My Fitness Journey

How it began

Almost 3 years ago Mr P encouraged me to go to the gym with him. I have to admit I wasn't keen but said, "Yeah sure, I'll go if can we can do Pilates."

However we both entered the wrong class at the gym and lucky for us we met an amazing instructor, Leisa, and her class, Body Blast.

She quite literally changed my life. And thankfully she is still my instructor today. Don't go anywhere Leisa!!

I remember being pretty sore and sorry at first but over time I started to feel stronger and overall better.

Now I don't lift the heaviest weight or move as quickly as I wish, but I'm pretty content with how I'm travelling.

My favourite class

I've tried a lot of different classes over the years - Pilates, Yoga, Spin, Aqua Aerobics, Cardio Crusher, Body Pump, Tac Fit, but Leisa's class suits me perfectly.

In our class she includes bar work (weights), hand weights, medicine balls, kettle bells, running, step, boxing, skipping, spin, burpies (yuk) and literally works every muscle group in a 45 minute class. She mixes it up in each class and it's far from boring or repetitive. This class is perfect if you are looking to build lean muscle, and that's exactly what I'm after.

I also have an amazing bunch of classmates who are always a delight to see - Sammy, Rob, Nat, Elyse, Shona, Zoe, Michael, Tanya, Kieran, Laura, Todd and Sandy - love, love, love you guys!!!

Why exercise?

I've learnt that losing weight will always come down to what I eat; end of story. Fitness only contributes to weight loss by a small amount. Fitness, as explained by Bupa Australia, is about:

• stronger bones
• less osteoarthritis
• a healthier heart and lungs
• a lower risk of type 2 diabetes
• a lower risk of some cancers
• better mental health
• a sharper mind
• better weight control (but not complete)

For me it clears my mind, relieves stress and of course there’s the social aspect of sweating it out along with a bunch of great friends.

What I've noticed

• I feel stronger
• I’m less inclined to get sick (not one sniffle this winter, yay)
• When the doctor asks if I exercise I can actually say yes
• My blood test results have improved considerably
• A more toned body
• My back pain has disappeared (I think the gym enabled me to maintain a better posture and improve my core strength)
• Stress and tension are gone after a class or run
• The sense of achievement I feel at the end of a class or the end of a run

I asked the lovely Leisa for her fitness tips and here they are:

"Keep it simple - we have made exercise too hard"

"Do what's fun"

"Don't exercise when you're exhausted (or you will hurt yourself)"

"Be happy with what you've got, there's always someone who would love to swap lives with you"

“It takes hard work to get fit and even harder work to keep fit”

I've done a few charity runs and rides with the family and that's a great challenge to work towards and there’s a great sense of achievement upon finishing.

Current challenge

At my work this month we are running a health and wellbeing ‘bingo’ and staff in our teams are encouraged to take up various activities to challenge themselves.  The activities are:

• Go for a walking meeting
• Walk into the park for lunch
• Walk around the park at lunch time
• Do 10,000 steps 5 days a week
• Take the stairs between meetings
• Do 100 burpees or push ups or step ups (over the month)
• Do 30 minutes of exercise a day for 7 days
• Do an active activity over the weekend

I've read many books written by Michelle Bridges
 and I love her philosophies on health and wellbeing

Prizes (obviously healthy) will be awarded to teams that have completed these and other nutritional activities.  The take up has been incredible and the impact it's having has been so positive.  Next week our team is taking on the stairs - from the bottom to the top of the building!  Argh!!

Leisa bought this poster along to class to show us
just how much exercise is required to burn off
additional calories - it's unbelievable

My current routine

Right now I'm doing 2 gym classes a week (both Body Blast) but I try to run another couple of times a week. It works for me.  It’s been a part of our lifestyle for so long and is not at all a chore but rather something that we all look forward to.

The app I use to record what I eat and how much I exercise

My supporters 

Lucky for me, fitness is a family thing - they always join me at the gym or on a run - thanks for your support Fambam❤.

My advice

Just have a go. Keep trying different activities until you find something that is enjoyable. Find a buddy or friend who will motivate you. As Michelle Bridges, says consistency, consistency, consistency. Think about the health benefits of everything you do. Don't compare yourself with others, just compete with yourself.

