own mushroom wellington for myself and with a pile of roast veg, bread sauce, stuffing and gravy my first vegan Christmas dinner was a success.
Day 361
Boxing Day and the husband was back at work - the downside of running your own business - so I had to get the kiddos out for some fresh air as nobody set foot outside yesterday. Once the husband was home I shut myself in the front room with a burning incense stick, some chilled out music, my yoga mat and awesome new yoga pants!
Day 362
The husband had today off and we made our Christmas trip to the cinema to see Rogue One. I hadn't read too much about it and didn't get my hopes up but I was blown away by this film - all I'm going to say was by the end I was an emotional wreck. When we got home we heard that Carrie Fisher had not long passed away which made Princess Leia's word of 'hope' quite poignant.
Day 363
Today was a cold one. The husband was back at work, the kiddos wanted a house day so I headed out into the garden for a couple of hours to attack some conifers and tidy up the vegetable patch. The garden is still winning this particular fight.
Day 364
I just had to get out today so I threw some chocolates, snacks and water in my backpack and got the kiddos out for a two hour walk down village lanes and across muddy fields. My state of mind was much improved as a result.
Day 365
I took the kiddos to a friend's house today for lunch - the children played whist the grown ups chatted and drunk lots of tea. Back home and it was a late tea for me rustling something up from the store cupboard so I veganised my favourite cheese and marmite pasta dish - you'll either love it or hate it!
Day 366
New Year's Eve and a last minute plan to catch up with my niece who we haven't seen for over two years. We met up in my favourite town of Glastonbury where we a found piece of street art - I thought the words were a perfect way to round up 2016.

HAPPY NEW YEAR & SEE YOU IN 2017!

Project 366 2016 #50

Week 50 of project 366 for 2016 has been a tiring, but amazing, one!

Day 346
Up before everyone else this morning so I snuggled under a blanket in the lounge and finished my library book - which had me in tears.
Day 347
Getting organised today with the bulk of the Christmas presents wrapped - these aren't all of them by the way.
Day 348
I made the hearth look a little bit more festive tonight with my new star shade.
Day 349
A lovely gift from my lovely friend at work - a sunflower incense holder.
Day 350
Coming in from yoga tonight my front room window was glowing with some festive fairy lights.
Day 351
Last day of work and straight up to Sheffield for my final weekend of yoga teacher training - The Killers made the M1 bearable.
Day 352
Just outside my training venue was this rather fabulous piece of graffiti - I've always been a fan of words and street art and I loved this.

x x x

Project 366 2016 #49

Week 49 of Project 366 for 2016 and Christmas started to make an appearance.

Day 339
A productive time was spent in the garden cutting back trees and shrubs that had got out of hand this year.
Day 340
I finally got round to doing my recovery run, over a week after my half marathon last weekend, of 4 miles round my usual village route.
Day 341
I had better success with vegan meringues today by adjusting the sugar content. They went down a treat with Swedish Glace soy ice cream.
Day 342
I hit my bed early with my latest library book.
Day 343
Christingle tonight for my boy. It's always a lovely service and kicks off Christmas for me.
Day 344
Leftovers tonight as it's Friday and I can't be bothered to make anything fresh! My favourite tofu coconut curry with a few falafels hit the spot.
Day 345
Today we put the Christmas tree up, after having to rearrange the front room to fit it in. I was so chilled out I even let the kiddos decorate it all! Following a week of Nativity rehearsals at work it's definitely beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

x x x

Project 366 2016 #48

Week 48 of Project 366 2016 started off on a high - and then the temperatures went low!

Day 332
Half marathon day and I was so happy when I beat my PB by 4 minutes coming in at 1:52:52 - although the knee didn't thank me at mile 11 onwards.
Day 333
I took it easy today as I felt a bit stiff in the thighs and calf muscles. The sun on the walk to school was looking beautiful despite the building site to the left.
Day 334
I spent a lovely morning with a work friend today wandering around Corsham, where I stocked up on tea and a few vegan goodies in the health food shop, followed by a warming peppermint tea in the town hotel bar. This lovely bike on the street outside caught my eye.
Day 335
A disrupted start to the working week for me this morning when I couldn't get my car door to shut. 90 minutes later it latched again so hoping it was just a temperature issue. Luckily I don't officially need to be in work until late morning. I had some time to kill so stepped out onto the freezing patio for a morning snap.
Day 336
I avoided using the aforementioned car door this morning but had to pop back into the house before leaving to defrost my fingers after defrosting the car - the frost on the wall outside was so pretty though sparkling underneath the streetlights.
Day 337
Opened up December's Simple Things magazine a day late for some late night bedtime reading.
Day 338
I spent my Saturday on a paediatric first aid training course in readiness for my new yoga venture. Luckily it was a well run course and we were so involved the time flew by. Back home I discovered an exciting delivery of new yoga mats for my little yogis!

x x x

Project 366 2016 #47

Week 47 of Project 366 2016 started with excitement and ended with nerves!

