Off the radar

Hello!

 It's been a little while since I've written, I have no excuse, I'm just lazy, my apologies! I hope you all had a lovely festive season and 2015 is off to a good start, just thought I'd write a (not so) little post updating you on what I've been up to if you're all interested...with the aid of pictures to break the monotony!

 So on Christmas Day unfortunately I had to work so missed out on seeing my gorgeous nephews by the time I finished, but luckily I got to spend lots of time with Leila on her first Christmas, she had an amazing day, and also for the first time ever I got to change her nappy, which is the first time I've EVER changed a nappy, I feel very grown up now! New Year's Eve consisted of cooking a cottage pie, drinking White Russians, playing Cards Afainst Humanity and laughing a lot, see bottom left pic ^^ it was fabulous to stay home and see the ball drop with my favourites. New Year's Day saw us very hungover but again I got to spend time with Leila and it was a lovely day...sadly the hangover led to lots of pizza, cue bottom right pic!

New year saw me buy two more books in the New Rules of Lifting series, I've started NROL for abs and IT HURTS, but it hurts so good! I also got to try eggs benedict for the first time at a local cafe in Hartlepool called Pappa Caffs and it was unreal. I may have mentioned before that my best friend lives in London, so I was buzzing to bag myself tickets to see her in march at £16 each way, I can't wait! Bottom left pic is my make up stash, I was disgusted at how much crap I have as I reach for the same products all the time...a huge cull followed and I feel so relieved for it, until I went and bought 3 new red lipsticks, oops!

The top left pic is a print I framed for john for Christmas, we're both massive Harry Potter geeks and I also think the quote is quite meaningful. My eldest nephew Isaac turned two last week, time has flown! Bottom left is his not so little brother Ezra, chunky monkey! John and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary and he surprised me with Foo Fighters tickets, so excited!

 For our anniversary we went to Paris for a few days, it was the week after the terrorist attack however we still had a lovely time and there was a very peaceful and content atmosphere.

 Sadly on our return from Paris my beloved guinea pig Homer had a stroke and also some fits, he was going into respitory failure and I had to have him put to sleep, needless to say I'm heartbroken and quite frankly traumatised as I've never had to have a pet euthanised before, it was the best thing for him but it doesn't make it much easier and he's missed very much already.

 I've been trying to be good as my birthday is approaching, but because of losing Homer and other stressors that I won't go into, I've been craving comfort food which has led me making an effort to find healthy alternatives rather than deprive myself. I discovered chocolate Greek froyo in asda which is nothing short of unreal, I made peanut butter cups rather than buying Reeses versions, and who can resist a smile when there's boiled eggs like this on the go? I collect egg cups as I love dippy eggs and I want my own cafe with a chicken coop out the back (one day).

 As I said, it's my birthday coming up, I've taken some time off work and I have a weekend of fun planned next week, these are my outfit choices, I love both! Excuse my tired hair/face, insomnia is back with a vengeance lately.

 I've rambled on enough now I think, I'll save my birthday stuff for another post, hopefully it won't take a month again!

 If you're still reading, thank you!

 Speak soon :) 

To thread or not to thread?

Hello!

 I'm considering getting my eyebrows and maybe my upper lip threaded but I am TERRIFIED! Can anyone offer any advice?

 My eyebrows grow in really slow and are fair especially on the outsides and I'm really not happy with the shape but as they come in so slow there's not much to play with and I really don't want skinny brows. 

 As for my tash, I've heard it's the most painful part of the face to get threaded, like having a zip closed on your lip, not very appealing! And also do you get spotty afterwards? I've had this issue with waxing my tash.

 I went with my friend when she got her eyebrows threaded and managed to get a good look at how they do it, it looked sore but it was over so quick and they looked so clean and groomed afterwards.

 This is me yesterday when I was having a good brow day, I'd used 17 'brows that!' Rather than my beloved hd brows palette, I love both but filling them in is such a chore so I might get them tinted too.

 Has anyone got any threading pearls of wisdom they can share with me?

What's on your Christmas list?

Hello all!

 I've been wracking my brains trying to think of a post lately, as it's now December (cringe!) I thought I'd make things festive.

 I'm one of those girls that's always on the want, especially when I have no money I seem to want everything I can't have, but when people ask what I want for Christmas I really struggle to choose, typical woman or what eh?! 

