Getting back into exercise weights

Getting back into exercise

by with No Comment PersonalUncategorized

It’s time.

I’ve been putting it off for too long, but I feel like I can’t keep ignoring it any more.

It’s time to start exercising again!

Before I had my children I was a regular at the LC2 here in Swansea, doing several classes a week and working out on my own in their lovely gym.  I really enjoyed it too.  I liked the social aspect of meeting up with my friends and taking a class together.  We used to do a hip hop dance class that was great fun!

I think I also loved the feel-good factor, all those endorphins whizzing round my body post-workout, because I also used to exercise at home.

I had quite the collection of fitness dvds, along with a few games for the wii, which I would work out to in the living room of our flat (our downstairs neighbour must’ve love me!).

But then, I fell pregnant.  And it all just sort of stopped.

I carried on exercising a little bit to start with, but then just trailed off.  And then the mayhem of having a newborn hit and it all went completely out the window.

Over the last 5 years I have done some exercise here and there.  Every so often I’ll break out one of my old dvds but I haven’t built up any kind of routine, or stuck with it for any length of time.

But now, I think it’s time.

I’ve had a fitbit for almost a year now and that’s been a huge motivator for me, making me aware on a daily basis how much (or how little!) I’m actually moving about, and I have lost a little bit of weight just through making an effort to walk more every day.  But I think it’s time to step things up a bit, and add in some other exercise to try and shift the last of my baby weight and tone up a little bit.

As luck would have it, at about the time I started thinking about all this, I had an email from Hey Workout asking if I’d like to check out their online fitness classes.  Perfect timing!

With Hey Workout you pay a monthly fee (which is far less than I used to pay for my gym membership) and then you can access live workouts and a large selection of pre-recorded workouts.

The live workouts are fab if they work with your schedule, because you can share your webcam with the instructor (if you want to) and get feedback from them on your technique, which is really useful if you’re quite new to the moves and aren’t sure if you’re getting it quite right.

If you can’t make it to a live class then the recorded ones are a fab alternative and there are quite a few to chose from so you won’t get bored at all!

I’ve only done one class so far, a lower body workout, but I really enjoyed it.  The instructor was great, really encouraging and she explained the workout well, and even though it was only a 30 minute class I REALLY felt it the next day.

Now I just need to take a look at my calendar and see when I can fit in a couple of classes each week, and I have a bit of research to do for a few posts that I think will help me get back into the habit of exercising and blast through any excuses I might come up with if I’m a bit lacking in motivation some weeks!

I’ll be posting an update part way through my 3 month challenge, and again at the end, so if you’re interested in seeing how I get on and my thoughts on what Hey Workout have to offer then  please do come back and find out!

If you’d like to give Hey Workout a try for yourself then you can get a free 14 day trial by clicking here, or by clicking on the photo above.  What have you got to lose?!
Disclosure – I have been given a free trial in exchange for an honest review.  All words and opinions are my own.
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My turn, my turn

by with 12 Comments PhotographyUncategorized
I try my best to take a headshot of my children at some point every day, so I have a little record of how they’re changing over the weeks, months and years.  And despite my best intentions to take the photos during the day, I inevitably forget and end up taking them at bedtime.

One night recently both children were really quite tired, so I was trying to just get their photos done quickly so we could get on with stories.  Nerys was being awkward though, and not wanting to look at the camera for me.  So I asked Rhys to come over to do his instead, which obviously made Nerys change her mind and want hers done.

So this is her, jumping in front of her brother to get her photo taken first.

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I think this is a sign of things to come between these two!

 

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brummymummyof2
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Living arrows – 22/52

by with 14 Comments PersonalPhotographyUncategorized
At the weekend I took my two for a trip to Swansea’s community farm, to meet up with a friend and her son and to have a good wander round and see what had changed since our first visit there a few months ago.

Well, it was fab!  Spring has definitely sprung on the farm and the kids loved running round seeing all the animals, although they weren’t too sure about the chickens being on the loose!

We saw the sheep and the pigs and all the ducks, and at Rhys’ request popped in to the cafe for a bit of chocolate and a drink.

Then we had another wander round, and peered through the fences at the animals.  Nerys has turned into a bit of a climber lately so I have to really keep an eye on her!  She’s quite fearless, which on the one hand is great, but on the other hand is just slightly unnerving for me!

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These two photos really capture who she is at the moment to me.

A fun-loving little girl; half shy, half barmy.  A blond-haired, blue-eyed, pink-loving girl happily climbing up fences and sliding down muddy slopes.

I’m really looking forward to seeing who she grows up to be.

 

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Living Arrows
True friendship isn't about being inseparable quote

True friendship

by with 8 Comments QuotesUncategorized

I’ve known my best friend for nearly 16 years now, which just makes me feel really old!

We met in our first year at University, lived in a shared house together in our third year and then rented a house together just the two of us for a year after we graduated.

She has been a huge part of my life, for almost half my life.

But we’ve spent about half of our friendship apart, after she selfishly decided to move away and leave me!

What’s wonderful though, is that our friendship is still going strong, despite the distance between us.  And when we do get together it’s as if we saw each other just the day before.

This quote really sums it all up for me:

“True friendship isn’t about being inseparable, it’s about being separated and nothing changes”

True friendship isn't about being inseparable quote

Do I wish things were different, and that she still lived just round the corner?  Oh my word yes.

But I think our friendship was built on such a great foundation of shared experiences, laughter, tears and shots of Archers that no distance can really come between us!  She knows me so well, and has seen me through so much in my life, there’s no changing that kind of history.

Besides, what’s that other quote?  We’ll always be friends … you know too much! 

