Hiiiiii. Awhile ago I posted that getting myself back into health and fitness, and finding my head again, had inspired me to get back into doing Personal Training. Well, I’ve had a few friends being “guinea pigs” on a regular basis, and it only served to confirm that I love this industry and it really IS what I want to do.
On that note, 2 weeks ago, I was incredibly lucky to win a MASSIVE prize package through Network NZ, worth $4200!!!! HUUUUUGE!!!
So the first thing I did was have a goal setting session with AJ from The AJ Pipe, and we had a lengthy chat about my goals, what I want to get out of all this, which business I want to put this into etc. It was a hefty chat!! But a very helpful one, and I hung up knowing what I want to do, and that is throw this whole package into MisFit and really get it cranking, as I haven’t got a logo or anything yet.
So that’s where Helen from One Bite came in. She asked me some questions about what I like, don’t like, what I want it to show, etc, and after some undecidedness on my part, this is our final product. Do you like it? I love it!!
Next up is Website Design, an especially worded “about me” type post, some product photos and SO much else!! I will tell you about each one as I get through them.
Back soon!!
p.s soon this blog and my misfit blog will become one, over on my new website, but that’s a whole other story again. Will keep you posted!!
These were freakin amazing. I have to give credit to Ananoth for the recipe, however when I went to get the ingredients, Pak n Save didn’t have Ananoth Lemon Curd, so I went with Barkers Lemon Curd. Still amazing and made me want to bake scones with fresh cream.
Barkers Lemon Curd.
Wanna know how to make it? Yeah? It’s super easy.
1.5 cups of raw natural cashew nuts
1 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup lemon curd
zest of one lemon
more dessicated coconut, for rolling
Blitz the coconut and cashews in the food processor. Move to a bowl and add the lemon curd and mix well. If it’s too wet, add more coconut, but mine was fine.
Roll into balls. Mine made about 20. They are quite sweet, so the balls don’t need to be too big.
Mix lemon zest and extra coconut together, then roll balls in the mix. Move to the fridge to harden.
Go check out this post over there and be in to win a Kambrook Blitz2GO!! *****
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This walk damn near killed me. But she had a great time, and I was so proud I actually did this.
This post isn’t about losing weight after having a baby. It’s about getting moving again, getting some sanity time and getting some fitness back in your life. But guess what? Fitting in exercise when you’re a mum can be fricken hard.
I had a baby that didn’t like to sleep during the day, unless he was in the bouncy chair or the pram. In the bouncy chair, he would sleep for a couple hours, while I played Xbox (Fable, usually, if you were interested.), my foot absent mindedly bouncing his chair.
When he was 6 months old, I decided going for a walk, (so he would sleep in the pram) was a much more productive idea, and so I went all in and entered to walk a Half Marathon. At that point I could barely walk 2km, a Half Marathon is 21km. I had 5 months to do it in!!! Yeah, I had a lot of work to do.
I’ve always hated this photo. I thought I looked so bloated. But guess what? I had countless layers on, and I walked a half marathon. So who really cares what I looked like?
It worked well. He slept, and I got some exercise in the fresh air. I built it up slowly, usually adding on about a kilometer each week. I was very fortunate to have a hubby who understood where I was at with lack of sleep and being stressed out, and never flipped out over a messy house or anything, he knew happy mama and baby was more important. So I was lucky.
But then baby #2 came along. Totally different story. Ok, so she actually slept more during the day, but just having 2 kids? SO much harder. No way was I getting out for any kind of exercise any time soon. Constant feeds through the night, a toddler with regular night terrors, toilet training accidents, sick kids etc. ZOM-BIE.
Looking back, I wish I had tried harder to push through the tiredness and make it work. I have proven to myself this last year that forcing myself out the door, and just doing SOMETHING, makes such a huge difference to how I feel in myself.
So how do you make it happen?
For a start: JUST MOVE.
That’s it. Just move. Even if it just getting the gardening done. The vacuming, doing some exercises in the kitchen. Walking to the dairy to get milk instead of driving. Little stuff all adds up to more than sitting on the couch does. Might sound lame, but guess what? It’s true.
