End of the Bank Holiday

Unfortunately, the migraine persisted today so I took it easy. For breakfast I had my standard of porridge with an apple and a banana. Lunch was a beef & leek soup. I snacked on a slice of toast with peanut butter and strawberries of top (instead of strawberry jam as per usual). There was no exercise of the menu - booo :(

Responding to Skinny Late's comment here are some more Greece pictures! There are from the island of Sifnos, I was over there August 2007.


This is the bungalow we stayed at.


A nice little marina

This used to be my PC background for a while... You can see why!


I really miss Sifnos - cant wait till I'm back

xx

Waking up to a migraine

Dont know if it was waking up so early (I had some errants to run) or being so tired when I went to sleep last night, but when I woke up at 8am I had this killing migraine above my right eyebrow. It was like someone was drilling a hole in my head... definately not the best way to wake up!

I got up and knew I had to take some painkillers, so I had a piece of wholewheat toast with peanut butter & strawberry jam plus a small glass of milk. Then I took some Panadol extra and I am now blogging away from my bed. My eyes feel very heavy, I think I may actually nap today.

Sorry for the moan. Here's a pretty picture from downtown Athens.


And one from the seaside!



Cya later x
Kiki

Saturday night lazy bum

I tried going for a run, but no dice. I mean I ran and everything, but I wasnt feeling it. I went half way my usual route and just turned back (walking!). I know - so disappointing. Sometimes you just arent in the mood.

After showering - again, I forgot to stretch... what's wrong with me?! Do you think it'll hurt tomorrow? - I made a quick pasta dinner. I sweat a small shallot, topped it with some canned plum tomatoes, added some canned mushroom and a grated carrot. Once that and my pasta (wholewheat spaghetti) were cooked, I added some grilled courgette in the mix. Topped with parmesana cheese (I know, bad but good!)

I love having meals in bowls!

When I was back home in Athens, 2 weeks ago, we had these a-ma-zing peaches in the house. My fave breakfast was a sliced peach dipped in Total Greek Yogurt (the full-fat kind, I've never been able to eat the lower fat ones), and a small slice of wholewheat bread with peanut butter and strawberry jam.


I dont know if it was the combination of fruit, yogurt and peanut butter or just the fact that is was at least 10oC hotter than the standar London temperature but that breakfast kept me full for 3-4hrs straight!


And I leave you with a picture of the sunset from my parents fave restaurant, in Floisvos Marina in Athens. Oh so good...


Kiki x

Missed me?

Hey! Long time no blog huh? Alright, im back now! (Hurray!)

There have been a few major things happening lately hence the lack of posting. If you remember from last time, I was packing to move house. Well I did move! It was a great change, and a very good decision to be made. I am not a bit further away than Central London but soooo much closer to work! I have gotten back into (semi)healthy eating and yes running too!

Right lets start off with breakfast today. 2 tablespoons of Total Greek Yogurt, 1 small Golden Delicious Apple, a peach, 7-8 strawberries, 2 hard-boiled eggs.


I had planned to grab that banana too but I was too full! I am now packing it in my bag for a snack later! And yes, I did have that breakfast outside in my brand new balcony which I am totally in love with.... And yes, London *was* sunny at 10.30am!

Today Im off to NorthWest London to help my sister pack and move - Haha yes I guess it's moving season!!! My arms a bit sore from last night's workout (10' minute solution DVD - Target Toning for Beginners) so I'm hoping that packing, lifting, cleaning will be a great way to get un-sore!

Not sure what time I'll be back, probably late afternoonish, so I will not do a lunch post but a rather biggie dinner post.

So I leave you with pictures to explain what I have been doing for all the time I was away.

Enjoy!

Lentils, smoked salmon, rocket salad, and tzatziki, i.e. clearing out the fridge foods.


I packed. Loads. And again. And then some more. If I see a storage box any time soon, I may break down and cry!


I spend about a week in Athens... It was soooo good. This is the House of Parliament (used to be the Palace).


And this is one of the busy shopping streets (Ermou Street) in downtown Athens.


Of course, there was a bit of staying at work late... Booo damn deadlines!