Cuddle Fairy
6 little things that have made me happy

6 little things that have made me happy lately

by with 14 Comments Uncategorized
Do you ever have those times when nothing really big has happened, but you just feel happy?  That’s how I’ve been lately.

I’ve always believed that it’s the little things in life that really add up and bring us joy and happiness, and that definitely seems to be the case for me at the moment.

So I wanted to make a note of those little things, to celebrate those seemingly small moments that have made life so joyful for me recently:

6 little things that have made me happy 

1) Getting my half of a ‘best friend’ necklace in the post.

My best friend lives a fair way away from me, which doesn’t make me happy at all.  But the other day she sent presents for my children, along with my half of a wonderfully cheesy ‘best friend’ necklace that I bought her for Christmas, and it makes me smile so much to see it.

2) Seeing Rhys learning.

Rhys has been taking swimming lessons since the start of the year, and last week marked a bit of a milestone – the first lesson he had with no armbands on!  I was so proud of him, watching him so fearlessly jumping in the water with no safety net to keep him afloat.

He also asked this week if we could do some maths questions, so I wrote out some sums for him to do and was, honestly, quite amazed when he whizzed through them.  His brain works differently from mine I think, and I’m loving watching him learn and trying to work out the best way to work with him to help him learn!

3) Adding to my mug collection.

This really is a little thing, but it honestly has made me happy!  I love coffee, and tea, and love finding nice mugs to use every day for my fix.  So when I spotted the ‘stop and smell the roses’ camping mug in home bargains I had to treat myself!  And then the next day I won the raffle at playgroup and so came home with a lovely pink spotty mug too!

It was a good week, mug-wise!

4) The parking Gods working in my favour.

I’ve slowly become more confident in my driving over the last year and a half of having to do the school run every day, but I’m still not a fan of parking.  I find driving to new places stressful partly because I worry about how easy it’ll be to park when I get there.  So I was a bit nervous when I had to drive to our local sorting office recently, because I know there is really limited parking there.

On the drive there though, I sent out a prayer to the parking Gods, for a nice simple drive-in parking space, and would you believe it, I arrived just as someone was pulling out of the space I wanted!  Perfect!

5) Watching Nerys open a parcel and finding toys just for her.

We’re a bit late to the game, but we’ve recently discovered Frozen, and Nerys absolutely loves it.  So Steve found some Anna and Elsa dolls on Amazon and bought them for her.

Her face when she opened them was brilliant, she was so excited!  And then she very seriously told me that they weren’t for me, they were special for Nerys.  She’s quite possessive with them now!

6) Rediscovering red wine.

I know, I know, this is such a ‘mummy-blogger’ cliche.  But I’ve recently rediscovered my taste for a glass of red wine in the evenings!  I’ve not really drunk for, well, years now, because I don’t like the idea of being tipsy when I might need to take care of my children in the night, and I can’t stand the thought of being hungover and having to take care of them the next day!  But when my parents came to visit recently they brought a nice bottle of Côtes du Rhône with them, and I really enjoyed it, just a small glass in the evening while catching up on some emails and watching Game of Thrones.  So now, red wine is back on my shopping list, well it’s good for you isn’t it?!

There have been various other little moments recently that have really made me smile, I don’t know if it’s the change in seasons but there is definitely happiness in the air!

What little things have made you happy recently?

 

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Reflections From Me
You Baby Me Mummy
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Living arrows – 21/52

by with 2 Comments PhotographyUncategorized
After a wet and windy day on Saturday, Sunday came along with blue skies and sunshine, but Rhys was absolutely adamant that he didn’t want to go out anywhere.  I think this term at school is wearing him out a bit, so he just wanted some quiet time at home, which I can completely sympathise with !

So after lunch Steve took Nerys out for a blast of fresh air and a run on the beach, and Rhys and I stayed home.  We sat together in the kitchen and I drank coffee while he made angry birds figures out of playdough.

After a few minutes I had to run and get my camera because he was sat in this gorgeous natural light and his blue eyes were just sparkling.

I got a few photos of him deep in concentration, getting the details just right on his angry birds, then he started performing for the camera a tad, and I got this one.  Perfect!

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“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”

 

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Living Arrows
You see them as you remember them quote

The power of photographs

by with 4 Comments PersonalPhotographyQuotesUncategorized
Most weeks here on my blog I write a post based around a quote that I’ve read and loved, because I’m a sucker for good quote and I love joining in with Becky’s Candid Cuddles linky over on her blog, Cuddle Fairy.

After writing recently about how important I think it is to take photos of our loved ones, even if we feel a bit uncomfortable or anxious about ‘putting people out’ by getting them in front of the camera, I wanted to share a photography related quote this week, and after a good google search I came across this one that felt spot on to me:

“A photograph never grows old. You and I change, people change all through the months and years but a photograph always remains the same. How nice to look at a photograph of mother or father taken many years ago. You see them as you remember them. But as people live on, they change completely. That is why I think a photograph can be kind”
– Albert Einstein

You see them as you remember them quote 

It’s strange because, obviously, I have memories of my parents from my childhood, but I feel that I’ve gotten to know them in a new way since I’ve become a parent myself.

And I think that in years to come, the way they are now will be how I remember them.

Which is why I’m so intent on taking photos of them together whenever I see them.  I want to capture them as they are now.  I want those concrete images (to go along with the potentially unreliable ones I have in my mind) of the people they are today.

My parents, happy, in love, relaxed, together.

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Yes, in years to come it will be really quite nice to look at these photos of my parents, and see them as I remember them.

 

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Cuddle Fairy