For All You Amazing Women Out There!!

This dance video was organized and created by Kim MacGregor, as a tribute to her best friend Erika Heller who died of colon cancer last year at age 31. Every telephone conversation they ever had Erika ended by telling Kim "You're an amazing woman"!

So Kim wanted to do something special to honor her friend and this is the result. It was filmed at the Toronto Eaton Centre. Kim's goal is to reach 1,000,000 viewers. I'm doing my part by passing this on to all of the amazing women in my life.

Pass it on!
Nicole xx

Eva's 1st Birthday & Other Stuff!

Well, Eva's 1st birthday party all went to plan and I must say I am pretty happy with how it turned out on the day :)  So I didn't get a photo of me putting up party decorations at 5.30am in the morning at the park (actually I read the Sunday paper for 1/2 hr and then put up decorations!), but I do have a few pics of the day:

Eva's cake table (made by me - aside from the marshmallows and musk sticks!):

Decorations:

The Birthday Girl:

Cutting the cake!:

These are only a few of the wonderful photos Shelley took for us - she was there snapping away the whole day which was just fantastic! Thanks Shelley!!

Other Stuff:

After a couple of slack weeks in terms of training, I am happy to say that this week I am back on track - mainly thanks to my training partner Shelley who has finally returned from her family overseas adventure :)  It's so good to have her home!!  We have been either working out at her house or my house as we both have mini gyms set up under our houses! Very convenient! This week I have also been teaching Shelley the Kettlebell Swing and she is going great guns.  To ease into it, at the end of our weights session, we have been doing some short interval training with my trusty gymboss and increasing the number of sets we do each day.  So far so good and so much more fun than being on a treadmill!

PN Update:

PN is still going really well and this week saw me clean out my pantry (which REALLY needed doing anyway). I did my groceries yesterday and the one thing I didn't buy (which I love, yes in addition to diet coke and peanut butter) was Jarrah Chocolate! I feel a bit lost without it today as I usually mix it in with my cottage cheese but I am better off without it!! I have some yummy protein powders that I can use instead :)

This week I really need to pull my head in so to speak and cut some crap out of my diet! Before, during and after Eva's birthday I really just ate too much sugar! So the goal this week is to get back on track with my food and continue with my training!!

Anyway, as I don't get on here very often, I could go on and on of course, but I won't.  Have a great weekend!

Nicole xx

Right Now....

I am busily planning Eva's 1st Birthday and Naming Day for next Sunday.  To say I have gone over the top with decorations is um....an understatement.  For the past couple of months, Google has been my best friend, taking me to all sorts of wonderful websites where I have been getting inspiration from.  I am so looking forward to next Sunday it's crazy!!  I am loving every minute of this planning process and sourcing different items from different websites and shops.  I will be taking lots of photos and I promise to post some after the day :)

But, here are some photos that I am using for inspiration:

Birthday Cake:

I am making Eva's cake, which will be a giant cupcake (but in pink of course!).  It will be placed on top of a 3 tier scake stand that I have.  I was going to do mini cupcakes like in the pic for the other tiers but have decided that it will be too hard to get it all to the park!  So normal sized cupcakes it is as they fit into my cupcake courier.

Food:

This is the food I am going to have - I am pretty sure there will be plenty to eat (probably enough to feed the whole park!!LOL)

• Coconut Ice
• Fairy bread
• Watermelon
• Finger sandwiches
• Scones, jam & cream
• 2 jars - One with pink and white marshmellows and the other I haven't quite decided yet but a pink lolly!!
• And some more cupcakes (which by the way is the theme of her b'day party - cupcakes!)

Decorations:

OMG! There are so many amazing ideas out there I have gone out of control!!  We are having the party at a park where there is a huge under cover area with 4 tables and chairs underneath.  I am in the process of making tissue paper pom poms just like in the picture below.  These will hang obviously from the roof (yep, picture me at 6.30-7am next Sunday morning with a ladder tying these damn things to the roof!! haha) - told you I've gone crazy(ier!!). In the pic below - the pom poms in the top left of the collage.

Drinks:

For drinks, on the table I am having a jug of pink lemonade plus some tiny milk bottles of pink lemonade with paper stripped straws (like in the pic below - top right) - these are mainly just for show but as the bottles aren't cheap, I am hoping the adults drink out of them not the kids!! LOL In addition, there will be water, soft drinks etc..

SO, as you can see I have been busy!! I know she won't remember any of it but there is just something about making everything pink and pretty that excites me!! (yes, I know, I need to get a life haha).  Anyway, let's hope it all goes to plan and guests actually come!!

Nicole xx

Much Needed Update......

Wow, times just flies these days! I have been so busy these last few months I can't believe it's FEBRUARY already and that Eva is going to turn 1 at the end of the month!

After a hellish year last year I am hoping this year is going to be a lot better... although it hasn't exactly started out that way :(

In terms of exercise and weight loss? Well, I still exercise with my kettlebells (of course) and I am also doing weights 3 days a week as well plus any other sort of everyday exercise I can fit in (last week I mowed our lawn - fark it was hard!!).