Build it up over time, and you might just get to the point where you start to feel better, maybe even enjoy it, and WANT to exercise! (YES!! It CAN happen!!)
I asked some of the ladies in a Support Group that I run on Facebook, how do they fit in exercise around kids? Most of these ladies are mamas, some with babies, some with school aged kids. Here are some of their suggestions, and some of my own.
Get up before the rest of the household and go for a walk before you start your day.
(I admit, this is not one of my suggestions. Totally not a morning person, but it was a popular solution, it seems to be how a lot of mamas get it done)
Pram it like I did. It won’t work for everyone, but if you are ok with one of baby’s sleeps being in a pram, this can actually work for everyone.
Be one of the lucky ones with a partner/hubby who will take over for awhile while you escape to have some mama time.
Does your bubba/kid have a sleep still? There are some awesome short but fairly intense work outs online that you can do at home, with very little gear and in a short amount of time. (Think 30 minutes. It’s still 30 minutes more than you were doing before.) Flick me a message if you want some ideas. Home workouts are awesome, I’ve done a few lately for ladies that have no equipment but want a good workout they can do at home. It CAN be done!
Mummy Group Fitness Classes!! Most of these have child care available, some for free, some for a small additional charge. An awesome way to connect with other Mums, where they all get that you may have to stop to feed your little monkey part way through, or change a nappy before you even get through the warm up.
Another suggestion was to just make time!! You will show yourself as a positive role model to your kids if you are making sure exercise is an important part of your routine.
Have you tried some of the Dance Classes that are out there? I found a free one, here in Tauranga, there are lots around that are very cheap or free. Have you tried Zumba? So much fun! Best part for me was that they were at night, so I finish Mummy Duty and head out the door.
Get the kids involved in what you are doing!!! I like this idea the most. For babies – there are loads of exercises that you can do that actually use baby as the weight!! For older kids, get them copying you, get them out for a walk WITH you, so that they can see what you are doing, and why you are doing it and teach them good habits along the way.
I hope this has given you some ideas. Just do something you enjoy and it won’t feel like work at all. Hate walking? Then do something else. Just get out there, move your body and have some fun. You might even start to look forward to it!
If you are already an active mama, how do you fit it in? What exercise do you enjoy?
Feel free to send me a message over on Facebook if you need any advice or ideas.
Since we moved into a much bigger property just over a year ago, I have been learning as much as I can about getting to the point where the majority of our fruit and vegetables are grown here.
Never a shortage of plums here in January/February!
When we moved in, there was already plums, grapes, oranges, mandarins, tangelo, apple and lemon. So we had a pretty good head start on fruit trees!
Since then, I have also planted a peach tree (not yet fruiting, maybe next year), and passionfruit, as well as a herb garden, and a few tomatoes, beans, courgette, potatoes, kumara, chillies, strawberries and rhubarb. We also have chickens now, so fresh eggs are always around.
The actual vege garden hasn’t even been planted yet!! This is all planted around the place in whatever gaps I can find. Eventually I want to plant out the whole front yard that we never use, into a kind of Food Forest. It has to have berries. Lots of berries!
I reckon I could easily fill this in… berries, pumpkin, Fejoa, more berries..
I’ve learnt heaps in this time, but there is still so much more to learn, and I am trying to keep it as natural as possible, so far extra feed/help has been chicken shit and worm wee/castings. That’s all. No sprays. I did do one round of snail pellets, but I hate thinking of the poor hedgehogs if they came to visit, or if the chooks got out and had a feast, so haven’t done it again, and don’t intend to.
The kids are loving it, too. Miss4 loves to come help in the garden and steal goodies to eat before she even gets inside. She even got her own gardening set for her birthday last month!! Mr6, well, he would rather play Xbox, but we encourage him to come out and help pick the fruit and vegies. Getting him to try them all is another thing.
