Blog Everyday in May Challenge: Favourite Quote

#4: favourite quote (from a person, book, etc) and why you love it

I'm going to be honest, I've found this one a little bit difficult! I'm not sure if it's because my big fat pregnant self preferred to alternate between napping and 'nesting' in the flat today, or because it genuinely is hard to pick just one original quote, but in any case, I wasn't too inspired. So I hopped to the one place where you're kind of guaranteed to find something inspiring - Pinterest - and I found this little gem:

Anyone who knows me will have an idea why I've picked this, I'm all about keeping your eyes forward so to speak and moving on if that's what needs to be done (most of the time, anyway). I'm not a big believer in dwelling on the past and wishing things had turned out different (not that I do actually wish things had turned out differently for me, I think I'm pretty darn lucky with how my life has turned out so far). That's not to say that I haven't gone through some pretty glum times and wondered if I'd made the right decisions or if I could have done something differently, but you can't change anything, so there's no point going over it in your head again and again. If you keep looking back, you can't move forward, and anything or anyone that's behind you and not in your life anymore are probably there for a very good reason! I'm not sure if I believe in fate but I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and you just kind of have to trust that there's something bigger and better just waiting for you in the future!

Blog Everyday in May Challenge: Things That Make You Uncomfortable

 

First of all, what a positive response to my last post! Thank you for all the comments. Maybe I should start doing more fitness related posts in the future?

#3: things that make you uncomfortable

1. Spiders that disappear as soon as your head's turned
2. When other couples argue in front of you. Awkward!
3. That silence when you share a lift with strangers
4. The TV volume being on an odd number
5. Using a public toilet straight after somebody else. All I can think of is GERMS haha!

Blog Everyday in May Challenge: Top Five Health & Fitness Tips

#2: educate us on something you know a lot about or are good at

Without a doubt what people come to me for advice about more than anything else is fitness and how to flatten their stomach/tone their tush/etc. I'd be here all day though if I were to write everything I know, so I've decided to give my top five easy tips for incorporating health and fitness into your life:

(Source) 

1. When going up stairs, take two at a time for a tighter bum and thighs.

2. Walk as many journeys as possible.

3. Incorporate fruit or veg into every meal. Personally I add fruit to my breakfast, a salad with whatever I'm having for lunch and veg with my dinner.

4. Do squats or lunges whilst watching TV.

5. Keep well hydrated; thirst is very often mistook for hunger. Have a drink first then see how you feel after half an hour.

Blog Everyday in May Challenge: 250 Words

I thought this would be a pretty fun challenge to do, if you would like to take part too, hop over to Story of my Life

#1: the story of your life in 250 words or less

I was born and raised in Sunderland living with my parents, younger brother and countless pets over the years! Growing up I was always very active, dancing from the age of three and eventually going to dance college and moving to London after school. After an injury I was recommended to go to pilates, and my instructor was a teacher at a college in Newcastle for fitness instructing. This sounded like fun so I got my qualifications and went on to university to get a degree in exercise development too. Over the years I've bounced between dancing, fitness instructing and beauty consulting jobs which were all flexible, fun and pretty well paid ways of working. I dated and had boyfriends but was never that bothered about getting married and having kids (possibly due to the fact there was a chance that chemotherapy killed my chances of ever having any). I loved my work and going out all the time and travelling. It's always the way, but when I met Craig I really wasn't looking for anything serious. In fact I was seeing somebody else at the time. It got to the point where I had to choose who I was going to be with and once lucky Craig finally managed to get me all to himself (ha!), everything changed, we got engaged very quickly and moved in and got pregnant within a year of getting together. Now I'm looking forward to having our little boy in the next few weeks, getting married and eventually getting back to work and making the £££'s!

10 Best Budget Buys

You don't always have to spend a fortune to get good quality, I've found plenty of products that work great and don't cost a lot. Here are my favourites:

1. Botanics 100% Organic Rosewater Toning Spritz

On offer for £3.49 at Boots

I use this everyday, it's a lovely rosewater toner and regularly on offer in store.

2. Dove Go Fresh Nourishing Body Wash

£2.35 at Superdrug

Freshly scented moisturising shower cream perfect in the morning shower!

3. Lipsy Lipgloss

A set of these lipglosses cost £10 on the Lipsy website. I have loads of them, one for every bag, the car, etc. They're very sheer and you don't need a mirror to apply them so I have them everywhere ready to go for when I'm in a hurry (which is always!).

4. Max Factor Xperience Foundation

This comes in at £9.99 at Boots. I really don't like heavy foundations and this is one that I do like as it's lighter than most others I've tried, and the shade selection is very good. It also has an SPF10.

5. Maybelline Dream Mousse Eye Colour

This mousse eyeshadow has lasted me a while and is really easy to apply. Again, another product I count on for when I'm on the go, and it costs £6.19 from Boots.

6. Maybelline Forever Strong

A fab polish that costs less than a fiver. It is enriched with iron and calcium and gives a very shiny finish, I love it!

7. L'Occitane Cooling Hand Cream Gel with Organic Verbena Extract

This hand cream is £8 and one of my favourites. It smells beautiful and feels lovely during the summer because of the cooling gel texture.

8. Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Super Volume Mascara

I love this mascara, it's £10 from Boots and really does what it says on the box - makes your eyelashes really thick and curly.

9. Soap & Glory Heel Genius Foot Cream

Another S&G product, this time it's the heel genius cream which is a cream you pop on overnight with cotton socks. It costs £5.50.

10. V05 Smoothly Does It Frizz-Free Creme

I use this everytime I wash my hair and it works really well, making my hair softer and easier to style. It only costs £2.57 from Superdrug.

Monday Pinspiration

(Source)

 Can you think of a time in your life when you just settled, even though you knew you weren't 100% happy and should change the situation?

I'd take a good guess that most people have, I can think of a few examples for myself personally. Relationships I should have ended sooner and jobs I should have left years before I got the courage to do so to name a few!

Change is scary and it seems harder to do so the longer you stay in whichever situation you're in. Initially (in my experience), the change IS hard and it is scary, before it is replaced with the realisation that you are now free to choose a new path, which can be very exciting. Sometimes you can't imagine doing something else with your life, career or otherwise, until you're actually free and somewhat 'forced' to make a choice about what you're going to do next. Or, in the words of Joey, you won't change anything until you get 'The Fear'...

Don't settle because changing the situation seems like too much hard work or a hassle, because eventually, you're going to look back and really wish you had went through a short period of time where maybe you were sad, or scared, but then moved onto something better and enjoyed a better life as a result. I know everybody says this, but life really is short and unfortunately Craig and I witnessing this harsh reminder now and in the months to come. Maybe that's why I chose this quote today? You never know when your time is up, and unfortunately it could be sooner than you think. It's a depressing thought and even more depressing to watch it happen in the family, but what it is also certainly teaching us both is that you need to make the most of every day and I don't think anybody wants to look back on their life and regret something that they could have changed, but didn't.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of your life and have the ability and want to change it, why not start today?

I'm Alive!

It's been about a month since I last posted, I didn't actually realise it was that long ago until today. So I thought I should do a quick post to let everyone who is subscribed that I am in fact still alive! I've just been away finishing off university, and now that's done, I can spend a lot more time on my little slice of the 'net :)

You may notice the new layout which I got from Shabby Blogs (click on the icon on the top left to visit the site yourself), and starting Monday I will be resuming with regular posting. Stay tuned ;)