Nine In The Afternoon.

Why, hello to anyone still out there. I know, I know, so much for more regular updates. I have had a couple of posts drafted, yet they weren't particularly interesting.. so much so, that I deleted them all in a fit of boredom last week. I figured if I had nothing to say, I might as well not say it. Life is good though, very good.

So, one of those 'must do' events I've always had on my to-do list in London was to experience a high tea in a classy establishment. My friend and I headed out to do just that today, but bypassed the traditional touristy Tea at the Ritz. Instead, we visited the Haymarket Hotel in Piccadilly, and had a lovely champagne tea that lasted for a good few hours - including a celebrity sighting (Ralph Fiennes!) amidst the Earl Grey & scones. We didn't get a picture; we were too busy sitting there slack jawed and slightly dazed while he asked a waitress where the bathrooms were.

(Who knew Voldemort would need the loo like the rest of us, eh?)

In other news, I will be turning 25 in just a few days and feeling pretty good about it, too. I'm not entirely sure why, but I feel that 25 is going to be a good year for me.

I'm happy here, living in a beautiful new place with my boys; I thinksettled would be the best word to describe it. It feels like I've had a few inner demons to battle over the past few months, nothing too major, but I'm okay now. It's time to move forward, and turning 25 is as good a milestone as any to start looking towards the future.

It's going to be a quiet birthday on Friday, now that the holidays have hit and not many people will be at work on the day. A few friends are finishing up on that day, so I'm sure we'll end up having a dinner out somewhere. As for Jason, he's being very secretive and has booked us a surprise weekend away, the weekend after my birthday. He's been very sneaky and keeping quiet on the destination - but as always, I've been nagging him for some hints. This is what I've pried out of him so far:

• We have to be at Heathrow that night, so we're flying somewhere.


• English is not the first language of this country.


• It's a city that neither of us have been to before.


• There is water in the city.

That's basically what I've got. I could be sneaky and check out the British Airways website to see what flights are leaving on Friday 7th August, but I won't. I WILL have a surprise, and it WILL be fabulous. I'm curious to know, but I'm going to hold off on the clues for now and just enjoy a nice weekend away. Boy's done good.

Maybe I'll Enjoy It One Day?

I've joined a gym.

I'm always really, really cynical about joining gyms - you get sucked into paying for a yearly contract, the novelty wears off quickly, I never seem to get the results I want.. but I think that joining this time around was the right thing for me.

The gym we've chosen is a Virgin Active gym, and is a 5 minute walk from our place. There's really no excuse of it being too far away now, because I can visit on my way home. Secondly, well, the Summer is coming. I don't get school holidays now that I'm working in Recruitment, but our hours will be reduced from 9-6:30 to 9-4. It's the perfect time to get moving, since I'll have a little extra time to myself.

As for goals? Well, obviously I'm there to lose weight. I never got around to mentioning, but I got myself through all 30 days of Jillian's Shred, and while I definitely felt stronger (hello, biceps!) I didn't notice any particular drops in my weight. That being said, I had an initial weigh-in at the gym, and I am less than what I thought I was (though still drastically NOT healthy), so maybe it did jolt me into action.

I'm also there to avoid laziness. Some people are extroverts, always out socialising, out exploring, out hanging around with friends. Over here, as much as I love the city, I'm just as likely to head straight to the comfort of home, chill out with Jason, or head for the internet. Now that I have this gym membership, I can still do all those things - but just not as much. I think that's a good thing.

My biggest worry is burning myself out or losing interest, so I'm not under any false pretenses with expecting myself to work out every day. I'm aiming for every other day, but if I miss a day here and there, so be it. The gym itself is pretty nice - it's in an old, converted school building and has a really nice feel to it. When you sign up, you have an induction with a personal trainer who sets up a program for you - my trainer was lovely and made me feel much better about being there, surrounded by fit people.

(Honestly... fit people in gyms freak me out.)

So for the next five weeks, I'm going to stick with my programme a few days a week and see how I get on. We'll re-assess it then, and see if it needs changing. If only it weren't so hot... 30o in London over the last few days has meant that I'm hot and sweaty even before I start working out. I'm also planning on being brave, and going to one of the Aqua Aerobics classes on offer at the pool this weekend, if I don't chicken out about being in swimmers in front of people. We'll see how that goes...