At This Point I'll Try Anything!

I have stuggled with the way I look for years. I can look in the mirror and tear my reflection apart with criticism for the way that my body looks. I find it really difficult to find clothes that I like, clothes that do my body favours. When I look at myself, I don't see the beautiful bits first - I have to work really hard to find them after I've dissected every little thing wrong with my reflection.

At uni, things got a little better. I joined the women's rugby team and started training for at least 8 hours a week. I wasn't even thinking about what I was eating because I was training so much. My diet was horrendous and I drank way too much - but I still managed to drop to 180lbs. I felt great, I was confident, my body actually looked good and I didn't hate buying clothes because I could find stuff that I liked and that fit my body properly.

Then I busted my knee! For nearly 2 years, I could barely walk, let alone run or tackle someone. I gained a whole bunch of weight and went back to hating what I saw in the mirror. I am still there.

Nearly 2 years after my op, I am still a long way from liking what I see. It has taken me a long time to get back to training well, my eating habits have been less than brilliant and quite frankly... some days I just haven't been bothered to try. There are days where I feel like all my efforts are pointless and that it won't work, whatever I try.

A friend of mine is a personal trainer and a really good guy. He did some sessions with me once I was signed off of physio after my operation. It was a really good way to get back into my fitness - having a coach there to push me. There were many times when I was on the verge of throwing up all over his gym but he kept me going. Then I left uni and moved home, got a new job and had to work out to fit working out into a new routine.

He recently recommended the C9 programme to me, it's a detox and cleanse, that is designed to give your metabolism a reboot. It goes hand in hand with the F1 and F2 programmes - which are designed to continue the work started by C9 and aid further weight loss.

It's a little pricey but I had some extra money lying around at the end of the month and as the title of this post suggests, I'm rather desperate. So I thought I'd give it a go. Today is day 1 of the 9 day programme and it's going well so far. The first two days are a total cleanse - there is very little food involved and a lot of shakes and water and supplements to drink. It's got me going to the loo more than is socially acceptable but I'm at home alone so I think that's okay. You can eat veg on the detox. They are called free foods so I'm munching on some spring onions this afternoon as I'm quite peckish!

I don't really know what to expect from this programme but I'm hoping to drop a bit of weight and give my body a chance to reboot and get back on track with weight loss!

Upping my exercise regime again too and will be changing my diet after the detox is finished to a low card, high protein diet to start putting on some muscle for my triathlon.

I know it's all about little steps at a time but I'm finding things very frustrating at the moment.

Watch this space for updates of how the next 9 days go!

M xx

Open Water Frolics - A Triathlon Diary

As my next triathlon draws ever closer, I am throwing myself back into training and mixing it up a little. This time, I am adding a lake swim to the schedule and Wednesday this week was the first swim at Shepperton Lake for me.

After feeling so uncomfortable during my first lake swim at Eton Dorney, I was feeling a little apprehensive about getting into open water again. The whole set up was fantastic with safety staff set up around the lake and a canoe on the water to keep an eye on everyone as well.

For a new swimmer, you have a one to one walk through of the facilities and then a swim check by one of the coaches to make sure that you are safe in the water. After my 'tour' where I was shown the different course, I went to get changed. The courses were mildly terrifying. Unlike the session at Eton Dorney where we just swam between two buoys up and down and then returned to shallow water, at Shepperton the loops are out into the lake and back. There is no shallow water once you set off - once you're committed you've got to keep going until the end (or hail that canoe to come and rescue you). So that was added to my list of concerns about the session.

With wetsuit on, swimming hat sorted and having been reassured that the water wasn't too cold by some other swimmers I went for my swim test. It was fairly low key, a lovely lady just watched me swim out to the first set of buoys and gave me a wave of approval. Sounds easy? Should be but the cold is something that I'm still getting used to. It takes a while for your body to adjust, and putting your face into the water just makes you want to inhale because of the cold. It steals your breathe - quite literally. So, I bobbed slowly out to the first buoys for the swim test, just doing lazy breaststroke. I was competent in the water and my 'spotter' was happy for me to continue but I was still trying to get my breathing under control and my body to get used to the temperature.

It didn't take as long as it did at Eton but it is still a very strange sensation, submerging yourself in murky water and not being able to control your breathing. Once I got into the rhythm of it, however, it felt brilliant! The water wasn't too cold, there weren't too many swimmers on the course and the sun was shining beautifully over the lake. It was idyllic, being in the water as the sun started to set, with the sound of the swimmers around me and birds in the surrounding trees.