And finally, 4 things you will find on my work desk at any time.
Lipbalm
Hand creme
Water
and some sort of snack

God I used to looove Larabars so so much - I actually got a colleague addicted, but lately I havent been able to have one. I probably had too much of them and went off the taste or something!

Does anyone else out there feel that they just go off certain foods at points in time?

Kiki x

Gone baby gone

I got home at 8:20pm tonight! Booo working late sucks huh?!

My day has gone pretty much like this:

Alarm goes off at 6.15. I snooze.
Goes again at 6.20. I snooze, but feeling awake now.
Goes again at 6.25, I'm thinking: Fine, I'll get up!
By the time that emergency 6.30am alarm went off, I was up.

I hit the lights switch to get some light in my room and actually be able to see around (curtains were closed, and of course it was rainy and cloudy outside).... no light comes on!!! After I played around with various plugs, switches and my main switch board, I succum and call EDF's fault's line. Oh yes! There is a fuse blown in the powerstation, pretty much everyone in my area has no power, they are aware of the fault and they are 'working on it'.... Great start huh?!

I have some breakfast (wholewheast bun roll with peanut butter + strawberry jam) and a glass of semi-skimmed milk and rely on day light to put on clothes and apply makeup - pray I dont look like a clown!


Work is relatively standard, people running around, the customer changing their minds every oh 5 minutes, people asking me the silliest of questions - my favourites being:

• Where can I sit today? (It's an open-plan office and seats are first-come, first-served) - Jeez, I dont know, why dont you try the empty seat?!
• Are we having the 1pm meeting? - Yes it's been going on for 3 months and we have it every-single-damn-day!!!
• Do you want that in writing? - No, I want you to sing it from the rooftops!!!

Ah the joys of working in IT!

Anyway, lunch was a delicious bacon and barley soup with their fantastic thyme bread. Usually I digest soup in about 1-2hrs but this held me full for about 3.5hrs! I was chuffed! I love how they have seeds next to the soups and you can add them to your cup!

Can you tell food makes me happy? Hehe

After working away for 3-3.5hrs, going to meetings, coming back, typing emails, talking to people, chatting with some colleagues, it was time for my 2nd lunch of the day. My gorgeous wrap with some cherry tomatoes! Oh it was good, I'm telling ya!


And of course around 5pm - just as I thought that hey, I may go home on time and pack some more, the *beep* hit the fan and I had to stay at work till 7.15!!! Boy, was I pissed off! I dont mind staying back when there is actual work to be done, but I cannot stand staying behind just to babysit 4 adults who cannot tie their shoe laces unless they get spe-ci-fic information and step-by-step instructions!

Came home at 8.20 (told you, it's a hour's worth of commute!! but not for long hehe!) and quickly showered, and prepared myself a tasty, light dinner of pasta salad, cucumber, avocado and pink salmon with a yogurt dressing... Yum yum!


Now it's only 10.30pm but I am feeling so beat, I think I will just dry my hair quickly - no straighten tonight booo! - pick my clothes for tomorrow and crash! This day has overstayed its welcome - and it's only Tuesday!!!

Apologies for the rant - hope you found it more funny that annoying! It's pretty much who I am though, I love a good rant!

Speak later
xx

PS. The nice EDF people did indeed fix the power issue and at least I didnt have to shower by candlelight!

PS2. I am still sore! Love you and hate you Pilates DVD!

Dizzy, my head is spinning

Morning!

You know how some days you wake up and even thought you are fully functional and awake for about 1-2hrs, afterwards you get kinda dizzy and sleepy again. I have major sleepiness now and I woke up a full 2.5hrs earlier!

What's wrong with me?!?

Yesterday's dinner was same as lunch only half in size as I shared a wrap with my sister, but I also ate some sister-made spanakopita (spinach and feta cheese pie).

For breakfast this morning I had semi-skimmed milk with some multigrain bread with peanut butter and jam -delish!

My sister tells me that the delivery people just dropped off the boxes to my place (she was house-sitting for me), so I guess I really do need to pack when I get home...

