My Top 10 Chinese Takeaway

• Chicken fried rice with curried sauce
• Chicken chow mein
• Prawn Crackers
• Aromatic Crispy Duck
• Chicken Curry
• Beef with Black Bean Sauce
• Sweet and sour chicken cantonese style
• Lemon Chicken
• Hong Kong Style Crispy Beef
• Sweet and sour Chicken Balls

Word of the Week - Sequestration

Sequestration

• removal or separation; banishment or exile.

• a withdrawal into seclusion; retirement.

• segregation from others; isolation: sequestration of jurors during a trial.

• Law. the sequestering of property. confiscation or seizure.

• Chemistry. the combining of metallic ions with a suitable reagent into a stable, soluble complex in order to prevent the ions from combining with a substance with which they would otherwise have formed an insoluble precipitate, from causing interference in a particular reaction, or from acting as undesirable catalysts.

• the trapping of a chemical in the atmosphere or environment and its isolation in a natural or artificial storage area: Carbon sequestration can reduce global warming

• the process of implementing an automatic cut in government spending across most departments, agencies, etc.: efforts to avoid or delay sequestration.an instance of this: An $80 billion sequestration would lead to massive layoffs.

definition derived from dictionary.com

My Travels in Barcelona

This year,  I decided to book my other half a romantic break. After perusing the reviews and travel sites, I decided on Barcelona. Now, whilst it is possible to be romantic - its a beautiful city, its so much more than that. We stayed on La Ramblas, next to the Gothic quarter, and it was amazing, in your face and totally authentic.

We were more towards the middle of La Ramblas, so just a couple of minutes walk from the monument and the harbour.

Of course no trip to Barcelona could be complete without the obligatory visit to the Nou Camp stadium or Camp Nou as the Spanish actually call it. When in Spain... 

Then there is the Gaudi masterpiece, that is still being worked on, Sagrada Familiar - started in 1882. Crikey! How breathtaking though. 

Our hotel being on La Ramblas, we tried some of the local Tapas - very nice. The actual area though is mega busy and bustling - exciting and a bit intimidating all at the same time. 

The port is beautiful and catching it at sunset is a must. Some of the yachts further around are out of this world - how the other half live. 

For our final night, as we had watched the sunset, we opted for pink mojitos. 

We loved this city break - but its not for the faint hearted. Its one of those places that you remember forever. One off the bucket list for sure! 

My Travel Wishlist

I want to go:

• The Caribbean
• Italy
• Cuba
• Med Cruise
• Iceland
• Denmark
• Bruge
• Switzerland
• Australia
• Hong Kong
• Thailand
• Peru
• Brazil
• Florida
• New England
• Chicago
• Washington
• Goa
• Norway
• Cape Verde

Places I want to go with the other half

My other half is not as well travelled as am I, but there are places I have already been, and a lot I haven't been, that I want to go with him.

I have decided to come up with a list of the places I want to enjoy with my soul mate. Here goes:

• Bath 
• York
• New York
• Las Vegas
• Chicago
• Banff, Canada
• South Island, New Zealand
• Southport
• South of France
• Venice
• South Africa
• Cape Verde
• Italian Riviera
• San Francisco
• Budapest

Its all about the numbers:

• I am Size 14

• I want to be Size 12

• 6 days since Barcelona

• 41 days to Fuerteventura

• 30 pounds to lose

• 187 sleeps until Christmas

• 415 abs per day

• 105 squats per day

• 29 pro points per day

The best food and drink for a BBQ

Summer has landed, so with than in mind, I thought I would come up with my top choices for entertaining BBQ style this weekend:

• Chicken Satay
• Beef Burger
• Pork Sausages
• Corn on the Cob
• Jerk Chicken
• Spicy Lamb Koftas
• Vegetable skewers
• Piri Piri Chicken
• Mini meatballs
• Chicken Tikka Steaks
• BBQ naan breads
• Raclette cheese grills (any cheese)
• Fried onions
• Fried mushrooms
• Lots of sauces - BBQ, tomato, brown, chilli, mayo, mustard
• Dips and crisps
• Loads of baps - you can always freeze them! 

So, onto the drink:

• Pimms o'clock (orange, cucumber, lemonade, strawberries)
• Vodka mango juice
• Long Island Iced Tea
• Chilled bottled beer - Sol or Corona ideally
• Chilled white wine
• Chilled rose wine
• Room temp red wine
• Whisky or bourbon on the rocks
• Lots of ice required
• Gin and tonic
• Baileys and ice
• Mojito (lots of mint) 
• Tequila
• Malibu
• Lots of mixers - tonic, diet coke, lemonade, fruit juices

Add music, light the BBQ and off you go. Enjoy :)