Yes, I had the occasionally fleeting thought that there could be something gruesome lurking in the bottom of the lake. Occasionally, I realised that I was way out in deep water and if I got tired, there was no floor for me to take a break on, nor was there a wall for me to push off from at the end of a lane... and there were a few points where I had a mini panic at the seaweed that loomed out of the water at my face (I hate seaweed with a passion - it's slimy and smell and twines itself around your toes.... EURGH!!).

But on the whole, it was just a magical swim. I think I am truly converted to the lake! It was so peaceful, I got out of the water feeling so relaxed. Can't wait to go back next Wedensday. Will try and do two laps of the 400m course. Don't think I'm ready to attempt the 750m course yet.

M xx

#100happydays Day 43 to 49

Half way.... well pretty much! 

Day 43) Lovely tidy bedroom and new sheets on the bed! Hurray!

Day 44) I was sorting out my car and this little man appears on my drivers seat. Apparently Jasper is being my chauffeur from now on. 

Day 45) Mary Kay delivery arrived!! To read more on Mary Kay, click here. 

Day 46) HUGE PIZZA!!! Said goodbye to an amazing colleague on Thursday. She will be totally missed but it was a brilliant night out and a great way to send her off on her new journey. 

Day 47) TEA! Keeping me going during a really long babysitting session.

Day 48) Caught this little guy having a drink on Saturday morning. I love seeing my garden come to life in the spring.

Day 49) After a long triathlon training day at Eton Dorney, a puzzle in the bath was just what I needed. I was quite pleased with my genius creation of a puzzle board! 

Come back next week for more happy days! 

M xx

100 Happy Days Week 6 Days 36 - 42

Week 6 has come and gone so quickly! Can't quite believe that I am nearly half way through the 100 days project.

Day 36) Went to Greenwich Park with Year 5 for the day. We went to the Royal Observatory. It was excellent. Even I learned a heap of info about space. If anyone ever gets the chance to go - do! It was fantastic! 

Day 37) Tuesday was not a good day! At all! Everything went wrong and I was very happy to see my bed at the end of it. 

Day 38) FOOT TREATMENT! This cream is awesome. I have really horrid feet but since using this from The Body Shop they have really improved. 

Day 39) I took a very tired selfie on Thursday. I ended up in bed and asleep before 9pm. I was absolutely shattered! 

Day 40) Pizza and Ginger Beer! That about sums up my Friday evening... and why not! Little treat to myself after a very long week! 

Day 41) THIS BED! Oh wow - it was just the most comfortable thing ever. It puts my own bed to shame and I LOVE my bed. So yes, this was my happy day for Saturday.

Day 42) Me and Mum at the end of our triathlon. Both looking happy but tired after the best part of 2 hours out on the course. I was so pleased with how my first attempt at a triathlon went. I was bouncing for the rest of the day! If you'd like to read a review/walk through of my event, click here. 

This is almost a week late, so I'll be posting another weeks happy days in about 24 hours. 

Come back and see that too!

Check in soon

M xx

#100happydays Week 5 - Days 29 to 35

Another week come and gone! Can't believe we are in the 30s already! 

Day 29) Bank Holiday Monday. Loads of fun and photos taken at RHS Wisley Gardens. You can read my full days excitement and see more photos in my two blog posts from the day. Post 1. Post 2. 

Day 20) Finished the next book on my reading list! Onto The Hobbit now! Follow my progress on my BBC 100 Booklist blog post.

Day 31) More colouring! Lovely time chilling out.

Day 32) Spent the evening sorting out my room - didn't quite get to the end of the challenge but well on the way. Hopefully will find some time this week to finish it all off so that everything is back in it's proper place. 

Day 33) FRIDAY! Alcohol and movie. That is all!

Day 34) Had a really lovely catch up with Ella, a friend from my 6th Form. Always great to have a good chin wag and then had a social dance with Belinda and Mr. R. So much fun, so much dancing... so much water in wine glasses! 

Day 35) FANTASTIC DAY! First of all I went to car boot sale - my first and one of many! Check in with my blog later this week for a write up of my first awesome experience of the car boot phenomenon. Then it was off to London to see my lovely Lizzie, a dear friend from uni. We had the hugest pizzas for small-ish prices and ice cream made with liquid nitrogen and chinchin labs in Camben town. Check out there website here for there address and more details on what they do. Their ice cream is incredible. We ate it whilst watching a narrow boat called 'Muttley' and another boat go up a lock. It was all very chilled out and I feel like Lizzie and I have put the worlds to right a little bit during our afternoon of catching up. 