God, I hate packing! Hate is with a passion! :-D

Cya later xxx

PS. I got some soreness in my gluts and my upper abs - I should have know this was coming right?

Cold tofu isn't good tofu

I was experimenting yesterday with posting from my iphone which it totally cool however I still havent mastered the 'art' of posting with pictures.... All in good time, I guess, I'll have another attempt later on!

I did manage to make my Suunto training watch work but turns out you need a POD to measure speed and distance... HOW ANNOYING! It was a very expensive present and something I wanted for so long so I am double disappointed about this... boooo :-(. Being as pissed off as I was, I didnt go for a run and opted for a night in front of TV instead - cause I'm cool like that! Watched Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging, which was cute even thought a bit too 'young' for me and then later my flatmate and I watched Monster In-Law, which was meh. Very average I would say.

During the first movie, I had a fantastic snack of a watermellon slice. It was so juicy and sweet... really fantastic! I still cant believe this was on sale in Whole Foods for 99p for half a (very heavy) watermellon. It tasted like summer!


My dinner was a baby leaf salad, some cherry tomatoes (I think they are hidden under the greenery), parmesan cheese and tofu. I tried out a new flavour - Cauldron salad toppers marinated in tomato and basil. The package said ready to eat but I really should have heated it up beforehand... Cold tofu isnt good tofu :-S


The meal wasnt all that, but that was probably my fault right? Hehe. Plus I felt bloated for hours aftewards - Maybe it was the cold tofu???

This morning I had 2 slices of the multigrain Whole Foods bread with peanut butter and strawberry jam and a glass of semi-skimmed milk. I cant believe I went 24 years without ever trying this combination!!! It's so awesome you have no idea - Well unless you have tried it and then you do have an idea! :-)

I leave you with a picture of my god-daughter, aka cutest kid ever! Hope her parents dont mind me posting this picture!

Cya later xxx

A week's worth of recaps

Seeing as it's 22.15 here in London and I am living the dream by being in my PJs and seriously considering my bed as the best place to be right now ;-) I will make this post more about the photos and less about the blah blah! Hope you enjoy.

Picking up from where I left it last, on Saturday night I had my nameday dinner with a few friends. That had a sweet ending with a variety of desserts.


Oh they were so yummy!

On Sunday I made a traditional Greek meal of roasted chicken with orzo and tomato sauce. It turned out brilliant, really reminded me of my mom's cooking.


Tuesday night in the Docklands! I love how this photo combines everything that Canary Wharf is about. Tall buildings, the Reuters sign, people in suits drinking and loads of lovely views.


Early morning view from the West side of our floor.


This was my Friday lunch at work. Work's canteen has this self-service salad bar so today's choices were:

• Pasta salad with olives
• Lentil salad with carrots and celery
• Spinach
• Roasted veggies with cous cous
• Green beans
  
• (and a few other things I cant really remember)
• with a gorgeous pesto dressing. I love how sometime a dressing can just make a salad taste awesome.

And this was my Friday night dinner.

Well that and a couple of Crisprolls with peanut butter and strawberry jam (not pictured)


Both my flatmate and I are in the process of moving out of our current place, so our living room currently looks a little bit like this.


And finally what would London be without a bit of rush-hour tube traffic to keep up all ticking?!


Time for bed people! xxx

Friday bloody Friday

Late post but hey!
Friday was mad and insane at work - Why does everything have to go wrong around 3pm on Fridays?! Urgh it's so annoying. I had been fighting a pretty major headache all day anyway so the combination of pain and the stress really didnt work out for me. I didnt take any paracetamol as I would normally cause I try not to take too many pills when I can. Turns out that was a mistake! My headache didnt go till I slept around midnight.

But lets recap.
Friday

For breakfast I had a bowl of cereal with semi-skilled milk. As breakfast is around 7am, that usually doesnt take me till midday (lunch). I often have a little snack around 10.30 but on Friday I managed not to. Some people say it's better to have a snack and a smaller lunch and others believe that snacks are pretty much the devil. oh well... different courses for different horses as the Brits say.

