thelifeofthefuneral

This is going to be an odd post, and a little rambling perhaps...I apologise in advance. On Friday 30th November I lost another friend this year.  Only this one had four legs, a cold nose and a wagging tail. Jimmy. August/September 2013 I met my wife 5 years ago.  We began dating and I soon came over for dinner and to meet my future mother-in-law.  I was a little apprehensive, knowing that I can be abrasive and uncultured at times, and walking up to the door I was presented by a sound that had set my heart racing for a long time.  The baying of hounds.  Big, deep barks.  I spent my younger years terrified of dogs, and uneasy around them as I got older.  At the opening of the door, I looked for two Great Danes or German Shepherds and was instead greeted by Jimmy and Manny.  Two full-size, wire-haired Dachshunds.  Their bark is that of a much larger dog, and I soon discovered their personality was far larger than their stature sugg...

Another Asian-inspired dish, this is healthy comfort food and great for your diet and soul!  One portion will come in around 650 calories, though the miso can be a little high in sodium so bear this in mind if you have heart problems and search out a low-salt alternative such as this This is a very easy dish to prep and can be cooked in one large flat-bottomed frying pan, minimising washing-up duties! Measures below will serve two. Ingredients: 2x Chicken Breast 200g Udon Noodles (Wet) 2x Spring Onion 100g Chestnut Mushrooms  100g Green Beans Miso Paste Yutaka Dried Miso Soup (Morrisons World Food Section) Sesame Oil Toasted Sesame Seeds Chilli Flakes Cornish Sea Salt Pepper Fish Sauce Light Soy Sauce Granulated Garlic Step 1: Prep Finely chop spring onion, slice the mushrooms around 1/4" thick and the green beans to about 1/2" thick. Toast the sesame seeds in small, dry frying pan and put them t...

About 3 weeks ago I started Yoga.   This was after toying with the idea for...about 7 years! I could never find a class near me, at a time that worked and I must admit, my own masculinity stopped me a lot of the time.  I saw it as girly.  Why do I need Yoga? Men bench press, that's all we need right? No.  There are a lot of types of strength and Yoga is its own category.  I have been lifting weights seriously for around 5 years - not that it shows! However my personal bests (so I can show off a little bit): 60kg EZ Curl  100kg Bench / 80kg Working Weight Body Weight Shoulder Press (Machine) 180kg Deadlift 300kg Leg Press That last one resulted in my nearest brush with passing out while lifting. So I thought I would attend a local Yoga class and breeze through.  Nope.  Not happening.  This is a different kind of strength, mostly in the mind.  Brute-force and a level of stupidity will get you far lifting weig...