Until next time 
xx

Makeup

How my obsession started

My makeup obsession started 3 years ago.  I gifted a makeup tutorial to my daughter for Christmas and she came home looking amazing and with a few sheets of paper with notes of what she had learnt.  I was intrigued.

Hayden, the fabulous makeup artist and my hairdresser, suggested that I watch a few tutorials on YouTube from the likes of Pixiwoo (Samantha and Nic Chapman who produce the Real Techniques brushes) and Lisa Eldridge (makeup artist to Kate Winslet, Jessica Biel and Keira Knightley) and from there my love of makeup grew.

Since then I've discovered a heap of others to follow, some from the UK, the US, New Zealand and of course, Australia.

What I learnt

I learnt how to prime, apply foundation correctly, to powder, to enhance my eyebrows, contour, highlight and get over my issue with lipstick (I have never been able to find lipstick that I liked and hence wore the same boring colour for years - it's still a work in progress).

My collection has grown - not to gigantic levels but I certainly have enough makeup to do me a lifetime.  Just don't tell Mr P!!

Once upon a time I would wear the same foundation, the same eyeshadow, the same blush and lipstick every day.  Not any more!

I learnt how important good skin preparation is to good makeup application and longevity.  How vital sunscreen is and most importantly how to make the most of my features.

What I've failed at

I'm still hopeless at applying false lashes.  I just get too stressed and shaky and it turns into a disaster.  So I occasionally bring out the individual lashes if I'm feeling motivated and confident.

I also think I'm pretty ordinary at contouring.

My inspiration

I now find applying makeup an absolute joy as opposed to the chore it once was.  Most mornings I will apply my makeup following tutorials I've saved on YouTube.  I'm not at all creative and prefer to wear fairly safe styles.  I have organised a number of tutorials based on my many eye palettes and will usually decide that this week it's the Urban Decay Naked 1 Palette or time for the LORAC Pro Palette.

My favourite YouTuber for makeup is Sharon Farrell from Sharon the Makeup Artist.  She is a gorgeous Irish girl with the most intoxicating accent who recently moved to Sydney.  We both have oily skin, are concerned about pores and have very fair skin.  I can pretty much use the same brands and colours of makeup as she does and create a similar effect.

I also love EmilyNoel83 (Emily Eddington from the US), LeighAnnSays (from Texas), Shameless Fripperies (Karima McKimmie from Sydney), Rachael Jade Annear (also from Sydney), Goo Roo Beauty (Jodi from Perth) and Tango2+ (Mel from Queensland).

How I store my makeup

I found this terrific organiser below from Officeworks and it fits all of my brushes, eye pencils, eyebrow products, concealers and mascaras perfectly.

This makeup mirror was a very thoughtful present from my son last Christmas. I missed it so much when we travelled recently.

I have taken over the ensuite drawers with my stash of makeup (it has since outgrown the makeup case).  I bought the drawer dividers from Howard's Storage World to keep everything separate and organised.  The one thing that I do find difficult is culling products, so I'm trying to be ever so careful to only purchase when I'm absolutely sure it's perfect.

Where do I buy my products?

I buy most from Myer, David Jones, Priceline and Mecca Maxima.  I bought a few bits and pieces from Milani Cosmetics and e.l.f. when were were in the US recently and I fell in love with CVS, Walgreens, Sephora and Ulta (my favourite).  I might just start buying more of these drugstore brands online and now that Sephora Australia has an online store - watch out!!

My holy grail items

Benefit PoreFessional Primer and IT Cosmetics CC Cream (from Sephora)

Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer and MAC Pro Longwear Concealer

Shu Uemura Eyebrow Pencil and Benefit Gimme Brow

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders and Bronzers

Benefit Hoola Powder and theBalm Mary Lou Manzier Highlighting Powder

Too Faced Chocolate Palette and LORAC Pro Palette

Urban Decay Eye Pencils

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Max Factor Flick Stick Lipstick in Gypsy Red (recently discontinued argh!) and MAC lipstick in Relentlessly Red

MAC Brushes and Real Techniques brushes

Until next time xx

Travel Planning

I knew this holiday was going to be different.  We all voted on where we wanted to travel and New York came up unanimously.  But this time we were travelling independently instead of with a tour group.

