Panama Hatty's

So, last night was new restaurant 3 of 10 and we went to Panama Hatty's. It's up near the top of King Street (posh, you know!!) and not where I thought I was going at all. In my head I was going somewhere just off St Annes Square - good job Dan knows what we're doing! The place I was thinking of looks nice though so I'll have to find out what it's called and add it to the list of places to try.

Anyway, back to Panama Hatty's - even before I'd eaten anything I loved the place. It was just gorgeous! It was dark though so the pictures aren't the best.

For our starter we shared the Panama Super Sampler. We got potato skins, onion rings, chicken, ribs, onion rings, tortilla chips, corn on the cob with barbecue sauce, sour cream and salsa. Yum!!! As soon as this arrived I knew it was going to be good and couldn't wait to get started.

My main course was Andaman Sea Bass - cooked in paper with chilli, lemongrass, lime, ginger, garlic and oyster sauce. It came with noodles and veg stir fry. Best piece of fish I've had in a long time, probably ever! It just kind of melted in my mouth, I loved it.

I didn't really need a pudding but I wasn't going to let that stop me! I only ever really eat a meal to get to the pudding. I couldn't decide between the toffee rocky mountain or the Hatty's Lemon Cheat - luckily neither could Dan so we decided to get both and share them. They were both huge concoctions of meringue, ice cream, cream and syrupy sauce type stuff. Very sickly but still scrummy.

So there you have it - three new restaurants, three restaurant wins! I'm liking this challenge, wonder where I can go next? :-)

A Plea

Ok, I admit it - when I first started writing this blog it was only because Dan had one and I don't like to be left out of anything. I didn't think anyone would actually read it! So when I set having 20 followers as a challenge I never thought I would ever get there. I'm amazed with how well I'm doing with this one really - I've got 8 followers already. If you're one of those eight, thank you!

In the last couple of weeks I've realised that far more than those eight actually read this though. I've had comments from people I've seen, on facebook and in letters from people I never realised had ever been here. If thats you can I ask you to please, please become a follower. It's pretty hassle free for you - you just need to click the blue button (I think it says something like Join this Site) and job done! It would mean a lot though and help me on my way to completing another challenge - I can't do this one without your help.

I'm off work this week so I'm hoping I can crack on with a few challenges. Me and Dan are off for a meal tonight. We're going to Panama Hatty's in town. Never been there before so it's another one towards the ten. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!

On Thursday I'm off to York to complete another challenge - meeting up with a penpal. I can't wait. I love York and I think me and Clair will get along great. She seems determined to find me some Dave's while we there too, so maybe I'll make progress with that challenge. I really need to!!!

Other than that it will just be a nice chilling week at home - dig the family tree cross stitch out, do some reading, maybe make a start on learning to knit and get back to practising my typing. Gonna try and get loads of swimming in too - I really need to get some kind of proper raining plan together. My week is starting to sound a lot less chilled - still sounds like fun though. Right, I'm off to decide what to wear tonight.

No pancakes, no pop

So, did you all enjoy your pancakes yesterday? I was very jealous as everybody seemed to be mentioning them and I wasn't having any. I'd like to say it's because i'm being super healthy but I'd be lying. It's more to do with the fact that Dan wrote off the frying pan a few weeks back and I've not got around to replacing it yet.

Pancakes yesterday (at least for most of you!) means that Lent starts today. I always try o give something up so this year decided to combine my no Diet Coke for 30 days challenge with giving it up for Lent. I know it doesn't sound that difficult but I swear the stuff is addictive. Those of you who know me well will know I'm always clutching a can or bottle of it. It felt very strange not popping in the shop on my way to work this morning for a can.

By about 7.30am this morning I was suffering Diet Coke withdrawel. Getting really supportive comments from the husband such as "the first few days will be like Trainspotting" and "I can offer you methadone in the form of Panda pops". He can mock but I will do it!!! Already wondering what I'm going to drink when I'm out for a meal on Monday though.

In other news, I'm still doing well with the letter writing challenge. I've got 13 to reply to but they've all arrived since the weekend so I'm more or less up to date. Getting through the books for the reading challenge - I'm finally reading The Lovely Bones and know I will end up bawling. Next week I'm off to York for the day to meet up with a lovely penpal. That'll be another challenge ticked off and she seems to have made it her personal mission to help me find Daves so look out for more of them!

I Can Do This

I love swimming. So when I first heard of the Great Manchester Swim it sounded like a good idea. Enough of a challenge while doing something I enjoy and a great opportunity to raise some money for charity. Now I've actually entered it I'm less convinced it's a good idea. It just sounds scary now. One mile in open water round Salford docks - what was I thinking?!?

I'm determined to do it though. It'll be a good achievement and hopefully I'll be able to raise quite a bit of money for my charity. If you read my blog often you'll know that World Vision is a charity I support. I sponsor a child through them and have been so impressed with everything they do. Sponsoring Princess has been such a rewarding experience so now it's time for me to give something back. While child sponsorship is a big part of what World Vision do, they do so much more.



"World Vision works to make a serious and sustainable impact on poverty and its causes, especially as they affect children. We are committed to long-term change, which means connecting people. Whether it’s enabling people in developing communities to support each other, or linking donors to those in need through child sponsorship, or creating networks to campaign for justice, we believe that getting people connected is the best way to make a difference.

That’s one reason why we put so much emphasis on advocacy. While individual programmes can mitigate the effects of poverty, it’s only by speaking up for and with those who are marginalised that we can influence the policies of governments and international bodies and so address the underlying causes of poverty."

 

They can't do all this fantastic work with no money which is why I want to get involved and do some fundraising for them. So back to the swimming, as I said it seemed like a good idea at the time. I keep saying I can swim a mile no problem. And yeah, I can in a nice heated pool with a natural gap for a little rest every 25 metres. I'm guessing it's not going to be quite the same in the ship canal though. For a start it's gonna be cold. I was over there the other week and it looked cold, wild and choppy. My swim is in July so I'm hoping it will be warmer but let's face it we're in Manchester so I'm not holding out too much hope for hot! The other thing that only dawned on me last week was that I won't be able to touch the floor - that means I've got to do the whole mile non-stop!

 

I went to the swimming baths this morning to get some training in. After working out I wouldn't be able to stop on the day I decided to forget about distance and speed and just concentrate on stamina, swimming as far as I could without stopping. I didn't manage a mile but I was pretty impressed with my little self. I swam 46 lengths in 25 (ish) minutes. I make that 0.7 miles - not bad for a first attempt. Still work to be done but if I get myself a decent training plan and stick to it, I reckon I'll be ok. Terrified but ok!

Salford Watersports Centre also do open water swimming training sessions a few times a week so I'm going to try and get down to a few of those after work. They're not on yet as it's too cold so I'll have to try a few of those.

Anyway I've wittered long enough - basically all I'm trying to say is yes, it's gonna be tough but I AM going to do this. If you want to support me and support the fantastic work of World Vision then please visit my sponsorship page at www.virginmoneygiving.com/janetyarwood or click on the link on the right. Thank you :-)