So yeah. I’m loving this, and plan to keep expanding how much of our own produce we grow, so nice knowing exactly where it came from, and that I can look at it and say “I grew that.” It’s good “me” time, but it’s also great “family” time, getting outside in the dirt and all learning about where our food came from, and how to make it, and ourselves even healthier.
I’m doin’ it. I’m getting out there and walking, usually every second day, sometimes 2 days in a row. I know if I jump in there and go too hard, all my injuries will just flare up, or I will go straight back to being run down and not doing anything. So slowly does it.
And you know what? I’m feeling SO much better for it.
Over 8 days up to yesterday, I had been up The Mount 2x (previously not doing since early last year), 3x 5km walks from home that are quite hilly, and also one VERY. SLOW walk with the kids, almost 8km, they took their scooters, and most of the terrain wasn’t suitable for scooters, much less kids who aren’t used to riding them!! So we carried the scooters for most of the way.
It was a long walk. But the kids had fun, and we wore them out, so mission accomplished!
I’ve done a little running in my walks, not much, and it’s super slow, but right now, I just need to get my fitness and strength up, so running can wait. I tend to go straight into Shin Splint Land when I run, so no point, I’m keeping up the slow and steady progress, so I’m happy.
Both times I’ve gone up The Mount lately it’s been so foggy!! Next time I will have a better picture to show you!
Yesterday I went up The Mount, and I was pretty proud about it, I got out of my car at the bottom and told myself “Nope. Too hot. You’re not fit enough. You won’t make it, why bother?”
But I did it. And I made it. And you know what I said to the “Bottom of The Mount me?”
Yep. That’s what. Take that and suck it, doubting self.
I hate scales. So much so that I have been trying to avoid them. I’ve gone UP from 1 January to Friday last week, despite upping my physical activity – more walks, adding some running, lots of incidental exercise like gardening, moving storage boxes around, stacking firewood, etc.
Weigh in day tomorrow, and I am still deciding if I want to weigh in or leave it for another week. It really does your head in.
So I measured myself instead this morning. And I was SO. MUCH. HAPPIER. Scales tell lies.
I’m well aware that strength training can increase your weight, if not temporarily, but I have done more cardio work than strength, so had hoped it wouldn’t be the case.
So. 3 week measurements are as follows:
Part 07/01/2016 28/01/2016
Bust 114cm 110cm
Waist 101cm 96cm
Belly Button 115cm 110cm
Butt 122cm 123cm
Upper Thigh 71cm 69cm
Upper Arm 36cm 35cm
For 3 weeks, and not going as hard as I had planned, I am absolutely stoked with this, and I have really stepped up the exercise this last week, and it is going well. The weight training will be back on track from this week, also, as we are re sorting the gym area so it is all tidy after a holiday bombsite.
This really isn’t my attempt at sexy face. Kinda looks like it’s trying to be…
So it’s the time for making changes in our lives. I’m not really much for New Years Resolutions, I don’t often stick to them, and I figure, if you want something badly enough, why do you wait for 1 January to get out there and get it?
So last years attempts at weight loss weren’t great. HOWEVER. I ended up so fricken sick for a big fat chunk of it, that exercise didn’t happen as often as I would have liked, I got in a few good distances, I started losing the kgs, then it all went pear shaped, and food went to crap, as well.
So you know what I did? Did I give up and decide I was destined to be miserable and unhealthy forever?
No.
I spent a lot more time working on myself. Learning how to be nicer to myself. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t fun. But I kept beating myself up, and that bitch in your head can be NASTY. Especially when you are sick, miserable, can’t do anything without needing a sleep. And the weight comes back on, and you just want to give up.
So I focused on that. Learning to not call myself names, to just relax a little and try to not stress the little stuff. The Hubbs and kids don’t need that in their lives, and they are at an age now where they will remember Mummy being a grumpy bitch and not playing with them. So I have to fix myself.
I decided that was more important than losing weight. The weight will come (go?), but what’s the point if I still hate (Ok, really really dislike myself. Hate may be a little harsh) myself?
So. I have spent a lot of time on my internal dialogue. And it’s worked. I’m not stressing so much, nor am I freaking out when I have a bad meal. I still get grumpy too quickly, especially when my sweet, cute, snuggly almost 4 year old gets in one of her… moods. But I’m working on it.
