Hurray! Lent is over!

As of yesterday - my Grandad Ben's birthday - Lent is over! My aunt and I have been trying to find the correct date and have both researched on a variety of different websites. The 4 (!) dates that are apparently the end of Lent are: Maundy Thursday (yesterday), Palm Sunday (last Sunday), Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Basically I decided that Lent had been long enough, so I chose Maundy Thursday. And it's what Google said.
Lent 2015 was tough. I missed chocolate from week one. It got easier after a couple of weeks, but last weekend my aunt, mum and I were in Edinburgh, and every time we went into M & S to stock up we would walk soooooo slooooooooowly past the Easter egg displays. Luckily our resolve didn't break (we'd all given up chocolate so were suffering together).
I promised myself the first thing I'd eat on Maundy Thursday would be a Twirl bar, so on Tuesday I bought two of them and kept them by the side of my bed. I nearly opened one just to sniff it but decided that was too risky...
It. was. worth it. Delicious. Smooth. Sweet. All of the good adjectives.
However, I think I overdid it somewhat - or my ability to gorge on chocolate has decreased after my period of sacrifice. In 24 hours, I ate 2 Twirls, 1 creme egg, 1 Hotel Chocolat caramel bunny, 1 mini pack of Mini Eggs and 1 chocolate sponge pudding. I'm lactose intolerant, so yes, I did have a bad stomach. Again, it was worth it.
Luckily I went for a hack with lots of trotting and did a tough workout, so at least some of my gorging was burnt off!
Happy Easter everyone.

What I'm Giving Up For Lent 2015

Lent: 18th February - 2nd April
Easter Sunday: 5th April

It's that time again when I challenge myself to give up something I love (eating). By 'that time again', I mean I did it last year and want to do it again. I managed to last the whole 40 days and 40 nights without cheese, but did eat chocolate a little before the end.

My mum's decided to give up chocolate, so I've decided to do that too. I really want some already, but the first week of any diet/abstinence is always the toughest. I can't stop thinking about Twirl bars...

In addition, I'm going to try to have a minimum of 5 days a week of clean eating. At the moment I average 3. I'll also try to work out a minimum of 2 days a week. I’ve really lost my workout mojo – a combination of stress and post-teaching-tiredness – so hopefully this will give me a buttkick back into it.

I ride an average of about 3-5 times a week, dependent on how busy I am work-wise.

Cadbury World!

Last Saturday my cousin (from now on referred to as C-Bear) and I went to Cadbury World in Birmingham. It was magical in so many ways – we had a blast driving up, which took 2 ½ hours from where we live. C-Bear kindly drove so I actually managed to get loads of work done, too (which paid off as on Monday I taught my ‘best lesson yet’ on the CELTA course).

As soon as we arrived, we were greeted with the most wonderful, rich smell of chocolate. I don’t know what I was more excited about, getting free chocolate on our walk around, seeing how the magic happens or going to the shop afterwards. C-Bear had definitely sold the tour to me; she told me that, just before the end, you’re given a pot of melted chocolate with a choice of toppings. C-Bear accurately described it as ‘a pot of joy’, which it so was!

Pot of joy time

The first part of the tour documents the arrival of Cortez and the fall of the Aztecs, how chocolate came to England, and, of course, the conception of Cadbury’s. Did you know, in the time of the Aztecs, 10 cocoa beans could buy you a rabbit? The second part is focused on how the factory works, so you see the staff creating and packaging the different products. I admire them for being so focused with hundreds of people staring at them while they're working!

That's right, Cadbury's was originally a tea shop which also sold cocoa

We didn't have time to explore the 4-D experience, but we did wander round the museum on the town of Bournville. It was heart-warming to read about Mr Cadbury's concern for the people of Birmingham and how he improved welfare. I found it particularly interesting reading about how the staff contributed to the war effort, either by caring for injured soldiers, sending chocolate to the front, or actually fighting in France.

Visiting Cadbury World was probably one of my favourite days out this year. I'd recommend it for all ages because the tour is interactive, fun and informative. There's plenty to see but you can explore at your own pace.

Ticket prices and booking details can be found here. It is recommended that you book in advance to guarantee entry!

Lent is OVER!

Lent was sooo easy, I mean, I barely thought about chocolate or cheese at all. I think I could probably never eat it again. 

LIES.

Lent officially finished yesterday, although I will admit I started eating chocolate on Saturday 12th... it was a very stressful time and to be quite honest, I proved I can abstain. I did last the full 6 weeks with cheese, however. 

The first four weeks, I was surprised at how much I missed cheese over chocolate. However, for the last two weeks, I started to really crave chocolate - this was probably because of all the adverts for Easter eggs and Lindt bunnies. After Easter, I will cut my chocolate down again and generally eat less cheese. 

Maxx, Christelle (Maxx's mum) and I went Easter shopping today (we're in France), and I thought my brother would like this poisson instead of an egg:

Maxx bought me this:

Buuuuut funnily enough it doesn't look like that anymore. I am starting to feel a bit sick so I think I may lay off chocolate the rest of today...

In other news, I HAVE A JOB! IN PUBLISHING! I'm the new Publishing Assistant at Health Press Limited and start on 6th May. I was offered the role on Wednesday, which meant Maxx and I could start our break in a celebratory mood. 

Happy Easter - Joyeuses Pâques - everyone!