Weight loss - yup - none! I'm just not focused enough at the moment to set my mind to it.  I loved weight watchers but I really felt in the end I actually needed to attend the meetings to be accountable to someone etc.  I checked the days and times of the meetings and it just wasn't going to work for me :(

So yes, I have of course jumped onto another bandwagon in the meantime!! and after mulling over the decision a lot (and over the past few years) I decided to give the Precision Nutrition Lean Eating Program a go and see what it brings.  So far it is ok but a bit on the slow side for my liking (but they are doing it that way on purpose of course but it just annoys me).  Anyway, they haven't even gotten into the food side of things yet so I am just plodding along my merry way eating mostly ok on most days :)

January was a crappy month!  Eva started daycare and at the same time 3 teeth decided to come through all at once! Plus she had teething related diarrhoea and had terrible nappy rash that saw her screaming alot in pain (even with nappy rash cream slathered on her poor bot bot).  SO, we got over the teething and last week she seemed pretty happy until Saturday when I noticed a few spots on her chest.  They weren't anywhere else so I thought it might have been from the clothes she was wearing and took them off. Well, by mid afternoon they were all over her body including her face and then she had a temp as well. So I took her to the Dr's and he said she has the measles!! Sigh. So that means no public outings and no daycare for this week at least.

I was lucky that hubby had yesterday off work so I could still go (although such a fucken drama to even get out of the house!!) but I've had to take today off work.  Anyway, I am taking her back to the Dr today because although she has spots everywhere she seems happy enough.  She is on drugs a million so maybe they are helping as well. Anyway, going back to a different Dr just to get a second opinion - I really don't think I will cope being locked up in the house all week!

As it's Eva's birthday at the end of the month I have been busily planning her party with decorations, food etc.. She is having a cupcake themed party for her 1st b'day party but we are also having a naming ceremony as well. And I can assure you there will be cupcakes friggin galore there!! LOL I will have to take photos!

Oh, I have also been busy being a Mystery Shopper!! Gosh, I have been so busy with jobs it's crazy! It doesn't pay much and because they are so frequent then I'm not sure how long I will stick at it for but I guess it's a bit more pocket money for me each month :)

Ok, gotta go get ready for a telephone appt I am expecting from my boss in Sydney to discuss generating more business etc..

Nicole xx

Today's Workout...

I headed to the gym this morning to do my KB workout + complete my 200 swings for the day. I enjoy going to the gym to do my workouts but unfortunately it doesn't always work out that way. So when I do get there I really enjoy it.  Ok, so onto today's workout:

1a) Front Squat
1b) Kb Chest Press
Swings

2a) KB deadlift
2b) 1 arm row
Swings

3a) Kb lunge
3b) Kb triceps press
Swings

4a) TRX squats
4b) KB Military Press
Swings

I did 2 rounds of the above which is a workout taken from kettlebellebody. Although 2 rounds of this was pretty taxing, I made myself complete my 200 swings for the day so I didn't have to do them later or find an excuse for not doing them later!! So all in all a great workout!! :)

On that note I think I might go have an afternoon nap :)

Enjoy

Nicole xx

My January Swing Challenge

Every January, in the Kettlebell community, there is what they call a 10,000 swing challenge in 30 days.  This means that you need to do approx. 333 swings per day and if you miss a day then you will need to do twice as many the next day.

I really like this challenge BUT I don't like the 10,000 swing bit! Why? Well, although I use my kettlbells consistently, I am not so comfortable with the idea of doing 333 swings day in day out for 30 days and hey, I don't want to set myself up for failure either.

SO, with that, for the month of January I have set myself a task of completing 6,000 swings in 30 days, which equates to 200 swings per day - somthing I think will be achievable in addition to my other workouts. If I am successful, I have already penciled in a 7,000 swing challenge for February in 28 days.

So today, I completed 220 swings.  I will do a few extra swings each day just in case I miss a day so that I can use the extra swings I have completed along the way.

What do I hope to get out of my 6,000 swing challenge? Well, it is a good excuse to get practice my swings, burn some calories and get fitter in the process. I've got a lot of Christmas cheer to burn off  and I want to look like a yummy mummy for Eva's first birthday at the end of February :)

Nicole xx

Holy Crap!!

I  have just done a kb workout using my latest dvd from Lauren Brooks (volume #2) and the workout in total is only 30mins (including warm up) and I can tell you now that it is NOT a good idea to have breakfast beforehand!!! Such a fantastic workout!! My heart rate sits up around the 170-175 bpm for most of the workout (hence why I shouldn't have eaten breakfast first!).  I can usually get my heart rate up to the 160bpm no problems but always struggle to get it past that 160 mark. So, yep for me it's hard!! But a good hard :) 

I also went for a 45min walk this morning so am happy now that I have all of my exercise out of the way because today it is going to be a scorcher!! It's very hot outside!!

Well, it's hard to believe that another week has passed! Even though I am only working 2 days a week my weeks go so much quicker now :(  I ended up taking Eva to the Dr last Saturday because she was so out of sorts with the head cold she has been sufferering from and it turns out that she has a middle ear infection!! Poor little poppett! Bad mummy!! So since she has been on the antibotics she has been a lot better and easier to deal with :)

Ok, off to have a shower so that we can go to the shops once Eva wakes and get some xmas shopping done (grrrr).  I am lucky that I don't have a lot to buy but I still hate doing it just due to the sheer number of people at the shops - drives me nuts!!  For my husband's family (aunts, uncles etc), we usually just buy a box of chocolates but this year we have decided to do something different and have bought a number of World Vision Smile gifts.  Basically you can purchase a chicken for a community in countries such as Africa to help provide them with food etc. Such a good idea I reckon! Here is the link if you are interested: http://www.worldvision.com.au/

Have a great weekend!!

Nicole xx