So there we go! Another 7 happy days! Only 65 to go until the challenge is done for another year!

Check in soon
M xx

A Sunday Spent A-Romping!

One thing I love about Bank Holiday weekends is how my parents always try and spend the day with me and my sister. We spend a lot of time together anyway, but we make a special effort over the weekend to try and spend some quality time as a family. Today we all went for a walk along the Basingstoke Canal with our gorgeous puppy dog, Jasper. (He's nearly 5 but we still call him a puppy because he is so damn cute!)

Introducing Jasper! Our Springer Spaniel cross Labrador pup. Ain't he adorable! 

Jasper likes cuddles, food and very weirdly, he likes peoples ears. If you are sitting down and bend to tie your shoes, he will try and nibble your ears off - undoubtedly. 

Yes, he is licking my face. He was just resting his head on the back of the seat but when I went to take the picture he went for me! Lovely slobber! He's a sweetie but he does like to try and eat everything he possibly can.

This is my sister! Getting her to smile for a photo is tough so these are rare shots of her beautiful, happy face! We were having a giggle today. Since coming back from uni it's been really great to getting to spend more time together and see more of this brilliant smile! 

Here are Sian and Jasper, ready to set off on our walk. The sun came out, it was lovely and warm and we are ready to go a-wandering. The walk was all along the canal so there was lots of prettiness to look at. Plus, some of the houses along the canal are totally massive! It's a really affluent area and they all have fields for gardens, out houses, verandas etc. As we were walking, we saw and old guy and, I assume, his son building a jetty at the end of their garden into the canal! Colour me jealous. 

No filter - the sky was actually this blue today!

A little way into our walk we came across a little family of ducklings! They were so tiny, they could only have been weeks old. I love their little fluffy bodies and how they constantly cheap to their mothers. It's just so sweet!! 

 My lovely family! Being out in the sunshine was great! Lots of giggling happened as well as just general chit chat that we don't always get time for when we are all going about our busy weeks. I really value the time that I get to spend catching up and just spending time with my family. I consider myself very blessed to be part of such a loving, funny, supportive bunch of loons!

Here is one of the mansions I mentioned earlier! This house was beautiful! When we walked past this house Sian decided that this is where she is going to live. 'That's it.' She said 'That's my house.' It was stunning, it had a swing hanging from an old tree over the river. It would be amazing in the summer to just swing into the canal from it! 

As a family, we've been on 2 narrow boat holidays. It's such a lovely way to relax and as you literally can't go more than 4 miles an hour on the water, you are forced to chill out and watch the world glide by. Whenever I see a narrow boat now I get all nostalgic for a holiday on the water. There is something so peaceful about waking up to the sunrise, moored up on a river with the sound of the birds and the lapping water against the boat. 

One man and his dog! My daddy and his favourite child - Jasper. These two are not easily separated! They are very much 'best buds', Jasper gets all jittery if he thinks Dad isn't coming back which is really funny. I think, as a family, we have raised the most neurotic dog on the planet.

We stopped at the pub for a drink and the toilets had this sign in them. Sian and I thought that it was great! Not necessarily true but it made us giggle none the less. 

After the pub the walk moves away from the river and goes through a load of farm land and rolling hills. There are lots of cute little styles and hidden footpaths among woodland. Felt a little bit like I was discovering the Secret Garden. Now there is a film I really want to see again! Such a beautiful movie.

Don't know what it was about these 'footpath' signs but they were so sweet! I think it's because they actually look like little fingers pointing you in the right direction! So sweet. 

All round a lovely walk, a lovely day with my lovely family!

Check in soon

M xx 

Relaxation At It's Best!

This week I was away with my school. A group of 7 staff took 79 8 and 9 year olds away for 3 days to an outdoor activities centre. It was brilliant. The kids had a blast, there were so many activities for them to do, including lazar quest, aeroball (basketball on a trampoline), nightline (a blindfolded obstacle course) and a zip wire! I got to join in too which was wicked. But it's safe to say that we were all exhausted by the end of it. There was home sickness, freezing cold evenings, carb loading.... the food was lovely but it was fairly beige all round...... and I managed to get a sun tan whilst on my travels in Kent - bonus.

With two very early mornings due to excited children I didn't get much sleep at all and was SO looking forward to getting into my bath and then bed when I got home on Wednesday. We rocked back up to school for pick up at about 2:30pm and I then had to get through 2 and 1/2 hours of after school club before Mum came to pick me up. It was a struggle and there were points where I felt like I might just fall asleep whilst looking after the children but I managed.