 So I've decided to be ruthless and just get what I really want and couldn't normally afford for myself. Me and my lovely manfriend went shopping at the weekend and took advantage of the Black Friday sales (since when did we do American Black Friday in the uk?), and after a tight budget the last couple years we've decided to blow it and he's thoroughly spoilt me and got me a coffee machine for the coffee snob in me (I used to be a barista for esquires), and an iPad mini as my laptop is on the blink

I'm super excited for these and hopefully the combination of the two will make me more organised!

 I also went shopping with my mam to middlesbrough and we had a really productive day. As well as a new diary and calendar, I got some size 12 topshop skinny jeans which I am over the moon with as they have always been a long term goal of mine on my fitness journey, and we all know how ridiculously small their fitting is! I got this gorgeous top to get me through festive outings to the pub, some new perfume that I'm obsessed with, and a green floral shirt from River Island, this is another little win for me as I never suited green when I was overweight!

 I'm getting some other bits and bobs such as Benefit They're Real eyeliner, a new scarf and some euros as I'm off to Paris in January. I usually get some surprises but I think I've been quite spoiled already so I won't be upset if I don't get any. 

 My mother in law is getting me river island vouchers as I've seen this coat which is £90, I just can't justify it but I'm hoping I can get it in the sale as it'll be gorgeous for keeping wrapped up in Paris!

 So that's me sorted! For other people I plan on being thoughtful but not going overboard, cue lots of baking, temple spa and inside jokes for my loved ones!

 And what the hell do you buy for the man who has everything please?!

What's your phobia?

Hi all!

 I had a bit of an incident last night which brought on the idea for this post. Here's the lowdown: I have a massive MASSIVE needle phobia!

 I get called a hypocrite as I have 9 tattoos and 10 piercings, but it's different. I had my tonsils out when I was 15 and that's when it started. Since then I literally break a sweat when it comes to needles, when it comes to me having them or someone else having them, I hate it, sometimes it's worse than others and luckily if I have to have bloods done and they get it first time I can get out with a mere sheen on my brow, but other times it's traumatising.

 

 This brings me back to last night. I was on nights and I was present when doctors were trying to get blood out of someone else (I can't go into detail for confidentiality reasons), but they had so much trouble it took them 30 minutes to get blood. THIRTY MINUTES! Needless to say I was ill. I was sweating profusely, dizzy, nauseous, shaking, anxious, my hearing and sight started to go blurry and I could feel myself getting worse. I felt so bad as it stopped me from doing my job for a while, and also the sheer lack of control over my body's reaction to needles even when they're nowhere near me was frightening! 

 So the rest of the nightshift I was absolutely wiped and episodes like that always make me a bit teary. I've slept all day today and I'm still exhausted and I'm back to work for another 13 hour shift soon, take pity on me!

 What I want to know if anyone has had a similar reaction to needles or any other phobia, and how you overcame it?

 Thanks in advance! X

My lifestyle change

I may have mentioned before I've lost almost 50lbs and I remember at the hardest parts of my journey I wanted to find more blogs by people in similar situations to help me on my way, I even attempted to write one myself but I wasn't very good at it and my head wasn't in the right place, but this time round it totally is! 

 It's taken over two years but this is my progress so far

 The good thing about it taking so long is that it's happened slow enough for me to understand and appreciate te process enough for me to never go back, I was so unhappy and it went deeper than vanity and looks, I just hated pretty much everything about myself, but not anymore!

 So how did I do it?

 I've tried pretty much everything going: cutting calories, cutting out food groups, pills, shakes, excessive exercise...they all worked but they're also so bad for you. Once I shifted the focus from weightloss to health (there's a difference) I really started to see results. It's so true that eating the right food as opposed to less food, and exercising in moderation, and listening to your body is the absolute best medicine!

 

 This last 18 months has really seen me educate myself about food and also kick my fitness into high gear. I've completed 30 day shred, insanity, c25k and t25 and loved them all, but NONE of them work without a good diet alongside it, trust me, you can't out train a bad diet!

 I'm currently on stage 5 of New Rules of Liftinf for Women and loving it, however I found that I got a bit too relaxed diet wise and maintained my weight for 3 months rather than shaking the last few lbs so I'm being more mindful of my eating and adding a cardio session or two a week too and I've already started dropping lbs again, woohoo!

