A pinch and a punch...

Well it's not actually the first of the month, but somehow, and I don't quite now when this happened, but September crept up on us as if from nowhere!

While I can still class the past week as "summer", I spent it by:

Supporting: Team GB in the paralympics - after being glued to most of the Olympics throughout July (and boring friends and family by producing a copy of Bodyfit every time I watched an athlete I'd had the pleasure of interviewing) I am now curing my POD (Post Olympics Depression) with the next instalment of sporting events. It was emotional viewing to watch Ellie Simmonds smash a world record and take gold in the 400m swimming, and inspirational to watch the men's 4x100 relay in the pool. I definitely won't be making any more excuses the next time it comes to exercise!

  
Watching: The Expendables 2 (reluctantly)! I can't say I was exactly looking forward to seeing a group of middle-aged men nearing retirement pretend to play "action men" for a couple of hours, in the most self indulgent film I've seen in some time - but, due to my low expectations of the movie, it turned out to be far more watchable than I'd anticipated! This was mainly down to the presence of Liam Hemsworth, which was a treat for the eyes, until he got brutally killed off half way through and I had to focus on the semi-funny one-liners and the fact that Sly, Arnie and Jean-Claude have all had more cosmetic surgery than Jackie Stallone!

To regain some femininity, I decided to watch The Vow - probably a mistake to do so when hormonal and home alone! A tale of true love that, despite the odds, comes back around for a second chance at happiness. But, the most heart breaking part of this true-life story is that Paige never regains her memory of their time together, while Leo has to live with the fact that he has already been married to his wife, has loved her and been loved by her - but he carries these memories alone.

Cooking: My sister and I decided to cook our parents a special meal to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. While dancing around the kitchen to Luther Vandross and taking to our cooking stations, we whipped up a storm, creating a feast of bruschetta, chicken and spinach risotto, and profiteroles to finish! I think we were both surprised with how well it actually turned out, and I think it was fair to say that the clean plates spoke for themselves!

Who Runs The World...Girls!

http://iam.beyonce.com/

This week I'm...

Reading: The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes. It's about a journalist who is in love with a married man, who secretly believes they will end up happily ever after. Meanwhile, she uncovers a love letter at work, from over 50 years ago and discovers the story of a lady who has been involved in a car accident and has no recollection of her life prior to the crash.

Learning: To drive (again!). After four years of putting it off, I've finally got behind the wheel again. It's actually much like riding a bike, you never really forget how to do it (just occasionally forget to look in my mirrors!). Hopefully it will be fourth time lucky for me!

Falling: Head over heels - not for a gorgeous stranger, but right onto my face! Grazing my legs, arms and breaking my elbow! Which, as we all know, is not my first time! Clearly a liability when it comes to putting one foot in front of the other, so driving and other fun summer activities are on hold, while I enjoy spending my free time at the fracture clinic instead!

What Katy Did...: Nike Training Club Live

 Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending Nike Training Club Live - where I tried out a couple of fitness classes, spoke to a nutritionist and enjoyed a relaxing massage - plus there was a live performance by Katy B! Read all about it on her blog: What Katy Did...: Nike Training Club Live: So I'm performing for a crowd of 2000 strong women tomorrow at Nike Training Club Live at Old Billingsgate market, Woop Woop! Gonna be sick...

Viva Forever...

When I think of the 90s, apart from sportswear and sovereign rings being in fashion, there are two words that spring to mind - girl power! Most girls who grew up in that era will have at some point (whether they admit it or not) been in a Spice Girl tribute band, and I was no exception. Of course, I was always Vicky B - I had the point and pout perfected!

And, with the very exciting news of Spice Girls the musical hitting the stage at the end of the year, a flurry of 20-something-year-olds are secretly digging out their Buffalo boots (I had a turquoise and grey pair) and playing Wannabe on their iPods! What's more, there's also talk of Spice Girls the movie gracing the big screen as well! No, not the awful 1997 car crash of a film, but a brand spanking new block buster to spice up your life! In a recent interview the girls were asked who they'd like to play them in the movie, with Geri replying that Cameron Diaz would be her first choice, while Posh Spice was as modest as usual, claiming that Angelina Jolie would be the ideal pick to perfect the pout!

So, over dinner we played the age old classic "who would play you in the movie of your life" game! Of course, Laura wanted an Olsen sister to play her, mum got given Rachel Weisz and my poor dad got lumbered with Tom Cruise! I was fairly happy with my first choice of Emily Blunt, before my mum added that she thought I had a touch of J-Lo in me, too - while Laura chimed in, "that'd be your ass then!" Cheers sis!

And, while I wait with anticipation to get the call that Emily or Jennifer are planning to play me in my life story, I will, instead, settle for seeing Viva Forever at the West End this winter.

This Week I'm...

Reading: Room by Emma Donoghue - I'm branching out from my traditional chick-lit favourites and have started reading the remarkable and somewhat dark story of five-year-old Jack. He has never known anything outside of his room, and along with his Ma, you learn about how he views the world.

Making: Healthier meals in order to shape up for summer! I've been whipping up roasted veg and quinoa salads, along with tasty fresh fruit pots and herbal teas. Together with my weekly Zumba sessions, I should be beach body ready in no time!

 Trying: To move outside of my comfort zone and challenge myself a little more. So, in a bid to boost my confidence, my friend Fae and I headed down to the Quay Theatre in Sudbury Suffolk and joined a play reading club. Ordinarily, the thought of reading out loud to room full of strangers would usually fill me with dread! But, once we got into the swing of things I started to enjoy myself. We might have been the youngest members there, but it was actually quite fun to enjoy some of George Bernard Shaw's finest work with like-minded individuals.

Celebrating: June and July are busy months on the birthday calendar - with three best friends, my mum and sister's birthdays all in the same week. So, it was off to London for a few days in the city with my good friend Charlotte to see in her 27th year. I should have been leading by example being six months older than her, but with an empty stomach and three bottles of wine later my memory of the celebrations had become a little fuzzy! This week I'll be looking forward to enjoying a tasty meal with the family and going all 1940s at the Blitz party!

http://www.jojomoyes.com/blog/

This week I was lucky enough to receive a few tweets from the author of my new favourite book - check out her blog at www.jojomoyes.com/blog/