My Lunch was as pictured: Chicken broth soup with a slice of bread and a salad. I only had about 3-4 bites of the salad and had the rest at 5pm.



Dinner was a hasty affair of already-marinated tofu on a bed of spinach, balsamic vinegar and parmesan - so delicious! I hardly ever eat tofu and that's only when I'm in a restaurant, but this was very very good and I intend to make it again asap! Was very quick too - it only needed about 5' in the grill and it was all set!



Dunno what's wrong with this picture. It just wont rotate! Sorry...

Watched the Sex and the City movie on Sky Comedy and then went straight to bed as I had a killer headache :-(


Saturday

God, 10hrs of sleep feel good!
My breakie was a wholewheat roll with some butter and strawberry jam washed down with 2 glasses of semi-skimmed milk (not pictured).



I quickly got ready and headed off to Richmond to celebrate a friend's birthday. Unfortunately our ideas for a BBQ were canned as the weather was rainy and crappy.

Richmond's pretty though!



Cu later xx

She closes her eyes, dreams of pretty things, pretty things

Funny post title huh? :D
It's from Athena, a Greek singer/songwritter who writes and performs in English. She's so good! Love her music.

Picking up from where I left it off yesterday, one of my colleague's wife, just had a baby, so yesterday I 'sampled' some chocolate (praline filled - de-li-ci-ous!) and some Bailey's filled ones too - yummy!


My dinner was super yummy and delicious : PIZZA! Not the healthiest of options I know, but still was so worth it. I believe that when I eat out I do end up eating more calories, or generally eat stuff that isnt so good for you. On the other hand I do believe that in most restaurants (except fast good restaurants ofc) you can make some decent choices that wont be too bad and will leave you full without being too fatty.

Like last night for example, went to Pizza Express. There, they are introducing a new range called Leggera (means 'light' in Italian I think). So I had the Gustosa pizza which basically is:

Hand torn prosciutto cotto ham, fior di latte mozzarella and slices of portobello mushroom with sweet yellow peppers and a sprinkle of thyme.

The pizza has a hole in the middle and they have placed a cute little salad there! The menu said that these pizzas have around 500cals each, which even tho it isnt 'little' it's still better than most pizzas I guess.


It was delicious and quite light, I ate about all of it, except the salad (naughty!).

This morning I had my typical breakfast of granary toast with peanut butter (seriously I LUVE this stuff, cant get enough) and a cup of semi-skimmed milk. Peanut butter keeps me going for hours with no snack. Today I had lunch a full 4.5hrs after breakfast and I wasnt even that hungry then. I had a cup of yellow split pea soup (was store-bought and very average) but I also got a medium sized salad with an assortment of cesear's salad, roasted carrots with herbs and (more!) yellow split peas with cous cous. Was a bit meugh! (so so). But it did keep me going for about 4hrs... must be all the beans!



Now I'm off to do some laundry and straighten my hair! Cu tomorrow x

I don't care if Monday's blue, Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too

Remember how I was saying that it's warm and nice? Yeah, forget about that! London's back to grey - booo. So annoying having to drag out umbrellas and closed toe shoes ...

Why, London, why?

In the meantime, I had a nice nameday celebration yesterday - Got Crispy Creme doughnuts for my colleagues (and managed to only eat two!) and had a Wagamama dinner. Too bad they changed the menu so my favourite soup Miso Ramen Soup wasnt there anymore. Dont you have it when restaurants change their menu and leave out your favourite stuff?

As it was my nameday (Greek tradition by which you celebrate if you're named after a Saint on the day of the Saint's day basically), I am expecting muchos presents over the next few days as I see my sister and friends... I'll keep u guys posted! I'm very very very excited! :D

I had a quick work breakfast of granary toast with crunchy peanut butter spread (I think I prefer the smooth one overall tho - I am such a HUGE peanut butter fan - love it!) with a glass of semi-skimmed milk - yes we have one of those fancy vending machines at work which has the bad stuff (crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks) and the good stuff (nuts, milk, cereal, energy bars). This works out pretty well when the 4pm hunger strikes and you have forgotten to pack some snacks from home.