Day 325
A rather soggy day 2 up north for my Children's Yoga Teacher Training but I finished the weekend full of excitement and enthusiasm to get my new venture going in the new year.
Day 326
Back to normality today and the wet theme continues for my Monday morning run. I am tapering off the miles this week in readiness for Sunday's half marathon so just the 4 miles around town today splashing through puddles - some which were ankle deep.
Day 327
The rain continued today and I went out on my final run before the half. 5 miles took me over the slightly high River Avon in town.
Day 328
Back to work Wednesday with a full on day that led to a cosy evening tucked up with my latest Emily Barr book.
Day 329
I missed yoga last Thursday due to packing and planning for my weekend away so I was so glad to go tonight for another lovely session - lots of balancing focus tonight and I found my 'public' tree was a little stronger! (Not sure why but I find tree pose really hard to balance in class whereas at home I can hold it and concentrate for ages!?)
Day 330
Another food pic today! The carb loading has begun for Sunday; pasta, vegan mince bolognese, mixed grains, root veg and Violife 'cheese'. Any excuse to stuff my face.
Day 331
A lazy Saturday, no running obviously, so we popped into town to pick up a few things and visit the library. I picked up a couple of children's yoga books, some Christmas fiction, a vegan cookbook and a book, The Shock of the Fall, that flashed up on my kindle app earlier which I was happy to find in the library - always prefer the real thing. I'm now trying to fight my nerves for tomorrow as I'm running without my training buddy, who has a horrible virus, and am panicking about the hills!

x x x

Project 366 2016 #46

Week 46 of Project 366 saw the start of a new adventure!

Day 318
I went to a local small vegan fair today to look out for some treats and get some food ideas; I found some rather delicious chocolate then headed to the supermarket to stock up on some other 'essentials'.
Day 319
It was far too warm for running tights today but I did a gentle 4 miles before tomorrow's long run.
Day 320
I took myself out for a long 12 miles today to prove that I have the distance in my legs ahead of my upcoming half; it was a positive run although I didn't enjoy the muddy, and slippy, couple of miles off road.
Day 321
A relaxing cuppa with empowering words at work this morning.
Day 322
A busy day at work meant no time for a photo until tonight so my tea will have to do - smokey bean chilli and vegan 'Wensleydale' and cranberries stuffed jacket potato with sweetcorn.
Day 323
A lovely sunrise to start off Friday as I packed the car with my weekend yoga kit ready to head up north after work.
Day 324
A beautiful setting at Ecclesall Woods for the start of my training for my new yoga adventure - I am so excited!

x x x

Project 366 2016 #45

I continued a personal food challenge for week 45 of Project 366 2016 and it's all going well.

Day 311
A lazier Sunday this week with the husband at work and me at home with the children. To break up the day we went for a walk around our local fields which involved, safely, crossing the railway line.
Day 312
A productive day in the kitchen today making some new vegan dishes. This warm root vegetable and grain salad was delicious packed full of my favourite parsnip.
Day 313
A cold and frosty start to the day which saw me meet a friend for a long 10 mile run in preparation for our half marathon in just under three weeks.
Day 314
I headed into the town near work this morning to pick up a few bits including this rather delicious choco tea from Yogi Teas - I don't know how I have missed this brand up until now?
Day 315
Work and weather made picture taking tricky today so here's my tea - sweet potato jacket with a scrummy bean chilli that even my boy approved of.
Day 316
Another cold start to the the day and as I went out to my car I looked up and saw a sky full of vapour trails.
Day 317
Lazy Saturday today as the husband is away and I have a cold - perfect timing. I made my first batch of oat milk this morning to save a few pennies on the soya, almond and cashew milks I keep purchasing. It was simple to make and, with a dash of agave syrup, delicious on my muesli.

x x x