Times Square, New York

My philosophy for travelling is simple – we pay a crapload to travel halfway around the world, so I’m going to make the most of the time we have there.  I’m all about maximising the experience and I didn’t want to return to Australia to hear people say, “Did you do this? Did you do that?”  No way!

Times Square, New York

But where to start!  I knew that we had 3½ weeks to fill and that we would travel to New York, Washington DC, Boston and Chicago, but how to divide it up?  I decided upon 13 nights in New York, 5 nights in Washington, 3 nights in Boston and 4 nights in Chicago.

New York’s a big place – where do you start??


I had no idea where anything was, but thankfully my 18 year old son had watched enough movies set in New York that he pretty much knew the city from top to bottom.  The only way to start was to purchase a Lonely Planet guide and I read it from cover to cover.

The best way to navigate the city was district by district.  Tribeca one day, Lower Manhattan the next, the Upper East Side and Central Park.

I mapped out the city and worked out where each of the famous sights were – The High Line is in Chelsea, World Trade is in Lower Manhattan, The Empire State Building is in Midtown etc, and from there I created 13 days filled with the most important sights, and some interesting ones only the locals know about.

I settled on a logical route through each of those areas to make the most of our time and save our feet.

We are foodies and using the Lonely Planet guidebook and TripAdvisor I selected (and sometimes avoided) restaurants that would suit our budget and taste buds.  Some of the restaurants I picked were quirky, some were the type that you just must do whilst in New York.

I researched the subway and Google’s Street View extensively to determine the best way to navigate the city.  My instructions were detailed down to the walking route to take, and like a tour guide, I could tell the family some interesting facts about a particular landmark.

Showing some of the detail in my itinerary Information courtesy of The Lonely Planet ePocket New York City

Once I completed the New York planning component I moved on to Washington DC, then Boston, then Chicago.

The planning took me forever, consuming my evenings and weekends for about 4 months, but I loved every minute of it.

Next was accommodation.  We decided that we needed room.  The idea of my husband and I sharing a hotel room with an 18 and 19 year old was not appealing.  We also needed 2 bathrooms!  We didn’t want a hotel experience, but rather we wanted to live alongside the locals in a local neighbourhood.  Enter AirBNB. 

Our Brooklyn townhouse (New York)

I had never tried AirBNB but had heard heaps about it from others.  The cost of hotel accommodation, especially 13 nights of it, in New York is painful to say the least, so AirBNB was a great alternative. 

The rooftop pool at our Washington DC apartment

Now AirBNB is not for the faint-hearted.  I spent hours and hours scouring every possible property, often getting really excited about what I had found only to discover that they were not available or reading through the myriad of reviews and finding something unsavoury.

Our house in South Boston

But when you find AirBNB gold you snatch it quickly and hold on tight.  And boy did we strike some gold!!

Our apartment in Chicago

A couple of weeks before the trip was due to start I printed out my itinerary and had it bound.  It had reached the size of…wait for it...78 pages!  Yikes!

My itinerary was very detailed with transport information, a walking guide, information on each attraction and sight, I also included pictures I found on the internet to make it more interesting to peruse.  Accompanying the itinerary was a set of maps for each city.  They contained marked up Google Maps with each day’s journey.  There were also pre-purchased tickets, bus, train and subway timetables and maps.

The day the itinerary and maps were wire bound was a special day for me.  I was so excited for what I had created and what we were about to experience.

But the proof was in the pudding, would I actually use them?

Well we did.  Every single day.  There was just one day of the 41 that we didn’t achieve what was planned and that was due to a rental car malfunction $%&*@!!!.

It’s now great to see that the itinerary has been put to new use by many of my family and friends, with some of them already having used it to guide them on their travels.

If only I could make these for a living…

Brooklyn looking towards Manhattan

The book has now become a treasured memento of our trip.  We wrote lots of notes along the journey of all that we did and whether we would recommend it to others.  It was also a great way to remember what we did each day.

Now to plan the next trip…  My daughter wants me to plan her next adventure.  Right!

So what do you think of this amount of planning?

Until next time

xx