One of the concepts of my 12 week coaching session was that we need to be able to imagine the changes we wish to happen in our lives. We wrote down what we wanted to change, such as how much weight we wanted to lose during the 12 weeks, what fitness goals we wanted to implement and what we wanted to shift in our lives in order to realise these goals. Visualising our imagined reality into actuality.

See it.

Feel it.

Be it.

This weekend I realised that I am succeeding in this vision and my life shift is completely within my grasp. I wanted to lose about 25 lbs or 10 kgs (they are both nice round figures which do not equate so do not get all mathy on me, my goals were sorta general). I have lost over 25lbs.

I wanted to be able to walk up and down the road in front of our house by the end of our 12 weeks. It is an almost vertical climb and neither my lungs nor my legs could cope. If Norman persuaded me to walk with him and the dogs we would drive to the top of the hill and start from there. Last week I made it up that hill without stopping!! Norm took Finn and I took Panda and I managed to reach the top and come back down. Do not be disillusioned in any way that it was effortless as it nearly bloody killed me, but I DID IT. This achievement was possible because I did the squat challenge (more of a crouch challenge but still, we must do things within the limits of our own body’s abilities, as long as we do them). The daily swimming was also instrumental in building the strength in my hips and legs.

Now I have to maintain that momentum and continue that growth on my own without anyone pushing me or expecting me to report back on my progress. It is also too cold to swim so it is not as easy to exercise. Wish me luck!

I mentioned in my last blog that Norm and I were not overly impressed with our 1st foray into the Restaurant Week Specials. However my second visit knocked any feelings of disappointment right out of the park.

Wes and Caitlin picked me up on Saturday at noon for our 1pm booking at a relatively new spot called ‘Chapter One‘.

The owners are Chefs Eloise Martin & Jason Labuschagne. Jason popped out to chat to us which adds that personal touch and is such an important part of the experience and engages the diners. Each course following the amuse bouche had 2 or 3 choices.

In comparison to COPA, the previous night’s venue, the décor in Chapter One is very simple. And this mentality is reflected in their dishes, keep it simple. The flavours were complex but there was nothing on the plate that did not need to be present.

First we were given our complimentary cocktail. I cannot remember exactly what was in it but I think it had sprite and elderflower. It was slightly sweet yet light and lovely. I loved the bubbles.

Next we were served our amuse bouche which was a crispy little bite of calamari on a bed of chopped cabbage with a charred something or other dribbled around it. I should have taken notes.

All 3 of us chose the prawn tacos for our starters. In addition to the menu description I remember that the server told us that the taco shells had squid ink to give them their colour. This dish was divine! I wanted to lick my plate. Plump, perfectly cooked prawns nestled in light, crispy little shells.

Wes and I both chose the beef short rib with sweet potatoes and a gorgeous rich red wine jus. The beef was so tender and the sweet potatoes were creamy inside but had a nice crispy outside. When Chef came to chat we compared our methods of preparing sweet potatoes. When I make fondant sweet potatoes I parboil them whole in their skins, remove the skins, slice and then fry in butter. The sugars are held under the skin of the sweet potato and I want to reduce my sugar intake. The Chef told me he bakes his in tin foil, then lets them cool, then cuts up and throws them into the deep fryer. I wonder could I do them in the air fryer?

Caitlin had the vegetarian dish, a ‘Veg Roulade’ and she enjoyed it. She rated it 4 Kitten Stars.⭐⭐⭐⭐

For dessert Caitlin and I both chose the Eat & Mess, a twist on the old school Eton Mess except this version contained chocolate, blueberries and honeycomb. It was topped with some thin sheets of meringue which looked like Styrofoam but tasted delicious. I am a honeycomb freak and really liked this dish but would have preferred a bit more honeycomb. I do not usually like blueberries but this dish needed the sharp sweetness to balance out the rich chocolate. I give it 5 Kitten Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wes had the ‘Pinna Colada Panna Cotta’. These are his favorite flavours and he seemed to really enjoy this as he gave it 4.5 Kitten Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨.

Overall the kids gave the meal 4 Stars but I would definitely give them a solid 4.5 edging onto a 5. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

On Sunday I had a goal of walking off some of those calories and Norm and I were up and out early to drive to Alphen Trail. We walked about 4 or 5 kms and it was a lovely day. Finn was very well behaved and stayed with us even when off lead. He made some pals and raced about like lunatics with them and he was cautious of a few dogs who were giving off aggressive energy that only he could read. We let him interact with whoever he wants and avoid whoever he wants.

Norm and I have been watching a few short series which are adapted from Philippa Gregory’s novels of the same names. We were not aware that there were multiple series based on these novels and we just launched into “The White Princess” first. This series tells the story of Elizabeth of York, the White Queen’s daughter, and her marriage to the Lancaster victor, Henry VII. Elizabeth is played by the beautiful and talented Jodie Comer whose work I always enjoy.

Next we started watching “The White Queen.” You gain more understanding of the relationships between the various characters after watching this one so I suggest you watch them in the correct sequence. “The Spanish Princess” is the next series.

As it is a 4 day weekend starting tomorrow and I have a few things planned I am going to publish this post and let the long weekend have it’s own set of adventures in a separate post.

Tomorrow we have friends coming around for drinks, then on Saturday I am going to lunch with Caitlin and Wes for round 3 of our forays out for Restaurant Week. We are going to Pilcrow & Cleaver for a 4 course tasting menu. We are having a family zoom call this weekend with my Mom. Norm and I will get out one of the days for a hike but we will be restricted in regards to travel on Sunday as the Cape Town Marathon is running through our village and we will not be able to leave home until it is over. That is a lot of activity for a hermit like me!

Enjoy your long weekend and I hope you enjoy this post.

Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxoxox