Baby Love

My god, the world has contracted Baby Fever it seems. First we experienced a constant stream of Kim Kardashian's ever expanding baby bump, then her dramatic early labour and to top it off the unusual name choice of North (who are we to question A list celebrity madness?).  Then the whole world waited with baited breath as Princess Kate went into labour, for what seemed like a couple of hours, and produced our nation's newest addition to the Royal clan (thank goodness he has decent parents is all I'll say).  Now we wait for (bet on) the name choice, which is quite limited as 3rd in line to the throne, Im guessing Wayne and Tyler are out of the question?

However, I do love a new baby.  Good job we have our own little one on his way in a few months (Hoorah!). Ever since we found out we're having a baby it seems a new part of our brains has been stimulated; the number of pregnant ladies seemed to triple before our eyes, and suddenly there were baby buggies everywhere.  
Now this could be our own self doing due to all the baby apps, blogs, forums, mailing lists we've signed up to!!  

At first, these all seem so exciting... baby apps to track your baby's growth, forums to discuss all the physical changes you and the 100000000 other women, all pregnant at the same time, are going through (jeez, that's a lot of hormones flying around the globe!!!) But then you start to loathe the apps, the daily dose of baby do's and don'ts, the infinite possibilities to your pregnancy woes, the constant questioning from other Mums to Be and replies from the 'smart arse' Mums who know it all and can't wait to tell you they went through the same, the battle with your inner health guru, and your outer need for anything calorific... and just when you feel you're going to lose your mind and throw away your iPhone you meet your Midwife. Ahhh, like a breath of fresh air!!

Now here is a person who HAS heard it all; she's seen everything, done everything, no woe is too dramatic/silly/embarrassing for her to listen to and answer in a calm, sensible and sensitive way.  Every time I go for my Midwife appointments I come away feeling all warm and fuzzy. She's like a big comfort blanket who makes me feel like I deserve a gold certificate for doing so well.  

I'm not dismissing all the other people around me who always ask how I'm feeling, and tell me how wonderful I look, not to mention my ever supportive boyfriend who has to ride the 'hormonal' rollercoaster alongside me (poor bastard), but there's something about the reassurance you receive from a medical professional that makes you feel calm.  It could be all the tests they run, which assure you baby is doing fine, or simply just quashing any irrational thoughts that have been keeping you awake at night.  Maybe it's the list of contact numbers to call should you need to talk to someone, but overall I think its how serious they take your questions, yet answer with such a gentle 'nothing to worry about' attitude (actually sounds quite oxy-moronic but seems to work).

On that note, I shall finish this post with such an appreciation and immense gratitude for Midwives everywhere, oh and for my boyfriend who puts up with me on a daily basis!

You are what you eat!!

For the past couple of weeks I have been educating myself on all things nutritious.  After months (even years) of struggling to maintain a healthy weight, always yo-yoing between clothes sizes, I decided it was time to find out what I was doing wrong.  I had already enrolled at our local gym last year, so I knew it wasn't a lack of exercise.  With each gym session came more disappointment, as I pushed myself through (what I thought were) gruelling cardio and weight sessions.  I even sought advice, and bravely approached one of the instructors for tips on how to achieve the results I wanted, but, being a man, he basically told me to train harder!!!

Luckily, the other week, a (what would later become invaluable) gem peeked out at me from the magazine rack in WHSmith.  'Mens Health Nutrition Guide'.  Ok, I'm not a man, but flicking through all the pages filled with amazing nutritional information, what to eat, when to eat it, healthy recipes, it seemed to have all the answers. My boyfriend is a self-confessed gym worshipper, so it was a given that he was already on board with my plan.  I bought a Women's Health magazine too, just to make sure I had all the information specific to my nutritional and fitness needs, and downloaded an app called My Fitness Pal (recommended by Womens Health) to help me chart my progress.  Since starting the nutritional plan 10 days ago, I can see the tricky areas of my body (namely my J-Lo ass & hips) become more toned and I'm feeling so happy.  I continue to go to the gym, but only for specific classes and have taken up swimming.  The instructor of the classes I attend is such a down to earth (if not slightly crazy!!) lady, and I've approached her several times asking advice on certain foods.  She's the most helpful person I think I've ever come across, explaining things in such a basic way, unlike those who presume you automatically know that a glass of milk is protein (as well as Calcium!), or that you need to balance out carbohydrates with essential fats, not cut them out completely.  Understanding where the food goes, and how it helps your body has enabled me to look at food in a completely different way.  Making small changes to my diet, such as skimmed milk instead of semi-skimmed, and brown sugar instead of white, can make all the difference!

Being aware of what I'm putting into my body, how much of it and why I need certain foods at certain times helps me feel more successful in achieving my goal as I control it and understand what I need to change should I feel, one day, a little sluggish or bloated (of course all of us women feel that at least once a month!).  I don't go to the gym feeling lost or frustrated anymore, or come home and raid the fridge for the first thing I can find to satisfy my hunger.  Personal growth, whether it be weight loss, finding a new job, becoming a calmer person, all starts with educating yourself.   Educating yourself is such a soul satisfying task, I can honestly say that my worries and insecurities are slowly becoming a thing of the past, and my new confident, in control personality is showing through with positive, energy and happiness.

Powerful positivity

I have just been reading an interesting chapter in a book someone gave to me, about how the unconscious mind cannot process negative thoughts. I am frequently bombarded with Facebook statuses, such as 'think positive and positive things will happen', (in all honesty I'm guilty of posting these myself on a bad day!'), but I didn't actually believe it worked.

I have a few friends who are believers of 'spiritual healing', and another who recently introduced me to Neuro Linguistic Programming (they're both the same to me, except one appeals more to those who need scientific proof).  The theory behind NLP is that you reprogram your brain into thinking in a positive way, this does sound reminiscent of most self-help books except it explains it in such a scientific matter-of-fact way rather than an annoying 'you can do it' kinda way.  The unconscious mind can only process thoughts positively, so if you think negatively, e.g., 'I don't want to be poor' it will focus positively on the 'poor' word and so it becomes 'I want to be poor'. 

It explains why you feel happier and healthier when you surround yourself with positive people, and rid yourself of all those negatives (I find 'unsubscribing' to certain FBers helps!).  At first I felt bad for keeping distance from certain 'energy vamps', but understanding how the mind processes positives and negatives has helped me feel less guilty.  It inspires me to continue my quest for positivity in life, knowing that the power of my thoughts can really change my life (as cheesy as that does sound!) 

This old house...

Today I'm loving searching for houses in need of renovation in our local area.  Our house is almost ready to let, and so a new project is on the horizon.  It's very exciting looking for new potential 'nests'.   Old houses, in need of transformation, full of character and charm are top of my search list.

Smile, it's simple

I can't get enough of these vintage photos of  simple quotes.  I must have a ton of them one phone & FB, and even though I'm not the most creative soul I think I could quite easily replicate this kind of art at home.  All I need is a scrabble board and a dictionary <3