My stomach muscles are sore today from the previous two days, so I switched focus to my other ‘problem’ area by giving my arms a solid workout with this video from yoga instructor Sadie Nardini. I’ve mentioned her a few times before and really enjoy her style. This is the first time I’ve done this video. She also has workouts for core and legs if you fancy having a look at those (I may end up linking to them next week, so if you’re patient, I’ll do the searching for you soon enough!).
This wasn’t a normal yoga routine, rather what Nardini calls yoga ‘crosstrain’, with the main difference being the moves were done a little faster than normal yoga. And I have a major announcement to make … drumroll … I’ve replaced my two chickpea tin cans (Shock! No way! “They’ve been with you from the start!” I hear you say!) with two 1.5 litre bottles of water. I’m half expecting them to explode over the top of the computer because I squeeze them so hard. Maybe they’re not the best workout equipment because they’re quite hard to hold, but I need to ‘up the weight’ to do some serious damage on the chub!
Overall, once again, this was a workout that did what I expected and taught me some new moves and stretches as well (the forward lunge on the knee with the foot turned out and leaning in was a great inner thigh and hamstring stretch). It runs for over 26 minutes, but the actual workout part is about 24 minutes long. As much as I enjoy doing the videos, I’m really looking forward to going for a run soon. Come back sunny weather, please? Soon? Have I caught the running bug? Could I become a runner? I do like the outdoors aspect of it, definitely. Only time will tell!
We had a great day today, with my first trip to a famous Swiss biscuit factory called Kambly. It took an hour to drive there and I was a bit surprised we couldn’t actually tour the factory – I was fully expecting to put on white coats, hair nets and plastic covers over our shoes so we could walk around the factory floor. Instead, we could only watch a video of the production process, a live macaroon maker and taste all their biscuits and buy them cheaper in the factory shop.
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- Yay, we made it to the Kambly factory!
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- The signs mean “factory shop”
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- This is what greets you when you walk in the front door. Biscuits as far as the eye can see!
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- What would you have chosen?
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- Savoury choices?
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- Sweet treats?
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- Rows and rows of options
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- Leo perusing the wares
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- Gift box selections
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- Each year they release a special edition tin designed by a famous artist
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- There was even one by Aussie Ken Done!
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- I liked this one
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- And this blue one had funky texture. The only one with a lid like that
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- We watched a video comparing the time it takes to hand make the biscuits …
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- … to how fast it can be done by machines. Sad, but a fact of business life
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- I just missed getting a better shot of this commuter train going past. It’s the Bern to Luzern line, and the carriage externals (and internals, I know) are covered in pictures of Kambly biscuits. Cute!
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- The lovely macaroon maker, still doing things by hand
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- Another angle of the shop
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- The coffee shop area, where they make and sell handmade chocolates too
After we sampled ourselves sick, we decided on a few packets for us and some as gifts. Yummy, buttery, chocolatey biscuity goodness. They are not part of the nutritionally fit plan for 2015, I know, but as mentioned before, I haven’t changed my diet too much yet. Baby steps, baby steps. For now, I’ll continue to enjoy those naughty treats that come around once in a while …
Oh alright, alright … I have to confess I’ve been naughty two days in a row. Leo brought home custard doughnuts/donuts yesterday as a treat for doing all that cleaning and it was impossible to say no! So next week I have to be better. Damn, did we really buy all those biscuits? Did I mention they were yummy, buttery, chocolatey, biscuity goodness?
At home, we watched a replay of the Brit Music Awards and, boy, I felt for Madonna. What a professional, to get up and keep singing – she must have been in so much pain! I’m not going to put a link to it. She’s been all over the news. Poor Madge. On second throughts, I will add a link, because this lovely, funny story from The Guardian puts it all into a bit of perspective. She didn’t fall, she was pulled!
Wishing you a wonderful rest of the weekend.
And here are the links to some articles I found interesting this past week:
Bea from zerowastehome shared what’s in her wardrobe with us … now she’s a minimalist. Could you be like Bea? I’m trying to wheedle my stack down and would love to carry it all in a carry-on!
Someone made an amazing underground greenhouse to grow food all year round. Brilliant.
An article about foods that make us smarter … what? No doughnuts/donuts?
Do you have an anger issue? Here are some tips from a radio interview discussing how to react differently to stop a potential heart attack.
The gymnastic flips this guy can do are just amazing. What a skill. How fitfor15in15 fit must he be?!
fitfor15in15 ... and further 