I often try to bring lunch and/or snacks from home as it's a) healthier - you know what's in your food cause you made it! b) portion controlled - no temptations by an extra portion of cheese/bread/sauce and c) cost-effective - spending £5+ a day on just lunch is too too much and even though there is plenty of option around my work area it's still kinda silly to be spending that much just on one meal a day. However, I am now in the process of moving houses so I am trying to keep my pantry and freezer stocks low and eat them up as before I move out. It's not a very smart idea to have to move food around so my fridge is looking rather like a wasteland at the moment. Which means of course, there is nothing to make into lunch food, hence I buy from the shops!

Ok just realised how long this post is! Sorry, didnt mean to just rant! And since I dont like blocks of texts with no pictures, here's a little selection of what I already have!


Tube Strike London



My sister making friends with a little goat at Mudchute Farm


cu later xx

Busy Sunday

A little inside joke: My full name (Kyriaki) in Greek means Sunday (the day) - People ask if I was born on a Sunday (I wasnt) but it's my grandma's name hence I was named after her. So what a busy Sunday (day) and a busy Sunday (me!) it was today...

But first thing's first.

I spend Saturday night at a wonderful grastropub (London's full of them) overlooking the Hammersmith Bridge. Isn't it pretty?


There we enganged in a hour-long debate with my friends (all of us Greek) over this 'hot-of-the-press' topic: Are we in Hammersmith area or are we in Chiswick area? Haha yes we are very silly, even though we are pushing 25 (god!)... Does anyone actually know the answer to this one? We'd be grateful for an answer!!

This was my breakfast:

• Milk
• Tsoureki - I swear it's never ending!
• A large granny smith apple - loooove these!
  

Seeing how I hadnt done any exercice this week, I decided on something simple. A 40' walk from my place to High Street Kensington where I was meeting a friend for lunch and coffee (yes we are VERY Greek!).

These are some photos of places I passed in my walk... Isnt London the prettiest when it's sunny? (about 10 days a year...)

This is my old neighbourhood in Notting Hill - Dont be fooled by the gorgeous exterior! I lived in a 'cupboard' paying waaaay too much for rent. But hey that's zone 1 for ya!


These babies were waiting for their owner outside a cafe - cute cuteness cuties! If I was ever home at a normal time during the week and had a garden or an outside space I would soooo luuuv to have a dog, they are adorable!


A very typical Notting Hill front door. The residents were actually very close to the window when I was taking this picture so I had to be swift and move on!


This is my parents favourite pub, just as you enter Kensington Church Street.



And then the church itself. If you are around early on a Sunday, you see so many people coming out in their Sunday best.


Finally the High Street itself. I love shopping here, not as crowded as Oxford Street, everything is within easy walking distance, plus you get Whole Foods Market - what's not to love?!


This is the cafe where we had lunch. Patisserie Valerie is such a favourite, they do the best cappucino in London (I think), pastries, cakes, lunch, brunch, sandwiches, pretthy much the whole lot ... I heart Valerie!


This was my tasty lunch. Forgot to take the pix as the plate arrived, it was only after a couple of bites that I remembered :S Whooops! I had a brown bread sandwich with gruyere cheese, tomato, avocado and a pesto dressing. Oh it was tasty. It came with a cute green salad and some crisps which I quickly passed on to my friend - they were too greasy anyway.


Now after all that, I took the bus home, couldnt face another walk as my feet were absolutely killing me!

I am up for a promotion at work, for which I have to sit through an all day assessment centre, including an interview, a presentation, a case study and god knows what else... So I had some homework to do when I got home. It felt so strange having to actually revise for something, I hadnt done any sort of 'homework' since graduating in 2007.... It felt weird I tell you.

And as a final note...
If you are eating, have an upset stomach, are easily grossed out, cant stand injuries PLEASE LOOK AWAY NOW....

Otherwise, have a look as my flat-as-a-pancake feet and the wonderful blister I inherited for my walk today.


Can you believe I get these every single time I walk, run, wear heels, or wear any sort of shoe that isnt flat????

Boooo

Ok back to homework - Kiki needs that promotion!

xxx