 Here's my progress in numbers

 

And this is my current goal

I find goals easier to achieve when broken down like this otherwise I get overwhelmed. I know I'm not really fat anymore and I'm 1000% healthier than ever, but I'm stuck between sizes so I feel these goals will help me get to the lower size and feel more comfortable in my clothes as at the minute nothing fits well, and let's face it, why would I go for the bigger size?!

 I haven't gone into too much detail as everyone's different and what's worked for me might not help anyone else, but if anyone has any questions feel free to ask!

 Also look out for more progress, fitness and food related posts in the future! If anyone wants to add me on myfitnesspal my username is muc88 :) 

A week in the life of...

Ola!

 As I'm still relatively new to blogging and I'm not in a blogger routine yet, I thought I'd screenshot my Instagram feed to give you an idea of what my world is about, I thought this one actually gave a pretty good one too!

 Quick run through of my typical posts: promoting this blog, fitness related posts such as dying after a run, dumbbells and my latest delivery from myprotein.com! If I bake you can bet your backside there'll be pics of my cakes online pronto. 

 I'm a sarcastic little bugger and I love posting memes I find funny, as well as 'inspirational' quotes I find relatable.

 I'm not a maternal person in the slightest but spending time with my nephews and niece lately has been fab, and I'm the proudest aunty, also observe my lovely manfriend looking scarily comfortable holding baby Leila, eeeep!

 Just a quick insight into my life really, if you want to follow along you can find me @muc_pumpkin :) x

Put your best face forward!

So Hi all!

 I've been dying to blog for ages but just haven't had any free time, I feel like I've not been back from holiday five minutes but it turns out it's actually been a month, I'm ready for my next one already!

 Work's been mega busy and when I'm not at work you can find me at the gym, I'm well and truly back on the fitness bandwagon and I can't wait to share with you my progress.

 Today though, as I had a great Temple Spa class last night, and I have another one in a few hours, I want to share with you my daily skincare routine that has contributed hugely in boosting my confidence and only wearing foundation on nights out now rather than every day! 

So on a morning, my first go to product is Eyes Wide Open, this is great for spritzing on a cotton pad and wiping over eyes that just won't open, it's cooling and soothing and gives you that wide awake feeling even if you're on your way out for a 12 hour shift!

 Next up is Dual Act cleansing lotion, I love this as you can use it wet or dry depending on how your skin feels that day, perfect for my combination skin. I follow up with Toning Essence, this can be spritzed straight on to the face, or applied with a cotton pad, personally I prefer to spritz it straight on my face as it is lovely and refreshing, it smells like summer in a bottle!

Next up are the 'special attention' products. I use Be Strong serum mainly on the top half of my face and work my way down, this gets dubbed Botox in a bottle and it's no joke! It's packed full of vitamins that sink way down into your skin and give instant results, continued use for more than 28 days will be amazing, as this gets to work deep down so by the time your skin cells have renewed it'll reveal a new, smoother you! I use Be Clear serum on the lower half of my face, where I have marks from my chin acne, to help even them out and reduce their appearance.

 Next I apply Windows of the Soul to my eyes, you need the tiniest amount of this stuff, apply it with your ring finger by tapping along the orbital bone from the temple to the inner corner of your eye for best results. I swear I use concealer purely out of habit since I started using this rather than out of necessity! Next is Exalt firming neck gel, don't be fooled, you don't need a turkey neck to use this! Apply this with the back of your hands in a pussy cat motion every morning and marvel at how smooth and taut your neck feels!

To finish up, I use Moisture to go moisturiser, great for combination skin! The technology used in this acts as mini sponges to mop up any oily areas while simultaneously hydrating any dry areas, leaving your skin feeling perfectly balanced out and ready to face the day with or without makeup!

 Believe it or not, this takes literally two minutes to do once you have the hang of it, I leave the house at 6.40am and still manage to do all this without getting up any earlier than I already did before I found Temple Spa, so if I can do it anyone can!

 I use various other Temple Spa products which I'll be telling you about in a different post. They're all so versatile and they actually work, I've tried other samples I've been sent in my monthly Birchbox etc but I always go back to Temple Spa, I'll never stray again!

 Any Temple Spa lovers out there? What's your favourite product? X