So that’s 2015 finished. I think I will call it a success. This years goal, while I automatically want to say “lose 30kg”, I’m going with “pick strength training back up, finally. Get my body stronger and fitter. The weight loss will happen, but I need to focus on strength, and working on pain management a bit more, which I am certain losing some fat, and gaining some muscle, is going to go a long way to helping.
My other goal is to start working with others, helping them to work on their fitness goals as well. I have the qualifications sitting there, gathering dust. Why not use them and help people while I’m on my own journey?
Went to the beach with my Mama and the kids, got lots of sunshine ( a little TOO much, will Slip Slop Slap better next time!)
Caught up with a couple of friends I haven’t seen in ages and had a good gossip.
And tonight, the kids went straight to bed with no fuss, I hung out washing, did the dishes and went downstairs, and guess what I did?
Gym area still needs tidying up, obviously!
A weights workout. Yep. First one in years. My gear is finally all set up properly, for the first time since being pregnant with our first (been about 7 years, probably longer, if I’m honest).
Just picked up this beast with some Christmas present money
Guess what?
It was awesome. My weights are super light (as in, no weights on the bars), while I get my strength and technique back. It’s been a long time, and I am SUPER prone to injury, especially in my shoulders, and my lower back has so much pain I can’t lie on the bench without cringing. So it’s very light while things come right.
But it felt great. Even as my body was going “WHAT THE FU** ARE YOU DOING????” It still felt good.
A couple of the presents my kids gave me for Christmas. Possibly with a little help from their Daddy.
So here’s to going out of 2015 with a bang, and hitting 2016 with loads of enthusiasm and happiness 🙂
Part of my journey to finding myself again is getting myself out of my frumpy-mummy rut that I have been in for God knows how long.
My make up largely consists of stuff that I bought on our Honeymoon…. Which was almost 9 years ago. So yeah. I’m not much for make up. I love it, but since becoming a Mama, a stay at home one, at that, I never could justify spending money on it.
My friend Sarah has recently started selling Nutrimetics, (Don’t worry, she’s not at all the pushy MLM type, if she was I wouldn’t have bought from her!!) I remember buying from a Nutrimetics lady up in Auckland, years and years ago, and that the products were pretty good, so decided I would give it a go.
My budget is tight. Really tight. But I’ve had a pretty good couple of months with my little business I run making tutus and accessories, so I decided to treat myself. After having a play, I decided my main priorities were a foundation or tinted moisturiser, and I loved having a Bronzer way way back, and you can never turn down a decent lip care product, so in that went as well.
It arrived today. So excited. As soon as I had a chance, it was on with the makeup.
**Disclaimer** I am SHIT at applying make up. Comes from lack of practice I guess, but yeah. If you see any application flaws, don’t be surprised!!
The BB Creme is really easy to apply. Use a sponge (or in my case, a foundation brush from years ago!) You hardly need any at all, it goes a really long way.
Post BB creme, a slick of shiny gloss and some mascara.
I have loads of tan lines on my face. Too many times wearing sun glasses and no sunscreen *smacks hand*. That’s another point, the BB Creme is SPF 15. I wore my little trial sachet the other day when I was in the sun the whole day. Rest of my body got fried **smacks hand again** but my face was completely fine. So it MUST work!!!
Then on goes the Bronzer. When I was trying these products out, I realised my fair skin only needs the top half of the powder, but I can always use the darker half on my chest, arms, legs etc, so that was a bonus.
LOOK!! I even tried smiling in these ones. Smiling in a selfie feels so dumb. I’m not a selfie master at all, normally I hide behind my kids, pull a moronic face, or have face paint or at least Sun Glasses on!!
I have to say, after having the BB Creme and Bronzer on all afternoon, I haven’t been itchy at all, often makeup makes me want to scratch my face off, but not this time! I’m sold.
Oh, great. That’s so much more attractive.Official before and after. Different background, however same “beauty” filter on both pictures.
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