When I got home it was food time, defrosted lasagne is so good! No cooking required - just a microwave. Nice and quick and then I jumped in the bath.

Now, I became a bath lover at university during my third year. We had a massive bath and I took full advantage of it during dissertation. It is a love that has continued to grow since then. In my opinion, the perfect bath consists of a few vital things and some which you are able to mix and match at your leisure.

Here is my approach to the perfect relaxation in the bath:

1) Bubble Bath

There is no need to buy the fanciest possible bubble bath to be able to relax. I buy whatever I can get cheap. The Mrs Frosty above was a gift from one of my Rainbows but it works a treat. The only reason I bought Imperial Leather is that Sainsbury's were selling it for £1 a bottle!! As long as it bubbles and it smells good, it'll do the job! 

If you're feeling really plush, or you just want a proper treat you could always go all out and have a bath bomb! Something I have done many a time! Got to love a Lush bath bomb!

What a beautiful sight!!

2) Background Ambiance

This can be a number of things depending on what sort mood you are in. Sometimes I'll stick on a musical soundtrack and have a good sing a long in the bath, other times - if I'm really tired and just want to zone out - I'll stick on some instrumental stuff that soothes me and takes on a little day dreamy journey. 

My all time favourite bath soundtrack is the soundtrack from the film The Holiday. It is just perfect for shutting the world out in your bubbly haven. 

3) Entertainment

Again, this can take different forms depending on what you are wanting to get out of your bath experience. There are times when I am far too tired to even contemplate reading in the bath so I just put a movie or a TV show on. Netflix is a God send in the bath. Recently, however, I have been going through a My Family phase. For those of you who don't know. My Family is a British Comedy Sitcom that follows the Harper family and their crazy antics. It's excellent 'easy' viewing for when you don't have a lot of brain power left.

However, when you haven't just got back from a week with 80 screaming children, you may want to indulge in some reading - something I am very fond of. There is no book too frivolous or too heavy for a bath session. I read whatever I fancy... all sorts. Anything to escape out of normal life to an alternate reality.

4) Beverage

Not a necessity but sometimes it is lovely to have something to sip whilst you relax. Sometimes I go for a soothing hot chocolate but more often than not.... it's wine that wins out. At uni especially, wine in the bath after a library session was the way forward for me!

5) Candles  

Again, these are not vital to your bath experience but if you really want to take some time out of life. Run your bath, get your music going and turn the lights out. Light some tea lights and just switch your mind off in the comfortable glow as you soak beneath the bubbles..... or let a bath bomb fizz around your toes.

My bath consisted of bubbles, My Family and a Mary Kay Satin Lips treatment as the week had destroyed my lips. I do love a bath!!

Why not give it a try? Run yourself a bath this weekend and indulge in some relaxation time all to yourself! 

Enjoy!

Check in soon 

M xx

Week 3 of #100happydays - 21 days down!

Another week done of my #100happydays challenge. Here are days 15 to 21. 

Day 15) My week started out with a very chilled evening in front of the movie 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' which was brilliant... and my new colouring book. I'm getting a little addicted to it - lots of fun.

 

Day 16) I had a really tough start to the week at school this week and I got this message from a friend just at the right moment. It was great to get into my car and have this waiting for me at the end of a really tough day. 

Day 17) More colouring. I took advantage of the sunshine and sat out in the garden with a colleague having a good catch up and working on my colour schemes. Was a really lovely afternoon - so glad the summer is on it's way so that I can do more of this!

Day 18) MORE COLOURING! WAHOO! *please hide pens.... I am doing nothing but colour and blog and then colour again....*

Day 19) Friday! Phew! It was a long week and I rewarded myself with a nerdy movie, which I LOVE and.... you guessed it. Colouring!! Love how it is coming together - not much left to do now before it will look properly finished. 

Day 20) Took a break from the colouring over the weekend to attend a Quiz Night. They had fish and chips for everyone half way through the quiz. The Dancing Queens (our team) didn't do too badly. 63 and a 1/2 out of 75. Very pleased with that score. 

Day 21) Great afternoon chilling with my Godfather and his family. He introduced me to the crazy film that is Flash Gordon and we relived my childhood by playing Frustration! Also played Wii games and had a good natter. Gotta love hanging with the extended God family! Always a brilliant laugh.

So there is my third happy week over and done with.

I hope you are all still smiling and finding things to be happy about in your day to day lives!

Check in soon

M xx